al Vicoletto

I’ve been here about 6x now and feel more comfortable with writing a review. I generally don’t like to review places till I’ve given them several chances, just to be fair to them.
The first time I came here, I was completely blown away. The food was nothing short of fantastic. I came shortly after a trip to Genoa, where pesto is from, and the pesto here rivaled the best pestos I had there. Their vongole and squid ink tagliolini were also just out of this world. i really mean this when i say that this was some of the best italian food i’ve had outside of Italy. it was that good, and i am not exaggerating.
However, since then, the standard of food has quite simply not kept up. I don’t know if it’s because they got popular, but it just isn’t as good as when I first came in September. I’ve had the same dishes here since and on one occasion, my friend very very clearly had had hot water added to his pesto sauce to ensure adequate volume of sauce; needless to say, it tasted watered down.
The best example I can give is when I came here on new year’s eve 2015, where my night was a microcosm of how i feel about this place. You’d think they would have their A game on at full blast. However, some dishes were good (calamari), and others were downright mediocre (steak). I felt slightly embarrassed that I’d recommended the place for a special occasion, but everyone felt somewhat satisfied, given the mix of good and so-​so food. however, dining here did nothing to lift the mood either.
I really did want to like this place, and was over the moon when I first found it. Since then, I’ve never had the same level of satisfaction; it’s consistently gone down to the point where I don’t feel like it’s worth giving them another chance, just because i don’t feel like rolling the dice to find out if it will be hit or miss that evening — not when there are literally thousands of other places to try.
A big plus is that their prices are very very reasonable, especially their wine. i have never ever had a problem with service, and they’ve always been friendly and attentive — especially the chief hostess/​manager, the blonde lady with short hair. she does a great job and i’ve always felt welcome here. i really want to like this place, but have unfortunately lost faith that it will be the same as when i first found it.

Excellent service, perfect portions, and lovely atmosphere. I loved the atmosphere, lighting and subway tile, a bar and café…
My sister and I shared a puff pastry pizza, 2 sliders, and 2 salads. Delicious and delicious. This is a New York gem!

Al Vicoletto is a great addition to Manhattan’s restaurant scene. If you like Italian food, you shouldn’t miss it. I have been here multiple times and tried most of their menu items. Their panini and salads are delicious, and so is the pasta. Their pesto sauce is amazing, one of the best I have had outside of Italy. Service is very friendly and attentive. This restaurant is perfect for groups as well as for romantic dates. It’s truly a gem, and I can’t wait to be back.

Amazing Italian food at an amazing price! Loved the taste with the burrata and arugula — I would definitely recommend that to share as an appetizer.

I popped in here last night to meet a girlfriend for happy hour. I work in the area and I’m SOOO tired of the overpriced, not that great, bar /​restaurant scene around the Square. We sat at the bar and had a few glasses of wine and some appetizers. The calamari and the muscles (Special) were fantastic! My friend and I both had to stop ourselves from licking the leftover broth right from the bowl — it was white wine with a little heat. LOVED IT.
It’s a cute cozy little place that definitely filled up around 7:00 so make resos or get there early!
I can’t wait to stop back for dinner!

The food was amazing. The best raviolis I have ever eaten. I ordered the mushroom truffle ravioli with a cream sauce and it was delicious! The service was also great since it was quick. Definitely recommend it. Will be coming back soon.

Excellent food for the price. Nice and understated with no fuss. Service was excellent from this young Italian lady who works there. Next time will try it for dinner.

It’s a good decision to make a reservation for this place as it was hoppin’ on a Thursday night at 7pm. Upon entering, it has a really cute atmosphere and friendly servers.
I got the pesto pasta with shrimp. I appreciated the pesto — it wasn’t heavy like a lot of pestos I’ve hard, it was light and subtle, but packed with flavour. The thing I have a nit with is the pasta. I know they didn’t advertise homemade pasta on their menu for this dish, but homemade pasta makes such a big difference. But that’s on me, I should just go to Italian places with homemade pastas. I also had a glass of wine with my dish which I enjoyed, but more $$ than ideal.
Overall, I wasn’t impressed by this place BUT I also wasn’t unimpressed. If I NEEDED to go to an Italian place and was in this area, I might go back. But there are so many other Italian choices in the city, that it’ll probably be unlikely I will go back.

