Fired up at the mall
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Last month at Ci Siamo, we were one of the first tables to sit for Wednesday lunch, not because we had targeted an 1130a reservation, but because it was all that was available one week in advance. No matter, the early start gave us a chance to see if the big room would come to life.
And come to life it did. By the time our first course was cleared, there wasn’t an empty seat. Two-tops of lawyers off the clock, parties of eight marking the season, old friends catching up — the vibe was celebratory, in a dining room built for a good time.
Ci Siamo, the latest from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, opened late 2021 in a new outdoor mall on the edge of Hudson Yards (“Manhattan West”). There’s a Whole Foods across the way and an ice rink in the center of the plaza. The second-story space is gorgeous, with oversize windows, precisely diffused lighting, and dramatic curves winding from the front room all the way to the back. It’s the kind of place where everyone looks good.
Chef Hillary Sterling’s food looks good, too. Glistening cast iron focaccia, tangles of tagliatelle, a whole wood-fired stuffed trout, all excellent. And even though the creamy caramelized onion torta and rigatoni alla gricia left us wanting an afternoon nap, we forgave them, because they, too, were delicious.
If it all feels a little familiar, blame the legions of restaurants (in this city and beyond) Meyer has inspired during his four decades in the game. Eventually, when you’re this good, your originals start to look like copies. And it was abundantly clear, in this bustling room full of glowing faces on an early Wednesday afternoon in a mall on the outskirts of Manhattan, that everyone was just fine with that. –Josh Albertson