<< previous review   next review >>

reviews

“Sorella”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	Lower East Side	Moderate	Great

Sometimes in life, you just don’t know what you’re missing. That’s how I’ve felt every time I have dined at Sorella’s relatively empty dining room. Where was everybody? Why were they not three deep at the bar? Why were they not clamoring for a table? Why had no one noticed this young chef’s talent? Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve been dumbfounded at why Sorella has been so relatively uninhabited on the nights when I’ve visited. I could chalk it up to the economy. Or perhaps it’s been because the weather has been so brutally cold (that is, until this weekend). Or maybe it’s because I’ve eaten there during the week, and on the early side (7pm). That could be it. Then again, it could be because passersby mistake its imposing wine rack façade for a steel gate and assume the restaurant is closed or abandoned. In any case, I know it’s not empty because of the food or the service or the décor, because it’s rare that a restaurant so completely delights. But Sorella does. You don’t know what you’re missing. Well, let me attempt to tell you.

The debut restaurant of chef Emma Hearst, who cooked at Union Square Café and then took off to cook and eat her way the countryside of Northern Italy, Sorella is located in the former Mexican spot El Portal, and was gutted and designed by Resistance and set up as two restaurants in one. Up front, behind a glass façade covered in old wooden riddling racks (that tend to look like a gate) you’ll find a large modern wine bar with straw colored wooden walls imbedded with photos of Italy. The front room is immensely welcoming, equipped with friendly and knowledgeable bartenders and soft cushioned bar stools tucked under long communal tables ideal for drinking (there are house made sodas, as well as Italian wine and foreign and domestic beer) and snacking.

Walk toward the back and you’ll discover a large rectangular dining room with walls covered in tiny round tiles that look like they’ve been lifted from a spa’s steam room. Under a retractable glass ceiling there are about a dozen nicely spaced polished wood tables matched with incredible comfortable chairs upholstered in nubby gray fabric. The room, which has a view of the partially open kitchen and a cherry red prosciutto slicer, is set up for intimacy with a combination of flickering candle light from the amber ... [more, click below]

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  

 Make a reservation

<< previous review   next review >>

Posted: March 8, 2009

Other restaurants in Lower East Side :
+ Mojo   + WD-50   + Schiller's Liquor Bar   + Azul Bistro   + Barrio Chino   + 71 Clinton Fresh Food-- Closed   + Little Giant   + Kuma Inn   + Falai   + The Stanton Social   + The Tides   + Thor   + The Orchard   + El Bocadito-- CLOSED   + Bondi Road   + Rayuela   + Suba   + Bun (boone)   + Sorella   + The Fat Hippo   + Pulino's   

Share ! Post a comment