r/FoodNYC

As a Neapolitan myself, I get asked all the time by Italians visiting NYC where to go when they want food that tastes like home. This is my honest list.

1. Donna Margherita on the Upper East Side. This is the closest I've found to eating in Napoli. Products imported from Italy, and the pizza comes out soft and light the way it should. The kitchen is the real reason I go. Their genovese is so good, and the Sunday ragù tastes like my family's table. They run it like a family place and you feel that the second you walk in. Gambero Rosso recognized.
2. Song' e Napule in SoHo. My runner up for pizza. The whole place feels like the Quartieri Spagnoli, with Maradona everywhere and Amalfi Coast colors on the walls. Ciro is great, and so are his vongole and his margherita. Always a fun night. Also Gambero Rosso recognized.
3. Kesté in the Financial District. Roberto Caporuscio is one of the big names in Neapolitan pizza here. Very traditional dough and the pizza is really good.
4. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele in the West Village. The NYC outpost of the famous one in Napoli. Keep it simple and get the margherita.
5. San Matteo on the Upper East Side. Good pizza, and the panuozzo is worth ordering.
6. Caffè Napoli in Little Italy. Great hospitality, right in the heart of the neighborhood.
7. Ribalta near Union Square. The pasta al pomodoro is a classic done right. Simple, but really good. Best for big groups.
8. Una Pizza Napoletana on the Lower East Side. The famous one. Very good pizza, but more of a New York take on Neapolitan than what I grew up with.

EDIT: LE B, NOTTTTTT Le Bernardin

I know there is one thread on here about this restaurant but all the comments were mostly from 1-2 years ago, so I went this past week hoping it would be different from what was said here.

It wasn’t.

I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, when you book they let you know there’s a $250pp cancellation fee if cancelled within 48 hours of your reservation. I get wanting to recoup the cost of hard-to-source ingredients but $250 is a bit extreme to me, even for NYC “fine dining.”

We sat down and were only given a drink menu. They took our drink order 15 minutes after we sat down, and the drinks took another 15 minutes to come to the table. It’s a small place, there’s 1 bartender so I understand it might take a while. I worked in the service industry for 10 years. I truly get wanting thing to be perfect (especially considering the price). We get our drinks, and after 10 minutes we are finally given food menus. So nearly 45 minutes after we are sat, we are finally given food menus. I do not understand the reasoning behind that in the slightest. Sure you want people to relax and take their time and enjoy…but don’t you want to turn your tables? While we didn’t feel rushed, the whole dinner felt like a forced waiting game. As if to give the illusion that everything was so carefully crafted that you must wait patiently for it to be perfect.

We were able to order our food nearly one hour after we sat down. We opted for à la carte since the tasting menus didn’t interest us. The famous semi-well-known burger isn’t even listed on the menu - apparently it’s a IYKYK thing and have to call ahead to reserve in advance. Sure, fine, whatever - a NYC exclusivity thing. We’ll live.

Our first course comes after 20 minutes & it’s incomplete/wrong. We think because of how long they take that what’s missing will come as the next course. Nope. Our entrees eventually come out and we ask about the missing dish which is then brought out in about 3 minutes. Which then makes us wonder why everything else takes so long if this can come out in 3 minutes. We didn’t order dessert.

The food was fine-ish, at best. Service was also fine. We were charged for the server’s mishap on the first course. The vibe was just bizarre in there. There was max 18 people and while I don’t think everyone was ordering the table side Duck a L’orange, they certainly kept making a show of it as if to entice others to order. Maybe that many people were ordering it…unsure, just a feeling. I imagine the place is aiming for a a Michelin star, which I cannot imagine they will ever get. Maybe Bib Gourmand but I’d even say that’s a stretch. The prices are a bit much. There’s no picture of the food menu on Google as I imagine the owner doesn’t want people seeing the prices before they come (and probably requests that google remove any that are uploaded) and notes online that prices will be on the menu given to you when you dine. It all just seems like a big, phony force for the chef to get a Michelin star. Wouldn’t be surprised if we see it close in 2027.

EDIT: it feels important to mention that the banquet seats are made with a very cheap feeling velvet.

I feel like there's been a flood of them: Ambassadors Clubhouse, Indienne, Musaafer, Kidilum, Mythili, Passerine.

Anyone have comments on what really stands out — and what dishes really stand out?

If I do find something it’s usually deep fried…just want some scallops without breading. Where to go?

Hello! My soon to be ex-husband and I are getting divorced. I filed, so I need him to come here from Philly (where he lives) to sign the papers. We are on just about cordial terms but have not spoken in close to a year. I’d love to find a good spot that ideally has the following:

- will be relatively quiet for lunch on a Sunday afternoon — or at least quiet enough that we can have a conversation without needing to raise our voices. We don’t want that.
- has vegan food. He is vegan—or was when we were together anyway—but more of the “cool interesting vegetables” kind than “fake chicken sandwich” kind.
- mid priced is fine — nice but ideally not super romantic date vibes. Again for obvious reasons.
- is accessible from Penn Station.

Thank you! I’ll be so grateful for any suggestions.

Im meeting some friends in the city this Friday and two of us were going to break off and book Double Chicken Please, but I never saw a single time on Resy. I'm wondering if it's still so insanely busy that Resy is impossible and we'll have to go at 4:45?

Thanks in advance!

From around 65th st to 113th street there is a Mexican place on every block. I’ve been to most of the ones between 75 and 100th st and am curious what some of reddits favorites are? I mostly get tacos everywhere I go, as I feel this is a fair way to get something almost every restaurant has, and then compare my favorites!