Florian

The old Wildwood BBQ restaurant just north of Union Square has been traded in for Florian, a swanky Italian restaurant.  By the end of the meal, it was tough for us to decide which was better, the excellent food or the terrific service.  A good "problem" for a restaurant to have.  Despite dining at Florian only a few days after it had opened, the entire experience was flawless.

I marveled at the antipasta and burrata bar at the front of the restaurant, featuring both traditional offerings and a few unusual options.  The antipasta barista (is it fair to call him that??) greeted us warmly and showed us around his impressive spread.

We arrived 15 minutes before our reservations and instead of being reminded that we were early and guided to the bar, we were promptly seated.  The server greeted us shortly thereafter and answered our 20 questions with a genuine smile and patience.

The tall ceilings at Florian helped to ensure that the packed dining room didn't result in a shouting match to hear your dining companion.  And it true Italian style, the meal was paced long and leisurely.

Focaccia is delivered upon request (MAKE THE REQUEST).  The bread basket offers slices of a dense multigrain bread topped with a medley of seeds (featured) and more traditional focaccia (underneath the multigrain bread), both of which were doughy and freshly baked.

The Italian centric wine menu at Florian is a breath of fresh air.  I was pleased to see reds at price points that all diners could afford.  If we ordered the steak for two, which I plan on going back for, I would have gone for a heavier wine but for our fish and pasta, we opted for Colutta, a Riposso from Fruili, which was spicy, light, and delicious.

What to Eat:

The Vegetable Antipasta.  There are over a dozen options so I picked the first three that jumped out at me: Sweet Carrots with Fennel, TriColored Cauliflower with Currants and Green Beans.  I don't like fennel but the sweet carrots were so good I kind of forgot about my hate on fennel.  The Cauliflower was roasted, generously doused with EVOO and then mixed with currants.  The Cauliflower was so good (and generously covered in EVOO) that Mitch actually ate the cauliflower happily (Mitch doesn't eat vegetables, or rather, his idea of vegetables is creamed spinach).

The Lasagna Osso Bucco.  I wasn't sure what to expect because I've never had osso bucco in my lasagna before but since I like osso bucco and and I like lasagna, I figured, why not?  As you can see from the picture, the restaurant goes for a round shape instead of square serving, which was aesthetically interesting.  Each bite of the homemade pasta had the right amount of gooey cheese and sweet tomato sauce.  While enjoyable, I think the dish could use a bit more osso bucco.

Because we had show tickets that evening, we ran out of time for dessert but I plan on returning to try the steak for 2 (which looked insane and was raved about by nearby diners) and the dessert (I will probably need to order a few, as it will be difficult to choose between the homemade chocolate mousse, chocolate pizza, etc...).

Need a dinner reservation this weekend?  The food, wine and fantastic service at Florian should warm and fill you up.

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