Scalino

this is one of our favorite go-​to neighborhood restaurants for a casual, yet delicious italian meal. the simple pastas and salads are all really great, but so are the «fancier’ specials. we especially love the rigatoni with sausage and tomato cream, the mussels, the simple grilled chicken with arugula, and the cold lobster salad special in summer. we have been going here since our son was a baby and the owners and waiters have watched him grown up and always joke with him and give a little special attention when we come. the ambiance of this small space is very simple and stripped down (and a little too brightly lit for my taste) but it is quite comfortable and cozy. it’s nice to sit outside in the warmer weather and the lunch special is a steal! i’ve heard a few people complain that the service can seem gruff, but they are just no-​nonsense and very efficient. don’t go there expecting a maitre d’ in a tux fawning all over you, and you’ll be fine.

Two words: lunch special. Whenever my husband and I work from home this is our go to for a delicious cozy meal! Who doesn’t love a midday bowl of pasta and a salad (for $ 10!) Lovely spot for a date night (or day)

I liked this place. It’s a little charm in the hood that I can go with not so dressed up neighborhood clothing on. It’s small and cosy. The pasta was very good while the pork menu was just okay. Pasta doesn’t have much bacon in it but I like it that way. Pork shoulder was quite over cooked and felt like it was just heat it up to high that it burnt. Other than that it’s quite nice place to go in the area. Nothing fancy which I like.

Quite the little restaurant in Park Slope! We came here on 12÷30÷15 with a group of six people. The staff took our reservation a couple of hours before and we had no problems with being seated on time. The place is small and cozy. It does not feel crowded at all, even when it was full. The food tasted good — we are not experts in Italian food, but it passed outer test. Expect small-​medium portions. Everything was cooked well. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. They always checked in with us to see how we were doing. The only thing I would improve is the chalk board menus. They were hard to read and some items didn’t have prices listed next to them. Maybe a chalk pen will fix the problem.
Overall great time at this little gem.

Lived in neighborhood for years and been meaning to try. Its ok. Service could be better and less rushed. Seems to be popular with families with young children. Not going back.

I have been meaning to try this place for a while and am extremely disappointed! I feel cheated, this place was fairly expensive for the quality of food and would not try it again. I asked about adding a plain dish of linguine to my mussels as the menu was very limited and received an apathetic response. The food was just okay, nothing to remember. Glad to have tried it, not coming back.

I feel cheated. Feel like I paid top dollar for a bunch of pasta.
I went here with my family (who was staving at the time) and we all left hungry, and the bill was too high.
We all ordered entrée’s because we needed a good Italian meal. The menu items are in Italian and not explained. I specifically asked the waitress about the pork dish and what to expect. She didn’t directly answer my questions and went off on some tangent about the smokeyness of the meat. When I got the dish there were 4, yes I counted, large bacon bit sized pieces of pork in a dish of pasta. Not even a lot of pasta.
I was not a happy camper. I ate a bunch of bread and moved on with my life but I write this as a warning to others. Don’t expect a meal from this place. Expect a taste of a meal.
In fact don’t go here to eat. It seems like a place to go have a glass of over priced wine and act trendy.

Loved that place. Food is excellent, tasty and refined and the menu offers number of healthy dishes. Extra points: the dessert menu.
Highly recommended this small cozy place for a quiet dinner.

This was the best fettuccine pesto I’ve ever had! My parents had the lobster fettucine, grilled calamari, oysters, and a salad. They said everything was delicious. My gf had the pork shoulder and said it was good but not exceptional. She tried a fork full of my pasta, and then she had to order herself an order of it to go. The guy Blaze who was handling all the tables himself was super nice and very funny. We all liked him. My only complaint about the place was that the portion size of the pasta was tiny. For $ 16.50 there should definitely have been some more pasta in my belly.

Great food! They have the best Broccoli Rabe I’ve ever had. My only regret is I can’t eat here more often!

Delicious italian place with excellent service for a reasonable price — can’t beat that in an area like Park Slope.
I came here with two friends this past Sunday evening. We were seated immediately and were served bread with olive oil and glasses of water.
I noticed the staff is ethnically diverse here but that does not deter from the food. It’s definitely not up to par with the «mom&pop» italian places in other areas, but for the value it’s great.
We ordered the spicy mussels, the bolognese, Pappardelle, Spinach And Ricotta Ravioli, and corn&string beans on the side. We asked for bacon on the side for the pappardelle since my friend is vegetarian and the waiter was very accommodating.
We really enjoyed the ravioli and the grilled corn&string beans especially. the pappardelle was very tasty, especially when you throw the bacon on top. I was disappointed by the bolognese — I don’t think they put enough meat in the plate in my opinion. Also one of the waitresses was trying to be motherly and cute (according to my friends) as she shoved a napkin in my face when I asked for one. I didn’t appreciate that. You can be affectionate it other ways, thank you for the effort though.
Overall pretty good. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes good food, service and a simple atmosphere!

