Sal’s on 12th is easy to miss. It’s small brown window front isn’t as flashy as other Gayberhood spots, but that doesn’t make it less special. The setting makes you imagine yourself in an Al Pacino movie and the restaurant isn’t shy about cultivating its unabashedly mobster appeal.
A large wooden bar, perfect for a pre-dinner cocktail, flanks the restaurant. The food is as reasonable as Italian gets in this part of the city. Try the chicken parmigana—you won’t be disappointed. Upstairs is a lounge and a performance space. It’s sparsely decorated but comes alive on the weekends.