My spouse (SO_1) had a hair appointment in the Back Bay Friday afternoon, and a quick check on OT revealed an opportunity to finally try Ken Oringer’s FaccIa a FaccIa on Newbury Street for an early supper. After Clio, Toro, Little Donkey, anticipation was feverish.
The room is dominated by the central bar. We were seated at a table toward the front, but sufficiently removed from the door that traffic and cold air weren’t issues. The tables are fairly tightly configured, so those of us sitting next to the wall could only escape in one direction. The noise level was moderate, and the music unobtrusive, counter to many reviews I read about sound levels.
I arrived before SO_1 and our nephew who, and ordered a spritz and stuffed olives. The olives were stuffed with sausage and anchovy, coated in breadcrumbs and lightly fried. These were addictive and though I saved one for SO_1 and nephew, we ordered more.
We shared the Sicilian crudo, which included scallop, hamachi, and uni. Lightly dressed with a vinaigrette and decorated with olives, I thought this was an excellent dish, but it elicited “eh” from my dining companions. The “Grandma bread” sounded great (focaccia with pesto) but didn’t have much character. Our waiter raved about the steak, so we ordered that plus chicken Milanese and branzino for mains. The steak came drowned in a tangy herb sauce with an indistinguishable vegetable covered in melted cheese. The sauce was fine, a bit reminiscent of the sauce at Relais de Venise, probably with a bit of anchovy, but it overwhelmed the dish. The branzino filet was served “Christmas style”, with red and green salsas, and was also fine but not memorable. The chicken Milanese was superb, though SO_1 found the salad perched on top to be a bit much. She did give the chicken high marks though, no small praise since she is an Israeli who knows chicken schnitzel.
We shared a mango sorbet dusted with taijin, a nice touch. The sorbet seemed creamy, more like an ice cream, and certainly not a sorbetto. Quite flavorful though.
With one cocktail, two mocktails, and two large bottles of sparkling water the total came to $120pp with tip. Not outrageous for Newbury Street, but it definitely puts it toward the expensive side. Overall we were glad we visited but came away underwhelmed and doubt we’ll be back.
