Some people call it "spaghetti sauce," others call it "gravy," but when we enjoy a well-made pasta topping, we don't hesitate to mop up the extra with some bread rather than let it go to waste. You can't always tell which restaurants are making fresh pasta, or their own tiramisu, by looking at the red tablecloths and white napkins. Whether you're craving a simple plate of spaghetti and meatballs, or an osso buco that melts in your mouth, here are our choices for the Top 10 Italian Restaurants in New York, presented in alphabetical order. Mangia!
Some people call it "spaghetti sauce," others call it "gravy," but when we enjoy a well-made pasta topping, we don't hesitate to mop up the extra with some b... more
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1
Abboccato
136 W. 55th St., New York, NY 10019 / 212-265-4000
In a city dense with Italian restaurants, it’s not easy to stand out. But this Midtown eatery has managed to do just that. Abboccato opened with a menu of Italian dishes prettied up with French technique. Think ravioli stuffed with foie gras and then drizzled with pistachio sauce. But the restaurant’s vision turned back to Italy, and it’s reflected in the menu of pared-down, straightforward dishes. The spaghetti amatriciana, tomato sauce, crispy guanciale and red onions, might emerge from a trattoria on a Roman side-street. The sardines---in this case, of the bigger Portuguese variety---taste like they have just been fished from the sea. The veal sweetbreads, an ultra-tender loaf, are amplified by their speck-encrusted exterior. In fact, even the side of broccoli rabe is over-salted---just as you’d find in Italy. The lengthy all-Italian wine list offers plenty of selections to wash it all down. Service is topnotch.
2
Babbo
110 Waverly Pl., New York, NY 10011 / 212-777-0303
Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich transformed the Old Coach House, a New York restaurant landmark from the '60s, into a modern Roman-style trattoria. Everything, from the tiny bar where Italian wines are poured to the upstairs dining room with yellow walls and pretty flowers, is altogether inviting. For the adventurous, try the special pasta tasting menu---five pastas followed by two desserts (talk about a winning formula)---which might include black tagliatelle with parsnips and pancetta or grilled venison with acorn squash caponata and mint pesto. Other creative items are the warm lamb’s tongue vinaigrette with chanterelles and a three-minute egg or the barbecued squab with roasted beet “farrotto” and porcini mustard. Finish with a savory saffron panna cotta accompanied by quince, pink peppercorn and quince sorbetto.
3
Del Posto
85 Tenth Ave., New York, NY 10011 / 212-497-8090
Restaurant composers Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich collaborate again, making previous partnerships like Lupa, Otto and Babbo seem like mere overtures to this operatic palazzo of Italian gastronomy. A sweeping marble staircase dominates the sprawling, bi-level space, also marked by terrazzo floors, wrought-iron balconies, and the tinkling of live piano music. The menu reads like a cumulative libretto of the other eateries’ greatest hits, starting off with a large list of antipasti including an herb and lettuce salad with Lambrusco vinaigrette and abalone carpaccio with white asparagus and charred ramps. But the pastas are the true arias in this production, from the slick spaghetti with crab meat and piquant jalapeño to the potato gnocchi with red wattle ragù, shaved fennel and burnt pollen. Satisfyingly soupy risotto comes to the table in a searing hot skillet; it pays to patiently wait for it to cool so as to savor the undertones of crawfish, peas and mint. Meats include a rack of lamb for two with sage, Sangiovese, schiacciata and carrots. Finish with something from the vast cart of petits fours, or better yet, the “Bravo!”-worthy tasting of world chocolates paired with aged rums.
4
Felidia Ristorante
243 E. 58th St., New York, NY 10022 / 212-758-1479
Lidia Bastianich, cookbook author and co-owner of Esca and Becco in New York and Lidia's in Kansas City and Pittsburgh, still considers Felidia the jewel in her culinary crown. The bi-level restaurant is elegant and betrays a convivial love of all things Italian. Her chef at this flagship, Fortunato Nicotra, delivers a consistently distinctive gastronomic experience notable for its nod to Istria, near the Italian and former-Yugoslavian border from where Bastianich hails. There are always interesting foods to sample at Felidia, including a changing menu that highlights a particular Italian region and dishes selected to complement specific extra-virgin olive oils. Some winners: quail saltimbocca with Marsala wine, Brussels sprouts, parsnips and chips or grilled Mediterranean bass with steamed leeks, zucchini, fennel and capezzana olio novello. The extensive Italian wine list is a treat.
5
Fiamma
206 Spring St., New York, NY 10012 / 212-653-0100
Since the arrival of chef Fabio Trabocchi, foodies have been rallying to taste his unique take on regional Italian cuisine. The prix-fixe menu offers a choice of three, five or seven courses; in addition, daily specials change according to ingredient availability. Start with a duo of Wagyu beef: carpaccio and tartare with wild mushrooms and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Make sure to order vincisgrassi, a refined regional version of lasagna, a millefeuille of pasta and diced veal in a delicate sauce. Smoked gnocchi are first-rate and the Grimaud Farm duck or juicy wild striped bass a fine accompaniment. Pastry chef Thomas Wellings’s mascarpone panna cotta with Corbezzolo honey gelato and date purée or silky lemon mousse with toasted meringue and ricotta ice cream provide the perfect finishing touch for a meal. The elegant, multi-level space nestled in a chic SoHo townhouse on Spring Street is inviting and the staff swift and accommodating.
