Pretty good reviews--this is a SMALL restaurant-- not so much sour apples as "It was just OK"
Radicchio Pasta and Risotto
Categories:
Italian,
American (New)
235 E 53rd St(between 3rd Ave & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10022
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 371-2900
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
Lexington Ave./53 St. (E, M)51 St. (4, 6, 6X)59 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
- Hours:
- Mon-Thu, Sun 12 pm - 11 pmFri-Sat 12 pm - 1 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
- $$
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Intimate
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
82 reviews for Radicchio Pasta and Risotto
Review Highlights What's this?
-
"chocolate lava cake dessert was really good too." In 4 reviews -
"Pan Seared Calamari, Black Linguini Seafood - SO good." In 4 reviews -
"It's BYOB so make sure to stop at the wine shop at 54th and 2nd on..." In 18 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
82 reviews in English
-
Review from Andrew N.
Ann Arbor Charter Township, MIThis place is severely underrated, and while I have to say it's a little below my 4-star standard, I think this place has a lot of charm that a lot of people quite miss.
I'll start off by saying the service is the worst part of the place. During my many frequents, grumpy waitresses are a common thread.
The atmosphere is quite nice, on the other hand. It's a small place which has a nice ambiance, and it's really not a bad place to catch up with long lost friends.
The food is also pretty good. Nothing glamorous, nothing fancy, but it really hits the basics well: texture, flavor, and appearance. Presentation's a little plain, but it really doesn't affect what matters: taste. I have yet to think that about more than half the restaurants in Rome, and I've been there for some time. -
Review from Samantha G.
New York, NYI have really come to appreciate Radicchio. I've been three times (it's in my neighborhood), and I'm always satisfied with my experience. I mean, it's no Babbo, but it's solid Italian food for sure. The pasta is fresh, and the risotto is tasty. I ordered the ravioli special this past weekend, and it came out with melted cheese on top. The specials board did not mention the melted cheese, and they were very accommodating when I sent it back and requested it without the cheese on top. The restaurant is teeny tiny, but I like that cozy feel.
I wouldn't say that this is a destination spot, but if you are looking for a good Italian place in the area, this is a good choice. -
Review from The S.
New York, NYLunch special Fettuccine Alfredo with Grilled Chicken sounded like a good option. I work in the area and am always looking for something different that my approved places. Having walking past this place a million times, I made the unfortunate dive and will NEVER eat here again even if it was free and they gave me $200.
Perhaps dining in is better than take-out lunch special. But I don't have the patience to find out. I will advise all of my work colleagues via blast email to avoid this place.
Where they failed:
1. Pasta was like glue. Very overcooked. They have Pasta in their business name. How they could mess something up as easy as that is beyond my comprehension.
2. Alfredo sauce extremely bland and watery. It seemed like they were trying to "stretch" the sauce as to maximize the amount of meals they could make as many lunch specials as possible.
3. Chicken... Yuck. Some piece of roadkill with tons of salt to shield the fact its been cooked, refrigerated, cooked, refrigerated, cooked, refrigerated, cooked, and then served as a lunch special.
4. Minnestrone Soup. The flavor tasted like the corrosion around a car battery with tons of salt. it was awful.
5. Bread. The bread was delicious.
6. Biscotti. The Biscotti seemed as if it were stored in a humidor and then served to me after being toasted.
Aside from the bread, every part of this meal went in the trash. These people need to step their game up. -
Review from Grace T.
Upper East Side, Manhattan, NYA very small restaurant. You can almost see their indoor kitchen. I need to say this is just a OK restaurant nearby. -
Review from Jacqueline S.
New York, NYThe food here is absolutely delicious. I don't understand why the place was so empty on a Saturday at dinner time, but my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed our calamari, risotto, and pasta. The staff was nice but could have looked a little less miserable. -
Review from Andre P.
Yelp can be an interesting place where you know for sure the quality of a place if it's all five stars or all one stars. In the middle, things get trickier. Radicchio, as of this writing, leans more towards three stars than five stars.
