Santina

We were there yesterday for brunch. Without reservation we agreed to have a table indoor, but the host assigned us a table next to kitchen door instead of two other tables next to windows in front of that host’s eyes (because we are Asian?, we had to request one of those window tables instead and obviously we weren’t happy about it. Food is tasty and healthy, waiters are well trained and polite, but gosh the restaurant’s music taste is sooooooo bad and way toooooo loud.

Fun atmosphere. Fun staff. Fun drinks.
Food:
Cecina with rock shrimp — ok
Salmon carpaccio with radish — delicious
Squash carpaccio — very good but could’ve had less spices/​herbs; bitter aftertaste wasn’t that pleasant
Octopus skewer — not great in texture or taste
The sea of cilantro dish (aka blue crab spaghetti) — sounds delicious but it was utterly disappointing and transported me to cilantro hell.
Fusilli with lamb sausage, mussels, etc — delicious
Hazelnut cake — ok
Coconut sundae with pineapples — very good

This beautiful restaurant is tucked under the High Line, the perfect place to relax after a stroll – lots of glass and open air dining, which was awesome for the perfect weather in NYC when I was there. I had a crisp glass of rose and the chickpea pancake with Avocado Trapanese – absolutely excellent and quite filling. Service was attentive – I was there late afternoon so was not crowded. The décor is cheerful and hip – everything about this place is well-​executed.

This place is actually amazing! The food was incredible, we had these neat tequila cocktails. But I think what amazed us the most is in the restaurant you don’t actually feel like your in New York. You feel a chill vacation vibe. Definitely a place to check out! Love it !

Went yesterday night 4 girls and sat in the terrace.
Service, it is definitely 1 star or even 0:
The main reason was that while I was eating the salad in my plate, I found 2 – 3 small pieces of fallen ceramics from a plate mixed with the salad! It would be very harmful for my health; If I would swallow a piece of broken ceramics, I could have cut my throat!
I told the waiter this big issue and he just left with the plate without being actually concerned or even saying sorry. He then just brought me a new plate. Nobody came to apologize at all. Like nothing happened. We all were so suprised.
Also, when we finished our order, our waitress pushed us to add more dishes, she said that it was not enough, that pasta were small, not actually considered as main dish. We politely said that we would order more later in case we feel hungrier: portions were perfect and more than reasonable taking into account that we are 4 girls that are used to eat big portions.
Maybe we had bad luck with the service, but I really think the management should be more aware and more responsible.
Food, I would give 4 stars
We ordered a fig salad to share and one pasta/​rice dish each of us.
— Tortellini sorrentina
— Broccoli and pecorino rice
— Rigatoni rosso
— Spaguetti blue crab– I had that dish and it was incredibly tasty and mild spicy. It came with cherry tomatoes and small like shreded pieces of crab (but any actual piece of crab)
As dessert we had tricolor canoli (sweet, colorful and good!) to share and we had a bottler of white wine.
Decoration: superb
Bill around 180 $.
I would come back to this place, but I am very concerned about their management and service, always checking before cutlery and crockery!!!

Santina is great if you…
a. Have no problem being seated 30 minutes after your reservation by an uppity and unapologetic hostess.
b. Don’t mind waiting 10 minutes before asking a passing busboy (is that the right term?) to find your waiter so you can actually place an order.
c. Are okay screaming to converse with your fellow brunch-​goers, in a very noisy and very packed restaurant.
d. Enjoy spending $$$$ on underwhelming food ($ 9 for half a sliced avocado… seriously? $ 15 for a kid’s sized pasta? $ 20 for a vegetarian omelette?). The prices were laughably outrageous for completely average food that even I — a terrible cook at best — could make. There are no prices on Santina’s online menu, by the way, which is shady if you ask me.
e. Find standing in line for 15 minutes for one of the two filthy bathrooms enjoyable.
I’m not even sure why I’m giving Santina two stars — I guess I’m feeling generous. Not generous enough to EVER return though. Save yourself… it’s too late for me.

