Al Dente

The food in Al Dente is excellent. I love the delicious pasta ai funghi and the bread! The Italian wine choices are wonderful.
The staff is friendly and kind. The tiramisu is very enjoyable too.
I am puzzled why this cozy Italian restaurant with amazing food wasn’t busy when I was having dinner there twice.

they actually make you pay for your birthday dessert… Go around the corner to Celeste.
Other annoyances:
$ 20 minimum on cards
Slow service
Undercooked pasta
If anywhere else was open on christmas day, i wouldn’t have eaten here.

After a CP Conservancy tour in the Ramble, we decided to head over to the west side for something to eat. It was early, about 4pm on a Saturday, but was starving. We walked over to Amsterdam, and my friend mentioned a place that he’d seen he wanted to try. It was Al Dente. The outdoor seating was empty, and a table or two inside were taken, but again, it was late for lunch and v. early for dinner. We ended up sitting on the street side as the waiter said that it would stay shady there. All the staff were very attentive and kind. I didn’t even have to ask for a water refill once! There were a few drink specials, even for the tables. I had some decent prosecco and my friend had the Sangria. He ordered the eggplant parmigiana starter and said it was good. I ordered the grilled chicken paillaird which was very tasty with herbs and olive oil. They kindly switched the spinach for mash for me. My friends risotto was delish, not rubbery like some places, and very tasty. The bill was a bit higher than I expected, but at the same time, in the end it was dinner and prices comparable with other places for dinner in the city. I caved and had the molten cake for dessert, which was tasty, but could have been a bit warmer. Ice cream was creamy and fresh. My friend has the lemon sorbetto with lemoncello which was fab and refreshing. Would def go back.

After Shakespeare in the Park … Crazy hungry. Enjoyed dinner outside — fantastic waiter, delicious Sea Bass special, best bread (homemade) with pesto olive oil spread (I’m a butter girl) and I did not miss it!
My friend had the homemade pasta/​shrimp, and raved about it.
I will be back

It’s surprising to eat overlooked and undercooked pasta on the same table at the same time. Substitute the homemade pasta with cheap supermarket pasta, seriously?

This was a terrific find. A recommendation fro the Park 79 hotel. Which I will review later. We went for dinner before going to see Aladdin with my wife, mother and my two boys.
We arrived and I ordered a bottle on Chardonnay for my wife and mother and a Montepulciano for my friend Lex and myself. I ordered three appetizers. Mussels, house made mozzarella with roasted peppers and a grilled polenta with wild mushrooms. What a delight, all three were excellent. The entrees that we ordered were the bread salad, the fruit de mer pasta, sauteed fish, and my wife and I ordered the spinach risotto. all excellent.
The service was great and he accommodate my two boys and our need for speed as we had 7pm tickets. As I have already said the food was excellent the service warm and helpful.
We made it out on time to make our show. I highly recommend the Al Dente, and I will surly return if I am on that side of town again.

Flat Chicken
I got the driest chicken breast because it was about the thickness of a piece of cardboard and didn’t taste any better than that. It was like a $ 18 dollar dish too.

It was a sweltering hot day and after trekking through Central Park my family and I were seeking cold refuge and sustenance pronto. We really wanted to try Sarabeth’s but unfortunately there was about an hour long wait. Grape and Grain next door looked appetizing, but they had no AC on (on a 90 degree day) so that option quickly got shot down.
Famished and sweaty, Al Dente’s ample seating and cold interior quickly caught our attention, and we immediately sat down for brunch. I’m not surprised to see that most other reviews are less than stellar, because our dining experience was not too memorable.
We started off with some drinks, and our beers were warm and stale. Out of all of their beer options, the only chilled beer was the Peroni. That’s fine, I don’t hate Peroni. It just seems as if they should probably manage to keep all of their beers cold. The calamari on the menu read as fried on the description, and although that was stated in bold writing the waiter tried to argue against it when he accidentally brought it to the table grilled. It says fried dude… c’mon. The bruschetta app was also strange and was served on one large piece of soggy bread instead of small crunchy toasts. This made for quite a difficult sharing experience.
The entrees weren’t much better. Not awful to the point where I would not eat it, but definitely not too tasty either. My ravioli tasted strangely reminiscent of Chef Boyardee and my sister and grandma’s eggplant pasta did not have a trace of eggplant in it. The server told us that it was infused in the sauce which was probably a load of bull. The quality of the food was similar to that of a boozy brunch spot where you go to drink and forget the food. Except here, there was no unlimited drink option. Instead, just copious amounts of lukewarm and stale beer.
I guess that an empty dining room during prime Sunday brunch hours should be an indicator of what was to come, but it was just too hot out to peruse other options. I’m rarely in the Upper West Side for brunch but next time I am I’ll make sure to have more of a solid game plan.

We were enticed by the sunny sidewalk location for Sunday brunch, but this place was a disappointment. Our Eggs Benedict was serviceable, but arrived with «oven baked potatoes» which were in actuality super greasy French fries. When we asked for them to take them back and replace with non greasy potatoes, the manager came out and argued with us that that’s how they are supposed to be. Apparently, they don’t get them, but toss in olive oil and bake in the oven. Great, except the final product shouldn’t look like it came out of the fryer at a high school cafeteria.
We then waited for replacement mashed potatoes, but were completely finished with our meal before they arrived. They looked unappetizing as well and sent them back.
A sunny location often belies a kitchen that cuts corners. And there’s never an excuse for arguing with the clientele.