Food, in short, is delicious. Plates are small and well stocked, leaving you satisfied. Nothing surprising here, which generally is a good thing. It has something for everyone.
The short wine menu was welcomed and glasses go around $8. Biscotti dessert left much to be desired and while I was there their coffee infrastructure was not working. I say this mildly sarcastic, but if the sole espresso/drip/whatever machine doesn't work, shouldn't there be a backup for an Italian restaurant. -
Review from Kat K.
Manhattan, NYLike everyone has said, this place is quite quaint, and perfect for an intimate date night. However; maybe I was fooled by its locale and ambiance because the food just..fell short.
Ordered the black linguini seafood for myself, the boyfriend spicy pork & fennel meatball linguini with white cheese sauce. It was funny, because on the menu for my dish, mussels, clams, shrimp, and squid (got no squid btw) but you do really get ONE shrimp as ordered haha. The spicy pork fennel was not in the least bit spicy at all...no heat whatsoever.
Overall, we were disappointed, the place had so much going for it until we actually had the pasta...which it's known for...right? So it should have been exceptional...right? Lol, how can you mess up on pasta really...The pasta unfortunately was bland and on the unappetizing side.
I'll say one thing though; the dish that we both thought was absolutely PHENOMENAL were the pan seared scallops appetizer--now THAT, was a dish one could venture out to this restaurant all on its own, seriously that good, cooked to perfection with perfect amount of tomato sauce and shaved Parmesan on top.
I wish this place luck though, maybe the rest of the dishes were good...anyone have any other suggestions..? -
Review from Melissa G.
Conshohocken, PAVERY small restaurant- 7 tables total. Went there for a friend's birthday and we were all impressed with the food. They have a wine license but also offer a BYOB with $15 corkage fee. Cost is minimal for NYC- $15-20 for a pasta plate. I had the Spaghetti Bolognese (YUM!) and my friends had the chicken/sausage arrabiata dish (Not spicy at all!) and and Arrabiata risotto (medium spice). Crusty bread is served with butter/oil as an appetizer.
Medu-http://www.radicchiopastaandrisotto.com/menus.htm -
Review from Kristi L.
Fremont, CAPlace is aight. Probably a little bit too expensive for the quality and taste of the food. I've been to several Italian restaurants around the same price range like this in the past in San Francisco, and in comparison, this place was a sore disappointment.
I took my boyfriend here to eat, as he is also from Cali, and wanted to experience New York fine dining for himself. I made a reservation at 7 PM on a Friday night, and even though we ended up being 30 minutes late, there was only one table occupied at that time, which I found strange. As others had mentioned, the place is tiny, can maybe fit at most 20 people in all. When you walk in, you'll come across a curtain and no front desk, so youll have to wait around there until a waitress shows up to seat you. We were seated at the table right in front of the entrance, which happened to be the brightest part of the restaurant but also the coldest, where the wind constantly blew at us every time someone opened the door. But the place is nice and cozy, perfect for date night.
I ordered the fresh linguini (with mushrooms and truffle oil) while the boy ordered penne a la vodka. While we were waiting for our order, they gave us some crusty white bread to dip in olive oil, a pretty traditional starter but pretty unimpressive. What happened to the red wine vinegar that they put with the olive oil? I just thought a place like this would put more effort into their food they serve.The portions of the pasta dishes we ordered were good, not too big or not too small. The pasta was definitely more on the al dente side (chewier), which I liked. However, for the prices of the dishes (18 and 14 respectively), I just thought it was too simple and nothing extraordinary. I didn't even taste the truffle oil in my fresh linguini dish, as it had more of a olive oil and mushroom flavor to it. We also ordered tiramisu for dessert, and the tiramisu seemed to have too much cream and not enough coffee flavor in it.
If it wasn't for my http://restaurant.com coupon, the whole bill would have cost around $45 dollars, but I ended up only paying $20 (minus tip). It's worth a try if you got that, but if you don't, you should probably get your ass somewhere else pronto. -
Review from Scott B.
