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| - After a late meeting the other night, my friend offered to take me to dinner. As I was tired and I LOVE to eat, I was no match for any sort of argument. I had a craving for some really good Italian and initially thought of a few swanky places downtown, but being a Monday night, there were very few options at 10pm where one would not feel like a total ass for keeping the wait staff holed up at work any longer than they need to be. Thanks to the crappy weather we were having (hail in late-April, that is), I wanted to eat closer to my 'hood so that I could jet home afterwards. We ended up checking out Il Mulino as a result. Funnily enough, it seems bad weather has brought other reviewers to the place!
I am so grateful that Il Mulino is close to my house!! All the raves of other reviewers here are so right! A fine meal and impeccable, old-school service made me forget my long day and the shitty weather outside.
We shared the generous house antipasti platter which included a few grilled items on top of greens alongside a mini serving of caprese: calamari, shrimp (two of these would have been nice), cured meat, and mushrooms with a ratatouille-type mix of tomatoes, herbs, olives, etc--so yummy! Their risotti are also pretty amazing (friend had the al funghi version) and I can tell you that their grilled seabass is also a must! It was a whole fish griled with herbs, along with your choice of I can't remember what but I opted for the grilled vegs (roasted then fried potato, braised carrot and greens). I am pretty sure I would have wet my pants if the skin were crispy, but alas, it wasn't.
Our host and server, Astrit, treated us like we were friends stopping by. He was a real sweetheart who chatted with us for some time. I love this type of personal service and it's the kind of thing one remembers that keeps you going back (besides such good food!). I was surprised on the one hand that Il Mulino is associated with Sotto Sotto as pointed out by one reviewer, mainly because it doesn't seem to be too well known outside the area, yet it's not that odd when you consider how good the food is! Everything about the food was just right: flavours, portions...
In a word, I would describe the food as 'comforting'. The ambience is nice, clientele seeming to be mostly from the area. Some may consider the prices high but the labour that goes into the food, the quality of ingredients, and such amicable service are apparent justifications. Il Mulino could easily make for a nice date spot, a family dinner, groups/celebrations. I was impressed by the lack of pretension and snobbery that one could expect at such a place. As relaxed as it was though, I would suggest that you put some effort into throwing yourself together somewhat if you plan to dine here.
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