I seem to be in the minority here, but we went to Misi before the NYT review came out and had a great time.
We were seated at a table and it was not very noisy at all compared to most NYC restaurants. I'm pretty noise sensitive and appreciated being able to have a conversation with my husband at normal speaking levels on a busy weekend night.
The tortelli was not bad, but the fettucine was amazing. I'm still thinking about it. I'm usually one for as al dente as possible short of being raw, which you can't get with fresh pasta, but the texture of this fettucine was somehow magically chewy and soft at the same time. I add my vote for Misi.
1
Nice service, great gelato but otherwise not worth the hype. Not at all.
I am just wondering, mostly to myself, although I don't live in Manhattan anymore, why I would schlep to Williamsburg for this -- or in general, for anything
1
Hard to figger why a dining room designer will put rectangular tables for 4 in a restaurant intended to operate as $100 a head, 3 or 4 star establishment. The side by side seating plan is OK ... not optimum, just OK ... for elementary school cafeteria setups, but anathema to adult eating settings in which party members are best enabled to look comfortably into a conversant's eyes, not forced to twist one's neck 90 degrees to engage with a fellow-diner.
And speaking of dining room design stuff, anyone know who is the tableware manufacturer? That low-sided plate is not appropriate for pasta, though nonetheless attractive.
1
Judging from the comments, this place should be hit in BKLN.
Mediocre food, impossible to get reservations, horrible service, and uncomfortable ambiance.
4
Wow! Don't recall as big a disconnect between a review and readers' comments. I'll go with the comments and not go.
3
It's startling how different the tone of this review is from the comments, many of which basically condemn the restaurant as a fraud. And Eater agrees with the comments, FYI.
4
I don't usually participate in these comments; but having recently gotten a reservation, at Lilia, the food there was sub-par and did not at all live-up to the hype. I hardly ever attend 'hype' restaurants and fell into my own trap. The couple next to us had the same sentiment. For a place that you have to arguably wait 30 days to get into, the food was less than ok. I will eat at Via Carota all day long instead.
5
I went to Misi last night, when I heard Pete Wells gave it 3 stars I was stunned. I've read all the reviews below and most echo what I feel after eating there. This is all hype. The dining experience was especially unpleasant, unrelaxed and because we sat at the counter- the only seats i could get from booking online 30 days in advance at midnight- i could see everything: And it wasn't pretty. Misi the chef owner was right next to us, expediting, barking orders. A line up of chefs continued to throw pasta in the pans and slide it around, as if they were throwing grass seed on their lawn, adding formulaic sauces. All the 'grilled' (on GAS) veggies tasted the same: Garlic, lemon, oil. Period.
The lack of passion, the rigid responses to requests-- they were making 'grilled' bread for a dish. You can ONLY get it with that dish. One I didn't want. When I asked for Parmesan I was told, "You can have Pecorino, that's what the dish comes with."
uh, ok.... A few lessons from Danny Meyers would go a long way here in their approach to customer service.
Throughout the afternoon yesterday, and up until 10 min before i got texts about my reservation. AND when i arrived the text told me to "silence my phone," WHAT? who could hear a phone in there? It was so loud I could barely talk to my guest who was 1 inch away from me on his 'counter stool.' Never again will i go online and midnight and book a 'scene' restaurant 3o days ahead. That's the first clue it's a cult. Over it.
13
Cheese, it looks like Parmesan, on a red sauced pasta, that's cringe worthy. (Upper right, picture 2.)
The problem is two acids. So there's very real reason Italians don't do it.
Cue up, "but that's how I grew up eating pasta in New Jersey."
Hey, @Yaj...I'm an Italian citizen, married to a native. I don't know where you've been traveling, but grated cheese is put on red/tomato-based sauced pasta every day, in nearly every region.
2
Wells finishes a series of examples of pasta dishes: ".... and other Italian marvels of starch formation."
Let's celebrate that (or let's just complain about Brooklyn restaurants, high prices, etc....)
