Il Torchio
458 Myrtle Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
(718) 422-1122
www.iltorchionyc.com
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“Hey.”
“Hey.” I said back to the strange man with the baseball cap on, a t-shirt and a beer in hand. I’ve seen him sitting at the bar all evening. Why is he talking to me?
Long awkward pause. No one in my party of four knows what to do now.
“You don’t speak English?” said the strange man.
“Huh? Oh I speak English.” i replied now with a bewildered look. Is he drunk?
Another long awkward pause before the stranger walks away.
“Oh, don’t mind him. He’s one of the owners. I have to tell him to stop bothering the customers like that.” said the waitress.
“That was one of the owners?” We all looked at each other in amusement and laughed.
And that’s pretty much the only bump in an otherwise really nice dining experience at Il Torchio, a new Italian place on Myrtle. As a new place they are still experiencing “growing pains” – running out of items, timing, etc. – but nothing that couldn’t be corrected in the next few weeks.
The owners, as I understand it, are in the construction business and did a wonderful job of restoring the space. The bar area/dining room is very rustic looking yet airy.
It was a little dark for my taste but does create the mood of an “intimate dining experience” if that’s what you’re looking for. I was looking for a little more light so I could read the menu.
There’s also a garden but I didn’t go out back to check it out.
They offered a reasonably priced dinner menu with several salad, panini and pasta choices along with a couple of specials. They also have a huge tapas menu which I thought was a bit expensive at $8-$15 per plate. I always thought the idea of tapas were small, affordable dishes which you can make a meal of by ordering several plates. It’ll be expensive to do it here at these prices but it didn’t stop us from ordering a few as pseudo appetizers.
From top to bottom: The Tapas Special, the Dried Figs and the Artichoke & Parmigiano Dip.
The Special was nice – very garlicky.
The Dried Figs was interesting in terms of Sweet, Salty and Savory and might not be for everyone. Personally, I thought they were good but I’m gonna try something else on the tapas menu before ordering it again.
The Artichoke & Parmigiano Dip was very good, highly recommended, but you get this huge amount of dip and so little toast on the side! You’ll need, no you’ll WANT, a giant basket of toasts to scoop up all that yummy goodness! Now it could have been a bit thicker in consistency but in terms of taste…very good.
We then had the Insalata di Cesare to cleanse the palate.
Eh. I didn’t like it. I like my salads to come dressed unless I ask for dressing on the side. The dressing was also very strong on the anchovies too giving it a fishy taste.The croutons were also a bit bland – need to be more garlicky. Unless changes are made – pass on it.
For entrees we got Penne ala Vodka, Rigatoni Bologneses and the Saffron Linguine with Clams and Calamari.
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39 Comments
hmm, i was really looking forward to this place but this review has left me less to eager to get there. maybe i’ll wait a couple of months. isn’t a $10 corking fee a bit high for a place that can’t serve any wine itself?
I agree– the $10 corking fee is too high. One incentive to go try a place that just opened and doesn’t yet have a liquor license is that you can save a few dollars by bringing your own bottle. A $5 fee would seem more fair to me (especially since there aren’t any good places on Myrtle to buy wine, so one has to make an effort to bring wine there to begin with). I haven’t been to Il Torchio yet, but am looking forward to giving it a try.
yeah. they shouldn’t charge corkage if they don’t have a license.
That’s what I thought, that a corkage fee is to compensate them for the fact that you are bringing your own rather than buying theirs, so there’s no logic to it here.
It’s interesting to see your pictures. I went there on Sat night and had a few apps. We ended up passing on getting a bottle of wine because it seemed absurd to pay them for the privilege of doing something they could not yet manage. We also had the artichoke dip, ours came with much less dip and about 3 times as much toast AND our toast was pita points. Guess they’re still working that out. We had the Baccala cakes which were nice, with a spicy corn salsa and the scallops over polenta which were truly delicious! I suspect I won’t spend my money there again for a few months, though, the kinks were too much for what we were paying.
I ate there Sunday night. In general it is overpriced. The tapas we had were good (grilled octopus, fried calamari) but the pasta dishes were nothing special. I did not try any of the sandwich options.
Our meals were held up so perhaps it had an effect on the quality of the pasta.
