Travertine, NYC

otta give restaurateur Danae Cappelletto credit for having a vision and sticking to it. The Travertine owner battled tirelessly with the local community board to green-light her Mediterranean restaurant in the space that was previously Little Charlie’s Clam Bar. The battle with the city ensued for over a year, but happily, her fight has been won, and the city of New York gets yet another restaurant. But this Nolita spot was indeed worth the fight.

Cappelletto – daughter of Chef Giuseppe R. Cappelletto of the Sydney Opera House ? has opened the doors to her beloved Travertine, after outfitting the space with crystal chandeliers, polished woods and distressed leathers (She certainly had enough time). The 58-seat restaurant is gorgeous to the core, with nicely flowing interplay between bar and dining areas. The whole effect is understated bistro: hip, cool, elegant, and modern. Credit the determined Cappelletto for creating a chic and intimate Mediterranean meson out of what was abandoned clam bar, and Chef Manuel Treviño (ex Babbo, B.R. Guest Restaurants) for imprinting his wisdom and insight into every aspect of the well-edited menu.

In between, the food welds seasonally-driven rusticity with sophistication ? well-executed examples are the Fagottini filled with spinach, truffled sheep milk ricotta and cauliflower puree; roasted wild striped bass with broccoli rabe, frittelle di riso, puttanesca; and black spaghetti alla chitarra with blue crab sugo, radicchio and jalapeño. Better yet, go the route of the grilled Vermont quail, with oyster mushrooms, polenta, onion fig compote. End the whole deal with the house olive oil semolina cake with port glazed peaches. The pastry chef is Marisa Croce (Dos Caminos), so you know you’ll be in good hands. And anyway, Cappelletto knows that all eyes are currently on her little Travertine, so anything short of sublime culinary perfection could represent a disappointment at Nolita’s temple of all things Mediterranean.

Address: 19 Kenmare St, (between Elizabeth & Bowery) New York, NY 10012
Contact: (212) 966-1810
Cuisine: Mediterrranean
Area: Nolita
Venue: Restaurant
Hours: Tue-Thu
5pm-1am
Fri-Sat
5pm-2am
Sun-Mon
closed
Price Range: $$$ (Expensive)
Payment: Master Card, Visa, American Express

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