PUMPKIN SOUP!

Winner of the special award

*Witch’s Cauldron*

Del Posto is an Italian restaurant awarded with a Michelin star at New York. Chef Melissa Rodriguez has been promoted from Chef de Cuisine to Executive Chef and took over the kitchen from Chef Mark Ladner in 2017. Mark Ladner ran the kitchen of Del Posto for twelve years, since the opening of the restaurant. After leaving Del Posto he opened his restaurant “Pasta Flyer” for cheap, fast and accessible pasta.

Chef Melissa Rodriguez had been working with Ladner’s Del Posto team full time since 2011. So far she has been doing a great job running the kitchen. I definitely think that Del Posto deserves more than a Michelin star with its outstanding service quality and tasty dishes.

Ambiance

Del Posto had a charming ambiance with the high ceiling. I tend to love restaurants with high ceilings because it gives a sense of freedom to me. It also looked elegant through the use of wood as well as black and white colors. The place was huge with two floors and the space between the tables was excellent.

I haven’t seen the piano from where I sat but I could hear the sound of the live music throughout my dining experience. Together with the dim lighting, it was the perfect place for a special night.

Taste

One of the things I loved the most about this restaurant was the flexibility that they offered. You can create your own tasting menu with whichever courses or taste you would prefer. You can easily add or remove the ingredients as well. Del Posto team was so sure that they can meet your expectations.

Our degustation experience started with a mushroom puree with bread crumbs on top. The first starter was a yellowfin tuna carpaccio with winter citrus, bottarga and mint. Citrus was a bit too intense so I wasn’t able to enjoy the carpaccio and bottarga. Still, it had good taste. Next starter was vitello tonnato; an Italian dish of cold, sliced veal covered with a creamy, mayonnaise-like sauce that has been flavored with tuna. The taste was perfect.

The first course was the full moon pasta with black truffle butter and taleggio cheese. Before the degustation experience, our waiter asked whether we would like to have black truffle in our pasta dish with an extra charge. I loved this pasta, but I wish there was more taleggio cheese inside, which was from the Lombardy region of Italy.

The following course was orecchiette; a variety of pasta typical of Puglia, a region of southern Italy. The name comes from its shape; which resembles a small ear. The pasta was with rabbit sausage, turnips and Castelvetrano oil. The rabbit sausages were large enough that the taste filled your palate.

Next was arctic char from Iceland with vongole oreganata; which is a clam sauce with breadcrumbs. The melted leeks on top were a perfect match with the fish. It was rarely done and had an amazing taste. Last main course was rib eye with carrot puttanesca. Puttanesca sauce is made of tomatoes, garlic, black oil, anchovies and in this case also with a carrot. The beef was 28 days dry aged and was really savory.

It took my attention that both veal and rib eye courses had a sauce flavored with seafood. When you think of meat and seafood, you can’t really imagine eating them together. However, contrasts like these can sometimes be really wonderful.

After the main courses, it was time for a cheese course. I wasn’t much impressed by the cheese. It was a 2-3 month aged Italian blue cheese made with full-fat pasteurized buffalo milk by Quattro Portoni in Bergamo. Maybe it is because I am not a great fan of blue cheese.

Tartufo bianco was one of the best desserts I ever had. It was made of amaro braised hazelnuts, espresso and white truffle chocolate. White chocolate and espresso felt like the perfect couple.

Service

Among all the fine-dining restaurants that I have been to all around the world, Del Posto has the best service quality.

Staff was very kind and friendly. While I was being seated, they pulled the table over so that I could sit down comfortably. Next thing I know, one of the waiters was pouring my sparkling water by closing one side of the glass with his hand to prevent the drops from splashing around. Every move had delicacy.

After asking about my dietary restrictions and food allergies, the waiter carefully explained the structure of the tasting menu. Nevertheless, you have no obligation to follow this structure. You may eat eight pasta courses if you wish, you can structure your menu according to your will. The experience was very unique and designed personally for you. I have chosen Captain’s 8-course menu, which was a total surprise. However, if there is anything that you would like to have from the a la carte menu, you may ask for it in your tasting menu. The waiter asked some specific things in the surprise menu like if I eat rabbit, clams, etc or anything raw.

There were some waiters that were constantly waiting at the back. Although they were permanently checking upon me, I never felt like I was being watched the whole time. The signature of this restaurant was definitely the quality of its service. So far I haven’t seen a better one.

I made the reservation in advance, it was really easy to make the reservation from the internet. You need to share your credit card information in case of no-show. Menu and prices were on their website as well.

Creativity

The presentation of the dishes was ordinary. The surprise was not knowing what course will be coming next, yet I wasn’t surprised by what I had encountered with. Dishes could be designed much better.

I loved the unique shape of the plate that bread and butter were served.

Value

This restaurant is definitely worth a visit. If you are willing to go to a fine-dining restaurant in New York, I strongly recommend Del Posto.

The cheque was written on a very nicely designed paper, they were attentive until the very end of your degustation journey.

You can have your tasting menu printed out to keep it as a souvenir.

The sommelier was great, providing detailed information about the wines.