We ate there last week. Food was pretty good but they are SO disorganized! First they said they were out of certain things, then those things magically appeared (our server apparently had no idea what some of the tapas were), then they brought everything out at once so it couldn’t fit on the tiny little table. Just a mess. Probably will go back to see if its just cause they are new, but if the problems persist, I’m afraid they are in trouble…
I wouldn’t consider the owner saying “hey” to be a negative.
We had lunch in the garden yesterday and really enjoyed it. The garden is large and a nice contrast to the small dark interior. I ordered the meatball sandwich, it was very tasty and simple. My friend ordered from the tapas menu and seemed to enjoy it and the rigatoni bolognese went over well with another friend. I was surprised at the proportions, I thought we’d get more for the prices but I guess this is what we pay for living in such a tony hood…or maybe we Americans don’t need that much food after all. Over all, I would say it’s a nice addition to Myrtle. I’m going back tonight actually.
They should not be charging people a $10 corking fee if they don’t serve wine.
Where do these people get off? More importantly, where do these people think the are? ? ?
They obviously should stick with the construction business. What is their reasoning behind charging a corkage fee if they can not offer the product themselves. Clowns.
I went on Saturday night with two friends. I thought the corkage fee was bullshit, but we did it anyway because we were splitting the bill three ways.
We ordered 2 paninis (taverna and the meatball one) and a risotto. The waiter said that the risotto takes 20 minutes to prepare and asked if we wanted to start off with an appetizer. We ordered the mixed fry plate (3 pc fried calamari, 3 pc fried shrimp, 2.5 pc fried tilapia). It was good, but not great. Then we waited and waited and waited for the entrees. The chef finished the risotto before the paninis were even started. Since we sat by the kitchen, i could see the chef cover the risotto with another plate and sending the waiter to check on the paninis. It took about 10 minutes before the paninis were finally ready, and the chef had to reheat the risotto. Btw, I thought the taverna was tastier than the meatball panini. I didn’t try the beet risotto, but my friend liked it.
I probably won’t be back. The food was alright, the timing was just bad (hopefully this will improve), and the corkage fee was completely unfair. I’d rather spend a little more and have a great meal at Luz.
totally agree with JD. i was trying to be calm but i do think the corkage fee is totally outrageous. basically, they didn’t get it together in terms of their liquor license so this is their alternative. it’s so so clear that these guys are completely inexperienced in the restaurant business–ten bucks here and ten bucks there is going to completely undermine the vibe and good will they should be aiming for and isn’t significant enough to offset anything.
p.s. sorry if this is nitpicking, but please stop posting their “web link” since there’s no website there. i keep hoping i’ll be able to see a menu or something and am getting annoyed by trying. isn’t there something like a couple hundred pratt students who could help them get that off the ground??
We went there last night also (saw you taking pics Lesterhead!) and overall, had a great experience. I was a bit skeptical since they haven’t been open that long but we were happy we went. We have never ordered tapas before but it was good (did seem a bit expensive for the amount). We brought our own wine (3 bottles) and I don’t think we were charged a corking fee (I would check that out before you go). We ordered the artichoke dip as well and it was huge! We ran out of toast also but the waiters brought tons of bread. Our entrees (Swordfish, Saffron Linguine, and bolognese) were very good and reasonably priced. The waitors were very helpful. There were definitely some kinks (they didn’t have some things on the menu, etc) but it was generally a great experience and we plan to go back. I would definitely recommend sitting out on the patio in back!
the “hey” comment from the owner would’ve been fine if he identified himself as the owner. by the way he was dressed he looked like a vagabond wandering the place. the “you don’t speak english?” comment was very odd…that’s the one that really threw us.
the owner just need more…tack. identify himself then ask how everything is – that would’ve made more sense.
the corking fee…as a new place who couldn’t get their license in time…i would wave it. it shouldn’t keep people from trying the place but it’s gonna keep a good experience from being great.
and i’m a bit surprised by some of the comments because i thought the place was pretty good and the regular menu, not the tapas menu, was reasonable. i think they’re trying to do something unique with the food rather than offer plain old traditional italian.
the tapas…it’s good. i wish it was priced more like dim sum. then you can try a little bit of everything and not go broke.
and on the artichoke dip – we got a plate of those pita chips too. ask for the bread / toast. the pita chips were too thick and dry and didn’t work well with the dip.
imho it’s a welcome additional to the hood. the kinks hopefully will be worked out in a few weeks.