A very nice Italian place. I tried the polo Milanese and it was very nice: moist and tender inside and crispy and crunchy outside. They have a decent salad selection and the wine list is ok.

How is this my first time trying this place out?
I met up with a friend around 12:30 on a Monday — not busy at all, of course. It has a very humble appearance. You wouldn’t expect a place like this to have such good food!
We had some bread and olive oil while waiting for our food. I knew it was a good meal because the bread was so fluffy on the inside and the crust was crispy! We started off with an appetizer of arugula, mozzarella and grape tomatoes. That is exactly what came out. Very simple, but great ingredients! The mozzarella was fresh and the tomatoes were juicy.
Because it was a part of their lunch special ($ 10 for pasta and ½ salad), we got the Mista Salad (mixed greens with grape tomatoes). Because we basically got two salads dishes, we just combined them. I definitely feel like I could’ve done without the appetizer, but whatever. Greens are good, right?
After reading all the other Unilocal reviews, I had to try the pappardelle with tomato cream sauce and bacon. The waitress even shaved Parmesan on top when she served it to us! (Offered pepper too) The pappardelle was cooked perfectly, and the sauce was creamy but light? The bacon added a nice texture and flavor that kept you from getting bored of the same tomato cream. It may not look like too much, but it was filling!
To cap off the meal, we had the chocolate soufflé which comes with vanilla ice cream on top. The soufflé was hot, and the ice cream somehow didn’t completely melt, even though we were outside on a hot day. It was exactly what we needed after that meal. I do need to come back for the rest of their desserts, especially the crème brûlée.

Small place and didn’t have too many options for dinner. Planned a dinner party for my birthday, there were about 8 of us, and it felt a bit awkward because they sat us right in the middle of a small restaurant. Not many options for dinner entrees. We asked if they could make a custom pasta with mushrooms for my dad (because he loves mushrooms) and they said they couldn’t. The service was good because everyone was nice but unfortunately the food wasn’t great.

I love that places like this still exist in Park Slope. So many new restaurants are all about the pretentious bs, and have forgotten the simplicity of a delicious hearty meal and welcoming atmosphere.
Love how this place is so modest and unassuming. They tell you to sit wherever you like and bring over a chalkboard with the hand-​written specials for you to read. They were out of a couple items that day, but had plenty left.
We ordered a few things to share: grilled calamari, grilled scallops, and the pappardelle with tomato cream sauce and bacon. Worth noting, when they found out that we were sharing everything, they went ahead and split all the dishes into two portions! I really appreciated such a thoughtful gesture.
The grilled calamari was served simply, with garlic and red peppers in a white wine sauce. It was very good and very light. The grilled scallops were cooked perfectly and paired well with accompanying salad and cannelini beans.
The real star of the show, however, was the pappardelle. OH. MY. GOD. This dish was absolutely fantastic. Fresh, perfectly al dente pappardelle, a wonderfully creamy yet light tomato cream sauce, bits of smoky bacon, I was in heaven. I couldn’t get enough of it.
I’m already planning for the next time I go back (and believe me, I won’t be sharing that pappardelle).

The first time I went to Scalino, I didn’t even have a Unilocal account! This was back in 2009, and the fact that Scalino is still around in the high-​turnover Park Slope is a testament to how good it is.
It’s a cute corner restaurant with only a few tables inside. This time around, we came for lunch on a Saturday. As I remembered, they do their specials menu on a chalkboard that they bring to your table. Our host/​waitress told us they didn’t have several items just because the fish hadn’t been delivered yet for the week, which was fine because there was still a lot of great things they had in stock.
If you take away only one thing from this review, it should be that you NEED to get the pappardelle in tomato cream sauce with bacon. No, really. Do it. It’s so creamy, and with freshly grated cheese on top, it’s just amazing. The bacon isn’t overpowering, and the pasta is so incredibly fresh. We were sharing plates, so they actually took the time to plate two portions for us before bringing it out. Loved them so much for that. I’m actually fairly certain they made us more as a result, but you can never tell with Italian restaurants…
Also had two of their specials — the grilled calamari and the grilled scallops. Again, they plated the scallops separately for us. Wonderful sear on the outside, atop this wonderful light salad with cannellini beans. Scallops are probably my favorite seafood, so I’m very critical, but Scalino definitely did them right.
The calamari was a huge portion, and was cooked well. Not too rubbery, which is always a concern. We did see the table next to us get the fried calamari, and kind of wish we got that instead. But hey, gotta stay healthy!
Their prices are great and you can’t beat the service. I wholeheartedly plan to come back soon (and hopefully not wait another 6 years!). Please go support these guys. It truly is one of my favorite restaurants in Brooklyn!