This may sound mean, but I'm serious. Based what was shown and the specifics....this ain't no big deal.
Really.
The presentation is acceptable & expected but honestly this is not much different than the cooking class that I took with "Ciao Judi!" in Florence.
1
@Mac
I'll bet that the wine in Florence was just as delicious and much much cheaper!
Williamsburg is in dire need of another restaurant.
@ Mello Char Here
Not being a New Yorker, I always believed that Williamsburg is a stronghold of Orthodox Judaism. Am I wrong? Otherwise it is difficult to see secular cuisine flourishing there.
@Tuvw Xyz
Hi-
You are correct that there is a large Hasidic and Orthodox community on the South Side of Williamsburg. However, the area at large is a very gentrified community with many restaurants.
1
I am sure this place is good but if you don't want to walk on coals to get in or take out a loan at the local bank to pay the bill there are countless good Italian restaurants in Williamsburg both new ie Aurora and old red sauce Bamonte, Frost etc.
3
I'm all in favor of great restaurants and getting out of the house to enjoy the company of others. However, before you pay $19-$26 for a plate of "linguine with anchovy, garlic and parsley" I suggest you learn how to boil a pot of water, open a container of Matiz anchovies, smash garlic cloves and chop fresh parsley.
I mean...really!
10
@Third.coast
Who goes out to eat at a restaurant out of necessity?
And besides.....I'm willing to wager that your plate of linguini doesn't taste nearly as good as Ms. Robbins's. Maybe you make a $3 pasta. Maybe I do too. I'd pay $19 to try hers.
It's a huge mistake to assume that properly cooked and seasoned pasta, with the appropriate ratios of ingredients and the addition of starchy water (which simply can't be replicated at home) is as easy to reproduce as boiling a pot of water and tossing a few ingredients in a pan.
And let's not even get into hand-made pastas, stuffed pastas, gnocchi, fresh ricotta.
I'm all in favor of home cooking, but.....c'mon.
17
@James C, i disagree. starchy pasta water and restaurant quality food can most certainly be attained at home. but you also need to do the dishes...
2
Of course you can make it at home. And you can also buy better ingredients. Don’t be fooled from “hand made pasta”. It’s just a way to keep the costs down... In Italy we don’t made “hand made” spaghetti in restaurants, we use the dry one (more expensive here though)
1
How does one get a table at either. How far in advance with the online system? I feel I must clear my calendar of even brushing my teeth in order to get a shot.
2
I would add Grillo from southwest Sicily to wine menu along with Alcamo--where the Italian language began--Catarratto.
I had dinner at Misi a couple of weeks ago. We ordered 5 dishes of which 4 were prepared in a way that some sort of citrus (lemon?) or herb (mint, basil) was such a strong element, that having 4 of them in a row made the dinner quite intolerable by the time our 3rd pasta dish to the table. I can't say for sure but I think they have around 20 or so dishes so perhaps our waiter should have been more in-tuned with the menu and stir us away from such strong flavor profiles in succession, but he/she didn't and it really made for an unpleasant experience. The pasta textures were also not my favorite but that's a personal thing. What this restaurant does well is to bring the vegetables into a staring role in cool and creative ways, for that reason I'll bring my in-laws here (they're vegetarians), but other than that I see no reason to come back. I can think of so many restaurants in the city (or just in the neighborhood!) where I would rather spend an evening before this place. Three Stars is outrageous and it kind of makes me feel that either Mr Wells is losing his edge or that I'll stop looking at the Times for restaurant insights as I've done for, well let's just say a very long time.
19
@Rodrigo My theory is that Pete Wells is getting recognized more frequently. Chefs that have been reviewed by him in the past are prepared for his visit. It explains why had so much of a better experience than Ryan Sutton did (look at their two reviews for Public Kitchen as another example) or regular consumers do.
6
@Rodrigo...
I guess you don't have much of experience with a real Italian menu, it's very regional composites. Share the blame?
