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“Dell'Anima”


  Occasion: Cuisine: Area: Cost: Rating:
  Night Out Italian West Village Moderate Good

e (d)—all of the above. I can still feel my heart beating from that morning. The night after Craig and I got engaged, I met Jamie, Adrienne, Kiri and Alison for an improptu dinner celebration at Dell’Anima, a new West Village Italian restaurant. Jamie and Alison were already at the bar and screamed and jumped up and down when I walked in. I am sorry if you were one of those people at the restaurant whose hearing is now compromised. I admit that we were a little annoying. Kiri and Adge showed up a bit later and while we waited for them, we toasted with various cocktails (created by Dale DeGroff) like the Fragoli Sogno, a fresh mix of gin, Fragoli liqueur, limoncello and fresh mint. By the time we were seated at a cozy banquette across from the open kitchen (wear a tank top, it’s hot back there), we were onto our first bottle of wine (a juicy, bright 100% Sangiovese Cima called Romablo from Tuscany) and were quite giddy.

Dell’anima, which means “of the spirit,” represents the union of two young talents in the business—Joe Campanale, a former sommelier from Babbo, and Chef Gabriel Thompson, formerly of Le Bernardin and Del Posto. Their mission was to bring a smart neighborhood trattoria to the city, to serve a menu stocked with rustic seasonal Italian fare with a choice of 100 Italian wines from Campanale’s favorite producers like Emidio Pepe, Paolo Bea, and Movia and Bruno Giasco. To give the modest glass-front West Village space a sleek New York sensibility rather than the traditional wood-washed Tuscan farmhouse motif, they hired the design firm Bihuber who installed a sleek bar room up front with a granite bar, and raised bar tables, and a small dining room in the back with a few tables for larger groups, and a chef’s counter for dining up close and personal. It’s a smallish space, and it gets busy quickly, but somehow it doesn’t feel too cramped.

A nice way to start a meal at Dell’Anima (other than copious amounts of bubbly) is their collection of make-your-own bruschetta. Basically this is a kit of all you need for your feast—a bowl of warm freshly grilled country bread, and either one ($5), three ($10) or five ($15) different toppings. We were celebrating, so we got them all—yes, the dieting will have to start at some point, clearly—and passed them back and forth reaching over and under each other to get at the ones we liked best. The lily ... [more, click below]

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Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   


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