Isola

Isola, located in the Mondrian Hotel in Soho, is stunning.  The restaurant is located on the street level of the hotel, which explains the impressive high ceilings.  It looks like on warmer days (hopefully only a month away), Isola plans to offer outdoor seating.

Isola's dining room is encased in glass and features draped twinkling lights.  The lights give the dining room a slightly romantic ambiance but not so much that you need to dine with your significant other.  In fact, the bar area and/or long communal table make for a perfect spot to catch up with a friend.  For a Thursday night, Isola was only 2/3 full which was surprising for a restaurant that is constantly on Page Six.  Perhaps  the holiday week or the blistering cold weather kept diners away.

For a trendy restaurant, the portions at Isola were well sized.  Sometimes trendy Italian restaurant only send out a handful of twirls of spaghetti, but not at Isola.  And our service was impeccable throughout the night.  Our meal was evenly paced and our server frequently checked in on us to ensure we enjoyed our dishes and wine.

Isola's predominantly Mediterranean wine list offered several solid options by the glass.  In fact, I was so excited by my wine by the glass options, I forgot to peak at the wine by bottle list.

What to Eat:

Isola's Taleggio Focaccia is reason enough to visit this restaurant.  The warm, doughy focaccia bread is generously topped with caramelized onions and a thick layer of taleggio cheese.  The decadent appetizer is accompanied by a thin fig jam for you to spread onto the focaccia, creating the perfect sweet to salty ratio.  Isola's focaccia was so good I caught myself day dreaming about it the next day.








People that read my blog know that I'm a sucker for a good Chitarra.  Isola's chitarra easily met my high standards.  The night we dined at Isola was one of the coldest nights this winter but the large bowl of homemade chitarra noodles and cheesy tomato sauce managed to warm me up quickly.

Focaccia lovers?  This is the place for you,

Your foodie friend

Insider tip: Skip the dry meatballs and bland bread (accompanying the meatballs).  This was the only disappointment of the night.