Ristorante Morini - Dinner & Drinks for Two on the Second Floor

Dinner & Drinks for Two on the Second Floor - Up to 45% Off Brunch, Lunch & Dinner Buy What We Love For your next date, head to this Upper East Side pan-regional Italian restaurant from Michael White’s Altamarea Group. White told Eater.com that he recently retooled it to make it “more of a neighborhood restaurant.” Executive chef Cesar Guadarrama has created a menu that received a two-star review from New York Times critic Pete Wells. Start off with a creative house cocktail, like the Roman Legion (Old Forester bourbon, Chartreuse and cinnamon). Share an appetizer that offers a new take on traditional ingredients, like prosciutto with fresh melon or bigeye tuna tartar with with parsnip crema. For your final act, discover what made the James Beard Award–nominated White famous as you dig into a bowl of one of his famous house-made pastas, like spaghetti with Manila clams and baby leeks, or creamy risotto with wild mushrooms. Since taking over the kitchen at Alto to critical acclaim, Michael White has become one of the most successful chefs on the New York restaurant scene. In December 2013, White and his Altamarea partner Ahmass Fakahany opened Ristorante Morini as a fine-dining destination—and earlier this year, relaunched it as a friendly neighborhood trattoria. While the ambiance is less formal, executive chef Cesar Guadarrama’s refined approach and deft touch to Italian cuisine remain. White’s restaurants became famous for their pitch-perfect pastas and faithful take on the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna, and Morini knows no boundaries. His approach is evident in dishes like the lamb chop with mint pesto, while the Italian-heavy wine list is long on carefully selected bottles. And you’ll be remiss if you don’t satisfy your sweet tooth—say, with a vanilla sugar bombolini—since Altamarea Group executive pastry chef Robert Truitt, a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2013, oversees all the dolci here.