The great service and ambience is what saves my rating from being two stars. We had several servers taking turns but they were all great, especially when I had to ask for something else to take away the horrible taste of the crab spaghetti off my taste buds. I LOVE crab but I took a bite and thought I was going to be sick. As did everyone else at the table, I have no idea what happened with that. The tuna cecina was decent, nothing special but definitely add the black paste that comes with it. The wild ride calamari was the best item we tried. and the anchovies which was heavy on the olive oil but still tasted great. Dessert is a whole other story. MUCH too sweet and I like my sugar. We had the coco perfetto and the lime meringa (more bearable). Once was enough here, I prefer Carbone.

This is a gem of a place.
I’ve been here a couple times for brunch and it’s very satisfying. What I’ve had here:
1) Cecina with Truffle Egg Salad– to die for. Comes with chick pea crêpe and several salsas. I would highly recommend getting this item– the truffle is just about perfect in this dish and it melts in your mouth! One complaint is that the second time I came the truffle was slightly less potent than the first, but still quite delicious.
2) Santina Sandwich + bacon on the side. Very delicious, although the bacon was not necessary– it was great the way it was. I would probably order this item sans peppers next time.
3) Guanciale E Pepe — pork with rice. This was very flavorful for a simple dish.
Bellini service is awesome too. I would recommend getting this for a group of people.

Just about scores a 3.
Touristy as hell, overpriced, but the starter was genuinely delicious so evens itself out.
Had some sort of manic Italian /​Mexican vibe going on which I was assured was ‘authentic tuscan’ but then again the waiter did ask me if I was visiting from Moscow… so I’m not sure they have all they’re geographical/​cultural ducks in a row…
Shared starter, 2 salads, couple of drinks and it was knocking on $ 150’s door with a tip, kinda reminded me I (usually) avoid the meatpacking district like the plague.
But if you’ve walked the highline, your from out of town, the weathers nice and you don’t fancy Bubby’s or don’t have a reservation for the Standard Grill, then you could do worse than here.

If I could, I would give this review 3 ½ stars. Santina has been on my radar for a while now and I went for the first time last night with 4 of my girlfriends. I want to preface that I am more than happy to spend good money on good food, however you will certainly not get a bang for your buck here. To start, the cocktails are a whopping $ 17– and I’m not sure a scoop of avocado or a small plate of shaved raw mushrooms are each worth $ 15-​$ 18. With that said, some dishes were a hit and others were not so much.
I kept hearing that I needed to get the squash carpaccio– Yes, it’s good. Amazing? eh. We got both the funghi and avocado Trapanese from the «Cecina» section. Both were tasty and simple, but again, not nearly enough food for the price you are paying.
I got the Guajillo Chicken as my entrée, which was delicious. It was cooked perfectly and the eggplant yogurt it was served with was very tasty– I wish there was more on the plate. The rigatoni was also a good, simple pasta dish. However, one of my friends got a pasta special with poached tuna– She was not a fan and said that it tasted too fishy.
I was pleased for the most part with the service– We were seated right away for our reservation in the tented area of the restaurant, which will be open outdoor seating in a few weeks. Our waitress was friendly and informative, however was not super prompt with the beverages throughout the night.
The interior of the restaurant is beautiful from the plates to the lighting fixtures. I went on a Thursday night– I can’t speak for the rest of the restaurant, but the tented area was loud. Although some of the dishes were good– the food didn’t blow me away– and if you order everything you want to try and get a few cocktails, you may not be able to pay rent that month.

