Location: 323 West Broadway
Cuisine: Italian
Best Dish: We truly enjoyed the pizza it was savory cheesy and crispy, but the favorite dish of the evening were the lamb chops. The pieces of lamb were well seasoned and melt in your mouth tender.
Overall: The atmosphere is light enough for a casual dress but the decor is upscale with a hint of luxury. Mamo is an ideal location for a first date or even a business dinner. The music played is just loud enough to hear the song but low enough to enjoy the company of whomever you are dining with.
Sometimes all you need is a great meal and good conversation to get over the rainy day blues. We enjoyed both last week with a visit to Mamo, an Italian eatery in Soho. Mamo is a small intimate space with a warm interior and comfortable seating. This fine dining establishment offers Italian and provencal style cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. We were ushered in and escorted upstairs to our table by a lovely hostess who introduced us to our friendly server. After a quick perusal of the cocktail menu, we settled on the Al Pachilli and the Amorena.
The Al Pachilli is a fruity vodka cocktail with pineapple juice, passion fruit puree, and a hint of spicy chili liqueur. The chili liqueur added a touch of spice that cut the sweetness of the fruit juices. The Amorena is a Whiskey based cocktail with cherry liqueur and a hint of basil. The cocktails were refreshing and had us salivating in anticipation of our first course.
Bypassing the antipasti, we ordered a pizza for our first course. Pizza is a big deal in New York City and Mamo does it right. We had the Milana, a thin crust pie topped with sweet cherry tomatoes, cantal cheese, Burrata, and basil. Cantal cheese is a french cheese with a flavor similar to sharp cheddar. A burrata is a mild cheese made of Mozzarella and cream. The duo of cheeses added to the richness of the pie.
For our second course, we shared a dish of pasta. The Spaghettoni all’ Amatriciana is a comforting dish of Spaghettoni noodles tossed with crispy bacon, tomato sauce and topped with pecorino cheese. After our pasta, we were in the mood for some more carnivorous offerings.
Lamb chops have always been a favorite of ours and Mamo makes delicious chops. The meaty little chops were smaller than expected but were full of flavor. The lamb is seasoned with rosemary and served with a generous helping of roasted fingerling potatoes.
For our last savory dish, we tried the rabbit legs. We’ve had rabbit before as part of a bolognese sauce, but this was our first experience with simply roasted rabbit meat. It was delicious and the rumors are true it does taste like chicken. Texturally rabbit meat is very much like poultry and the flavor though slightly gamey is also vaguely similar to everyone’s favorite bird. The rabbit legs were brushed with a herbaceous thyme glaze and served on top of a bed of sauteed spinach.
After such a decadent meal we kept dessert simple and went with Mamo’s version of berries and cream. Hot caramelized strawberries were delivered to our table and poured over three heaping scoops of creamy vanilla ice cream. The freshness of the berries was a tasty compliment to the cool refreshing ice cream.
Mamo is a restaurant with a traditional approach to dining. The tablecloths are white, the servers actually “serve” your meal and the lighting is bright enough to actually see your companion. Though this may seem simple, the service and atmosphere provided by Mamo is often lacking in newer restaurants. For a great meal and the chance at good conversation, Mamo is one of few options left in an expanding food scene that favors dark corners and gimmicks over good food and pleasant service.