DO YOU HAVE A GRILL YOUR ON NYC APARTMENT FIRE ESCAPE this summer? No? No need to feel left-​out! Do like we did… We started our NYC Spring/​Summer 2015 with AMAZING GRILLED VEGETABLES at AL DENTE. Bobby Flay… be scared… be very scared! Hee hee! The Grilled Veggie Platter at Al Dente made us feel like we were eating from a friend’s grill on the hills of Tuscany. The varieties of vegetables were abundant; tossed in fragrant herbs; GRILLED to ‘al dente’ perfection? We HEARD THE CHORUS SINGING HALLELUJAH, IT IS FINALLY SUMMER in NYC with each delicious smokey bite… fabulous to be treated to Grilled Radicchio! Look Mom… this is the way I like to eat my healthy veggies! Balance is happiness… so we also enjoyed super crispy and tender Calamari Fritti… sweet succulent Figs with creamy dreamy Goat Cheese drizzled with Honey with my Honey… NYC Brunch MUST: THE EGGS BENEDICT with homemade fries that we all politely fought for… ORDER THE EGGS BENEDICT QUICK BEFORE OTHERS BEAT YOU TO THE YOLKS. The perfect ending to a well deserved WEEKEND brunch was relaxing over FRESHLY GROUND TO ORDER CAPPUCCINOS… AAAHHH…A rainbow of exotic herbal teas were available for our tea lovers. AL DENTE is a day in blessed life well lived. No messy grill to clean-​up! …so more time to order Al Dente’s homemade desserts! Grazie Mile Al Dente Team!

Taking a look at the bad comments below i m wondering what has changed over the time, we are back from this restaurant and had a wonderfull time. The penne with vodka was just delicious, and so was the Spaghettini vongole. Grilled salmon was very tasty as well definitelly with a refreshing chardonnay. I recommend this place, really. We ll be back this saturday btw. Thanks folks.
Xavier & Maria

Don’t go there with kids. They wouldn’t let us in because we had a stroller although the place was empty.

Used to be one of our favorite italian restaurants. It’s fallen a notch, but we’d still go. But this is a service review. This place is not kid friendly. I have a 3-​year old and one in a stroller. The place was completely empty except for one table of patrons. They told us there was no room due to reservations. Right… About 20 tables’ worth, I guess. Sadly, we lost one of our favorites.

The Chicken Milanese was absolutely delicious.. Music was a little too loud other than that, service was great food was delicious. .definitely would go back

I’ve never had a bad meal at Al Dente. It’s one of the few places in the neighborhood where you can have a quiet conversation without loud music. The waiters are unobtrusive and never hover or rush you through your dinner.
Last night my friend and I shared a salad, arugula with shaved Parmesan, heRts of Palm and avocado slices. She had her usual fettuccine with shrimp, asparagus and tomatoes. I had black linguine with shrimp. We shared a panna cotta for dessert, and a bottle of NZ Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc for $ 34 which is very reasonable. We had a very pleasant weeknight get-​together dinner — exactly what we had been looking forward to.

I live in this neighborhood and love the restaurants and vibe. We decided to try this place and it was not worth the Almost $ 100 for 3 people.
Veal Milanese was dry and salty, wife’s lobster ravioli was tough and chewy.
There was no energy to the place and staff was not over courteous besides filling water glass constantly. No spark or feeling of welcome .
I hate giving a bad review but I think it helps a business owner to know the reputation they are getting.
I tried this place even though the ratings are not good to support local business .but the restaurants have to work harder in the digital age to make sure their product is great.
I hope they improve their food quality and atmosphere.

dining in was awful because the place is falling apart. The walls are peeling and the check came in a beat up, taped up holder. I couldn’t believe it. The food was ok so I would order in if you want to try it.

Ate here last evening for the first time with some friends and, Important to me, the noise level was quite reasonable so we were able to have a conversation without shouting. In too many other restaurants in this neighborhood you cannot hear your waiter let alone your dinner companions.
The service was quite competent, not rushed, and our waiter charming and knowledgeable.
The food: an inexcusably mediocre Caesar salad unfortunately (I am a Caesar salad lover). The entrees though were quite serviceable if not great. Properly cooked pastas. I had the saffron fettuccine with shrimp which was quite good, though my friends fish was a tad over cooked. The other pasta dishes were also decent, and we believed the prices to be reasonable.
My food expectations on the Upper West Side are quite low since I believe it to be be a bastion of mediocrity. But I may come back to this restaurant.

«WE DO NOT TAKE STROLLERS». Said the unwelcoming dorky waiter.
The party was four adults, one 8 years old and one 3 years old. Kids are of the very quiet kind.
When questioned if that’s even allowed the waiter just nodded and smiled… At least it’s reassuring for the future of the species that these people don’t like children around.

Went to Al Dente this evening. We walked by and liked the traditional Italian menu, so we went in. We were seated promptly. Served very tasty bread with olive oil and olive paste. We ordered the Insalata Classica Caeser romaine lettuce with caesar dressing, homemade croutons and parmigiano.
And the Spaghetti Della Nonna spaghetti with homemade meatballs, pomodoro sauce and extra virgin olive oil. Both were wonderful! We definitely will return to try other dishes.