Spina - a little spot that holds a lot of goodies

Spina was a spur of the moment dinner date with J. It was one of the place we saw when we were walking to Kasadela that had a good deal on happy hour. Sure enough, a couple of months later we remembered about it and went there spontaneously.

Spina was empty when we arrived about 7pm. Got seated pretty quickly and was given the wine list. I was a bit puzzled because I didn't see the menu until a god 5 minutes later...started to get a bit worried haha.

I really like how big the wine glasses are. Because it's so much bigger, it looks as if there is a lot less wine but that's not the case. It's just how you perceive it. I rather have a bigger glass because then I can take a good sniff at the wine every time I drink it.

Their in-house Focaccia and Ricotta was amazing. Different than your average bread and butter which can get quite boring. The focaccia was soft and fluffy and the ricotta was just so dam good. Creamy and light, I can use this spread every day if I can.

We ordered our appetizer which were both on their happy hour. Spina's HH starts at 5:30 and ends at 8pm, love the time! They also have $6 glasses of wine which is really affordable.

The Meatballs ($5) are only worth it when it's HH because they're so tiny. The flavor is great and I don't remember when was the last time I had meatballs. Let's just say it hit the spot and it would've been great with a plate of spaghetti.

Our favorite was the Mussels ($5) and during HH, these suckers were only $5 which is a total steal! Flavor was good, be great if we were given some bread to soak up the yummy broth. Mussels were tender and plump, really like the little cherry tomatoes in the dish also.

At this point, we were really satisfied already. As our entree, we ordered pasta. Spina has a pasta bar where fresh dough of pasta is made on the spot. It's pretty amazing knowing that your pasta isn't frozen.

The Asparagus Fettucine ($18) was really light. The asparagus were cut thinly but still held that crunch, the duck confit was a bit on the chewy side but still quite flavorful.

J's Squid Ink Fettucine ($22) was different than what I had imagined. The pasta was made of squid ink and it wasn't covered in squid ink sauce, nice! There's a slight tingy and spiced taste to this dish which makes it that more interesting and quite addictive. Certainly do recommend this one.

The portions might look small but when you're dealing with pasta for one, you don't want to serve too much. Plus, there's actually a lot under that bundle of pasta.

For dessert, we had the Chocolate Souffle ($8) which was not what I expected. I'm starting to think that souffle has a whole new different meaning to it. The chocolate souffle was good, chocolate-y and warm with a light thin crust on the outside. Pair it up with some cold vanilla ice cream and nothing can go wrong.

Spina has 1/2 off their wine bottles on Sundays and Mondays which is another reason to come. J and I adore this place and just couldn't wait to return for another round of date night.

Spina
175 Ave B
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250