I am emotionally preparing you now for a poor pasta review.
If we were to be rating just setting and ambiance, Bar Pitti would be a place I’d recommend over and over again. Located in the heart of West Village, you can sit on the patio and people-watch while enjoying some of the younger and trendier streets of NYC. I can not come to a review on the service because we did not receive any, which is comment enough in and of itself. Very cute, the menu is displayed on a blackboard, in Italian of course. Please don’t waste your time asking the waiter to explain the specials to you because they will just read what’s on the blackboard. You can do that yourself as I assume you are able to read being here in the first place but if you enjoy blindly ordering, this is a great spot for you! Again, not commenting on the service…..
Pictured above are the Taglierini All Empolese and Campagnolo Panini. To give credit where it is due, my brother had the Pappardelle Alla Fiesolana (smoked bacon, cream, tomatoes & Parmigiano) and that was fantastic! If I were to ever eat there again, this would be the dish I get. The pasta it comes on is perfectly prepared and the bacon and tomato sauce tastes authentic and homemade. This is the pasta great reviews of Bar Pitti must be talking about. That’s not what I had ordered though.
The Taglierini All Empolese consists of artichokes, leeks, garlic, olive oil, and tomato on top of homemade pasta. The pasta itself was average, it did not taste delicate and homemade how I would expect from an “authentic” Italian restaurant. The leeks and artichokes left much to be desired. The tomato taste was slightly overwhelming and you could not really sense any other flavors. As you can see above, the portions are fair, often a tribulation of restaurants here, but the quality within the portion just does not make up for the amount of mediocre pasta you receive. If I had just tried the panini I would rate this restaurant one star. ONE. 70% of bread would normally be exciting to me, but the bread was not the warm, soft, house-made bread you would expect either. Rather, it was hard and cold and tasted like it was bought at the local supermarket the day before. Spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, olive oil & Parmigiano make up this panini but really only further the negative review. The spinach was not drained properly and soggy and the mushrooms and tomato ratio did not equate to the spinach, leaving you feeling like you were eating a helping of spinach with croutons. The pasta left you feeling as if you were eating a regular spaghetti with Hunt’s sauce. As childish as that sounds for a review of a West Village Italian restaurant, that is exactly what this tasted like.
There are so many amazing restaurants in the area, I highly recommend avoiding Bar Pitti. I know I will not be back, not that the owners or staff would care.
