Santina

I’ve passed it a hundred times, salivated as I walked past, jealous of those sipping gorgeous looking cocktails while I ran errands, was late to something. Finally the other night was my night! I tried Santina, a coastal Italian restaurant in the heart of the Meatpacking District of NYC, for the first time and kicked myself for not stopping in sooner. It’s such a nice departure from everything else in New York.

At first glance, with it’s color palette, whimsical, boldly bright platters and tropical punch in a pineapple mug, one would assume it’s a Mexican restaurant. The originality doesn’t end there. The menu is filled with interesting eats like Cecina, Tuscan chickpea pancakes, served on a cake plate that you fix with fillings of your choice and Squash Carpaccio that is one of the best things I’ve ever had and I’m not even a big squash eater!

The vibe is fun and lively, the service on point…

Located below the Highline and next to the Standard Hotel, it’s the perfect place for a girl’s dinner and drinks or brunch. And when the weather is nice, outside seating is a must. Just make a reservation! This place is popular. For good reason.

I normally shoot my own photos but, when I was there, it was dark and crowded, not making for the best pictures and I didn’t want my lack of visuals to hold me up recommending this place to you guys so I sourced other images from the web. Credits include, in order, staring with cover image: blog.sixtyhotels.com, Syrah Queen, tastingtable.com, myclosetlife.com, table.us, Eater and Bloomberg.