Mixed reviews-- some sour apples, some high praise
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“Good homemade pasta, reasonable prices considering the neighborhood.”In 6 reviews
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“...a romantic night out and live on the UES - go to Bon Gusto - YUMMY.”In 12 reviews
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“Hidden gem on the upper east side.”In 6 reviews
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- Darryll S.
- New York, NY
- 49 friends
- 41 reviews
I came here for a friends birthday! Heres a few things that really really stood out.
Ok we were being loud.. but you're allowed to be loud at a birthday dinner right? anyways the staff initially told us that we were being loud, but offered to move us outside to the back/garden/patio area so we basically had our own place to make as much noise as we wanted. This and the fact that the service didnt drop at all was amazing!
Food:
The free bread was great. especially the pizza tasting ones. mmm
I had a mushroom sausage pappardelle. It was delicious. Friends had a squid ink something which was also delicious.
In terms of food and service alone this place was fantastic. Its a smaller place so good for small dates or gatherings, especially if you'd like it less boisterous (sorry tuesday night crowd)
I dont drink, but everyone else who did said the 1/2 price wines were a great deal.
Im usually not the biggest fan of italian food, but i certainly liked this place :) -
- Brian R.
- Brooklyn, NY
- 7 friends
- 79 reviews
Never again!
I went on 7/2/13 with a friend. We specifically chose this place for the 1/2 price bottle deal they offer on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
We entered a basically empty restaurant and my friend informed them she had made a reservation via open table (she likes her points) When we ordered wine, the waitress told us that because we reserved via open table they would not honor the 1/2 off bottles promotion. We were like, "what?". We asked why and were told that was the rule. We then asked her to cancel the open table (and even offered to move to another table in the empty restaurant if that made a difference), and she still said no. We then left.
We went to another restaurant around the corner and tried to contemplate what the hell had just happened. We went back to Buon Gusto to speak with the owner and ask why we were treated like 2nd Class citizens, and the owner told us it's because Open Table charges him $3 per table for their service. Why is that my fucking problem?!?! This fool, over $3, let what would have been a $60 - $70 table walk out of his restaurant. I don't understand his thought process, but I'll never again use Open Table or go to Buon Gusto. -
The night before the marathon this might not have been a great choice. It was packed. The service was slow and they ran out of bread. The salads were nothing special, the pastas were good. I have to say the veal tortellini was awesome. The desert was actually semi frozen when it arrived at our table, I would skip it in the future. A fixture on the UES for a cheap meal!
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- Leah R.
- Manhattan, NY
- 0 friends
- 3 reviews
I have eaten here many times before. We order atleast once a week. I will never again order or eat in. I ordered a Veal Buon Gusto (for my dad) and a Chicken Parmigiana for me. I clearly wrote on the notes section (on seamless web) PLEASE LABEL DISHES AS ONE IS ALLERGIC TO VEAL. The food came, and I started eating my chicken (or so i thought) My dish ended up being veal. I am lucky I noticed after one bite, because I could have been in the hospital. I called, and they asked me to send my dish back to them and they would send me a new dish. They did not seem to care at all that they could have caused a hospitalization.
Horrible customer service -
- Cailin M.
- Manhattan, NY
- 14 friends
- 47 reviews
An unpretentious Italian spot on the upper east side quietly hidden between 2nd and 3rd. Large selection of pasta and classic Italian dishes. Simple and well done. Very appropriately priced and half priced bottles Sunday - Tuesday -
- Lindsay B.
- New York, NY
- Elite ’13
- 87 friends
- 128 reviews
Ate here with my best friend last night on her recommendation. This was hands down the best gnocchi and the best pesto sauce I have ever had. Becco is a close second, but I have to say this pesto was delicious. I'm not a huge gnocchi fan, in fact, I didn't order it, but I ate 1/2 of my friend's plate-- THAT good. I had the ravioli with artichoke and onion in a tomato cream sauce. Also very good, but I will ce back for the gnocchi with pesto very soon. Skip the Cesar salad-- just eh.
The restaurant itself was nice-- small and romantic. Packed on a Sunday night at 7:30. Good place for a date, although they could spend a little more to heat the place.
Our waitress was extremely friendly, but not in an annoying way and didn't rush us at all even though it was busy.
