Via Carota

Via Carota – quite possibly the best Italian food in all of New York City (highly debatable though). Situated right on Grove street across from Bar Pisellino, this place is a true West Village gem. And usually impossible to get a table any night of the week. However, we sat down (outside, of course) after only 30 minutes or so. Definitely an anomaly even during corona times.

I can confidently say that going out to dinner right now is a once in a lifetime experience. Although Via Carota has always had an exemplary outdoor setup, things still felt a bit off. Tables were all six feet apart, waiters wore masks, and there were no physical menus. However, we made the best of it.

We started off the evening with two aperol spritz and our bellies ready to be fed. After some debate between which pasta dishes to order and what apps to nibble on, we made up our minds.

The burrata at Via Carota is delectable – moist, creamy, and beautifully seasoned to perfection. It lies in puddle of rich olive oil surrounded by juicy red tomatoes. We also shared the fried zucchini which comes served in a mountain-like pile and is shaped like shoestring fries.

For dinner, I ordered a prosciutto tagliatelle in a brown butter sauce. David had the pappardelle with wild boar ragu. The pasta is so fresh here. You can definitely tell that the chefs, Rita and Jody put their heart and soul into every dish. Next time we definitely want to try the cacio pepe as that was a runner up.

We ended the evening with a glass of chianti and panna cotta for dessert. The panna cotta was topped with a delicious orange marmalade and came with two tiny biscotti cookies. The biscotti dipped in the panna cotta was heavenly.

There’s something about the energy at Via Carota. We witnessed countless patrons approach the hostess about availability and were turned away. Plus the West Village is dreamy in the summer and this place makes you feel like you’re on cloud 9.