A Voce

Frommer's Review

The kind of food that is served at A Voce; rustic Italian for the most part with exceptional nods to innovation, seems somewhat out of place in the loud, postmodern dining room in a sleek high rise just off Madison Park. The restaurant would, I believe, be better suited in the Art Deco New York Life building next door. But that is a minor gripe considering the extraordinary tastes created by chef, Andrew Carmellini, formerly of Café Boulud. At A Voce you can start with something peasant-pleasing like Sardinian sheep's milk ricotta and slather it on thick, crusty grilled bread or you can sample the hip, wild branzini tartara (Mediterranean sea bass) -- something no peasant would ever dare eat. The same can be said for the "secondi." Chef Carmellini offers "My Grandmother's meat ravioli" and though my grandmother never made meat ravioli -- she thought meat ravioli was something you poured from a can -- Carmellini's nonna's meat ravioli is so good it certainly was not from a can, or, continuing on that rustic theme, the "country-style Tuscan tripe," with barlotti beans, tomato, fried duck egg, and grilled ciabatta bread, which (minus the duck egg) would have made my normally dour Calabrese grandfather happy. A Voce offers daily specials called "del mercato" which usually features the chef's more unique creations like, on the day I visited a "rabbit terrina" with salt-cured foie gras. You won't go wrong whether you try the rustic or the modern. The chef's palate-cleansing citrus tiramisu is the perfect conclusion.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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