Crispo

New York, New York, United States

Crispo Italian Restaurant

Crispo is an Italian restaurant in NYC. They offered pretty typical "fancy" Italian food at above average prices. The restaurant didn't look like much from the outside, and if we hadn't gotten a recommendation from a friend, we probably wouldn't have tried it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that much better than average for this type of restaurant either.

The restaurant offers a strange 'fixed price' deal where each entree and appetizer are available a la carte, or paired. Each entree thus has two prices - the base price (a la carte) and the price when paired with an appetizer. The appetizer also has two prices - the base price (a la carte), and the supplement price that's added to the "paired" entree price ($0 for smaller appetizers, $1 - $3 for most of the others).

Dress

Smart casual

Cost

An appetizer & entree were available for $30-$40.

Reservations

Recommended during peak times. We visited at 7:30pm on a Friday (with reservations) and the restaurant was pretty full.

Items Ordered

Risotto Balls

Risotto Balls

The risotto balls consisted of five small deep-fried rice balls with the typical tomato sauce they usually come with. They were good, but no better than average.

Roast Beet Salad & Goat Cheese Crouton

Roast Beet Salad

The beets were served in large chunks and felt a little bit more rubbery than usual. It wasn't one of the best beet salads I've had. The crouton turned out to be a slice of bread spread with a layer of soft goat cheese.

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

The brussel sprouts were very good. They appeared to have been roasted on their own, then topped with maple syrup and roasted almonds. This gave them a very strong sweet maple and nutty flavor that was quite good.

Butternut Agnolotti

Butternut Agnolotti

The agnolotti was just like a floppy ravioli. It was served with roasted chestnuts. It was another sweet dish, but seemed overpriced for just a plate of pasta.

Grilled Shrimp & Chorizo Sausage

Grilled Shrimp & Chorizo Sausage

The grilled shrimp & chorizo dish also came with a bed of lentils, topped with cooked Arugula (I think). The shrimp were pretty plain tasting for grilled shrimp, and the chorizo sausage was a pretty typical chorizo sausage. The lentils and arugula had a mild flavor which was OK, but nothing special.