2 times of terrible service after my great review on this place, I decided to update my review.
The food is still great as always, but the service is worst than ever.
When we got there, we were behind one couple who were discussing something with the 2 hostesses. We waited more than 5 minutes merely by standing behind those 2 people. One of the hostesses could’ve service us but she gave us an apologetic smile. I don’t know what’s to figure out, ¾ of the tables were not occupied. I went to the bathroom and left my friend kept waiting. She was seated when I came out, but not without a «fight». She told me the hostesses kept saying it’s the company’s policy to seat the guests when the whole party is there. 1. apparently they both saw us waiting while they were taking their sweet time to seat those guests who probably don’t even have a reservation. 2. I was in the bathroom. Was it wrong to seat someone who waited for at least 5 min standing waiting because you couldn’t do your job?
The waiter we had initially was ok. Then comes this queen b. She never smile whenever she came by to put the dishes down or collecting them. She looked like she didn’t even want to be there. Then she gave us the bill once she collected the desserts. I hate this but i know most restaurants in NY do that. But just leave us the F alone if that check weren’t moved. She came by and said are you ready (with an attitude)? I said no, but I can be then I started reaching out my wallet. Then she said it with a disgusting attitude and said I’m not rushing you, you don’t have to be like that. Pay whenever you want. I was so upset so I stopped reaching for my wallet and said ok, then I’m not ready.
I don’t expect a restaurant like Santina should have this kind of service. But sadly the quality service has been deteriorating. I came to this restaurant more than 6 – 7 times. In the beginning, i remember there’s this girl name Vanessa and she was so great! Then the service was like meh… then the last couple of times was like testing my decisions to come here ever again.

Santina is great because…
1) it’s close to the Whitney Museum and a bunch of cute shops in Chelsea
2) sitting inside is like being in a tropical Mexican resort. It’s colorful, bright, and relaxing. You’ll forget you’re in one of the busiest and bustling parts of the world
3) they have awesome sangria
We came here after checking out the Whitney, and had a pitcher of Sangria to split. We came at 4pm on a Saturday, and the kitchen was switching from the brunch to dinner menu, so the food was very limited, but we weren’t hungry. We sat for a while and enjoyed our drinks and good company. No one rushed us, and our server was happy to take five (five!) credit cards to split the fare. It’s a tad expensive to my budget, so I’m not sure if I would come for dinner, but perhaps on a nice occasion.
After checking on Santina, enjoy Chelsea and the Hudson River!

O.M.G. This will be the easiest review I write in a long time.
Amazing Amazing unique food and great service is why I will be coming back ASAP. When you walk into Santina you feel like you are in the bahamas, its summer always here !!
We started with the Tuna, Octopus, and Sardines — omg alllllllllllllll so flavorful especially the sardines !!! The tuna came with this crêpe and two flavorful sauces which were AMAZING. MUST TRY !!! For our mains we had the jalapeño pasta with shrimp OMGGGGGGGGGGG SO GOOD, the grilled fish which was also amazing, and the squash carpaccio that everyone was posting on Unilocal.
We loved everything so much we had to try dessert, and went for the lemon meringue, cannolis, and chocolate cake. Lemon meringue was the highlight, I would skip the chocolate cake.
Can’t wait to come back and try more dishes!!!

Amazing. Food was stellar. I am giving four stars. Because the desserts were sub-​par. The service, décor — excellent. Will definitely be back. Recommend pretty much everything — swordfish was delicious. All pastas were tasty too– blue crab spaghetti was only alright. Place was completely packed, recommend getting a reservation very far in advance.

This is what I want to say to you, dear reader: I know, this place is hot right now, and if you get in, awesome, rock it; but if you are reading this review and realize Santina is booked solid and you’re worrying about your date, don’t, there are way better restaurants nearby and you aren’t missing a life-​changing meal.
So yeah, the scene here is pretty great. Crazy cool Renzo Piano building, beachy ambiance, waiters dressed like they are in a post-​apocalyptic tropical resort, a few outstanding dishes, a lot of ok dishes. There is not much to complain about here, but also not a lot to go insane over.
The best thing we had here was probably the calabrian tuna cecina, which was very unique and delicious, with a nice contrast between the buttery crêpe and the cool tuna. A cornmeal-​crusted shrimp special we got was equally great, although somewhat overpriced.
But the squash carpaccio was strangely sweet and kind of off-​putting in my opinion, and the guanciale e pepe rice was just kind of bland for all the tasty stuff that obviously goes into such a dish. However, it feels good being here, like you got lost and suddenly woke up in some strange, beautiful city with ok food that borders a bright pink ocean.

