Giorgio's of Gramercy: Inventive Italian in a Warm Place

Despite everything you read on this blog, we're actually creatures of habit, who when not given an assignment tend to draw back on the same favorite places- typically Virage, Itzocan and the occasional Murray's falafel.

Boy were we surprised when we made a bet on Georgio's of Gramercy.

The restaurant is so nestled into 22nd Street we almost walked by the door.  The front bar had a somewhat divey feel on a Friday at 10, which surprised us after the person on the phone who assured us he had a table self-identified as a maître d'.


Our cozy table felt like a different restaurant, the service was fabulous & the menu was super inventive. 

The enormous and juicy scallops on the chick pea & avocado salad we started with offered the perfect amount of refreshingness with what came next - the flavor-charged crab & charred tomato risotto & the monsterous beet ravioli with shrimp.  How cool is that we could order half-orders of pasta and try so many things?   

We were stuffed and reluctantly declined dessert - we would have gotten the frozen papaya souffle.  This homemade chocolate marshmallow pictured above wasn't so lucky.

Thanks Giorgio's - we will definitely be back!  

Giorgio's of Gramercy
27 East 21st St (between Park and Broadway)

Go there if...You're on a first date or are taking your your mom out to eat - this place is classy without being pretentious.

Great for...light meals - gourmet Italian you can order by the half-size...COOL!  (Though the prix fix is a pretty good deal if you're bringing an appetite)

Not so great for...gluten intolerance (the good stuff involves pasta)