Osteria Morini opened last year down on Lafayette with buzz as it was a Michael White destination restaurant. White's previous and current forays include restaurants such as Convivio and Marea, both superstar fine dining establishments, where as Osteria Morini is meant to be his casual trattoria joint featuring food of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Walking into the restaurant, the first thing that overwhelms you is the warm, inviting scent of home baked bread. At lunch time, the room was packed to the gils with the sort of see and be seen lunch crowd you would imagine at a downtown "in" spot that is a long wait during dinner hours however the noise level makes it hard to have a conversation.
The menu featured a selection of antipasti, panini, pastas, salads, and entrees. We split their whipped ricotta with fava beans, English peas, asparagus and a homemade pesto to start with grilled country bread. Delish, fresh, vegetal and perfect for sharing. The meal was off to a good start!
However it went all down hill from there -- I decided that with this depressing weather, I was going to have their minestrone soup with carrots, snap peas, fennel, zucchini, kale, and more veggies and topped with a Parmesan crisp that by the time the soup arrived at the table was already submerged and lost. The soup itself was too hot to enjoy by the spoon full for at least ten minutes. Once one could potentially think about enjoying the soup, it didn't really have the right sort of authentic rustic warming feel that a great minestrone should have.
Overall a nicely designed restaurant that maybe is worth one more go, but this first trip did not impress at all. Michael White should stick to fine dining, he hits a home run there. In the casual dining realm, he needs some work.
Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette Street
NYC 10012
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