A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Cinquecentro took over the old space that Rocca once occupied. Located in the South End, at 500 Harrison Street, Cinquecentro translates into 500 in Italian. Here’s why this is one of the best spots in the South End, it has a huge free parking lot next door. Everything here is bold and makes a statement, and at the same time is very simple and straight forward – from the decor to the food.

We of course drove over, the day was sunny but it was drizzling. If you had been to Rocca, there used to be two floors of seating. At Cinquecentro you walk up the staircase to the upper lever, the only level, of seating. We are one of the only tables sat when we arrive. There was a lively bar scene – and somehow we managed to be seated around the corner at the end of the bar. Not quite sure if the hostess put thought into the seating plan that night.

The menu does change, we were on a fairly new cycle of the menu.

Interesting crowd at the bar, somewhat of an older demographic.

Loving the decor of this place and the floor to ceiling windows. AS you can see, in our corner, we had another table sat at the table right next to us while the rest of the row was empty!

We had a small plate for an appetizer. Pecorino, Sopresatta, and Prociutto ($15). We ate this with some of the hearty bread from our breadbasket – yum!

I loved the presentation of the bavette steak. The tagliata all griglia was $24.95

As a pasta gal I can never decide what I want, so I went with half orders of two pastas. I should have gone with a full serving of the bolognese. The pasta was so light to counter the hearty sauce of veal, pork and pancetta. Very well may be one of my top 5 bolognese dishes I’ve had – the flavors melded together quite well and the sauce just melted on your tongue. ($9.75)

The gnocchi with olives and rabbit in a slightly citrus flavored sauce ($9.75) was tasty, but I wasn’t in love with the way the flavors melded together.

 

 

We had the tiramisu ($7.50) for dessert. It was a mixed bag for us, some parts were dry and some were soaked. The flavors were intense despite the desserts light and airy texture. Service was good, average, nothing super memorable.

Cinquecentro

500 Harrison Ave

Boston MA 02118

http://www.cinquecentoboston.com

or visit one of the sister properties: Aquitane, Gaslight, Metropolis Cafe, Union Bar and Grill.

Tags: bolognese, boston, italian, restaurant, south end