I went last weekend with Kizz and agree with her comments. Tapas were tasty but way overpriced, and the corkage fee was total bullshit. Really bad PR move, and small things like this obviously are a big deal to many people. I probably won’t be back–there are too many other good restaurants in the nabe.
I ate at il Torchio on Saturday night and I thought the food was fantastic. I had the swordfish special,bites of my boyfriends steak with coppanata and the scallop tappas. To top it off, I had the Tiramisu – one word – YUMMMY.
As for the decor, WOW. The owner’s are definitely artists!
I think it is great that the owner greeted its customers. He must really want his customers to enjoy their experience at il Torchio.
As for the cork fee, for thos who are in the restaurant business, as I am, would understand the costs involved and can justify the fee.
It appears to be a family restaurant with a warm atmosphere.
I will definitely go to il Torchio again – probably see you there this Saturday!
I live around the corner from Il Torchio- (we actually got the old store’s sign Fashion World and put it in our living room). Anyhow, the liquor store on the corner of Myrtle & Washington is offering a discount on wines until Il Torchio gets their license. I do agree they should lower the corking fee regardless…
They got the license yesterday. We went last night and had the worst experience ever, our night there lasted about 3 hours…not good!
A $10 corkage fee is excessive, liquor license or not.
Tapas prices do seem a bit high as well, particularly for Clinton Hill. If you’re opening as a wine bar, pricing of the menu and wine list should encourage folks to be able to try as many wines and small plates as is reasonable (keeping food and wine pairings in mind), and not be so prohibitive that you have one glass and a small bite and get up and leave.
Also, tirami su should NEVER be covered in chocolate sauce, ever.
That all said, I think I’ll wait a couple of weeks to go in and try it, now that they’ve got their liquor license in hand and can serve the wines that were meant for the place and the menu, once they get through their shakedown phase.
The place is a very nice room, though. A nice alternative for the neighborhood. Let’s hope they improve and do well!
We ate there on Sunday.
The calamari salad was let down by poor quality greens which were over dressed. The calamari itself was decent. I’d just order calamari next time.
The figs/proscuitto/gorgonzola/walnuts were quite tasty.
The porchetta was all fat and close to inedible. And I’m not a fat freak but a spiral of unrendered pork fat does not a tapa make.
The artichokes on toast were fine but came swimming in a pool of oil and juice. It made the bread soggy.
The rigatoni bolgnese was the best dish in my opinion, almost al dente pasta (I’m a stickler) with a meaty, savoury sauce.
However, we were made to wait an unacceptably long time for our food. Half an hour until the salad arrived , followed by another 45 minutes before the rest of the food. No explanation at all. As we were sitting in the garden we were feasted on by mosquitos (not Torchio’s fault, obviously). I understand they’ve just opened so I’ll cut them some slack but there are kinks to worked through. Good luck to Torchio and welcome to teh neighborhood – now get to work on making the place truly great instead of just OK.
Man. Tough crowd!
i went there the weekend after they opened and agree with pretty much all the comments about wait and service. the worst part was the delay and no explanation – not to mention that the delay was so long (about 45 minutes after we ordered) that by the time the food came out i guess they ran out of the dishes we ordered. we ordered the baby octopus but the dish that arrived had just cut up pieces of regular octopus – kind of a misnomer if you ask me.
we were also super irritated when they told us they were out of the arancini but somehow brought us the meatballs instead before asking. then we found it on the bill! normally when you don’t have a dish and a replacement is offered like that, aren’t you not supposed to be charged or at least just charged for the original dish you ordered, just as a courtesy?
i was embarrassed because we brought friends in from the city to try this place and the service and timing was so off. the food was ok to good (agree on the pricey tapas though) but nothing to run back for before they iron out the kinks.
Ah ….when does La Tamboril open up on Myrtle near White Castles?
An your reason being for deleting comments?
curious what the “deleting comments” contribution means?? but totally support lesterhead!!!
I’m sure it has to do with people are now resorting to making personal attacks on this which to me is TOTALLY missing the point of this blog. Keep up the good work Lesterhead!
