I always update my review every time
I visit Orto. Today was my friends bday I made a reservation and when we arrived they handed us a menu that said "Happy Birthday" in the corner, it was very sweet and my friend kept it as a souvenir, the hostess was great, filled with enthusiasm and always smiling and seemingly happy to answer peoples questions. We had a waitress we had our very first time we went to Orto, this time around she seemed a little less excited to discuss the food but we also came at a time where everyone was showing up and she seemed like she was juggling a lot of responsibilities. The food, starting with apps my friend got their usual the polenta with meatballs an absolute standout (along with the other polenta option with the egg and the smoked pork), I really wanted to try something different I never tried so I tried the rissoto balls, loved them didn't love the pesto they were served on top of (tasted more like chimichuri, I suspect it was nut free it was very herbaceous and bright, not quite right with the risotto balls a dollop of ricotta would have hit the spot). The main course, my friend had the lasagna in the past and this time they got it again and finished almost everything except a tiny bit which we took to go, I liked it, I tasted umami in the bolognese... wonder what ingredient they used to achieve that (soy sauce? Fish sauce?). I had a hard time picking something and asked our waitress about the pork Milanese, she said she liked it, as a person who loves a breaded pork cutlet I was tempted but the description seemed a little odd... the fondue and potatoes, not really the way I'd serve pork but I like all those things so I figured why not, spoiler alert: It was fine, I ate 65-70% of it but would never order it again and I highly discourage anyone else to order this unless pork is thejr favorite meat ever. First off, I thought there was going to be a small pot of fondue served with it but to me it looked more like a bechamel cheese sauce spooned around the plate with roasted multi colored (didn't like the dark purple ones in this dish) potatoes placed strategically on top (it looked pretty), the problem is after a few mins the cheese got cold and when I dipped a potatoes and broccoli rabe (oh we will get there) in it it would drag... it wasn't pleasant tbh. My other issue was the broccoli rabe, the cutlets were served on top of the rabe which made the bottom of the cutlets taste like it (broccoli rabe wasn't listed on the menu either, I would have asked for it on the side or just axed it altogether), it felt like a choice ya know? Serving a crispy cutlet on top of very moist borderline wet/kinda cold broccoli rabe aint for me. Dessert... fine, I should have gotten the Creme brûlée, i got the peach almond Tarte, the filling was amazing but the crust was a little hard maybe if I let it sit at room temp for a bit that would have helped but it had gelato on top, I kinda had to eat it, loved the flavors. My friend got the brown butter cake, not my thing but if you like pound cake a lot it's quite good you def want to have some coffee or tea with this. For me the standout was the little cup of rice pudding my friend got for their birthday from Orto, there was saffron in it, I loved it so much i decided I'm making a rice pudding as identical to that as I can, it should be on the menu. Our busser was a sweet young polite teen who was a hard worker, it felt like we dealt with him more than anyone I can see him being a server one day for sure. Overall a fun experience, 8.5/10 the food 6.5/10. I think the lesson here is if you go to a place like Orto you get the steak, the seafood, the pastas, you do not get pork (the braised pork shoulder ragu is acceptable and a totally different story, anything braised will be good period). Also, don't be afraid to really talk to your waiter about the food, what people really like and don't like, if someone says "well I like it"... maybe avoid that item on the menu lol. Love this place, love the vibe and will be back... for the steak. read more