6
Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano
60 Greenwich Ave., New York, NY 10011 / 212-924-8000
More contemporary than charming, Gusto's simple elegance derives from the sleek retro black and white design that pays homage to Italian films of the fifties and sixties. The first coarse sets the stage for the night: choose from crisp fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with oozing mozzarella, savory grilled octopus (which is served whole), and prosciutto and figs on focaccia so fresh you'll swear it was just flown in from Genoa. The substantial entrées include couscous alla trapanese, capesante con scafata (scallops with fava beans, peas and mint) or agnello brodettato (tender lamb roasted with artichokes, pecorino and lemon). On weekends, the well-stocked bar can produce an apéritif, a digestif or six variations of the Bloody Mary. One caveat: reservations are a must.
7
i Trulli
122 E. 27th St., New York, NY 10016 / 212-481-7372
The scent of traditional Pugliese cooking is enough to lure diners into this attractive and cozy country-style restaurant---the centerpiece of which is a traditional dome-shaped grill. Sample the wines of Southern Italy to go with, say, an unusual, though tempting, appetizer of calamari slow cooked with chard, Aglianico, and black chickpeas. Don't miss the grilled octopus on shaved fennel and orange segments. The earthy pork loin, roasted in a clay pot, and other seasonal game dishes almost make you feel you are out among the orchards of Apulia. Equally transporting is Enoteca I Trulli, an almost clinically austere little wine bar that connects to the restaurant, where excellent Italian wines are served by the glass and the flight.
8
Insieme
The Michelangelo, 777 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019 / 212-582-1310
Marco Canora’s first Italian restaurant, located in The Michelangelo hotel, is also his most accessible and enjoyable eatery to date. The soothing interior, demarcated by willowy dividers separating booths, neutral tones and plenty of room between patrons, rescues the odd location. Even the wine list, curated by Paul Greico, is more accessible here. The selection of Italian wines is extensive, peppered by clever touches like bullet points indicating diners should order rosé. As for the food itself, Canora sidesteps the pedantic dining experience of Hearth by splitting the menu in two. One side is devoted to Italian standards, the other to more contemporary fare. The option of picking and choosing vastly improves the meal. Start with the classic, delicate baby beef tartare, mixed with porcini mushroom. The contemporary side of the menu doesn’t disappoint, either. The lamb, done as a chop, saddle, sausage and breast with morels and spring peas and lavender is a delight: each cut is well executed and bursts with flavor, complementing the morels. Sea urchin risotto topped with bonito flakes is one of Insieme’s best dishes---a complete taste of the ocean in every bite---and the black olive fettuccine and spinach lasagna are equally enjoyable. Defying expectations, Insieme is one of the best Italian restaurants in the neighborhood, creating a tailor-made meal for any kind of palate.
9
Osteria del Circo
120 W. 55th St., New York, NY 10019 / 212-265-3636
There's much to enjoy at this Fellini-style restaurant with a whimsical circus theme, designed by Adam Tihany who played the circus theme to the hilt. He adorned the room with panels of red-and-yellow cloth evoking a circus tent and adding other fun touches like the Calder-like metal monkeys and clowns who gambol overhead. Brothers Mario, Marco and Mauro Maccioni learned how to run a tight ship from their father, Le Cirque owner Sirio Maccioni. An animated air of professionalism and youthful elegance reigns. The team has brought their show on the road opening a branch in Las Vegas, but the original is still a destination. Sirio may be the inspirational front-of-house force, but it's his wife, Egidiana, who influenced such dishes as ravioli di mamma Egi (spinach and sheep's milk ricotta in a butter-sage sauce). In addition to homemade pastas that are uniformly excellent, you can start with a thin-crusted pizza or such appetizers as beef carpaccio with an aromatic herb crust. Entrées range from a homey Tuscan brick-pressed chicken to a superb rib-eye steak. Almost as show-stopping as the multimillion-dollar décor and the many celebrities who feel at home in its environs are the fanciful desserts like wonderful bombolini, which are really just sinfully delicious jelly doughnuts.
10
Peasant
194 Elizabeth St., New York, NY 10012 / 212-965-9511
If only all peasants had it so good! Straightforward, traditional cuisine from Tuscany is prepared to near-perfection at this much-lauded restaurant. Much of it is prepared in an old-fashioned brick oven, giving that unmistakable wood smoke--tinged aroma and flavor. We recommend the hearty baked-meat dishes if you want to commune with your Old Country ancestors. The wine list is almost completely Italian. This is a very enjoyable dining experience, the only downside being that it can get very loud during busy times.
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