Cotto Wine Bar Restaurant - Stamford

The bolognese was a bit too heavy on sauce and meat compared to the pasta, but the pasta itself was homemade, which was a nice touch. The tuna tartare was excellent! The cucumber slices and avocado at the bottom added a refreshing note and helped cleanse the palate. As for the salmon, it was cooked to perfection but felt quite heavy. Between the rich buttery sauce and the creamy mashed potatoes, I found myself in a bit of a food coma. We shared tiramisu, crème brûlée, and sorbet for dessert, and all three were delicious. Overall, it was a very satisfying meal, though on the heavier side. One area for improvement would be the beer selection. I understand that their specialty is wine, being a wine bar, but it would be great to have a small selection of five well-crafted beers for those of us who don’t drink wine.

We were there today 3/8/17 for lunch. 3 people for a business lunch among friends. The location is easy to get to if you are in stamford already. It is walking distance from many of the office buildings in town and across the street from the mall. The staff are always friendly and quick on the service. The restaurant is open and gets a lot of light at lunch reflecting off the building across the street. We all agreed to a tapas lunch which means sharing everything. It worked out nicely as each tapa had 3 or 4 pieces. We were all very pleased with the dishes and each had its own flavor so you didn 't get overwhelmed by one spice or sauce as you tried different items. One of our diners is not into seafood which is why we only tried one of those dishes. Fresh bread it was fresh and perfect with the EVOO but make sure to get more to eat with the tapas. Arancini 4 cheese with rice croquet. This was a nice item filled with cheese flavor and a well done crunchy exterior. Just enough rice so you know it is there but not so much that makes it a rice ball. Cheese is the main here 3 balls. Potato croquet actually was the favorite of 2 of our 3 at lunch. Looked very similar to the Arancini but completely different on the inside. 3 balls of fluffy light potato mash. Grilled octopus my favorite, grilled to perfection with just the right amount of char. Fresh with great seafood flavor not at all fishy. 5 small chunks Meatballs a hearty red sauce over 4 small meatballs that were well made and nicely flavored. Hanger steak 4 pieces of thinly sliced hanger steak with melted cheese on top. These were good but not my favorite compared to the rest. Lamb sliders there were 3 of these and we would have eaten 6. It is a faux bun made of grilled polenta and shredded lamb in a flavorful sauce. These were so good! After all that we split a plate of the tagliatelle bolognese. The sauce was similar to the meatballs which is to say very nice. The pasta was fresh tasting and perfectly al Dente. If you know your guests and no one is a double dipper I highly recommend trying this out. I only wish it had been after work so we could have had a nice bottle of wine. Next time!

We took Dad here for a father day lunch on a Sunday afternoon. The place opened for us I guess because in the 2 hours we dined no one came or went. That said. You should go here! The service was great. I called a week in advance for a reservation for 9+ a toddler. They were ready with a table put together for us when I arrived 5 min before they even opened. Doors unlocked and ready for us. Our server was wonderful, prompt, informative and friendly. She had a couple helpers pouring water and delivering food who were also polite and attentive. The food was awesome sauce. We had three apps and I highly recommend the octopus. The sauce was killer the texture perfect. We ordered a variety of lunch and brunch foods. Everyone raved about how good their plate was. I had a savory hanger steady with grilled asparagus. Charred just right and med rare as I asked for it. Spectacular Demi on top. Sitting next to me my brother had a lobster pasta dish with a half whole lobster on it. Made my mouth water. If your looking for good food and service. Check this one out. They also on Sunday mornings do do a bottomless mimosas or **** Mary deal as wine bottles were 1/2 price.

4.5 Stars We had a terrific meal last night. Got together to celebrate Christmas with old friends. We were sat the second we arrived. The restaurant was a little noisier than I expected, but not terrible. There is a large bar along the one side of the restaurant and the place has a pretty cool decor, with the windows being replaced with huge wine racks. We were sat at a table right near the kitchen, which was ok, but again, a little noisy. Everyone, all 7 folks, loved there meals. Portions are moderate in size and reasonably priced. I had the Pizza Scarpariello, which was really fantastic; grilled chicken, hot Italian sausage, and hot peppers. The crust was perfectly cooked and very tasty. We also enjoyed the fried calamari, which was served with their marinara sauce and a spicy chipotle sauce. Others had the braised short rib raviolis, smothered in mushrooms and served with a marsala sauce, the bolognese, which looked really good and the Chicken Scarpariello, which was every bit as good as the pizza. We had coffee, tea and a couple of desserts. I enjoyed the coffee and the biscotti were VERY good as well. Everyone had a drink or two and we dropped about $60 per person with tip. Not terrible. They lost a star for two reasons: first, while the service was attentive for the most part, we waited for water and drink refills. Not cool. Second, when we were still having desert, they mopped the kitchen, which filled the area we were in with an ammonia smell, not appealing and also not cool. All in all, I would return for the food.

Varied menu: warm and cold tapas, salads, charcuterie, pastas, entree, broad varied wine list w many from regions of Italy, and of course artesian thin wood fired pizza. Refreshing to see real chicken Milanese over Arugula, polenta, roasted Brussels sprouts, Arancini and real Bufala mozzarella Talegio on the permanent menu! Sleek interior: Italian marble bar, black white photos of a by-gone movie era w Marcello Mastroianni Brigitte Bardot pepper the walls. The curved wood-planked ceiling is a real focal interest as is the huge gas fired pizza oven which is prominently displayed. Time will tell if Cotto can hold its own in a city glutted w trendy Italian eateries. Lets hope so.