Friday, October 25, 2013

Felidia Restaurant- Upper East Side

This is a favorite of several restaurant rating places..associated with some TV chef named Lydia

One person says "It has been around for a long time now" and somehow that sounded like a criticism

Very good reviews with a sour apple or two

Felidia

4.0 star rating
218 reviews Rating Details
Category: Italian  [Edit]
243 E 58th St
(between 2nd Ave & 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10022
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 758-1479
Make a Reservation
Nearest Transit Station:
Lexington Ave./59 St. (N, Q, R)
59 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
Lexington Ave./53 St. (E, M)
Hours:
Mon-Fri 12 pm - 2:30 pm
Mon-Thu 4:30 pm - 11 pm
Fri 4:30 pm - 11:30 pm
Sat 5 pm - 11:30 pm
Parking:
Street
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Price Range:
$$$$
Attire:
Dressy
Good for Groups:
Yes
Good for Kids:
No
Takes Reservations:
Yes
Delivery:
No
Take-out:
No
Waiter Service:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
No
Wi-Fi:
No
Good For:
Dinner
Alcohol:
Full Bar
Noise Level:
Quiet
Ambience:
Classy
Has TV:
No
Caters:
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

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218 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 92 reviews
    New York, NY
    9/18/2013
    Felidia has been around for some time, has a reasonably famous owner who also has an interest in other excellent restaurants plus Eataly.

    The dining rooms is a little worn looking.  This didn't bother me a bit.  It adds to the charm.  On both of my visits, the food was superb.  The menu has changed a bit over time, but there is still a dedication to quality.

    The food is fairly simple, as the best and most authentic italian food is. There is also a skewing towards northern italian fare, which means more pork, beef, lamb, veal, rice, animal fat and butter than there is pasta, tomatoes, garlic, and other staples of southern italy.  On our most recent visit, it was black truffle season - and we indulged.  Yes, it was expensive.  But, it was excellent.

    Baby beet salad with pistachios, blue cheese and greens was excellent.  We also had a veal dish with mushrooms, a cream sauce and truffled and a ravioli with cheese, bitter greens, a butter/lobster sauce and more truffles.  All perfectly executed and delicious.  For dessert, cheese, 40 year old port, and their riff on tiramisu.  Wonderful.
  • Review from

    Wallington, NJ
    10/13/2013
    Should be 2.5 stars. I'll get to the point. The food was fantastic. I made reservations at Felidia for a special night; our anniversary. I love Lidia's restaurants especially Becco put I wanted to splurge for this special occasion.

    We walked in 15 minutes early for dinner. They proceeded to sit us upstairs at the last table in the back next to the wall. Horrible table. I requested a better table and the waiter needed to speak with management and it was approved. He sat us down and took our drink order. Drinks were served. Then we proceeded to wait and wait and wait for the waiter to come over. He never did. They actually sat two people at the table that we did not want and they were eating prior to us ordering our dinner. We jokingly said I guess we are on the bad list for requesting a better table.

    I finally asked the bus boy to get our waiter and he finally came over and said he would be right back. Still waited. Finally gave our order for apps and dinner and we were finally on our way. Key word was finally.

    There was also a wine sommelier/ waitress there to help with wine choices and their wine pairing meals. We did not go that route so she didn't speak with us. The table next to ours seemed like they wanted to try various wines with their meals. That's fine except she kept on coming over and standing right next to my seat talking about her choices for their table. When I say literally right next to my seat, I mean literally. Her butt was in my face the entire meal as was her loud recommendations. This was definitely not what I envisioned when I made the reservation for my romantic evening out for dinner with my bride of 29 years.

    Again, food was great, service was way below what I expected and it was so overpriced. Usually, the overpriced part doesn't bother me all that much especially if the food is worth it but this time, since the service was horrible, it did.

    Last time at Felidia's for us...Being very kind with three stars.
  • Review from

    • 33 friends
    • 228 reviews
    New York, NY
    9/8/2013
    We came back because we were walking in that neighborhood and there are not many options around. The staff was attentive, a bit pushy when i didn't finish my pasta and the waiter wanted me to take it in a doggy bag, I had to tell him that i never take restaurant food home.
      The appetizers are the worst of the menu. I had a crudo fish plate, awful. The salmon was greasy and warm.
      The pastas were ok, but it's not the same quality that they had a few years ago. The flavor and the texture of the pasta has gone down. For a pasta when there is nothing else it works. By the way, the ambiance is snobbish and arrogant.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 3 reviews
    New York, NY
    10/16/2013
    Took a friend from Texas here for the prix fixed lunch. hadn't been to restaurant in close to a year. The first time I ate here was at least 15 years ago.
    Don't hesitate to try it. Impeccable service, wonderful food, a real experience. If you want wine that doesn't break the bank, ask for a carafe, reasonable and excellent.
    One if the best lunches I've ever had.
    Oh, and the ambiance still old NY.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 16 reviews
    Bronx, NY
    9/30/2013
    Came here for lunch last week with a Birthday gift certificate. It wasn't that large of a amount, that's why it wasn't dinner. But it was great. The  prix fixe was very reasonable.
    I had the Scallops with the puree, very well executed. My co worker had the Pappardelle, which  was really excellent. I had the chicken with fresh mozz and spinach. And she had the salmon with a tomato vinaigrette. Everything we had was really outstanding. Quality ingredients being used. The setting is in a beautiful townhome, and the service, as expected 5 star. I cant wait for another Birthday certificate, to splurge and come back for dinner.
  • Review from