I made reservations to this place through Unilocal.
Everything went fine.
It wasn’t packed so I wouldn’t say the reservation was all that necessary, but better safe then sorry.
They welcomed us with two glasses of sparkling wine on the house (for Valentines Day), and a small plate of olives and bread with olive oil and vinegar. I’m really big on olives so that was nice, and the glass of wine was perfect.
I’m not a huge fan of Italian food, so I was iffy looking at the menu. They do have a nice variety, something for everyone– steak with fries, salmon with potatoes, meatless pastas, calamari, etc. I went for the ricotta ravioli in butter and parmesan sauce. It came quick and with only 5 pieces. My initial thought was «where’s the rest???» and this remained my last thought until about ten minutes later when I was on my last ravioli. I. felt full!
The raviolis are big and stuffed well, and with the water and the olives from before, it was a full meal.
I was even too full for dessert after.
My friend ordered steak and fried which he also enjoyed.
The staff was nice and so was the place. Classy but not too fancy. And the bathrooms were gorgeous!
I would definitely come back here.
I would recommend ordering appetizers, though.
My dish was $ 16, and my friends was $ 20. Not bad.

Came with a few girlfriends for brunch after a bridemaids dress fitting. I am always in Union Square and have never noticed this place before but happy we did! The interior decoration is simplistic yet refreshing. For some reason it provided a sense of serenity similar to a spa.
The wait staff was attentive and accommodating. Food wise the brunch wasn’t anything spectacular. I ordered a large Apple Salad which was filling and yes very large for a salad. My friends ordered the soup of the day (Asparagus) which was the highlight of our dishes. It was fresh and tasty.
I would come back to try dinner or perhaps stop in for breakfast one weekday,

Very cute spot right by Union Square; it’s great for happy hour or a quick easy dinner! The menu is pretty simple, but good if you like quality Italian food.
Everyone got different plates, but we started with a cheese sampler and then had our entrees. I actually ended up getting a smaller dish of the seared tuna salad (which BTW was super yummy!). The desserts were so different as well and we ordered so many just so we could try them out.
Definitely would come back here again :)

My boyfriend and I were looking for a place to eat around union square when we found al vicoletto. The food is amazingly wonderful! We went around 3 so it was kind of slow time and the food came out quickly which was nice.
The only reason I am giving four stars and not give is there were fruit flies that were a constant annoyance at our table. Without this it would have been a great experience.

This place is truly a gem. I went on a Sunday morning for brunch with my husband and we ended up ordering pasta, soup, salad and brunch because the options looked pretty good. Service was great, and I really appreciated the cozy atmosphere. The food was high quality with great value — I appreciated the simplicity of it all. Be sure to order the french toast if you are here for brunch & the minestrone soup is the best I have ever had.

We came on a Friday night around 7:30 and despite not having reservations, got seated right away. The restaurant was bustling, like any new spot would be. Our server seemed very Italian (I think his name was Mossimo!)
For appetizer we had the fried calamari which came with zucchini and mushrooms. The zucchini went but the mushroom didn’t really go.
For my main I got salmon, which I saw another table get and it looked good. It was cooked well but pretty plain. My friend got the pesto and thought the pasta was a bit too al dente. Entrees were under $ 20
I liked the décor and modernity of the restaurant. The bathroom was pretty small.
They didn’t have any chocolate items on the dessert menu, so I skipped it.

A new colleague recently joined my team, and I decided to take the group out for a celebratory lunch. At that point, we had already exhausted most of our local lunch destinations, so I was at a loss about where I could reserve that would be different. However, I then discovered Al Vicoletto on OpenTable. I looked at the address and realized that this was the new restaurant in the old Café Medina spot, which I walked by fairly often. I checked out the menu and was delighted to see the varied and healthy options that made it a perfect spot for a group of girls.
We arrived late for our reservation, so we had lost our table in the rear dining room, but were offered a table in their garden or at one of their high tables in the front bar area. We grabbed the high table and were perfectly comfortable. I was surprised to see that the front of the café included a take-​out counter, as well as a bar and wine cooler. This was definitely a step up from a traditional café. The walls were adorned with Italian products, and the servers also appeared to hail from that region, which provided a really authentic environment.
As I mentioned, the lunch menu was rather extensive, offering something for everyone and causing us to deliberate for a quite a while before we could decide on something. Luckily, we had ordered a bottle of amazingly well-​balanced Fruilano and a bread basket to keep us entertained while we mulled over our options. The bread slices included doughy white and sweet raisin walnut varieties. A side of aromatic olive oil was a great vehicle for dipping. For my meal, I settled on the salad-​soup combo. I enjoyed a cup of Homemade Vegetable Minestrone and a half portion arugula salad. The soup broth was very light, perhaps a bit too light, but reasonably seasoned. It was packed with chunks of carrots, celery, and more. The salad had been topped with oven-​roasted beets, toasted almonds, and creamy, mild goat cheese. It was a healthy and enjoyable meal.
In fact, my coworkers felt the same way, and we ended up at Al Vicoletto again a few weeks later. Most of us ordered the same items, but we changed it up with a bottle of crisp Falanghina and a shared starter of Burrata, which was served with sliced grape tomatoes over an arugula salad and drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Given the reasonable prices, ease of making an OpenTable reservation, and vast menu, I think that we have found our new lunch spot!