The food: Delicious. My wife and I got two different risottos and they were very nicely done. I make them at home decently well, but when a good chef does it with fresh stock and carefully cooked ingredients, you can tell the difference and these were great. The cheese plate appetizer was yummy, though the rosemary potatoes were a little underdone.
The decor: It's small and intimate and different to many other places. Perfect venue for a date or special evening without breaking the bank. Make a reservation. They turned away a lot of people because of a lack of capacity. The bathroom being at the back of a cramped kitchen let me nosey and they sure work hard back there.
Service: On the whole not bad though from what I remember it could have been friendlier.
The price: We thankfully came with a groupon so it was marvelous value. Normal prices are about where they should be for well made risotto, maybe even a hair cheaper than a lot of places charge.
Definitely worth a trip :) -
Review from Ashley C.
Flushing, Queens, NYehh it was ok
I came here on a groupon for dinner and the place was teeny tiny to the point where the bathroom is in the kitchen
We had the spicy fennel beatballs which were very tasty and tender. The mushroom linguine with truffle oil was very bland, nothing special. The sausage and mushroom risotto was ok, the flavor was decent. -
Review from Alli C.
New York, NYI give it 5 stars for the food. Everything was perfectly prepared, from the mammoth pieces of bruschetta to the perfect risotto (I recommend the Wild Shrimp & Leek).
However... with only 10 tables in the whole restaurant, and only 10 or so actual patrons (no large groups, just couples) in the place on the evening we visited, I expected much more attentive service. Waiting 15-20 minutes just to place our orders, and water glasses only refilled once in the nearly-2 hours that we were there just feels ridiculous when it was clear that it was a slow evening.
I was a waitress for 3 years, at both sports bars and high-end places, so my standard tip is 20% or more, and almost never less than 15%. I felt bad leaving a poor tip (I think around 12-13%), and even a quick "hey, listen, I know things are running a bit slow around here, there's a hold-up in the back because ____" would have been appreciated. But poor service without explanation is just unacceptable. -
Review from Danielle B.
Manhattan, NYYou're a solid 3 Radicchio. Solid 3.
The taste of the sauces, quality of the fish, overall food rating is outstanding, superb. Delicious. Pan Seared Calamari, Black Linguini Seafood - SO good! Portions are small and overpriced, even with a http://Restaurant.com coupon.
The service was poor. No specials told (they were on the blackboard). First thing our server said was, "you know there's a $15 corkage fee PER BOTTLE, right?" Even though there were only 10 tables in the place, and 5 tables actually occupied, she was so inattentive. For such an intimate, cute setting (make a reservation), I felt that the service should match that.
Radicchio does have serious potential. Cut the $15 Corkage fee, work on improving service. -
Review from Katie H.
Ithaca, NYMy boyfriend and I had a groupon for Radicchio's for an appetizer, two entrees and two glasses of wine for $34. It was a great deal!
We almost passed the entrance because the place was so small. There were about 7 tables with the biggest seating only 5. We started off with the cheese plate because it seem easy to share and the selection and amount of cheese was perfect for 2 to 3 people. Additionally, their table bread was decent and came with both butter and olive oil.
I ordered the ravioli of the day which was a sausage ravioli with a vodka sauce. It was delicious and the portion was more than enough for me. The raviolis were irregularly shaped which I assumed meant that they had been shaped by hand that day if not that evening.
My boyfriend had the pesto and he commented that most pesto has a bad oil to basil ratio: where the basil ends up floating in olive oil and doesn't contribute much. This pesto, on the other hand, had a ton of basil so that it didn't get lost in the oil. It looked as though the basil had been minced, not blended, which also indicated freshness.
Some reviewers have complained about the wait but I felt like the meal moved at a good pace. We never felt hurried but our main dishes came no more than a minute after she had removed our cheese plate.
I would recommend this place to anyone one who wants a small, intimate meal served by people who truly care. We had a great time and would go back with or without the groupon as the prices were very reasonable. -
Review from Ruchi S.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered