Quartino

Quartino is a solid 4 star, but I'm giving it 5 to make up for the underrating as well as to give the management and staff a high five on jobs well done!  Located close to the Red Head I'd been by Quartinos many many times but never dined there...

We had a group of 12 that I booked through yelp/opentable late afternoon on the day of.  Our numbers changed up and down, communicated with Quartino a couple of times, then ultimately wound up with 11 after all, conventions are always a challenge locking down folks for dinner...I equate it to herding cats!

When we arrived we checked in and were told it would be about 15 minutes....no problem...we negotiated the bar area and got a round.  It was Monday night and the hustle and bustle, tight quarters, and upbeat feel of the patrons was an ambiance that just felt comfortable.  Some where around the 20 minute mark, a manager came by, identified our group, acknowledged our wait time and assured us our table was next up...then bought our group a round at the bar for having to wait longer than expected.  Well done Matt.  Well done.  Within minutes we were on our way to our table.

The waitstaff were welcoming, knowledgeable, and prompt.  The variety of choices and small plate style really works well for a group.  Our table had a variety of the offerings, all of which were very good with the pork shank and meatballs standing out in my memory.  Overall a very nice experience at Quartinos.

Good people, good food, good times...

This place is my go-to spot when I need a large group reservation and FAST. They have an enormous space, so it's not too difficult getting a reservation the week before. The food is somewhat average, it depends what you order really. But my favorites are the gnocci, pappardelle, and cavatelli. They are usually the table's favorites, so it's a must order every time.

Their seafood is actually pretty fresh and really delicious too. The best thing is that this is all tapas, so I get to try a little bit of everything each time. Also, they have a selection of 1-2 bottles of Red/White that are only $20, so everyone gets pretty ...happy... by the end of the meal!

I am hosting a birthday party here next month for 20 people, so I wonder how service will be because it was a little on the slow side the last few times I came. All in all, a great place for big crowds!

Tapas which are cold, tough and clearly not Spanish - not that they advertise it to be, but they need not call it tapas either. Anyways - terrible food. They only get the footfall because they are in the middle of everything. The pasta was soggy. Salumi plate bad to say the least. $100 down the gutter.