….it could possibly be somebody just having a sense of humor more creative than pointing out grammatical error on signage. I hear that really gets her panties in a bunch.
It’s amazing, people completely underestimate what it takes to run a restaurant. They thought money and a chef was enough… Hahaha, and the GM there? What about the panini/salad dude behond the bar? I swear he was moving in super slow motion and had no experience what so ever. The owners should hire a pro to run the place and stay away from it for awhile…
Went there last night – loved the outdoor seating area, but what everyone said about service was absolutely true. Took like 20 mins to even get a waiter, another 15 mins to get bread, over an hour to get our food. Eh…
Just ate here for lunch a few days ago and WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT. I sat outside, which was lovely, but that was not enough to make up for overpriced pasta. I was informed by the waiter (owner?) that all the pasta was actually handmade on the premises, though the penne alla vodka did not taste nor appear in any way as fresh pasta does. I don’t know who they are fooling!
My wife and I were celebrating our last night without a kitchen at this place. We were seated out back and our order was taken within 10 minutes. There were a few tables outside and the dining room inside was empty. we recieved the 1st of our 3 tapas orders within a 1/2 hour, the other 2…..45 minutes after that, and the ravioli entree an hour after that. The food was OK, definitely nothing special. We wanted to order a cheese plate for dessert but were so sick of waiting for everything. It even took 15 minutes to get our check after we asked. They take cards but we paid cash afraid that we would never get our card back. My wife was in the restaurant business for years and always comes to the defense of the establishment (“It’s new”/”They’re learning the clientele”)- but it was not the case at Il Torchio. It was the first time we left less than 20% in a very, very long time.
My husband and I went back for dinner tonight and had an excellent meal. We sat on the patio which is really nice. Our waiter was helpful and friendly and the food was very good. I hope that this restaurant does well and stays in the neighborhood.
Finally tried Il Torchio last night and overall it was a disappointment. It was EXTREMELY cramped — I sat with my back to the serving window and waiters, busboys and patrons were walking by and bumping up against against my head all night. (One woman even thwacked me in the head with her bag and was completely clueless about it.) Our server was very nice and wanted to be helpful but the service was very slow and the timing was a mess. She forgot to get our wine, it took forever to get our pasta, and I didn’t get my coffee till after the dessert was finished. The salad of potato, beets and asparagus with pancetta was just a plate of those ingredients with some fairly tasteless dressing drizzled over it. The pasta was very good — but the tiramisu had very little flavor. We got another table’s check first; then our check was calculated incorrectly. I believe I read here that the owner has a successful Italian restaurant elsewhere so I see no reason for such a protracted state of disorganization. Between the expensive prices, the cramped space and all the rest, I don’t think I’ll be back very often…sigh.
Went to Il Torchio today, and I actually had to come back to this thread to comment. Wouldn’t you think a month after opening you might have your stuff together? My friend and I went for a late lunch and were there for almost an hour and a half – the pasta was so-so (prefer Graziella’s though) and took almost 45 minutes to get out! We also never got a bread basket and had to ask the waiter four times for a water refill. When we ordered dessert our hazelnut tort came without the vanilla gelato and, when I pointed this out, the waiter said, “Oh, we were out of the vanilla and I didn’t think you’d want the chocolate.” Um, OK. He also had the nerve to SCOLD my friend when she tried to order a sandwich to go for her roommate: “Why didn’t you tell me this BEFORE I printed out your check?!” Definitely not impressed and would only go back if somebody else was paying.
went this past weekend and i must disagree with the negative posts here. unlike them, we had a very nice experience. the waitress was friendly, knowledgable and not pushy or too aloof. the bruschetta appatizers were delicious. the risotto needed a bit of salt but otherwise good. the lamb chop special was excellent. the wine (wish i could remember the recommended wine which we ordered) was outstanding. i happened to like the tiramisu – it was light, fluffy and creamy – not dry and cakey like most tiramisus one gets. all in all the dinner was very good, the atmosphere is excellent and i will definately go back.
hi
tooo expensive, i dont think the price reflects what they offer, i guess eating there will subsidise the owners new BEEMERS, oh and did i mention the service is less than what is to be expected. They made us feel like it was too much of an effort to serve us.
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