It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since we reviewed Daniele Osteria. Although it opened to mixed reviews—ours ran in February 2005—the restaurant found its footing and landed on our list of best new restaurants in February 2006. Considering the casualties the restaurant industry has suffered recently, it’s nice to see some dining establishments still standing. On a recent weeknight, only four tables were filled, but Daniele just renewed its lease, and the restaurant is now serving lunch, with a menu of salads, pizza, sandwiches, and pasta dishes that are also on the dinner menu. Dinner was, in a word, fine. Complimentary bruschetta was a solid beginning, and there were moments of greatness—veal scaloppine, pounded thin and lightly breaded, with the tangy zip of artichokes and lemon, and an affordable and drinkable Banfi Centine Sangiovese-Cabernet-Merlot from Tuscany for $30. But a barely edible spinach salad with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, pancetta, and feta was drowning in balsamic vinaigrette, and the Atlantic salmon in our cappellini dish was flavorless. Dessert, however, was another highlight—torta della nonna, a lemon torte with pine nuts, dusted with powdered sugar. Also digestible are the prices, which are generally around $15 for a hearty pasta dish or $20 for an entrée (topping out at $27.90 for a rib-eye), and the restaurant offers half-price bottles of wine on Monday and half-price pasta dishes on Tuesday. These days, affordability counts for a lot.
Get contact information for Daniele Osteria.
