What’s the best authentic Italian restaurant in New York City?
I’m looking for a mom and pop, non-chain, Italian restaurant with superb authentic Italian cuisine in NYC.
The first copy and paste here is so old that some of those restaurants are no longer there.
One of my favorites is Via Emilia NOW located on 21st and Park – they have some very unusual dishes – split an appetizer of tagelle – a kind of do-it-yourself ham and cheese on a hot biscuit. Or try the gnocco frito, a large platter of Italian cold cuts served with delicious fritters. Pastas are excellent – large enough to share. The desserts are excellent, too. The prices here are very reasonable and the quality of the food and the service are very, very good (they don’t take credit cards)
http://www.viaemilianyc.net/
Another one of my favorites is Da Andrea on Hudson and Perry in the West Village. They also are one of the few restaurants that serve tigelle (share it – too filling for one person). Wonderful food, excellent clam sauce here, good service, but it can get crowded and cramped.
http://www.biassanot.com/
Il Mulino in the Village has great food, but, they play too many games with your bill. They make a lot of "mistakes" – you can get charged for a wine that you never ordered (or drank) or an appetizer that you never had. There are also "mistakes" in their addition. If you catch these and point it out to them, they apologize and correct the bill, but this happens more often than not.
Il Cortile is wonderful.
Babbo is probably the best Italian restaurant, but it’s very expensive and definitely not "mom and pop" food. Also, they are booked about two months in advance.
For good food that’s very reasonably priced, consider Bianca on Bleecker Street or Celeste on Amsterdam and 84th on the Upper West Side.
And, if you are from New York, you already know that Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island have better and cheaper Italian restaurants than Manhattan.
1 Lupa(best ever)
Testing the limits of Italian cooking while thumbing its nose at the ancient red-sauced restaurants of Greenwich Village, Lupa evokes a stylish Roman trattoria. But whether dishing up beets zapped with ginger, house-cured coppa, or a bucatini amatriciana authentically propelled with real hog jowl, Lupa never fails to astonish and delight, and the inspired wine list connects directly with Italy’s soul and soil. $
170 Thompson Street, Manhattan 212.982.5089
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2 Roberto’s
Amazingly, Roberto’s manages to make its pastas taste like they were made in the old country and time-warped here, still warm—penne shotgunned with tender duck breast, for example, or grenade-shaped radiatore heaped with luscious porcinis and steamed "in cartocchio." Always ignore the printed menu in favor of chalkboard specials. $
632 East 186th Street, The Bronx 718.733.9503
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3 La Villa
Descended from twin Howard Beach and Mill Basin pizzerias, this Park Slope miracle has it all: a wood-burning inferno from which sail perfect pizzas, and a distinguished menu of primi and secondi. Witness the spectacular Romano, a pie from Abruzzi compressing sausage, pepperoni, and smoky roast potatoes between two slabs of dough. ¢
261 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn 718.499.9888
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4 Max
Besting the rest of the East Village pasta mills founded according to Tuscan principle, Max tenders voluminous servings of pasta that cost less than $10, even at dinnertime, and an amazing wine list specializing in aglianicos. I dream about their pane all’ aglio con acciughe—toasts topped with cheese, garlic, and anchovies, and drizzled with pungent olive oil. ¢ *
51 Avenue B, Manhattan 212.539.0111
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5 San Cono
Though low on ambience, and perhaps too brightly lit, Williamsburg’s foremost restaurant—named after Saint Cono, the 12th-century patron of Teggiano, Italy—churns out wonderful heros and pastas, but the biggest appetites head for the lasagna pizza, a Brooklyn invention that loads ground meat, ricotta, and mozzarella into a deep-dish crust. ¢
303 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn 718.782.3199
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6 ‘ino / ‘inoteca
A plague of panini is upon us! And ‘ino is to blame, inspired by the Milanese sandwich bar Quadronno and still my favorite. Groove to the Italian BLT, the olive bowl, the Nutella panino, and the truffled egg toast, and wash them down with the city’s most perfect cappuccino. ¢
‘ino
21 Bedford Street, Manhattan 212.989.5769
‘inoteca
98 Rivington Street, Manhattan 212.614.0473
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7 al di la
