Italian. Spes is intimate. You can count the tables on less than two hands. Tiny white lights dot the walls, candles here and there. Many Polaroids spread across the mirror behind the bar. Who are those people, I was tempted to ask.
Their cuisine, however, is no mystery. Purely Italian and of the highest quality.
To begin, they tempt with a tantalizing selection of meat and artisanal cheese. Each presides over a significant slice of sourdough, ingeniously served with a side of fruit and honey for dipping.
I chose prosciutto di Parma, aged 30 months. This must be its ideal age, because that ham was fine. The pear and honey creating a counterpoint of sweetness not to be missed.
The gnocchi cacio e pepe is feather light and goose egg shaped by design. The pasta freshly stuffed with pecorino, black pepper in sage butter, plus pistachio. In a word: ummmmm.
Their spaghettoni with lobster is lavished with seafood (lobster tail, Maine). Peperoncino in the mix to grant the tomato sauce such spice.
It must be mentioned that Spes serves more than 100 natural wines, all by the glass. But if you only went for the vino, you would so miss out.
The tables are few, the experience tremendous. Snap one up ASAP.