James B.
Yelp
I hadn't yet tried Facci and decided to give it a whirl for dinner with a friend on a Thursday evening. I made a reservation on Resy and walked there from my home in Federal Hill. The location of the restaurant across from the harbor affords water views and it looks like they have a nice patio for the warmer months, but unless you live in the neighborhood or are spending some time in the Inner Harbor, I feel like it is out of the way and there is not much else going on around it.
Anyway, upon arrival I was taken aback by the modern aesthetic of the decor. I was getting some minor "club" vibes from the sheer scale of the space. If you are looking for an intimate experience, this might not be the space for you. But it ended up being perfect for us two, as we wanted to catch up over conversation and it was nearly deserted at 6pm on a weeknight. There were a few more people around the bar by the time we left around 7:30. Definitely didn't need a reservation (they claim they would charge $10/head for no-shows, kind of a joke given the lack of patrons). I stood by the empty host stand for a solid and awkward two minutes before stepping into the dining room to try and get someone's attention. A pleasant young woman who ended up being our server greeted and seated us by the window so we could enjoy the water views and evening city lights.
I had reviewed the menu online, and our server brought by the specials list and gave us some time to review everything. She also shared her personal recommendations when asked. We opted for a bottle of Pinot Grigio and the meatball appetizer to share to start. I ordered the Frutti de Mare as my entree, and on the recommendation of our server my companion ordered the Gnocchi di Patate Pesto e Salsiccia (potato gnocchi with pesto).
The meatballs were very tasty, if not a little more dense than I personally prefer. They were served with a few pieces of a crusty loaf and quite a lot of marinara - way more sauce than could be sopped up with the bread. The ciabatta-style bread we were served with olive oil was nice and warm and very light/fluffy - not the crusty Italian bread I would have preferred, but tasty nonetheless. My Frutti de Mare was a well-sized portion packed with mussels, clams, calamari, (one) shrimp, scallop (one), and octopus, all over linguini with a red sauce. It was very good, and the server had warned me about the fact it came in a red sauce - I would order it next time with a different shaped pasta because twirling and eating the linguini made for a somewhat messy experience. Again, though, I had been warned! My companion seemed to very much enjoy the gnocchi. No leftovers!
Dessert was the standout - we ordered limoncello tiramisu off the daily specials menu (they have regular tiramisu on their dessert menu) and two espresso martinis. Tiramisu was light and had amazing flavor, and the cocktails were excellent. It tasted as though they pulled espresso shots for the cocktails (or, they use a really really good espresso liqueur!). I'm glad we opted to have dessert.
I'd come back in the spring/summer/fall to sit on the patio and try their pizza, but otherwise there are better options for Italian food and atmosphere in the City. Evening dinner and/or drink specials (half-priced wine, etc.) might draw more of a crowd on weeknights.