Altro Paradiso In New York’s Soho Has Buzz But Predictable Italian Fare

The quartet of restaurants—Altro Paradiso, Estella, Corner Bar and and Lodi—owned by Uruguayan chef Ignacio Mattos have succeeded as much by media sightings of celebrities as by the food and atmosphere, as boasted on its website: “It’s something about the way they’re animated from within, filled always with the most stylish and interesting people seemingly anywhere, and an extension of Mattos himself: elegant but fun, a little a little mysterious, and with an inexplicable gravitational pull.” Which doesn’t happen to mention the food.

Altro Paradiso in Soho seems like one of those why-not? ideas—you can buy a signature baseball cap for $30—based on the expectation of an immediate buzz. The food is good but not outstanding, pretty much sticking to the tried-and-true New York trattoria formula of dishes found all over town. This being Soho, the noise level is crushingly loud, owing to all hard surfaces, including a mirrored wall and one stacked with wine bottles.

The wine list is definitely impressive for a place this size, with lots of rare bottles and quite a few well under $100, with mark-ups between 100% and 250%.

There are ten antipasti, including a pleasing plate of rosy Prosciutto di Parma with fried hot puffy pizza dough ($25), and a hefty well-seasoned pork sausage wit sweet-sour mostarda di Cremona and butter beans ($19), both easy enough to share with your table.

Among the four pastas the most interesting is the candele cacio e pepe ($22) of fat macaroni with shaved Tuscan Gran Mugello cheese and crushed peppercorns, but a special one night of black seppie noodles ($26) had a wonderful intensity of briny flavors without being fishy. A simple dish of spaghetti with tomato sauce and basil ($22) is always expected on an Italian menu, but Altro Paradiso’s was remarkably bland and lacked much real tomato flavor. Wide, egg-based pappardelle ($28) came with a duck ragù, though not much of it, and an equal paucity of porcini mushrooms.

In Italian the phrase “brutto ma buono” means ugly but good, and that’s a good description of the rombo (turbot) with a creamy and delicious aïoli (market price), as well as a juicy tilefish with potato, tomato and Cerignola olives ($37).

Desserts are about par for the course, the best being a rich, dark chocolate torte.

Depending upon your wont, Altro Paradiso makes for a good drop-in spot if you live in the neighborhood (and can get a table) or for those in search of a hot spot, which requires going out of your way. In that, it works as well as any number of places, though the bistro fare at Estella on East Houston Street is much more interesting. There doesn’t seem to be much personality in Altro Paradiso’s food, but if it’s buzz you seek, buzz you’ll get, unless it is celebrity free the night you go.

ALTRO PARADISO

234 Spring St

646-952-0828

Open for lunch Tues.-Sun., dinner nightly.