NYCReview
With its dark wood paneling, bright, knowledgeable servers, and a pages-long list of amari, One Fifth feels very much like the kind of place where NYU faculty members go to get sloshed at a departmental dinner. A glance at the seasonal Italian menu will make you hungry in the best way.
Everything sounds so good, but the reality is very hit-or-miss. This is a great place to snack and drink, but not an ideal choice for a full dinner.
The secret to eating at One Fifth and liking it is to order exclusively from the antipasti and dessert menus. Let yourself order enough small plates to offset the many drinks you’re going to have, because this is a great place to drink. The espresso martini has a splash of Branca Menta in it, and will make you wonder why everyone else isn’t making their espresso martinis this way. The wine list is extensive, and even by the glass, you can find some gems. There are five pages of amari to choose from, including a $40 pour of stock Fernet from the 60s. That’s freaking cool.
The antipasti are good enough to stand up to the exceptional beverage selection. Do not skip the sesame buns, perfect Italian sandwiches in miniature, piled high with lamb mortadella. The duck in a jar comes with giardiniera so good we wish they sold this, too, by the jar. It’s also worth noting that we haven’t had a single dessert here we didn’t like, and we’ve tried them all.
But if you deviate from this plan, even a little, even for something like black pepper cascarecce with duck ragu and skin crumble (again, sounds so good), you will be disappointed. The menu reads like a siren song, but as with all songs of this nature, there’s a disaster at the end. Skip the pastas, all of which are somehow actively bad. Do not order a meat or fish entree, which is likely to come out overcooked and tasting of nothing in particular, no matter how special their relationship with the farmer who humanely raises the veal for their braciole is. Don’t let yourself be swayed by the promise of freshly-baked pinsas topped with things like guanciale, egg, and pecorino. You will be disappointed.
If you find yourself here for, say, a post-lecture dinner, or a meal with someone’s grandparents, you can have a good time. Here’s what you should order, and what you absolutely shouldn’t:
Food Rundown
Sesame Buns
Duck in a Jar
Union Square Market Vegetables
Kale Kale Kale
Pumpkin Blossom Zeppole
Pinsas
Smoked Spaghetti
Little Shells
Black Pepper Cascarecce
Snowdance Chicken Piccata
Veal Braciole
Jami's 1/3 Cookie in a Jar
Honey Pine Nut Tart
Tiramisu