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Pants at a Glance
- scene: Downtown chic combined with a little bit of Soho touristas; loud music and cool decor
- sip: All the usual suspects
- savor: Sausage meatballs; Sorghum "risotto"; branzino
- sit: Good for a large group; has a fun vibe, so maybe girls night out, woohoo; could be a date place, and then head up to a room if it goes well...
- spend: $$$
- address: 60 Thompson Street, (in the Sixty Thompson Hotel)
- phone number: 212-219-8119
- website: www.sessantanyc.com
Sessanta, for whatever reason, seemed a little contrived to me, based on what I read about it. The combination of the too cool location, too cool operators, too vague Italian provenance as the inspiration for the menu just didn’t read authentic for some reason. My impression was that Sessanta was a bunch of guys who wanted to make a hip spot and serve Italianish food to people who may or may not care about food. I am happy to report that while Sessanta is built on a foundation of planned coolness, the food is much better than expected.
Located in the Sixty Hotel in Soho (fka 60 Thompson), Sessanta has soft amber lighting and loud music. We opted to sit outside as it was a gorgeous summer night, but the decor inside is sort of mid-century funky. The menu at Sessanta is approachable and easy for sharing. Service was efficient and lax in a downtown sort of way, although we got a little ignored when the patio filled up. We asked our server for what he recommends then proceeded to ignore it, one of those situations. I did love the Tuscan style flatware, it was like fancy Italian outfit for every dish.
We started with a fluke crudo that that was refreshing and satisfying, not one of the best of its kind, at all. I was really impressed with the sausage meatballs- they had a lot of flavor and the firmer texture of the sausage made them stand-out from the multitudes of other meatballs on offer throughout the city. Another stand out was the sorghum “risotto style”, with corn, garlic and oregano. In all transparency, when our dining companion suggested this dish I had to google “sorghum” under the table, (yay Cornell) but it was worth it. A really unique, crunchy, chewy texture with bursts of fresh summer corn, I am now Sally Sorghum.
Our pasta was enjoyable, a tortelli with a classic Sicilian preparation of raisins, fennel and anchovies; briny, with the right amount of heft and variance in texture, but not overly filling, which is a good thing. The branzino was fresh and flaky, a tad salty, but a nice light option on a warm night.
Sessanta’s pedigree combined with the enjoyable food should ensure that should remain hot long after the temperature cools.
