If you’ve ever been lucky enough to be fed by an Italian grandma (yours or someone else’s), that experience was probably memorable for quite a few reasons that I’m sure included the following:
- It was delicious.
- It was joyful.
- It was a study in excess.
Ravioli Wine Bar has just recently brought this beautiful feeling to Smith Street, and on Tuesday, they invited out the best of Brooklyn Yelp for an evening of unparalleled Italian hospitality. They showcased their authentic and seriously delicious menu (which of course included quite a few stunning ravioli), treated us to tastes of some of the wine on their excellent list (thanks to Gladiator Wines!), and like any real Italian grandma, insisted we eat until we were beyond full. Read on for more of the fun, including the reviews and the photos!
From the moment we walked through the door, Ravioli Wine Bar was “immensely warm and welcoming.” Bruce M insisted, “It felt like I was visiting a Sicilian household and not a restaurant.” And of course, it always helps to be greeted with food! As Jason G jests, “You had me at “giant wheel of Parmesan cheese.” (Over here at Yelp Brooklyn, we may have had too much wine and thought we heard it was 36 years old, as opposed to 36 months…which makes a lot more sense. Our bad.)
If the reviews are to be believed, it’s essentially impossible for anyone to pick their favorite dish, but Nadia Z tries: “Each and every dish that came from the kitchen was absolutely amazing…I particularly loved the mushroom ravioli – I am already dreaming to come back for more.” Matteo R (whose Italian credentials need no verification) narrowed it down a bit: “The most memorable dishes for me were the meatballs in tomato basil sauce, the ricotta and salame panino, the eggplant parmigiana involtini, alongside the pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage, the mushroom ravioli in creamy mushroom sauce, and the broccoli rabe & spicy sauce provolone ravioli in white wine sauce. That, plus the almond cookies and the three-color dessert.”
No matter which dish was the favorite, as Jonathan T tells us, “The best part of the food is that it is made with love. The cooks are incredible ladies that look like the nonna (Italian grandmother) you never had.”
All that deliciousness aside, it wouldn’t have been a party without the Gladiator Wines flowing! According to Tiffani G, “Absolutely amazing. The owner and CEO of the wine company explained everything to us about how authentic this wine is and how the grapes are grown from a vineyard over 2500 years old.” Ingrid S was ecstatic, as “The PerricOne was actually the first I tasted and I loved that one and couldn’t believe they kept getting better. The Miano white wine was crisp and delicious and paired well with the dynamite little napoleon desserts.” Similarly, Hilary P “really loved the Nero D’Avola, but the white was well-balanced and smooth.”
I’ll leave you with Marina S, since she said it better than I could: Thank you to Denise, Gessica, Sarah, Elvira, Nina, Dora and the rest of “the fantastic staff at Ravioli Wine Bar for putting on the event, and all of the hard work feeding not one but two rooms of hungry Yelpers. I already can’t wait to return and have another taste of authentic Italy.” 2016 is shaping up to be quite a year!
Thanks to everyone who made it out, and I know I’ll see you over there soon for more.
Cheers,
Peter D & The Yelp NYC Team
