"The atmosphere was exquisite, interesting photographs, signed magazine covers of past regulars like Bowie and Iman."
"The atmosphere was great - it had a warm and inviting vibe, with rustic decor and cozy lighting."
"Definitely had a neighborhood feel, cozy and reminiscent of places we’ve been to in Italy."
"The inside of the restaurant is worth the look. It's a mosaic of pictures of the owners and Hollywood stars."
"The atmosphere was awesome. I really felt like I was at a mom and pop NYC italian joint."
"The interior exuded warmth and a bustling energy, captivating with its close-knit setup and the fascinating mosaic of patrons and staff animating the space."
"This place feels like what you'd expect when you think old school New York and the style of the restaurant is perfect."
Cons:
"It doesn't have the mom + pop old school welcoming feel that you'd expect."
"There’s no ambiance, and you just feel like the least important person in the room even though you’re a paying customer."
"We sat between wine bottles and trash more or less in the kitchen."
"Tables were filled with extraordinarily loud drunk people – loudest restaurant we’ve ever been to."
"Wires hanged from the ceiling, there were some abandoned refrigerators, random haphazard art..."
Service
Pros:
"I was sat immediately by one of the most welcoming people!"
"The service was impeccable."
"Lourdes, the proprietress, was our server and made us feel like family."
"Their host was excellent offering suggestions and made the effort in attempting to understand my preferences."
"The staff was welcoming and had perfect recommendations."
"Our waiter Mario, was extremely friendly, professional, and warm."
"Service was prompt and effective."
Cons:
"The thing that ruined the experience for us was the service."
"Don’t normally leave reviews but this is an overhyped tourist trap."
"Our server was exceptionally bad - didn’t mention any specials, tables seated after us were served food, cleaned up, and re-seated prior to us getting our food."
"The service made this restaurant so unappealing."
"Service is horrible: seems like they are in a rush, and they are only nice when they bring you the check."
"The older woman waitresses the least accommodating/lazy/rude and couldn’t care less other than to just take your order cause she has to."
"Never had such a horrible experience in all my years eating out in nyc."
Food
Pros:
"probably the best REAL Italian food i’ve ever had."
"Our plates were almost licked clean!"
"Every course was cooked beautifully. Pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. Seasoning was delicious without being overwhelming."
"The food is top shelf."
"The food was amazing! The service was polite and prompt, very efficient."
"The chicken parmigiana stole the show, arriving as a generous portion adorned with flavorful tomato sauce, ample mozzarella, and parmigiana cheese - undeniably the highlight of our meal."
"The bolognese sauce and pasta were the best I've ever had."
Cons:
"The chicken parm was good, not great."
"Some of the dishes needed seasoning."
"Hour wait for mediocre food."
"The clam appetizer was laughably bad. Rubbery, frozen clams and the breadcrumb topping arrived soaking wet, but burned on top."
"The veal scalopine is huge but dry and tasteless."
"The pasta Bolognese was horrible. Very dry pasta and very dry meat."
"The white sauce clam spaghetti didn't quite meet my expectations, as it seemed overly greasy and the pasta itself lacked the freshness I anticipated."
Price
Pros:
"Service is attentive and price points fair."
"Portions are generous and the prices are fair for what you get."
"they make it worth the price with quality food and good service."
Cons:
"$11 for a small take away cannoli. That is insane."
"Insanely expensive with small portions."
"Ways too expensive. Didn't impress me at all."
"The tiramisu was yum and wine was expensive.. $20 for a glass of house wine!"
"With pasta at $40, I was expecting a larger portion and more flavor."
"Prices too high for the quality offered."
"House wine 20.00 a glass even though they make it in Italy way over priced."
Reservation Policy
Pros:
"If you're going to wait in line for something - make sure it's worth it. Emilio's Ballato is worth it."
"I love that you can always get seated (after an easy 10-20 min wait at the door)."
"The atmosphere is just as cool and you'll generally be able to get in without a wait."
Cons:
"They don’t take reservations."
"For no reservations they let dozens of people skip the line."
"We waited in line outside for over an hour and a half for a table for two."
"Don’t know if we’d go back again to wait from 5-7pm for a table while masses of people got ahead of us by walking in with a reservation."
"It’s 2024 people and they don’t take reservations."
"Waited for 2 hours and had to watch the friends of front house staff repeatedly get seated as soon as they walked up, despite having a no reservations policy."
"An hour and forty minutes of waiting later, under the assumption that no reservations were accepted, it became apparent that this was only partially true; a pricier reservation option would have spared us the sidewalk time."