    • 12 friends
    • 48 reviews
    Bloomfield, NJ
    8/17/2013 1 check-in here
    I must say Felidia was superb!   I was a little concerned after reading some negative reviews on yelp, but our experience was great!  Service was spot on and we even got a glass of complimentary prosseco thanks to yelp check in!  My fiancĂ© and I had the asparagus salad with prosciutto and house made ricotta , a small portion of pear and pecorino stuffed ravioli, duck and mushroom ragu pappardelle and whole roasted branzino.  Everything was great. My personal favorite was the ravioli.  I could have just kept eating them!  We made room for dessert( Nutella tiramisu) and a delicious espresso.  I didn't leave overstuffed and felt the favors and ingredients were fresh and well balanced.  I would recommend and look forward to returning to Felidia in the future.
    P.S I did the olive oil tasting and wasn't too impressed. Enjoy the complimentary bread basket and pesto white bean spread.
  • Review from

    • 10 friends
    • 32 reviews
    Huntington Beach, CA
    9/30/2013
    It was a special treat for us since my bf loves Lidia Bastianich.  The service was top notch from the moment we arrived at the restaurant until our leaving.  Romantic, simple, and rustic are the words come to mind.  It's not one of those ultra modern and expensive New York restaurants and I appreciate that.  The waiter was very knowledgeable about each dish and describe the dishes perfectly.  They also serve the dishes table side which was really cool and rarely done by restaurants nowadays.  We had the grilled octopus (polipo) to start and it was divine.  Octopus two ways, one was thinly sliced with a different sauce and the other was grilled with a fennel sauce.  For the main course, I had the grigliata di pesce and everything was perfection from the buttery scallops to the scrumptious squid and lobster.  My bf had the parppadelle with a delicious mushroom and duck moulard over spinach parppadelle and it was so freaking good.  Everything was very well balanced and perfectly seasoned.  Lastly, we had a trio of desserts, part of the tasting menu that our waiter made an exception for us.  It allowed us to taste three different desserts and they were so good.  My bf usually don't eat sweets or desserts and he finished all three desserts.
    This place is a must if you like Italian food.  I think it is definitely worth it for the price.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 3 reviews
    Livingston, NJ
    9/28/2013
    A great restaurant that always delivers. The pasta and beet salad was fantastic last night.   Thanks!!
  • Review from

    Coral Gables, FL
    7/21/2013 1 check-in here
    What a major disappointment.

    Lydia is my Wife's favorite TV food personality so we were greatly looking forward to our meal here. This restaurant is so different from the personality that you see on TV it is difficult to comprehend. While the TV Lydia is casual, friendly, homey and even a bit rustic, this restaurant is snooty, anal and pompous.

    The wait staff is from some parallel Nazi universe. They all looked like frightened animals scurrying about. I have never been so ignored in a restaurant. When the waiter initially asked us if we "wanted anything from the bar" he spoke directly to my wife, then myself, then walked away, completely ignoring my son.  We were sitting in the central dining room, where there were, at most, 10 tables and all of the staff needed to pass thru to get from the kitchen to all the other spaces. We had to flag down a different waiter each time we needed or wanted something.

    Unfortunately the food was not able to save the pathetic service. My wife ordered the pasta with mushrooms and truffles. The pasta was far from al-dente to the point of being mushy and the mushrooms overwhelmed the truffle. My son had the chicken mozzarella. It looked like a deconstructed chicken parm and consisted of three bite sized medallions of chicken with a small slice of mozzarella on top of each. His main dish looked like a nice sized appetizer. His actual appetizer was the only decent dish of the meal, but then how hard is it to slice some prosciutto? My octopus appetizer was underwhelming. At lease the veal in my main course of vitello tonnato was cooked excellently. Unfortunately the dish was overwhelmed by shavings of hard, raw artichoke.

    The waiter screwed up our desert order and forgot my limoncello order. Which was all for the better because we could leave quicker.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 3 reviews
    Midtown East, Manhattan, NY
    9/25/2013 1 check-in here
    Just finished my prefix lunch at felidia. Impeccable, every pasta was fantastic.  Go for the pappardelle and cacio pere. The limo cello is magnificent. The service for lunch is great. Highly recommended for a long working lunch
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 10 reviews
    Los Angeles, CA
    10/7/2013
    First time to this restaurant and a delightful lunch except for the person who sat us...have an issue with hosts who treat single women dining different than male patrons! Service excellent, Andrew the Sommelier very helpful. So glad meal and service made up for a tense beginning. Would definitely return!
  • Review from

    • 5 friends
    • 7 reviews
    Lutz, FL
    9/12/2013
    Always excellent.  Particularly strong in interesting seafood pairings. This is also a gluten free paradise with breads and pastas as good as the real thin(well, almost). Throw yourself at the mercy of the talented sommeliers and ask for something with bottle age from somewhere other than Tuscany or Piedmont and you will get an education and a treat.

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