New York City - Midtown Italian restaurant recommendation please

Sorry if this has been covered in a previous thread but I'd really appreciate a recommendation for a lively Italian restaurant with great quality food in Midtown NY.

Can anyone help?

Can you narrow your parameters a bit? Do you care if it's midtown east or west? Do you have a budget?

Shelleys on W57th St at 6th Ave. Great quality and range of food and atmosphere and prices not unreasonable.

NewYorkMag.com lists 73 and Menupages.com lists 185 Italian restaurants in Midtown.

In addition to Blumie's questions about location and budget, here are some more that will help us help you narrow it down:

Northern or Southern Italian?
How many people will your party be?
By "lively" do you mean you're looking for a hip scene, a place where you can get a little loud on wine and not bother anyone, or something else?

I've enjoyed Carmines (http://www.carminesnyc.com/) a couple of times. Portions can feed an army and it has been crowded.

(I'm by no means an Italian Food expert, so keep that in mind.)

NewYorkMag.com lists 73 and Menupages.com lists 185 Italian restaurants in Midtown.

In addition to Blumie's questions about location and budget, here are some more that will help us help you narrow it down:

Northern or Southern Italian?
How many people will your party be?
By "lively" do you mean you're looking for a hip scene, a place where you can get a little loud on wine and not bother anyone, or something else?

Thanks. Midtown central - we are staying 45th St between 5th & 6th, budget c.$50-$75 per head. 4 in party. Lively = great atmosphere, a place where getting a little loud wont offend.

A couple of places come to mind:

Trattoria Trecolori (www.trattoriatrecolori.com), on 47th between Broadway and 8th, is a terrific, mid-priced, Theater District Italian. It will be very lively until the theater-going crowd vacates, but you can be as loud as you want all night long.

Le Zie (www.lezie.com), on 7th Avenue near 20th Street, is a great, neighborhood Italian. No tourists here, just locals. But great, well priced food (including amazing spaghetti and meatballs) and a lively vibe.

East 58th Street has a couple of great places, too, including Felidia and Bruno's, but these places are likely to bust your budget.

Carmines is more of an Italian-American-style place, heavy on the meat, cheese and red sauce served family style. It can be a lot of fun and a very good value, but I'm not sure I'd call the food particularly high quality.

Abboccato (55th between 6th and 7th) is a higher-end, excellent Italian places with much more focus on food quality rather than quantity. It's at the higher end of your budget, but shouldn't smash it too badly unless you're big drinkers.

See:
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/abboccato/
http://www.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?restaurantid=5738
http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=3466

Sadly I'm not familiar with the other recommendations, but Blumie's advice is usually good for restaurants (Corpt's may be, too, but Corpt isn't a regular on this forum like Blumie).

Carmines is more of an Italian-American-style place, heavy on the meat, cheese and red sauce served family style. It can be a lot of fun and a very good value, but I'm not sure I'd call the food particularly high quality.

Abboccato (55th between 6th and 7th) is a higher-end, excellent Italian places with much more focus on food quality rather than quantity. It's at the higher end of your budget, but shouldn't smash it too badly unless you're big drinkers.

See:
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/abboccato/
http://www.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?restaurantid=5738
http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=3466

Sadly I'm not familiar with the other recommendations, but Blumie's advice is usually good for restaurants (Corpt's may be, too, but Corpt isn't a regular on this forum like Blumie).

Thanks very much for recommendations and Blumie thanks also.

There is a very small place at 21 W 55th Street called La Vineria that is very good. Excellent fish specials, good pasta dishes and the wine list prices will not kill you.

http://www.lavineriarestaurant.com/home.htm

If you want lively and fun I'd walk up Madison to 61st street (or 60th) and visit Serafina's. The food is good too.

Le Zie (www.lezie.com), on 7th Avenue near 20th Street, is a great, neighborhood Italian. No tourists here, just locals. But great, well priced food (including amazing spaghetti and meatballs) and a lively vibe.


Don't give away the secret!!!

I used to live on the corner of 20th & 7th and now live only 4 blocks away. My wife and I eat here ~1/week and LOVE it. It isn't in mid-town, but it is worth dining at, as long as you don't want anything creamy.

The bar is also quite lively and a pleasant area to sit in, though it can get very crowded thanks to its small size.

My only complaint - and it is really barely one - is that the specials are rarely special. Once a month there will maybe be something new. Otherwise they are pretty much always the same. They're mostly pretty good (especially the fish baked in sea salt), but they aren't "specials" in the sense of something only on the menu for a short period of time.

http://www.domeniconyc.com/

Domenico. E. 40 / Lex. You can get iDine and OpenTable points here.

Osteria del Circo (Usually called simply "Circo.")
120 W. 55th St., New York, NY 10019
nr. Sixth Ave.
212-265-3636

Review: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/osteria-del-circo/

Web site: http://www.osteriadelcirco.com/index2.htm

I highly recommend Tony Di'Napoli's on West 43rd. They serve family style and the food is wonderful.

http://www.domeniconyc.com/

Domenico. E. 40 / Lex. You can get iDine and OpenTable points here.

Yup, but the food isn't very good. Maybe I'm just bitter because we've had our last 4 company x-mas parties there and they were terrible, but the food just isn't that great. On the plus side, you'll probably be the only people there, so no one will mind if you get a little rowdy.

Oh really? I have been there twice and it's wasn't too bad. The steak salad was good. It's not the best Italian place in town, but hey, I get points. :)

Baldoria at 50th & 8th is also a great option. Its owned by the Rao's people (which is a famous but impossible to get into restaurant).

http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/11351688/new_york_ny/baldoria.html

Baldoria at 50th & 8th is also a great option. Its owned by the Rao's people (which is a famous but impossible to get into restaurant).

http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/11351688/new_york_ny/baldoria.html

Famous ??? I guess you could call it that. Does anyone go there for the food?

[snip]

Abboccato (55th between 6th and 7th) is a higher-end, excellent Italian places with much more focus on food quality rather than quantity. It's at the higher end of your budget, but shouldn't smash it too badly unless you're big drinkers.

[snip]themicah might have a different experience than me, but I've found Abboccato to be *very* quiet, and occasionally kind of morbid. The food's good, but it's not a real festive place. On that block, I think Circo (http://www.osteriadelcirco.com/index2.htm) might be the better bet.

I enjoyed the new Accademia di Vino (http://nymag.com/restaurants/reviews/38324/) (the review is towards the bottom of the page) at Third Avenue and 64th Street when I visited several weeks ago. The tuna crudo topped with tuna "prosciutto" was creative and tasty, and the grilled white pizza with mushrooms and truffle oil was fantastic. Steer clear of the Carbonara though, it was over-salted and far too al dente. Great wine list as well. It's new and 'trendy' but once it calms down it will be a nice place.

I'd recommend Rossini's on 38th and Park: http://www.rossinisrestaurant.com/

Old world, Northern Italian - they will make you any Italian dish you want, whether on the menu or not. Old school - captain shows you to your table, heavily accented Italian waiters, a true dining experience.

tony's di napoli.

great environment, great food. family style, as mentioned above.

esp with a party of four, you could order an appetizer, a pasta, and an entree.. make sure to ask for their specials! and order a pitcher of their yummy sangria.

(you get opentable points here, too)