Quite simply, Scarpetta has the best spaghetti pomodoro you will likely ever eat. If you haven’t had Scarpetta spaghetti, that’s reason enough to come here.
I was somewhat skeptical of coming here even though it’s been on the pasta scene for many years. The price is steep, and Scarpetta isn’t usually noted in the selective group of best Italian restaurants in New York City. I debated for years whether it would be worth it, but I finally decided to give it a go. What tipped the scale in favor of trying it is that I’m a pasta classicist and to me, there’s no better dish than a good spaghetti pomodoro. Pasta has taken off in the last decade and nowadays there are far more complex versions. All types of sauces, flavors, and ingredients that would never have normally been used in a pasta dish have made their way to the mainstream and are now on every upscale, good quality pasta menu around. While that’s exciting and provides the diner with many interesting options, the most simple dishes like the spaghetti pomodoro have somewhat fallen by the wayside as restaurants turn their attention to more innovative offerings.
Here, the spaghetti reigns supreme, and Scarpetta is proud of it. Countless lists and reviews tout Scarpetta as having the best spaghetti with tomato sauce in the city. Many restaurants these days wouldn’t want reviewers saying the spaghetti was the best thing on their menu, but Scarpetta makes sure that diners are aware that the spaghetti is, in fact, what they are known for.
We were lucky enough to go when the weather was conducive to sit outside and though most of the outdoor tables were taken, there happened to be a spot for two. Otherwise, the interior seating is also quite nice, with an initial smaller, more intimate bar and seating area leading to a much larger, more open, and lighter dining room.
The service is quite good, wait staff is very attentive, though too formal for my taste. The first question you’re asked aside from what type of water you’d like for the table is whether there are any food allergies that the kitchen should be aware of.
You are then given a bread basket of rosemary focaccia, a white bread roll, and two types of stromboli: broccoli rabe and porchetta. The bread basket is served with three accompaniments: mascarpone butter, a tomato and eggplant puree, and olive oil. The tomato and eggplant is the star of the three, though I will say I wasn’t particularly impressed by the breads themselves. Good, but nothing spectacular in my opinion.
Our server answered any questions we had and gave recommendations for what to order other than the spaghetti. We decided on the short rib and bone marrow agnolotti, which would be a nice contrast to the spaghetti as they’re quite polar opposite pasta dishes.
Words simply can’t do justice to the spaghetti. It’s cooked slightly al dente and served with a tomato and basil sauce. It’s divine and neither one of us wanted to eat a bite of anything else. The smooth and creamy sauce with chunks of tomato coats every strand of spaghetti so perfectly. The flavor is deep and complex, not acidic, not sweet, just very well balanced. The dish appears very light, yet the sauce is rich and well-oiled. It’s amazing, and there’s no sense in describing it further. You’ve got to go eat it. Period.
The short rib and bone marrow agnolotti comes in a butter sauce with garlic chips and horseradish. They use the bone marrow to cook down the short rib, which is then used as the filling for the agnolotti. Though it is a butter sauce, it doesn’t feel as heavy as butter sauces often do. The portion is perfect. The short rib filling is a bit too sweet, though it is balanced somewhat by the rich butter sauce. The dish is delicious, but cannot compare to the spaghetti. It isn’t a star that you’d travel hours to eat, but it’s a dish that you’d still be happy to order any time.
Scarpetta clearly makes good quality pasta, and any option on their menu is likely to be delicious. But with so many Italian restaurants around, I can’t recommend it as the singular best place to eat pasta in New York. But I will absolutely say Scarpetta has the best spaghetti with tomato sauce I’ve come across. So if that’s what you’re looking for, then look no further.