A step inside Santina almost makes you forget that you’re in the heart of New York City’s Meatpacking District and not Italy’s Amalfi Coast. The colors hit you first. Ruby red bottles of Aperol lining the bar. Ornate pink floral glass chandeliers. Green palms peppered throughout the space. Multi-​colored hand-​painted ceramic plates carrying rice or fish or pasta. It feels like summer, always.
For brunch, trade your standard eggs, toast and stack of pancakes doused in maple syrup for Santina’s savory chickpea pancake — or cecina. Served in the center of a table in a still-​warm skillet with your choice of sides, this «pancake» is somewhere between a crêpe and a giant tortilla shell, designed for piling with the filling of your choice, folding or rolling, dipping into the housemade tomato sofrito and then taking one big bite. One cecina is a good starter for two or four people.
Then there’s the fish sandwich. Ours was swordfish (grilled) and topped with tomato, tartar sauce and a slaw with onions and citrus all on a sesame seed studded bun. Each bite is warm, crisp and juicy, and here, again, a few dips into the smoky tomato sofrito serve the sandwich well. Order a side of spicy potatoes (which give french fries a run for their money). There are crunchy bits of potato throughout, each coated in a beautiful sienna-​hued sauce.
Wash it all down with an Aperol Spritz.

KenScale: 8.5÷10
I really love the new Whitney Museum in Meatpacking District and have already been there several times; on a perfect weekend day, it is THE place to be, with awesome outdoor area and a lot of interesting contemporary arts to explore. And Santina, which is conveniently located right next to the museum, is definitely a worthwhile destination for brunch before you head over. I loved the airy coastal Italian cuisine from super-​chef duo Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone on my previous visit for dinner, and the brunch was just as good.
Fish sandwich at Santina is definitely the dish to go with if you come here during lunch/​brunch time. The fish was very nicely cooked, and the overall balance of flavor was quite satisfying without overpowering your palate. The simple guanciale e peppe rice dish that comes with pecorino and peppercorns has that addictive spicy kick to it that I really loved. The side of spicy potatoes very adequately complemented the two main dishes as well. For dessert, definitely try grapefruit Italian ice, which is basically grapefruit sorbet with charming display; its light and refreshing touch will end your brunch on a very pleasant note.
The restaurant was packed with people throughout my brunch. Getting into Santina is still difficult for dinner, but slightly more management for lunch/​brunch times. If you have a plan to visit Whitney or stroll around Meatpacking District on a fine weekend, Santina is definitely a place to consider visiting for a satisfying brunch.

Those Torrisi boys… why are they so good at cooking!!! Their restaurants are so different from one another but all so fun and VIBRANT!
The squash carpaccio and cecinas are amazing yes go get them. After you have them you really think it’s ok if not everything on the menu is delicious.
Don’t really recommend the guajillo chicken. Flavor is on point but I’m gonna need the chef to change the cooking temperature so it’s less rubbery :/​
Love the outdoor area. The lovely hostess in the most lovely maxi dress really went out of her way to set up the huge lamp heaters for us. I almost felt like I was on a beach vacation while it was pouring rain on an early october day.

