Alison C.
Yelp
When I entered Allora's Fifth Avenue location I was immediately greeted by a man that appeared to be the host, though after he sat me, he interestingly also wound up as our waiter. The restaurant had a large, beautiful bar in the front, followed by an elegant, white tableclothed dining room just beyond that. The place was not very crowded, but the minimal staff that were attending to the diners seemed rather irritated and disinterested. They were efficient and all, but it was certainly not what I would consider "service with a smile".
Despite that, the meal was otherwise fine. Our party of three was sat at a spacious, comfortable booth. We received a small meat and cheese plate, vegetable chips, and our choice of four different types of bread (Italian, white roll, olive roll, or raisin roll). My olive roll was dry and hard, but the sweet raisin one was opposingly soft. I enjoyed these light bites with a glass of refreshing Prosecco, while we waited for our ordered starters to arrive. First, the three of us divvied up the Caesar Salad for Two, which was prepared at our tableside. Having a third of the master bowl was more than enough for one person, and the salad was delicious! I could taste the brininess and fishiness of the dressing on the crisp romaine leaves. There was a tad too much dressing for my liking, but it was tasty, so I wound up eating the whole thing. We also shared an order of the Rigatoni alla Bolognese, which was another winner! The pasta was cooked perfectly, as it was not too soft nor too al dente. The hearty sauce was so rich and flavorful that I could have eaten a bowl of it on its own.
For my main course, I went with the Pollo Mt. Edna, which consisted of two pieces of bone-in chicken that were topped with sweet and cherry peppers, all in an aged, reduced balsamic vinegar. The balsamic added a tart tanginess, but was also just sweet enough that to balance out the ripe acidity. While the sauce and accoutrements were enjoyable, the chicken was tough and overcooked, which was a real bummer. After our meal, we debated about getting dessert, but the options were limited to a lot of cream-based options like Tiramisu, Creme Brulé, Key Lime Cheesecake, and so on. We preferred our desserts with more structure, so we decided to pass.
Allora had its successes and its misses, but was mediocre overall. When we had arrived I had exclaimed that its atmosphere felt like that of a hotel restaurant, which made sense, as it was actually inside of one. So, it was very much a place that I would dine at if I was staying upstairs, but I would not go out of my way for as a local.
