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Risotteria Melotti comes to NYC via Isola della Scala, Verona, Italy and brings with it a menu of rice based dishes (like the name-giving risotto) that all happen to be gluten free. After ten years in the restaurant business in Italy, the Melotti family opened their New York outpost in 2013. Since then, they’ve been serving up more than ten types of risotto, also available as rice pasta, along with other Italian specialties and selling their rice and rice-based speciality products in the East Village.
What makes Risotteria Melotti so special is that all of the rice comes from the Melotti family farm in Verona. They specialize in two varieties of rice: Vialone Nano Veronese and Carnaroli. All of their rice and rice products are imported from the farm in Italy, which has been growing rice since 1986. Many of the recipes used at the restaurant are family dishes passed down from Mamma Rosetta.
Start your meal with fantastic rice-based bread, a luxury for gluten-free diners, before moving on to appetizers like arancini, polenta, and rice flour fritto misto. Take your pick from the long list of risotto varieties, which include Mamma Rosetta’s recipe for spinach and asiago risotto along with cacio e pepe and fig and prosciutto iterations, that can all be served with rice flour penne or tagliatelle as well. Our favorite was a lemony shrimp tagliatelle that you could barely tell was not fresh flour pasta.
The restaurant staff also collaborates with the Randall’s Island Association to offer Rice Classes at Randall’s Island Park. Taste their dishes and then see what goes into creating them yourself!
Risotteria Melotti
309 East 5th Street
Monday–Thursday: 12:00–10:30 PM
Friday: 12:00–11:30 PM
Saturday: 11:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Sunday: 11:30 AM – 10:30 PM