IMPORTANT TIP: book through Savored and save 15%.. BUT note that you cannot combine the Savored savings with their 50% off a bottle of wine deal Sunday-Tuesday (check me on those days?), so know that going in. We didn't order wine, so this wasn't an issue. Out total bill was only around $18/pp for two homemade pasta dishes and a salad to share, which included tip! -
If you want a cute little Italian place at a reasonable price, come here! Sundays and two other days, certain wine are 50% off! The menu is quite robust but I was able to find a good choice and was super satisfied with it.
We came around 6:00pm for dinner, got seated outside in this cute little patio area. We ordered carpaccio, spinach gnocchi with pesto sauce and the lobster and seafood with black linguine. OH MY!! The carpaccio is fresh and delicious. Instead of serving bread, they services these breads that are almost like pizza bites. So GOOD!
The gnocchi was very good and rich and the seafood pasta was so good. It was served with 1/2 of a small lobster, very generous amount of shrimp, scallops and calamari. I will come back for more seafood, anytime! The damage, around $50+, that's totally a good value!! -
- Melissa M.
- Manhattan, NY
- 24 friends
- 98 reviews
I've gone here for dinner at least 4 times since moving to the neighborhood almost a year ago, and enjoyed my food every time. One dish I've ordered a few times is the whole wheat fettuccine with carbonara sauce. This sauce is phenomenal-rich and creamy with flavorful pieces of pancetta. I recently tried the potato gnocchi with alla vodka sauce. The gnocchi is like little fluffy pillows...so soft I would sleep on them if it wouldn't be so messy. The alla vodka sauce is by far the most flavorful vodka sauce I've ever tried.
As far as ambience is concerned, it's a cute, dimly lit place that is definitely nice and toasty when the weather gets cool. The service is great overall. The wine menu is decent, though the bottle of montepulciano we recently ordered was a little sour. Every other wine I've had there in the past was tasty. Overall, this is a great Italian restaurant staple in the neighborhood. -
- M S.
- Manhattan, NY
- 0 friends
- 11 reviews
I can cook pasta better...and I'm not that good of a cook. The place looks cute and is quaint. The bread was good. My boyfriend liked his goat cheese salad. Our pasta dishes were the worst we've had in the city. I got spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were so rough that I almost couldn't cut through them, and they seemed to be made of very low quality meat. The spaghetti itself was fine. Nothing special. Certainly not worth the $20 price tag. My boyfriend got whole wheat linguine primavera. He ate about a quarter of it, and opted to leave hungry rather than finish. It wasn't that expensive, but we both felt that it was a big waste of money and calories. Never again. -
- Tina G.
- Manhattan, NY
- 0 friends
- 3 reviews
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- Son L.
- Manhattan, NY
- 27 friends
- 23 reviews
This place is totally cute. I was putting together a last-minute dinner plan on a friday night, which can be challenging -- I was pleasantly surprised. We had to call a couple of times to change our reservations because we were running late. The wait staff was totally cordial and accommodating. When we showed up, we were led to an outside dining area in the back. The garden was super cute, very low-key and quiet. The wine menu was good and the staff was friendly.
I wouldn't call this a high-end italian place. The food is overall hearty and comforting. My only complaint was that my scallops wrapped in pancetta were slightly overcooked, but the carbonara with homemade pasta (you get to pick your pasta) was good and very well priced. -
- Seaview L.
- Manhattan, NY
- 0 friends
- 6 reviews
We left after not being served. On top of that, the server snapped at me twice for my choice of table. We went on a Thursday at 2 pm-well after the lunch rush. After waiting for a while to be seated, without any attention from the 2 servers, we decided to sit at a table for 2-it was actually 4 tables for 2 pushed together-and were promptly supplied with water & menus. But neither server returned for our order, instead one of them actually complained that I sat at a table for 8. The first time she said this, I didn't respond-afterall she could have cheerfully moved us somewhere else. The second time she complained about it, with still no order being taken, we left. Now she has her table for 8. -
- H K.
- Manhattan, NY
- 0 friends
- 2 reviews
There are so many Italian eateries on the Upper East Side, but this one is my go-to. There is a great cozy atmosphere, but to cut down on noise you can eat in the heated front patio, which is relaxing and nice any time of year. I usually get the veal tortellini -- it's handmade and fantastic. It's a very reasonably-priced neighborhood joint, very friendly. -
- Manhattan P.
