Cotogna is one of the most reliable places for a fantastic meal in the city. Since opening in 2010, the Financial District restaurant (by the people behind Quince) has been churning out near-perfect Italian dishes with laser-like focus and consistency rivaling that of The Rock’s daily workout routine.

If you threw darts at the menu to make your order, you’d always land on something great. The dishes use fresh ingredients that taste like they lived their entire life cycle in a ten-mile radius. Tissue-thin slices of prosciutto are laid out like cards, and crudos are topped with tiny flower petals. But the pasta section is where Cotogna really shines.

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Always get the singular raviolo. The decadent pasta is face-sized, and stuffed with slightly sweet ricotta and an orange egg yolk that oozes out like lava when you cut into it. The whole thing arrives in a shallow pool of brown butter, and is big enough to share with at least two people. There are also other housemade pasta hits, like the agnolotti dal plin with sugo arrosto and pappardelle with duck ragu. 

photo credit: Melissa Zink

photo credit: Melissa Zink

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Pause

Unmute

Blankets are rolled up and waiting for you out on the parklet (which looks more like an editorial spread in Architectural Digest than a setup in the street). You can also get cozy at one of the big communal tables inside, or at the bar facing the blazing wood-fired oven. Wherever you are, you’ll want to stay for as long as possible. And the beauty of Cotogna is that this place works for any occasion. They even have a gelato cart during the summer, with rotating flavors like espresso and fudge and vanilla and honeycomb. Walk up to the bar and post up with your very own raviolo and a cocktail, or reserve a table weeks in advance for an anniversary dinner—Cotogna is guaranteed to fit the bill. 

Food Rundown

Prosciutto With Gnocco Fritto

The prosciutto is as thin as tissue paper and melts in your mouth. Breaking open the fried pockets of dough and stuffing them with prosciutto, pickled red onions, and gorgonzola is both fun and delicious. Start with this.

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Corn Triangoli

We love coming to Cotogna in the summer, solely because that’s when you can get your hands on the seasonal corn triangoli. Each pasta pocket is filled with rich, silky-smooth corn purée, and the whole thing is so sweet it almost feels like we’re eating a dessert. If it’s on the menu, you must get this.

photo credit: Gary He

Raviolo Di Ricotta

It’s hard to go wrong with a gigantic ravioli soaked in brown butter, and Cotogna’s version always impresses us. Cut it open, let the runny egg spill out, and mix it all around with the ricotta. There’s really nothing better.

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Agnolotti

These tiny pockets of veal, rabbit, and pork are a constant on the menu, and for good reason—each has filling so tender it practically dissolves the second it hits your tongue. If you’re overwhelmed with all the seasonal pasta choices, this luxurious standby never disappoints.

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Soppressata Pizza

Pizzas aren’t the main focus here—that honor belongs to the pastas—but this soppressata-topped pie makes a great case for that to change. The wood-fired crust is satisfyingly crispy, and the thin layers of red onion and soppressata are fatty, salty bliss.

photo credit: Melissa Zink