IN SHORT: Positano meets Palm Beach in this playful, coastal Italian reverie under the High Line.
THE STORY: When you complain that your girlfriend can’t ever pick a place to eat, give her a little break. There are over 16,000 full-​service restaurants in New York City, which means it would take her over 43 years were she to try to eat at a different restaurant every night. But of course, she’s not just blindly picking a restaurant out of a hat, she’s considering a plethora of factors in order to make her decision just a little bit easier.
She dines out like all of us do, to socialize, to treat herself, to experience something new. Yet with all of these choices, we often forget that one of the most fundamental reasons we dine out is to be transported, to be removed from our ordinary lives and subconscious stresses through food and all of the senses it can touch.
And if there is one restaurant in the city today that can remind us that dining out is an opportunity to be enchanted and carried away by the flavors of some far away land, it is Santina.
Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi, and Jeff Zalaznick of Major Food Group have become the de facto experts of the art of smart, immersive dining, applying culinary themes in broad, heavy-​handed strokes to their various enterprises. The team has already welcomed us to the theatrical Moulin Rouge with Dirty French and fulfilled our Italian mafia, Godfather fantasies with Carbone, and Santina is no different. Only this time, the story is about a summer spent on the Amalfi Coast as told through light, vibrant, coastal Italian food that is heavy with citrus and fish.
Bright blue and orange umbrellas that recall images of beautiful people tanning on beautiful beaches surround a glass box under the High Line, filled with Murano glass chandeliers straight from the Venetian island that seem to float over palms and orange trees lining the 86-​seat space. Light, vibrant, Mediterranean hues color everything from the floral plates to the polo shirts of the effortlessly charming staff, whose ease and casual demeanor suggest that they, too, feel as if they are on vacation on the Italian Riviera.
Major Food Group excels at crafting restaurants that are thematic without being kitsch, pairing high-​quality ingredients and perfect cooking with more ostentatious displays of a particular motif for a fantastical, fun experience. Indeed, cocktails at Santina like the Manganelli Punch may come served in cute glasses shaped like little pineapples, but beneath the delightful and flashy exterior lies an elegantly composed drink that balances flavors of banana, pineapple, and cinnamon.
The rest of the overly succinct menu features a surprising dearth of description and requires a great deal of explanation by the servers, who sometimes speak a little too colloquially, once letting my table know that the entire tomato section of the menu «sucks anyway.» Fortunately, the staff is still quite knowledgable about everything the restaurant has to offer, and after deciphering that the Cecina portion of the menu refers to a torta di ceci, a deliciously spongy and lacy crêpe made with chickpea flour, served alongisde a choice of tuna, shrimp, mushrooms, lamb, or avocado, the pancake seems to appear on every table to start. The shrimp in particular brighten up the flexible crêpe with fresh herbs and crispy crumbs of potato for a simultaneously succulent and refreshing bite.
Because the atmosphere is so forcibly casual, and sometimes so laissez-​faire, a few items on the menu fall short, leaving you with the feeling that perhaps you could have just thrown this on the barbecue yourself. The Octopus Spiedini is one of these safe, timid dishes, effectively an octopus kebab with chiles and peppers topped with a slaw of shredded carrots, mint, and cucumber.
The mains are much more successful, particularly the crispy Guajillo Chicken, whose tender, spicy meat is grilled and served alongside cabbage and frisee for much needed lightness. Less unique but just as delightfully successful is the Swordfish Dogana, buoyed with a verdant, citrusy dressing of herbs, green olives, and white beans. It is a dish whose cool, earthy, peppery, and vegetal notes perfectly highlight the unique flavor of the fish, while evoking those summer days when it is simply too hot outside to cook.
As it sits on a street that used to be the edge of the Manhattan coastline before a century of fill shaped and hardened the edges of the city, Santina reminds us that it is a part of the duty of a restaurant today to transport us to a simpler, imaginative time and place, to provide respite from the rest of our lives and the rest of the city, and to captivate and hypnotize us with a certain, momentary wonder. So when it’s time for your girlfriend to decide where to eat next, perhaps remind her that the place she’s really looking to be taken is Santina.

Pete Wells (NYTimes restaurant critic) advises patrons to «wear your best flipflops» when you come here. I advise, «wear your best google game.» Such is necessary when presented a menu with no descriptions, only vague titles and prices. Is this really how you want to experience a restaurant? I don’t know about you, but I would like to know more about an item than its title, «Shrimp Zingara» or «Giardinia Crudite» — what the hell is it, anyway?
Servers come to your table, prepared to recite descriptions of each and every entrée. That’s great and all, but I still want to eat before 10pm. Drinks are happy, tropical, and one even came in a ceramic pineapple. I smiled when it was placed on the table.
Food was OK at best. Omitting descriptions did the trick — I had no expectations so it was impossible to be disappointed. A swordfish dogana came with an olive tapenade sauce (a surprise since I had no idea what dogana was). I could taste the excellent quality of the olive oil — bursting with ripe olive flavor — but this did not make up for the fact that the entrée was missing something crucial or interesting and cost about $ 10 more than I would’ve wanted to pay.

Belle ambiance. Clientèle de jeunes professionnels. On nous a trouvé une table rapidement même si s’était complet. Service sympathique. Nourriture très correcte, mais pas exceptionnelle. Vin au verre cher.