Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas
| Address: | 1002 Old Country Rd, Garden City, NY 11530, USA |
| Phone: | +1 516-228-5400 |
| Site: | spuntinowinebar.com |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–12AM 11:30AM–12AM 11:30AM–12AM 11:30AM–12AM 11:30AM–1AM 11:30AM–1AM 11:30AM–11PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
PE
Peter Salzman
Impeccable service. Friendly, fast, competent. Didnt ignore us, and didnt hover over us. Perfect. Bigger space than I thought it would be. Definitely not claustrophobic. Tables are spaced far, so you dont feel like the person next to you is part of your conversation. That (the good food, and the great service) makes it a good date place. Its a pretty restaurant. Perhaps too pretty. Distressed brick / antique wooden items would make the restaurant less polished and more old school Italian (think Billy Joels "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"). Obviously not what they were going after, but I think it would be an improvement over the flawless polished look. We were dubious at first ("Italian tapas, wtf?"), but the food was mostly terrific. The world needs more tapas because were entirely too fat. Tapas SHOULD be our main dish. Would I go back? Maybe. I doubt that another visit will raise the ranking to 5 stars ("As good as it gets") -- its hard to imagine a restaurant with 2 Cs being ranked 5 stars, but anything can happen. Well be back to sample more of the food. Food reviews follow: Polenta Fries: C I didnt think they were disgusting (that would be C-) but I certainly didnt want to eat them (hence a C). Too thick. Too tasteless. Too oily. Didnt work; I dont think polenta was meant to be crafted into a fry. I took a few bites out of one and didnt finish it, let alone the rest of the order. Baked Ricotta: C+ No me gusta, and Ill tell you exactly why. Too much thyme. I gagged on the amount of thyme in the cheese. My sinuses smelled like thyme for days. My toddler didnt even like it, and she likes everything. Stuffed Meatballs: A- Nice strong sauce. Meatballs were nicely soft. Good food for toddlers. Just a tad bland for me; I wouldve preferred some strong romano cheese and more garlic in the meat, but the dish on a whole was fantastic. I would certainly order this again. Open-Faced Steak Sandwich: A This can easily feed 2 or 3 people. It was spectacular -- the interplay between the aioli and the oils from the sauteed mushroom with the bread made a seriously kick ass sandwich, harmonious and dynamic. Using a more crusty bread wouldve made this an A+, but I would definitely order this again in a heartbeat.
AA
Aakaash Bali
I literally just got back from this place and felt compelled to review it. First off, those unfamiliar with the "Tapas" format need to realize that its a goldmine for businesses. For the cost of an appetizer at another restaurant, you get the equivalent of a few bites. In my case, $6 got me 2 meatballs. Spuntino is nicely decorated. The ambience and atmosphere is great and its definitely a nice place to look at. The wine selection is very large though the beer and cocktail selection could be larger. The food was decent though a bit bland. We had fries, pizza, and meatballs. The meatballs were good and nicely presented though the other two dishes were extremely plain and boring. This place isnt big on flavor, thats for sure. To sum it up and save everyones time, dont come here if youre expecting to get your moneys worth. Definitely come here if you want to relax with some wine, just dont come here hungry. Our $45 got us three tiny, bland dishes and two glasses of wine from a tap. The wine was so-so, nothing extraordinary, and the food wasnt amazing. We honestly felt like we didnt get the full value of our money here. For $30 at the Noodle place next door, you can get a full meal with wine or beer for two. I dont see this place being around for too long unless they learn their worth and expand their selections to satisfy more than a wine-loving crowd. This is a very "niche specific" place. Seeing as how opening night was a dud (it was virtually empty), its a good indicator of how this place will continue to be in the future. Come here for a drink, just make sure you eat beforehand. Otherwise, break out some extra money. You wont get full here for a fair price.
LO
Loretta DeStefano
Jen at the bar was fantastic, she was attentive, knowledgeable and made a great first impression. It was down hill on service after our drink at the bar. Hostess NEVER came over to tell us our table was ready, she disappeared completely, Im talking 45 minutes! We had to go ask a random server for our table. The restaurant was only half full the entire night, so there was no excuse. Servers said they were understaffed because a server had to leave on an emergency, which is totally understandable. BUT, instead of feeling sorry for the guy who had to leave, they complained about it, forgot one of our dishes, brought the wrong drink and kept us waiting a ridiculous amount of time for food and the check. It was horrendous to say the least! The food was good, over salted but that was fine for my taste. Mushroom truffle risotto was my favorite! The service was so bad, with no real apologies from our contact staff, that we would not subject ourselves to it again. Unprofessional from the door greeting to the table. MAYBE we will go back to order food at the bar with Jen!
LA
Laura Cerrone
This is one of my favorite restaurants, ever. I first attended a tasting event and became hooked. We come here so frequently the staff knows us quite well. Its hard to pinpoint just a few things that I love. First we will start with what we always must order: the hangar steaks. Decadent, perfectly seared, and savory. Dip it in the homemade chimichurri sauce and it is like seeing heaven. We also like to order the polenta fries, it is such a creative way of preparing this simple Italian dish that it is always beloved on our table. The cheese grated on top is sublime. The prosecution di parma, risotto balls, margarita pizza, and their nutella pie are all additions you must try. Their menu changes season so be sure to try different things, such as their sweet potato pate. This is one of the most creative restaurants on LI, except they are creative in their preparation, not just the originality of the dishes. Everything is fresh, locally sourced (some things imported from Italy)... and oh yeah... theres lots of wine!
CL
Claude E Woolley
I like this place. It has a romantic / cozy feel to it. Made a reservation but did jot need one. The plave had a few people in it, sizable amount. Decided to sit at the bar to enjoy it better. Sometimes, talking to the bartenders is better. Noticed so much wine all over the ppafe. They have a huge list. Ordered a mediterranean mule, which was tasty. My friend ordered the cherry Manhattan. Different but good. Trying to choose something on the menu, decided to go with Shrimp risotto and mussles. The shrimp risotto was not bad, and the mussels were decent. I asked the bartenders if the pork belly good, and she suggested the ribs that will knock you out along with their mix specialty drinks. I need to return to have some wine. Its a place worth visiting and checking out for yourself.
ME
Melissa Di Spigna
The decor is nice. I realize its tapas style but the portions were extremely small for the price. Were talking about 8 brussel sprouts for $5, a few shreds of carrots and beets for another $6 or $7, and three tiny pieces of lamb for the price of an entree. The lamb was terrific, but the vegetables left a lot to be desired both flavor-wise and portion-wise. After spending $49 including a glass of wine, we walked right next door to Noodles and Company because we were still hungry and didnt want to spend more money at Spuntino on portions that were abysmal. All in all, might come here for wine but would not come again for food. There are other tapas places in the area that are less costly and leave us full.
