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Antonucci Restaurant
Category:
Italian
170 E 81st St(between Lexington Ave & 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10028
Neighborhoods: Yorkville, Upper East Side
(212) 570-5100
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
77 St. (4, 6, 6X)86 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
- Hours:
- Mon-Sat 12 pm - 11 pmSun 12 pm - 10 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
- $$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Intimate, Classy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
44 reviews for Antonucci Restaurant
Review Highlights What's this?
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"My local spot for spaghetti and meatballs closed." In 8 reviews -
"The pasta was fresh and the tomato dipping sauce was incredible." In 4 reviews -
"Excellent overall upscale Italian over on the UES." In 9 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
44 reviews in English
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Review from Son N.
Chicago, ILA hidden gem of the dining scene in the Upper East Side.
Our group found the Venetian trattoria almost by accident - unable to reach a consensus on a dinner venue, we happened to walk by Antonucci and saw signor Antonucci entertaining other patrons at the time. We knew there and then that the place merited a try.
The goat cheese and tomato dip that accompanies a sampling of bread could by itself be the highlight of many meals. Yet each subsequent fare brought us an even broader grin (and heavier stomach): decadent salmon ratatouille, tender braised short ribs, duck ravioli, tiramisu, and buttermilk panna cotta. As you can tell, we were so full the walk back to our places wasn't particularly fun. Yet, is Antonucci worth the effort? Absolutely.-
Duck ravioli
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Review from Jasmine T.
New York, NYThank you, Yelp! My local spot for spaghetti and meatballs closed. Heartbroken, I consulted my options for a jaunt to the UES.
Luckily, Antonucci was open for lunch on a MONDAY and had outside seating. They served a large portion (enough for 2!) with 3 meatballs instead of the usual 2. Non- greasy & homemade, yum! -
Review from Efri D.
Mott Haven, Bronx, NYTHE BEST ITALIAN FOOD IN NYC !
Lol I hate to give up this spot - I just want to keep it to myself -
Review from Greg M.
LONG ISLAND CITY, NYDelicious food.Great service and the best tiramisu of New York -
Review from Adam P.
Manhattan, NYDON'T GET OR RECEIVE A GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM HERE:
I have very little negative to say about this restaurant food and service wise, but the owner definitely has issues. Imagine this... your grandmother gets you and your brother separate gift certificates to use at this establishment because it is one of our favorite Italian restaurants on the UES. However, when you use the gift certificate, the owner doesn't allow for it to be used towards the waiters tip!! That you have to leave separately. So any balance left over, the restaurant (owner) keeps. Is that even legal?Now imagine that one of the brothers loses the physical gift certificate and calls the restaurant. The hostess couldn't be nicer, sees they have record and that it was never used. No problem she says. 10 mins later though you get a call back telling you the owner will not honor it because you don't physically have it in hand any more. #DisputingCharges #Greedy -
Review from Mike B.
Harvard Square, Boston, MAUnreal food. We sat outside and enjoyed delicious italian cuisine. It wasn't a classic, heavy italian meal. Rather, I enjoyed elegant and fresh grilled calamari and perfectly prepared duck ravioli. The service was great as well. All in all an A+ establishment. -
Review from Mary D.
Manhattan, NYArrived at 4pm and there was only one other table of two seated. We were asked if we had a reservation. Guess they were expecting a bus load of people at 4:30. The entire time we were there I believe there were 3 tables seated and most of the time we were the only customers in the place. Even as we were leaving the place was fairly empty.
To start they tried to give us the worst seat in the house which we refused.
All in all the food was just OK and very expensive for what it was. The sides of veggies and bread were the best part. Eggplant Parm and spaghetti and meatballs were eatable but nothing to write home about.
I don't think we will return. The service was slow and condescending -
Review from Barbara B.
St Louis, MORecommended by a friend and love it every time. Love the ambience inside, the wait staff is great, the menu HUGE and the food always terrific, along with wine, and the little tomato goat cheese dip served with good breadsticks and bread at the beginning. We never have had a single problem with service or quality of food. I usually order two appetizers, including a salad and something with pasta, but been with people who love their main courses of fish or veal. This is one of the best finds in NYC, but don't tell too many people since it's already hard to get a reservation. -
Review from Johnny M.
