When I heard about Cafe Spaghetti, I pictured a large fast, casual warehouse-like spot with an emphasis on kitsch and not much on food. I was totally wrong.
I should have known better since this is from one of the original chefs of Bar Primi, which I quite liked when they first opened, and is on the outskirts of the Carroll Gardens neighborhood, which with its Italian heritage won’t stand for gimmicks.
Cafe Spaghetti has proven to be as much of a local Brooklyn pasta temple as Pasta Louise was when they opened a few years ago.
The front part of the restaurant is a bit dark, intimate and harkens back to old school red-sauce joints, but the star of the show here is the beautiful enclosed garden space that feels like a palazzo somewhere in the old country.
I was here for brunch and the capable servers steered me toward the Orecchiette loaded with rustic earthy flavors.
The homemade disks had quite a nice tender bite that held up to the rich ingredients. Bitter twirls of broccoli rabe and crumbles of fennel-studded pork sausage were the perfect combination to stand-up to the light olive oil based sauce and showers of salty parmesan.
Garlicky notes up front, with peppery hints throughout were as good of a Saturday morning wake-up as a cup of joe.
So while the name may conjure up images of a rowdy house of noodles, this is in actuality a much more refined local spot to be celebrated. Price: $25
| CAFE SPAGHETTI |
| 126 Union Street (between Columbia and Hicks Street), Columbia Street Waterfront, Brooklyn |
| cafespaghetti.com |
