NYCReview
Faro
Included In
Updated on October 12th, 2021
A lot has changed in Bushwick since the early 2010’s. Now, Roberta’s sells frozen pizzas, groups on private graffiti tours waddle down Jefferson Street, and many of the cool bars where you can dance exist in Ridgewood or beyond.
Despite time moving forward, though, Faro remains largely untouched - stuck serving the same rustic seasonal American food in the same L-train adjacent warehouse space. It’s still a useful place for date nights or any time a relative is in town. And, yet, it also feels like the nicest restaurant in New Hampshire or, more simply, a Bushwick time capsule from the year 2015.
They serve half a dozen kinds of freshly-extruded pasta, as well as garlic-lathered sourdough focaccia baked in a wood-burning oven that makes the whole place smell like a park ranger forest facility. To Faro’s credit, their pastas are served in such generous quantities that even the $16 half-portions prove more substantial than what you get at the city’s top carbohydrate spots like Rezdora and Lilia.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
But even still, the concrete-and-shiplap minimalist space, which once may have felt chic, now creates a perpetually empty atmosphere even when the restaurant is busy. The pastas might occasionally confuse you. “Why is there pulled, confit chicken lubing up my bucatini?” you might wonder about the oily chicken in your midst. A broccoli-fior di latte-filled agnolotti with lemony breadcrumbs might sound light and refreshing, but if it’s the same one that we tried from a recent summer menu, it’ll be too dense and salty.
After such pasta-dominated meals here over the years, we wish the menu took more advantage of their beautiful wood-burning oven in the middle of the open kitchen. That’s like deciding to be the hottest HBO series protagonist for Halloween when you have a perfectly good Ms. Frizzle costume in your closet. Use what you’ve got.
There aren’t a lot of restaurants like Faro in Bushwick, and that’s what makes it valuable for anyone planning dinners in the neighborhood. Our advice? Refrain from going all out on pasta, and use the rundown below for guidance on which kinds we recommend. Get a couple seasonal vegetable starters and the airy focaccia that tastes like garlic in every bite.
Even as the neighborhood’s restaurant scene has ballooned since 2010, few Bushwick spots have blurred the line between a neighborhood night out and a fine dining experience. Faro is still one of them.
Much of Faro’s food changes seasonally, but you’ll probably encounter a menu that looks something like this.
Food Rundown
Sourdough Sesame Focaccia
Whatever The Salad Is
Strangolapreti
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Bucatini
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Cavatelli
photo credit: Noah Devereaux