When my friend Jess suggested we meet for lunch at ‘ino she warned me that it was very small, so there was a chance we wouldn’t be able to get a seat. We were seated immediately, but about half way through our meal a party of six came in and we were asked to move to another table so that their party could be accommodated.

Enough about the size of the place, you’re saying. How’s the food? My artichoke, fennel, and fontina panini ($11) was actually really good. The bright note of the fennel really played well against the saltiness of the other ingredients, and the bread was nice and crusty. The only thing that was confusing was the small pile of squash left on the plate like a half-hearted attempt at a side dish. It wasn’t very good, but more than that it was completely unnecessary.

Jess got a tramezzini, which it turns out just means a sandwich — in her case egg salad with asparagus ($7). It was good, though a little salty. Personally I didn’t think the asparagus added anything but texture to the sandwich. She also got a small pile of fennel on the plate, in the same vein as my pile of squash.

She also got a bruschetta ($3) with whole roasted garlic cloves and pesto, which was difficult to eat because of the crusty bread and the whole garlic cloves.

Despite the small space and the strange salad, lunch at ‘ino was quite good. I’d certainly recommend it for lunch, as long as you don’t mind being squeezed in next to other diners.

‘ino — 21 Bedford St

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