This a real neighborhood place. Blaze the owner greets us with a hug and the traditional two cheek kiss. We sit down order a beautiful bottle of red from Umbria.
Next the antipasto salami, prosciutto and hard cheese It’s absolutely spectacular. Also get eggplant Parmesan as an appetizer
For the entrees I order a braised pork shoulder. And my son orders the oxtail. It’s just like the dish we got in Rome. What an absolute delight. Blaze keeps pouring the wine and the San Pellegrino.
After a bit we are STUFFED! But there’s always room for desert. I order the coffee flavored tartufo and a single espresso. What a way to top off a splendid meal!

Our family eats here nearly every Sunday and we look forward to it every single time. This is where our kiddo learned to say «pappardelle» and «rigatoni» — she gets hugs and desserts from the amazing staff and owners. Not to be missed. Indeed, go as often as you can.
Favorite favorites: Rigatoni Scalino, Tagliatelle Carbonara, Pappardelle with tomato bacon cream, Chicken Milanese, all blackboard specials, apple tart, apricot trifle.
Shout out to our favorite waitress ever, known to us as «PK» and the owners, Blaise and Mateo!

Had lunch here today. Very cool place. Very quaint and comfortable. I think the owner was our waiter and he was really cool. Very nice and patient. I had the penne with broccoli rabe and sausage. Really nice and just the right amount. Oh, and lunch was $ 10. Pretty good IMO. We also had some of the meatballs in sauce. Very good.
It wasn’t terribly crowded and we were having a good conversation at the table and stayed there longer than we probably should have but he didn’t give us a hard time at all. He just left us to our conversation and it really made for a great lunch. We probably would have left if it got jammed but it’s nice to see a place not rush you out after you paid them. I’ll be back for sure.

This is why I love Unilocal!You can’t go wrong Going to a restaurant with lots of high reviews. The place is small so make reservations. Due to shortage of seating and delicious food be prepare for very hands on service to try and get you out. The male waiter/​manager/​owner was extremely rude. Guess it’s hard to be pleasant when you’re working non-​stop at a fast pace.
When I made reservations, I told them it was my friends bday and asked they to out a candle in our desert. Even though they’re so busy, the waitress dimmed the light and due to the intimate setting, the whole packed restaurant sang happy birthday to my friend, it was quite an experience.
The Prosciutto & melon was a total delight. Melon was super sweet and fresh and the prosciutto was thin and not stringy.
Grill octopus were cooked to perfection and has the grill flavor. I loved it!!! Even better were The Fresh mozzarella with arugula. Mozzarella was superb, so moist, creamy and FRESH.
The meal gets even better with the entrees. Lamb shank was moist, tender and savory on a bed of white beans. It was so good!
Salmon was the only dish on the table I wouldn’t order again. Even though my friend order it medium, it was cooked well. Even though it wasn’t dry, it could’ve been better.
Pappardelle with smoke bacon and tomato crème sauce was totally consumed and the plates licked clean. The pasta was cooked al dente and the flavoring of the sauce was on point.
The breaded chicken cutlet topped with a bed of salad was super thin, crispy, tender and moist.
There were 6 deserts and we got all 6. The wait staff asked if we were sure we were getting it all. I was super glad I did.
Lemon tort
Apple tart
Crème brûlée
Chocolate soufflé
Chocolate mousse
Tiramisu
The list is in order with my favorite on top. Let’s just say they were all so great we inhaled it and the wait staff were surprised we finished it all and finished it so fast. Definitely getting the lemon tort, apple tart and crème brûlée again. My least favorites were the tiramisu and the chocolate mousse. The tiramisu was too moist, soaked in too much espresso.
If it wasn’t for the rude male worker, I would totally give this place 5 stars.