It’s no secret that New York boasts an incredible variety of restaurants. Whether you are looking for gastro delights in the West Village, or fancy fare uptown, you will undoubtedly whatever it is that your taste buds crave.

This past weekend, a few friends and I ate at an elegant Italian restaurant called Il Mulino…and it did not disappoint!

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by high quality service, and one of my favorite parts of the experience happened at the beginning.

As soon as you are seated, about five or six waiters immediately attend to your table. They make sure your glass of water is filled, that a napkin is placed on your lap and that an impressive wine list is presented to you.

Seconds later, the waiters place a myriad of (gratis) appetizers on the table. This course includes a mammoth block of parmesan cheese that they carve out for you, spicy and sweet soppressata, garlic bread and plates of fried zucchini drenched in olive oil.

At this point, we were uncertain about ordering more appetizers for the table, but we had no choice the menu was too promising to pass up.

The next round of appetizers consisted of baked clams with bacon, thinly sliced beef carpaccio, and creamy burrata with prosciutto di parma. Everything was excellent, but my favorite was the burrata!

For my main course I ordered the Pollo Scarpiello, which is chicken sauteed with garlic, wine and mushrooms. The chicken was so tender that it melted in my mouth. My friends had the Fettucini Alfredo, classic alfredo sauce with sweet pea, and the Costoletta alla Valdostana which is a stuffed veal chop with fontina cheese, prosciutto and wild mushrooms. Both the veal chop and pasta were cooked to perfection.

Il Mulino’s wine list was overwhelming, but in a good way! There was so much to choose from but I decided on a simple glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

After eating such an exquisite (but filling) meal, I could not imagine dessert… but somehow we made room. As a table, we ordered a slice of Italian cheesecake and a chocolate mousse. They both were prepared and tasted great! It was a perfect end to a great meal.

Some may claim that the pricing was a bit steep, but I think Il Mulino is an experience well-worth having! Although I haven’t been there are also other locations in; Downtown NYC, Las Vegas, Sunny Isles Beach, Atlantic City, Puerto Rico and Tokyo.