When I first read about Marta, I knew I had to check it out – but, of course, it was booked up for weeks. I booked the first available dinner they had and hoped my friend M was available. The restaurant is located inside the Martha Washington Hotel. The entrance into the restaurant opens into the hotel lobby.
We started off with the bruschette strappata, which is torn pizza bread, ricotta, pistachio and honey. The portion size was perfect – just enough ricotta to enjoy, stopping shy of feeling too indulgent. We also had the suppli alla terrazza, deciding we had to check them out since all the tables around us seemed to have chosen them. The dish is green risotto croquettes , mozzarella, and mixed herbs.
For pizza, I had to go with the Amatraciana, a red-sauced based pizza with pecorino, guanciale, onion, and chili. The pizza was super thin, with the crust crunchy and slightly flakey. The flavor was perfect – slightly spicy but not overwhelmingly so. Highly recommend this one. We also ordered the Salsiccia – mozzarella, pork sausage, and Crimini mushrooms – with one substitution, Brussels sprouts for the mushrooms. It was overwhelmingly flavored by the Brussels sprouts, which I loved but can’t say that was the chef’s goal on that one. Nice to see the kitchen so wiling to work with us to alter based on food allergies.
For dessert, we were wanting to try the ice cream panino, which was a salted chocolate cookie, pistachio, and a smoked marscapone gelato. Our server made two trips back to try to put this in for us – and both times, he returned to say that there were some issues with components of the dish, so we couldn’t have it. We were so bummed, and decided to order the buckwheat tart, which is a sweet risotto ginger apple jam, and fresh apple. We were surprised when our server returned with a trio of desserts – able to get us the cookie after all and choosing to bring us the buckwheat tart and a scoop of coconut gelato as well. Such a wonderful end to the meal. Having tasted almost all of the dessert menu, I would say the tart is the way to go.
Overall, it was a wonderful meal. I hope to have the chance to return soon to try more of the menu – perhaps a white pizza is in order next time.
Marta – 29 East 29th Street – 212.651.3800
Reservations Required
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