I Sodi
I think this is Italian food exactly how Italians intended it.
What a saga it was traversing to I Sodi for a walk-in. I am still pinching myself. Let me set the scene:
As a result of the fact that it is basically impossible to get a reservation at this West Village gem, we had to schedule a walk-in attempt. This spot is owned by Rita Sodi, serving classic and ingredient-focused Tuscan fare since 2008. Sodi is a James Beard award winner and has opened multiple restaurants with wife and chef Jody Williams under their food group Officina 1937. The restaurants under this group include Via Carota, Buvette, Bar Pisellino, and The Commerce Inn.
I Sodi was the first from this group to be on my radar, and, therefore, the first in the queue for the impossible-to-book restaurants. I reached out to my friend a month prior to us going so that I could plan for our walk-in; I suggested we go into the city in the afternoon and just vibe, walk down to the West Village, and hop on line to secure a walk-in spot right at opening. The day finally came on a surprisingly nice February Saturday. We were able to go to the Chelsea Flea Market before heading downtown where we wanted to secure some pastries from L’appartement 4f but were turned away because they sold out of everything but bread and sandwiches (we will be back earlier in the day). We then pivoted and picked up some ice cream at the nearby Salt & Straw to fuel our wait outside I Sodi.
We arrived at I Sodi around 3:15pm and commenced our wait until they opened for dinner at 4:30pm. We stood outside the entrance after checking with the staff inside to make sure we were in the right spot to wait, and the time kind of flew by. The West Village is probably my favorite area in the city and it was very busy this day, so we just people watched, listened to some of my new favorites from the just-released Tate McRae album, observed a driver pull over to yell at someone on the phone, and let the passers by and wannabe diners know that the restaurant was closed until 4:30 (the amount of people who tried to walk inside was very high).
Around 4:00pm is when people started to line up with us. The first person to show up after us was an older woman who was looking to dine solo and has been to the restaurant before. We asked for her thoughts on the menu, the restaurant, and other great places to dine in the city as she was well-versed in the area. Turns out we were all from similar parts of New Jersey and were hoping to sit near each other at the bar once we were let in. Shoutout to her! While we were waiting, a friend of mine from college stopped by since she saw us while she was grabbing coffee across the street, and we had a little chat; this was actually one of the most fun and entertaining afternoons I’ve had in the city and we were simply standing in one spot for a little over an hour.
4:30pm finally came and the host unlocked the door and welcomed the long line of people to I Sodi! He said if you have a reservation to step to the front and if you are walking in they will take your name and try to get you in. Luckily, we were first (a point of pride), and the host took my number which programmed our wait into my Resy, so now it is officially documented that I attended this spot (yay). They ended up seating us at a table in the back dining room, which I did not know existed, so we did not end up eating near our friend from the line, but we made sure to give her a run down of what we ordered on our way out and we hoped to see each other again in the area at another fantastic restaurant. When a waiter set us up at our corner booth (very cozy) looking out upon their back patio, he asked if we had a reservation or walked in, to which we responded that we walked in and added that we’d been waiting outside since around 3:20pm. He responded “that’s too early” with a laugh. I seriously love the people here.
I knew that this place was known for their specialty negronis, so I definitely wanted to try those. I went with the Rosa since it had aperol in it, of which I am a fan, and had to get used to the more bitter taste of the negroni since I normally like a sweeter cocktail, but it completely grew on me and I ended up ordering another one.
The second drink I ordered was a suggestion from our waiter (shoutout to Christopher) who wanted me to try his favorite Terra. I was happy to report back to Christopher that I liked that one as well.
My friend Chase’s phone was nearly dead for our entire adventure, so when we sat down she asked our waiter if they had a phone charger. He checked up front, came back, and said that he was so sorry but they did not have a charger, “but we do have specials” and then proceeded to recite the night’s specials menu. I reiterate: I love the people here.
Appetizers: We ordered one of these specials our waiter detailed: the highly-touted fried artichokes. I heard from the online diner community that the artichokes here were a must-order. When they dropped these on our table, we were wondering if we would like them because they were sauce-less. We were wondering, how good could just plain artichokes really be? Very good as it turns out.
The artichokes were simply prepared with what tasted like olive oil and salt and they were perfect this way. They were not chip-like, which is what we were thinking at first glance, but a softer kind of crispy. The centers were warm and still a bit soft, while the outer layers had a crisp bite to them. If these are on the menu, you definitely need to order them.
Entrées: As is normally the case when I venture to a restaurant that has been on my list—and therefore thoroughly researched—we kind of already knew what we wanted to order. We went with three pastas: Papardelle Al Limone, Lasagna A Sugo, and Cacio E Pepe. Some of the specials seemed enticing, including the Porterhouse for Two, which a couple a few tables down ended up ordering with stares from the masses as it was placed on their table, but we knew that we would be full with all the food we were already ordering.
The pastas here could all, in my opinion, be described as clean. Just super simple and fresh ingredients, no fluff, and no add-ons (which was a message we heard loud and clear when the table next to us asked to add meat to their dish and the waiter said no as if it was a mortal sin). Originally, I was thinking “this cannot be worth the over an hour wait and pure gymnastics to get in here” and I was truly trying to reflect on our dining experience. But then, I went home and got hungry around 9:00pm (I guess this happens when you eat at 5:00pm), heated up some leftovers, and had an epiphany. The food was actually amazing. Funny how it took me so long to adjust. There are so many funky Italian restaurants in the city and I think my taste buds just needed to adjust to simple Italian classics, and I also think I was coming down from the high of snagging a table.
Back to the pastas: the Papardelle Al Limone was delicious. The lemon was not too overbearing, but still noticeable, the sauce was creamy but not too, and the papardelle was cooked perfectly. This dish was my friend’s favorite. I, as always, am having a hard time choosing my favorite bite.
The Cacio E Pepe was another amazing pasta. I was expecting more pepper flavor, but that does not mean that the pepper was not there. The sauce was, again, perfectly creamy, the sauce had a good bite to it, and the pasta was cooked perfectly. This was the dish I kept going back to, so I guess that means it was my favorite?
Lastly, we ordered the Lasagna A Sugo. Another classic dish: lines of lasagna sheets layered with beef ragu and béchamel. My critique of this dish was that the pasta was overcooked; it’s difficult not overcooking pastas you are baking, but it made the dish kind of mushy. The ragu, however, was super flavorful and delicious. I also kept reaching back for this and in my foray into my leftovers after leaving, I was craving another piece of this. The pasta was super soft, but it didn’t keep me from going back, so do with that what you will.
Dessert: Everyone talks about I Sodi’s Tiramisu. Therefore, we felt obligated to order the Tiramisu. I am sounding like a broken record when I say that this was another classic that is just made simple here. The coffee flavor was not as strong as we were expecting it to be, but maybe that is how it is meant to be? The layer of mascarpone on top was pretty thick, which took some getting used to, but the dessert was delicious. They also have a good Flourless Chocolate Cake, or so we’ve heard, but we did not partake this time. I will say that I have had other tiramisus in the city that I would choose to order over this one.
Overall, I think I Sodi should be on your list. It is top of the line, classic Italian food served in an intimate and timeless space. The staff was awesome, the food was amazing, and the location in the West Village just makes it an enticing spot to venture to. We learned from our friend on line that if you go to wait on line around 4:00pm, you should be able to get a walk-in spot right when they open the restaurant, and that we did (albeit we got there a lot earlier). I would suggest this method if you want to dine here; you should forget that they even take reservations because I am not convinced there is a nonzero chance of getting one on Resy.