cinghiale

paul and marie. we celebrated paul's 70th birthday at cinghiale tonight - our first experience at the restaurant. we could not have had a better meal with a friendlier staff. our waiter, jose, was very helpful regarding our choices for dinner - we were not disappointed. with the help of sommelier nick''s advice we ordered a very nice bottle of white wine for the meal, but were later treated to an extra glass of two different wines - a red and a white that were pared with our specific entrees - they were excellent.

we will return soon with our foodie son and daughter-in-law.

great meat appetizers. excellent pasta dishes. probably the finest italian wine list in the u.s. expensive yes.

the pasta is so delicious and tastes so authentic and homemade. (it puts quite a dent in the wallet just fyi) there's a great wine list as well. my hub and i ate in the formal dining room which is definitely fancier than the wine bar, which looks lively and inviting.

so… i have a few favorite italian spots, and none of them are in little italy.   cinghiale has earned its spot – from the food to the busy atmosphere to the service.  cody was super helpful in helping us decipher the menu and design some vegetarian dishes.   he also helped us pick a great peppery pinot nero that fit in perfectly with our rich, decadent pasta dishes. i started with the fairytale pumpkin chestnut “cappuccino”  with poached pear.  a lot of people think of pumpkin pie or pumpkin spice and expect that cinnamon sweet sugary flavor when they hear pumpkin.  this soup was savory – the chestnut pumpkin flavor shown through this creamy bisque.  the pumpkin is incredibly smooth.  the poached seasonal pears at the bottom of the coffee cup was like a sweet surprise.   this was all mine, despite the name, it is not vegetarian – there is chicken stock and pancetta. the brussels sprout and kale salad is also not vegetarian – but the chef was nice enough to sub out the pancetta vinaigrette for a lemon one.  (i can’t wait to go back and try it as it was designed; i hope it will still be on the menu…)  this was definitely more kale than brussels, but i didn’t mind.  the baby kale was not at all bitter and the crisp shaved sprouts added a nice crunch.  there were some other textural elements – shaved cheese and some croutons. for main courses, we all went pasta;  we did have a 6.2 mile run the next day.  my mom went with a chef-inspired pasta dish – fresh house-made spaghetti with seasonal vegetables – including more brussels, mushrooms and the baby kale.  she loved the garlicky pasta and ate just about every bite. i was amazed that we all had pasta and each dish had a completely different flavor profile. i was the only one who ordered straight from the menu – a tajarin with a rich buttery sea urchin sauce and day boat scallops.  the scallops were super sweet and exquisitely cooked.  they truly complemented the briny and

i take all my clients here!!. best. fabulous. heaven. thank you.

why hadn’t we managed to dine here before? maybe because john's dinner alone cost $99 + tax + tip? perhaps...

less than perfect. having had good experiences in the past at cinghiale we planned my husband's birthday dinner on a monday night. we had notable disasters from the menu-selections that were absolutely bland, without anything to recommend them despite the list of appealing ingredients. the calamari, though tender, required only one bite per person to leave untouched further; the endive salad, bereft of any actual green leaf much less promised pomegranate; and most underwhelming, the lamb shank, which was devoid of seasoning to an appalling degree. the rich veal reduction over the tortellini was superb, yet couldn't mask the dryness of the pasta. house made chocolate peppermint gelato again merely faintly flavored and melted upon arrival at our table. was it worth the price?

great restaurant. good service and great food tremendous italian wine list. try the tagliatelle with duck neck confit.

47th anniversary dinner!! what a disappointment. somelier spilled glass of wine on table and never offered to change cloth. blots it up and offers another napkin when first is used. smelled!!! i had to ask for table cloth change. ordered salami plate - sent wrong meat. server never showed up. had to flag another. did not like menu. planned to order 4-course but couldn't find enough that i liked. ended up ordering smaller menu. shrimp and spaghetti. shrimp had tails on!! there goes anniversary manicure. had to dig into wet spaghetti to pull off tails. shrimp were small and rubbery. took it home. couldn't complain to husband, as he had planned this in advance and so wanted us to have a special night. never again!!!

has potential..... what to say about this place... if it were a moderately priced restaurant, i would say the experience was pleasant, but for the price and the way the restaurant hypes it self up, i was pretty disappointed. i will start with the good... the wine menu was extensive and very impressive. plenty of authentic italian wine at various price levels. the cured meats are fresh and cut right when you order like any self-respecting italian restaurant would do. the pasta course and desert were both delicious and obviously home made - i could have had double portions of both! now to the negatives... there were tons of employees running all over the place but they didn't seem to be doing much except getting in each other's way. the waiter was nice and attentive, but anytime we asked one of the "bow-tie gang" for anything, they seemed very put out and stuck up. my companion ordered the risotto for her pasta course and it was undercooked as was my wagu sirloin. i asked for medium rare and it was barely seared - i'm sorry but you can not call yourself a fine dining restaurant if you can't properly cook a steak, especially when you serve it sliced! it was also extremely tough which seems very strange for a wagu steak... made me wonder if that is what they really serve. but all that could have been overlooked if i hadn't been so disappointed with the wine pairing selections. i chose the menu option that pairs a wine with every course for you. while i am a wine lover, i am not an expert and the establishment claimed to have a sommelier so i figured this would be an excellent choice. it must have been his/her night off. the selections were not just slightly off - it was like they tried to find the wine that would be the least appropriate fore each meal. the dessert was the worst of the lot... i ordered the tiramisu and the wine they served came with a spicy apple cinnamon biscotti that was a much better accompaniment than the rich, coffee flavored dessert i had. when i brought my concerns up to the waiter i expected him to offer to get the manager or the sommelier but he just shrugged and told me that they had a limited number of wines offered with the wine pairing option and those were the best they could do. not a good answer for a restaurant who's wine menu is 10x's larger than their food menu. all in all i was very disappointed and would not go back again... there are just too many other good choices in the area.

tiny portions, huge prices. not worth it unless you want to leave hungry and broke. too many good places in baltimore to go here.

15th birthday celebration. my grandson is a "foodie" and is a very adventurous diner. he was not disappointed by his meal at cinghiale. after the first course of sand eels he said, "i think the dinner will go downhill from here". gratefully, he was wrong. he loved the rabbit ravioli and declared the broth "delicious with a wonderful after-taste that is fresh and full of flavor". his steak was cooked to perfection. his younger brother is just the opposite and wanted pasta with nothing on it and a steak "well done". the waiter totally understood him and honored his wishes. toward the end of the meal the waiter came up to ask if we were celebrating a special occasion. i got a look from my grandson that begged me to so "no", which i did say. the waiter then came later with an extra dessert of chocolate panna cotta and said, "i have a feeling that you guys are celebrating something". the evening was a perfect celebration and the food was what we expect from a foreman-wolf establishment. we will make the long drive from northern baltimore county to cinghiale for another delicious meal.

enjoyed it. great restaurant, excellent service, very nice italian inspired menu.

cheese and wine at the bar. amazing... i could eat here every night even if just cheese and wine at the bar!

we were very pleased with all aspects of our experience at cinghale. everyone from the reservation staff to the wait staff were very professional and extremely competent. the room was very full and loud but suprisingly my wife and i were able to converse without difficulty. the food was well presented and very tasty and the wine list extensive with good values available as well. one of my pet peeves is when wait staff comes to the table too frequently to ask how everything was... not here! the waiter ( valencia) was very very good, she was there when we needed assistance but was watchful and respectful of privacy as well.. no small accomplishment. overall a very memorable experience... kudos to all. we will return when in town again.