Nominally Venetian, this Park Slope fave branches out into the cooking of Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, and Tuscany, always with an eye for quirky recipes and little-known wines. Ravioli stuffed with beets? Whipped salt cod with grilled polenta? Al di la satisfies a taste for the earthy, the oily, and the arcane. $
248 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn 718.783.4565
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8 Grimaldi’s
While other places that call themselves pizzerias are full-blown restaurants, Grimaldi’s confines itself to pizzas, and a line of supplicants often trails out the door. The queue moves quickly because Grimaldi’s is efficient at turning out the same thin, slightly charred, coal-oven beauties that were learned at the knee of East Harlem’s Patsy. ¢
19 Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn 718.858.4300
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9 Lodomini’s Taste of Italy
Hunkering amid the porn parlors, chicken slaughterhouses, and sweatshops under the Gowanus Expressway, this place doesn’t look like much. Till you spot—if you’re lucky, and the Apulian proprietor happens to be making it—the pizza glowing orange with fresh mussels. Splendid, too, is the spaghetti sauced with tripe and peas. ¢
871 Third Avenue, Brooklyn 718.768.4373
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10 Via Emilia
The unique list of lambruscos is reason enough to visit this cozy Bolognese restaurant, which takes its name from the Roman road that bisects the region. Shaped like a woman’s navel, the tortellini in brodo are magnificent, and don’t miss the starter of charcuterie and gnocco fritto—trapezoidal pillows of dough that, when pricked, shoot out a column of steam. $ *
240 Park Avenue South, Manhattan 212.505.3072
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When you say NYC to a local, swe assume you mean Manhattan.
Well, its NOT Momma Leoni’s. Every tourist goes there. Go to the Village, or Little Italy, and just plunk down in any restaurant where you see lots of locals. Enjoy!
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Oh, i was in NYC a couple of months ago and went to Little Italy to have lunch at Giovanni’s…..it was good. The pizzas are also awesome!!
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I would say
Uva
Bravo Gianni
tre
affettati
Bar Baresco
Bianca
Benito II
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food taster
The other answers above are not based on experience.
You want to eat at Il Mulino or Il Giglio. These are among the very best in Manhattan. Need reservations!
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IL Vagabondo they also have a bocce ball court, They have a website IL Vagabondo.com
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I’ve found a nice list of restaurants that might help. You can drill down the New York results by cities close to you. If you call several of the restaurants you can narrow down wich one would work best for you. http://www.restaurantreviewsratings.com/New-York-Restaurants.html
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The first copy and paste here is so old that some of those restaurants are no longer there.
One of my favorites is Via Emilia NOW located on 21st and Park – they have some very unusual dishes – split an appetizer of tagelle – a kind of do-it-yourself ham and cheese on a hot biscuit. Or try the gnocco frito, a large platter of Italian cold cuts served with delicious fritters. Pastas are excellent – large enough to share. The desserts are excellent, too. The prices here are very reasonable and the quality of the food and the service are very, very good (they don’t take credit cards)
http://www.viaemilianyc.net/
Another one of my favorites is Da Andrea on Hudson and Perry in the West Village. They also are one of the few restaurants that serve tigelle (share it – too filling for one person). Wonderful food, excellent clam sauce here, good service, but it can get crowded and cramped.
http://www.biassanot.com/
Il Mulino in the Village has great food, but, they play too many games with your bill. They make a lot of "mistakes" – you can get charged for a wine that you never ordered (or drank) or an appetizer that you never had. There are also "mistakes" in their addition. If you catch these and point it out to them, they apologize and correct the bill, but this happens more often than not.
Il Cortile is wonderful.
Babbo is probably the best Italian restaurant, but it’s very expensive and definitely not "mom and pop" food. Also, they are booked about two months in advance.
For good food that’s very reasonably priced, consider Bianca on Bleecker Street or Celeste on Amsterdam and 84th on the Upper West Side.
And, if you are from New York, you already know that Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island have better and cheaper Italian restaurants than Manhattan.
References :