Restaurant Week at All’onda, Greenwich Village

This post is in collaboration with Tabelog.

Back in February, I had lunch with Sachiko and Yuichi from Tabelog, as well as Nomad Manhattan, whom I had recently met. Sachiko made a reservation at All’onda, a modern restaurant near Union Square that serves Italian cuisine with a Japanese twist. I like the idea of Italian-Japanese fusion, and as an added bonus, All’onda was participating in Restaurant Week.

The restaurant was completely empty when we arrived at noon, but was completely packed by 1:30pm. We were seated on the second floor at a table by the window. Such a beautiful space with high ceilings. The soft natural light was ideal for taking food photos even on my iPhone. We chatted about Tabelog’s newest feature, the Bucket Dish, which is a list of must try dishes in NYC. Check it out sometime!

I’ve heard great things about All’onda, but have never visited before. To be honest, I got the impression they may have skimped a little because it’s Restaurant Week. That said, it was lovely company and a good meal. Many thanks to Tabelog for having me again!

The Restaurant Week lunch menu had quite a few appetizer and entree choices. Many places only offer three options for each course. I hate to order dishes and ask them to omit the meat/seafood, so it worked out well that there were vegetarian options for me.

The Kale Salad with tofu caesar dressing, walnuts, and mint was perfect as I was craving a salad that day. Light and pretty. I always enjoy some good greens.

The Roasted Carrots looked fantastic too. They’re dressed with ricotta, ginger vinaigrette, and cumin. I kinda wish I had ordered this instead as the vibrant colors are stunning.

When you dine with other foodies and food bloggers, you know there’s gonna be a lot of photos! The other appetizers at our table were the Tuna Tartare and Clams Casino.

For my entree, I ordered the Cavatelli with ricotta, spicy tomato sauce, and basil. The spiciness was very subtle. It tasted quite good, but I wish there was a bit more wow factor packed into this dish as it was the only veggie entree on their menu.

Nomad Manhattan ordered the Bucatini with smoked uni and spicy bread crumbs. I believe it’s cooked in a parmesan dashi broth and has aioli at the very bottom. Looks pretty, and I’m sure this is popular among uni lovers.

Sachiko ordered the Ramen with a parmesan dashi broth, porchetta, brussels sprouts, parsley, and an egg. I was very curious about this dish as I had never come across Italian-Japanese fusion ramen before. Seemed like it could use more toppings, and I was a bit surprised that they didn’t use ramen noodles for this dish.

Sachiko aka the one and only Cutie Patroller was so busy snapping a photo of Yuichi’s All’onda Burger that she had no idea I got this photo. A true foodie hard at work!

The Olive Oil Cake was supposed to come with ricotta gelato, so I’m not sure why Yuichi’s dessert didn’t have the gelato. Maybe they were out, but I would think that they would offer another flavor of gelato instead.

I ordered the Hazelnut Mousse, which turned out to be a very good decision! Creamy mousse with chocolate crumble and candied orange. The sweetness of the mousse was perfect, not too overpowering. I think I’m turning into a dessert person!

P.S. I entered my Instagram shots in the NYC Restaurant Week photo contest, and this one was a winner! A big thank you to Restaurant Week for over $400 in gift cards. :)

Note: This post is in collaboration with Tabelog. I was invited as a guest to this event and received a complimentary meal. This was not in exchange for a positive review and all opinions expressed here are my own.