Evelina

It's hard to find a restaurant that is reliably excellent, especially with great ambience. My husband and I come probably once every month or two. Nearly every dish we've ever had has been absolutely delicious. Nothing has been bad. The menu changes, but at the moment the artichoke salad and the beet salad are fantastic. The pappardelle with oxtail ragu is excellent. They have gluten free pasta and understand cross-contamination - I have celiac disease and have never felt sick after eating here. The butterscotch budino is one of my favorite desserts out there. We are never disappointed and sometimes blown away. Fun cocktails, too - I love the Eleanor. The ambience is so pleasant. They did a great job curating it. I also appreciate that they keep some tables open for neighborhood walk-ins. It keeps the vibe local and I love that if we get there on the early side we can just eat a nice meal on a Friday night without a reservation.

I came here on a first date about a year ago. We celebrated our anniversary here again last night, and everything was just as incredible as the first time. The octopus is a MUST, and their white negroni ("Ghost") is damn near perfect. As for pastas (which are also incredible gluten-free) the risotto, ravioli, and pappardelle are all top-notch. There are many great restaurants in New York—many of them near Fort Greene even—but Evelina made us life-long patrons yesterday. They treated us like special guests from the minute we walked in, and we couldn't be happier after our meal. (We'll see you next year...)