Cento, hmmm. The mens' bathroom alone is a metaphor for how unfinished this place is. The caulk around the sinks is separated and clearly it was painted in the dark. At the convergence of the wall and ceiling is transparent brush strokes.
This translates to the food. Everything is just "almost good". The sauces with the pasta dishes lacked seasoning and depth of flavor. The carbonara was "eh" at best the guanciale (bacon) was rendered flavorless and was barely detectable...we were hoping to try shaved truffles with this dish and maybe that would have helped but unfortunately they are "out...indefinitely" (Then why is it on your newly printed menu?)
The black tagliatelle with a mix of lobster, mussels and a single under cooked prawn (tiger shrimp)...again...lacking flavor, depth and seasoning. We sent the "prawn" back and a disgruntled cook sent us an over cooked shrimp with the same tagliatelle redressed with a splash of cheese and horseradish instead of taking the time to do the dish again.
Our starter was wine braised beets with goat cheese ('cause the girlfriend can't help herself when she sees goat cheese). It's not clear what kind of goat cheese they used but it was not a tasty-flavorful one. It might have even been cut with low-fat cream cheese. It was so bland. The beets...very little wine flavor translates.
The decent parts of our meal were the drinks...a young (not quite ready) barrel aged negroni. Though we were told it was young it was quite tasty. They brought us a sample to taste before we made a decision. We liked it and went with it. The service was kind but awkward..."continue to enjoy" is a statement that came our way more than 4 times. (Thanks for the permission.)
Our lamb was ribeye was a bit cold on the inside which is not quite med-rare. The flavor was balanced and the chimichurri was well tempered (though I would have enjoyed a bit more olive oil and some heat on the serving plate to keep the dish warm while we ate it.
For dessert we opted for a digestivo that smacked of horchata with pistachio sprinkles. It was strong enough however and tasty enough so I can't complain too much.
In all we were into Cento for $150+ for the two of us. The decor and food descriptions probably fool most people but for us we're experienced eaters and don't fall for the glitz. If you are looking to be impressed try the Eggplant Napoletana at Lombardino's. The people won't be as pretty and the decor is pure kitsch but that dish was better than all the dishes we had at Cento combined.