- Manhattan, NY
- 0 friends
- 2 reviews
To be honest, place has never been the same since Rita Morelli was killed by an ex-boyfriend last year. However they make attempts to take care of customers with descent food, wine and attention.
We will continue to visit the establishment......would recommend it to others.....but I would not rave about it as being something super-special.
Thanks and we miss Rita! -
- V P.
- Manhattan, NY
- 4 friends
- 45 reviews
Great food! Very reasonably priced and awesome service. We got the goat cheese apple salad and a pasta. Cannot beat the 50% off any wine bottle from Sun - Tues! Highly recommended. -
- Jeff Y Laura K.
- Manhattan, NY
- 9 friends
- 41 reviews
Have been here a couple times and it is really good. It is very different than UVA; I would say the sauces are softer and the flavors are more "homey".
Service is impeccable and the place is cozy and cute. -
- Anthony P.
- Manhattan, NY
- 53 friends
- 110 reviews
Good, but not great pasta. I went here for a friend's birthday dinner on a Thursday night at 7:00 PM. The restaurant itself is a quaint little intimate place on the Upper East Side. Many of my friends that had gone with me like the place and spoke highly of their pasta.
And indeed the highlight of Caffe Buon Gusto is the variety of pasta available and the ability to create different combinations of pasta, sauce and protein. If you like farfalle, pesto and chicken, you can order that. There are 100's of different permutations of pasta available. They offer homemade pasta as well, which in my opinion, boasts up their italian legitimacy level a step.
I didn't get a custom pasta but went for the homemade crab ravioli with spinach and shrimp in a cognac cream sauce ($19.95). It was okay, but nothing amazing. The shrimp was overcooked a bit. The ravioli itself was good and you could taste the crab in the filling. The sauce was kinda bland and could use more seasoning. None of the flavors really stood out.
The service was good. We were able to arrange a dessert with a candle with the wait staff, so I'm glad they were accommodating.
An adequate Italian place to go on the Upper East Side. I wouldn't mind come back here again, but probably would not go out of my way to dine here. 3.5/5 Stars. -
- Faith A.
- New York, NY
- 19 friends
- 34 reviews
Living down the street from this restaurant, I think of it as a hidden jewel. The atmosphere is cozy and romantic (I love the outside garden), the service is excellent, and of course the food is delicious, (excellently priced).
I ate here last night for a romantic celebration, and seated next to me was the owner and his friend, playing a game of chess and speaking Italian. I felt like I was transported to a little villa in Italy, as even the waiters were from Italia. At the end of the evening, the owner came over to ask how our meal was and treated us to a complementary tiramisu.
If you're looking for a unique dining experience, with an ample selection of delicious dishes, this is definitely the place to go! -
- Antonio N.
- South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
- 0 friends
- 3 reviews
One of the best pasta I've ever eaten. Come here a lot. Today carbonara is specially good. -
Cute and quaint little Italian spot hidden away on 77th between 1st and 2nd Avenue. They have an outdoor garden in the back and also elevated street seating, which my friend and I enjoyed for some quality people watching last night (i.e. UES drunkards stumbling and running down the street). The service was attentive, but that also could be because we ate rather late and there weren't very many people in the restaurant to make it totally crazed.
I really liked their menu because I found it to be very versatile in terms of how you would like your meat to be prepared (mainly chicken and veal on this menu, unfortunately). For example you could choose chicken and have it prepared as marsala, fra diavolo, picatta, etc. They have quite a few salads and they allow you to add chicken at an additional cost (as my friend did). My friend said that the pasta dishes are great (also just choose the pasta and then the style in which you'd like it prepared) but I cannot confirm that. The best part was that Sunday through Wednesday all of their wines are half off. We had a great bottle of Montepulciano for under $20 (score!). -
- Kim K.
- Alphabet City, Manhattan, NY
- 10 friends
- 30 reviews
Came back with a couple friends on a Tuesday night. STILL AMAZING. Al dente lobster linguini bathed in rich, creamy carbonara sauce. %50 off full bottle of cab? Yes please. The waitress was absolutely delightful without being overbearing. She even left us to conversation for as long as we wanted after finishing dessert before bringing over the bill.
Wonderful dining experience all around.
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