Manhattan, NYWe stumbled on this place as we walked home from Summer Stage. It was a little off Lexington and the place was packed so we figured it must have been good. It was definitely the right decision.
They told us they would be able to seat us within 10 minutes, which was fine without a reservation and relative to how crowd the place was. They sat us in 2. We had the corner booth in the far left corner and for how crowd it was, it was not that loud. All these reviews on how loud the place is, what do you expect? It is not that large of a room with no barriers to block noise and your complaining on how loud it was?
As for the food - it was excellent. She a homemade pasta with mushrooms (the type slips my mind) and I ordered the fettuccine with porchetta mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. The proportions are smaller so we also ordered important mozzarella that was paired beefsteak tomatoes that were as crisp and ripe as the ones I take out of my garden in Upstate NY.
Overall, this is an ideal for a date night. Even if you do not make a reservation, try to walk past, I can bet they will try their hardest to get you in. -
Review from Dan R.
Astoria, NYI really wanted to like this place, but there were so very many sloppy executions. The place is overcrowded & loud. Because we were a party of three we got a crap table and I was constantly getting brushed by passersby, mostly waitstaff who should've known better. While there I heard no less than three things being dropped & broken. The waitress was pushy & not at all friendly. The appetizers were amazing and I had high hopes for the rest of the meal. I was disappointed. Because of the loudness, crowding, the inconsistent food and the crappy service, I'm gonna say that this place does not need a second visit. I wish I could give it 2.5 stars. -
Review from Diana B.
New York, NYLovely, well located, quiet place with great food. -
Review from Elizabeth B.
Washington, DCI've been here twice and have been underwhelmed both times. The food is just OK and the noise level is off the chart. I'd probably give it a 2.5 stars but 2 = "Meh. I've experienced better." and that's the truth, not the "A-OK" of a three star rating.
My appetizer was tasty (eggplant parmigiana) but the main was less than blah. I ordered the meat lasagna specifically because the waitress RAVED about it, saying it was out of this world. In fact, it was so bland that it was nearly tasteless, with NO tomato sauce at all and very little meat. The melted cheese on top didn't add much to the flavor and was burned black in spots. So I was eating plain layers of pasta. I seriously considered sending it back, but that is always such a downer for the group that I didn't. I did ask for another plate of tomato sauce with goat cheese that they bring with the bread (this sauce is a highlight of the meal.) Even that didn't save the lackluster lasagna.
Dessert was just OK - I got a warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. The cake was pretty good, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5, but the ice cream was a tiny scoop. -
Review from Kevin C.
New York, NYAlright, I'm amazed to be writing the first review of this place. Surely two years from now, this will be the next Cafe d'Alsace or other destination for tourists and Park-siders touting maps. In other words, it'll blow up like a Momofuko ravioli...
But apparently word is still spreading about one of the best Italian places in New York. It's more than just what you wish you'd found in Little Italy, it's what you wish you'd found *in Italy*. At Antonucci, you'll find the perfect pasta literally right around the corner. Plus how about those fixings -- what other Italian place puts cornbread in the bread basket? Oh yes, and the service and ownership are very friendly.
But don't take my word for it. I first learned of Antonucci from a very cosmopolitan Roman who swears that it is the best, authentic, Italian in all of NY. And this is the sort of Parioli who wears Hermes scarves on the red-eye while calling M. Arnault from his quad band cell phone... so maybe it's worth a taste? -
Review from H K.
Manhattan, NYAh, the famous restaurant that harbored the Upper East Side groper as one of its beloved kitchen staff: http://cityroom.blogs.ny…
I was a targeted victim of the Upper East Side Groper. This restaurant is 2 blocks from my apartment. The video footage from my encounter at the 77th Street/Lexington subway station led to his capture. It's fascinating that Mr. Antonucci has so little regard for the safety of the women in his own neighborhood that he kept his employee's identity a secret for weeks, allowing 5 additional women to be attacked from late July - early August 2011.
I call on residents, tourists, and concerned persons to boycott this establishment, which has wasted weeks of our special forces' time. Mr. Antonucci aided and abetted a sick criminal and has made a grave mistake. We are neighbors in this city, Mr. Antonucci. Why have you failed us? -
Review from Josh F.
Antonucci's is a reminder that all neighborhoods are not created equal. Different boroughs and areas hold food to a completely different standard. A 4-star upper east side Italian restaurant is prided more on elegance and sycophantic service than actual food quality.
There wasn't much wrong with Antonucci's; quiet spot, nestled on a side street, with a nice outdoor seating area tailored seating area.
Bread was crusty French and corn delicacies with a warm home made marinata plate for dipping; afloat in the sea of red sauce was a small island of goat cheese and a moat of EVOO. Delish.
Small plates? Blah. The salads were tasteless and heavy on parsely. Everyone at the table had a disappointed face. How do you botch a beet salad? I think I had two half inch cubes of overripe avacado in my AVACADO salad. See issue there? Wierd, me too.
I like this quote regarding Antonucci: "Caters to well heeled Park Avenue types who wouldn't know a carciofi from a puttanesca"
The entrees save the rating here from rating hell; The eggplant ravioli were fresh, fluffy, and tasty. They looked hand made, and had a very savory and rich taste. I expected less. The risotto was unimpressive but tasty.
Prices were still over the top.
All in all; expect mediocre In the area. I'm sure there are hidden gems, but real foodies should escape to alphabet city or the village for consistenly good, interesting, and reasonably priced food. I'm sure you already knew that. -
Review from John L.
New York, NYLet me start by telling you a story about this gem on the UES and introduce you to my friend Lurch.
After deciding to move into an apt within sight of Antonucci, it was finally moving day. I made the terrible decision of moving into a 6th floor walk up after several trips we were starting to get hungry. Lurch, who is a phenomenal cook and culinary connoisseur was designated the task of ordering us lunch. Luckily for us, Antonucci was the closest place and the menu looked amazing.
Since we had been working so hard, we decided to treat ourselves a bit. The only decision that I made was to let Lurch order for me. After not wanting to go overboard, we still had to move mind you, Lurch went with Stuffed Arancini stuffed w/ mozz, Mozz. and peppers Lamb Shank w/ Roasted Eggplant and Braised Short Ribs w/ mixed vegetables. Personally, I love anything that has braised before it.
So, we put the order in and I made another trip up the grueling six flights of stairs. Before leaving, I asked Lurch who was designated to watch the truck to also watch my car since it was double parked. I ventured up the stairs with my roommate each overloaded with our furniture.
It was lunchtime and it was pretty empty. We had figured that the food would be out soon since it was pretty empty. So my roommate and I dashed down the stairs back to the truck in anticipation of the foods arrival.
As we got back outside, Lurch was no where in sight. The only person that I could see was the parking cop giving me a ticket for double parking. Enraged at Lurch, who was supposed to be preventing this, I yelled out his name. The only response I got back was an "ugh," coming from the back of the moving truck.
I raced to the back of the truck to ask(yell) him why the heck he hadn't been watching my car now getting a ticket to only find him sitting in my leather recliner which he had unwrapped sitting there with his shirt off and roasted eggplant all over his face and chest. Apparently, the food had come out in no time and Lurch couldn't resist and he didn't. Not only did he not resist starting to eat the food, but could resist shoveling as much of it as quickly as he could into his mouth at once.
I realized once again that I was getting a ticket and half pissed off and half laughing I asked him what the hell he was doing and told him that I was getting a ticket. His response..."Yo, you've got to try this bro." Seeing him sitting there with a stuffed arancini ball in one hand, a lamb shank in the other and roasted eggplant all over himself I was excited and disgusted at the same time. I realized that there was no way that this wasn't going to be incredible and wow was it. I weighed the my option of running up and trying to move my car and finishing what was left there and the choice was clear...eat what I could before Lurch did. And believe me it was well worth the $115 parking ticket that I got.
After eating the scraps of what lurch had left us, my roommate and I decided that we needed to duplicate the order, this time specifically telling them not to give it to him. I went with the full order of Braised Short Ribs and switched the eggplant for the vegetables. I am big fan of Short Ribs and get them anywhere they are on the menu and I have to say that these are the best that I've had and the eggplant is incredible not to mention the lamb shank and arancini. I haven't had anything else from the menu but it all looks as incredible as what I have had.
With outdoor seating its nice and quiet great date spot and restaurant in overall. Although I haven't yet it seems like an awesome place to go get some dinner and just sit out and relax. It's off of 3rd ave so its not too busy and is very relaxing. This is a must go.
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