1
@Steven M. I agree. Top restaurants know what Wells looks like and are ready. I think in this case he's just a real fan of Missy Robbins. Neither Lilia or Misi are what I'd consider 3 star restaurants. Good 2 stars, that's it.
1
Well, Michael Pollan is certainly going to approve! ("Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.")
1
@Bunk McNulty Pasta, especially that which is processed, extruded and not fermented, is not real food. But low end pasta absorbs the gravy and spices applied to it very well, hence "tastes" good. One day, restaurant reviewers will address not only the foods' taste but it quality, authenticity and nutritional value, as food, as well.
Michael Pollan said to eat food, as in real food, which is indeed mostly only plants.
3
@Scott Considering that an entire nation of 90% thin and healthy citizens practically lives on pasta of all kinds negates your comment. Italy is a shining example of the nutritional value of pasta.
Nobody who actually cares about an enjoyable evening out at a restaurant gives a hoot about what Michael Pollan thinks about food. He's a faddist with no joy in his food appreciation.
Reviewing restaurants based on Pollan's churlish notions of what we allegedly must eat is an absurd idea. The worst thing a waitperson can hear is: We have a vegan with us.
15
@Carmela Sanford You said a very true mouthful and every word is cooked perfectly.
2
I'm shocked that Misi has received 3 stars, as I was when Lilia received the same. I get that Wells loves her food, but neither of these restaurants are that good. For Brooklyn, they might be in the upper echelon, but 3 stars? No.
21
Love the look of the corzetti - just like licorice wheels!
3
First Pete Wells review in a while that makes me want to eat at the restaurant.
2
@rls also first one in a while where he is way off ; )
4
The vegetables were very good, but I was ultimately disappointed with the restaurant. The pasta was fine, but not anywhere close to mind blowing; certainly doesn't compare to Lilia.
From the space to the food, Misi epitomizes Williamsburg in 2018. It's nothing more than a soulless scene cashing in on the latest trends. Hard pass.
17
I'll skip my contrary opinion about the food, but labeling the noise level as "moderate" is strange. We found it deafening. Couldn't hear each other, couldn't hear the servers. I wanted to leave inside of 15 minutes. This was at the counter seating, which is also crowded too close together and uncomfortable. Maybe it's different at the tables.
12
Elegant writing and stunning photographs, if only advertising were like this, and thank God it's not!
Italy is the one country where I never think of eating with, as, or among, vegetarians, as such. No Western country brings out the 'meaty' qualities of great vegetables so well. Food simply...is. Like going to La Scala and then walking down the street and hearing an aria, hummed by a child who'd never heard of Verdi.
Did anyone else get a sad twinge at the Anthony Bourdain look-a-like in the second photo?
3
@Sera is spot-on, as always. And, yes, I got a twinge too. That big grey head was the first thing to catch my eye.
Bravo Pete Wells.
1
'With, as, among' between, in place of, circling, under, .........
From the dishes shown in this article and the linked Misi's web site, I liked most the sauteed chanterelles (slide 1).
The variety of noodle and pasta dishes (e.g., slide 8) raises a serious question of how does one eat them. The thicker or wider pasta varieties do not stay rolled around the tines of a fork all the way from the plate to the mouth. As no suitable utensils are shown in the slides, nor on Misi's site, one is left guessing and, possibly, resorting to using chopsticks, to slurp the noodles as a famished samurai in a Japanese historical film.
1
@Tuvw Xyz You eat them with a fork. It's not that hard. Just like you eat pizza with your hands, which is not hard either.
24
@ Steven M. New York, NY
Thank you. Perhaps you might have seen my pontifications against eating cooked foods with the hands. :-))
Finally, a restaurant with more stars than dollar signs. Long time coming. Bravo!
9
A very disappointing experience at Lilia over the summer. It was filled with people who cared more about the hype than the food. My one sentence summary of that meal would be, I hated everything about it, except the pasta. Looking at the pictures of the pasta here makes me willing to give Chef Robbins a second chance.
2
@Steven M. Don't, you'll be disapointed.
7