I tried this place for brunch on a Saturday. It’s relatively new and at 11am the restaurant is empty. The first thing I will note is that the brunch menu they have online is different from what is in the restaurant. I actually thought the items on the restaurant menu sounded better.
All four of us ordered 3 eggs any style with a side of bacon and we all shared the french toast with bananas and chocolate. The eggs were fine, but nothing outstanding. I got my eggs scrambled and I feel like certain parts of it were saltier than others, but not to the point that it was bothersome. I did like the salad that came with the eggs and the potatoes it came with were good (though also note the menu says hash browns, but they’re more home fries). The french toast was pretty good. It had I think just the right amount of chocolate drizzled on top and had a few pieces of caramelized crunchy bananas. We treated it as our dessert. After everything I was full but not overstuffed.
The service was friendly and the restaurant itself is very cute. While we were there only 2 other groups came in for brunch. They definitely don’t rush you out so if you’re looking for a place to hang out near Union Square that’s quieter and low key, this seems like a good spot for it.

The vibe of this newly opened Italian restaurant in Flatiron is a mix of rustic chic and vintage charm — making it a great little nook for happy hour, GNO or a casual date night.
I stopped by with a friend for a quick bite and split the beet salad and pesto pasta (Paccheri al pesto). The salad was really fresh and had a lot of arugula, but probably 8 pieces of beet. It’s a beet salad guys — not an arugula salad… so do add more of the main ingredient.
The reason this is a still a four star review is the pasta — the pesto sauce was light and not too rich or creamy, the pasta was perfectly al dente… the potatoes and green beans in the dish were a great accompaniment. It was really excellent.
Service was spot on.
I’m sufficiently intrigued and would love to go back to sample more of their menu, especially the pastas.

This is the Italian place I wish I had in my town growing up, the one I wish were in my neighborhood, the one that won me over with its exceedingly pleasing simplicity and coziness.
It is amazing in this day and age (and neighborhood) to walk into an Italian restaurant that serves such good quality food while being inexpensive. This is the type of place that would make a date feel impressed yet comfortable. The perfect place to bring friends together.
The outdoor space is absolutely adorable, and I am considering renting it for my birthday party. The service has been nothing but outstanding, making sure to switch a dish we had trouble with at no cost and, most importantly, no attitude.
Needless to say, I highly recommend this place to any party hoping to find delicious Italian dishes and a great atmosphere.

This place is adorable and the first day it was opened, my coworker and I popped in to check it out. We met the manager and another staff member, who were so incredibly warm and excited to be in business, it just melted your heart!
We finally got to have lunch here, and when we walked in, we were greeted with a big and genuine smile. We sat outside in the back and our server greeted us warmly and took our drink orders. He made a few suggestions on the menu, and brought out a small bag of bread and oil and vinegar, which comes with every meal. I had the pappardelle with sausage ragout (I can never pass on a dish with truffle oil), my friend had the proscuitto, mozzeralla, and tomato sandwich.
I don’t know what it is, but the fact that our server had a thick Italian accent just made the place feel more authentic and the food taste even better. The pasta was fantastic, the sauce was just sweet enough and the noodles were cooked so they weren’t too soft. What I liked most about my meal was the portion size. I understand value in a restaurant but I prefer my meals to be an appropriate portion size, not too big that I will eat it all and get food coma. The sandwich was enormous, my friend couldn’t finish it all, and the proscuitto wasn’t too salty, which I liked. It also came with chips, but wasn’t necessary since the sandwich was so huge.
The service was perfect, our server checked up on us regularly without being pesky. Everyone we encountered there had a smile on their face and a ‘great to see you’ vibe. The restaurant was only a quarter full (Monday 12−1pm) but the food and service is so good, I really hope they stay in business because I will be coming back!
Oh and I checked out the bathroom — extremely clean, great lighting, very comfortable facilities.
In conclusion:
Service: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Food (papperdelle, proscuitto sandwich): ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Location (convenience and outdoor area): ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Bathroom: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Final thoughts:
I’ve only been once but they knocked it out of the park for me. I’ll update this if I need to but doubt I’d need to bring it down. The service alone is what I would come back for!

My new favorite go-​to lunch place. Tried 3 different kinds of salads, sandwich & pasta… everything was amazing. The ingredients were super fresh and delicious. The pricing was… surprisingly, cheap! $ 6 for a 24oz salad! VERY MUCH A BARGAIN. And you are gonna pay some much for a much worse salad in this area.
Note that the chef/​cook is native Italian which means you are getting real, healthy Italian food.
With this place open, I’d never step into chop’t and/​or pret-​a-​manager for the lunch salad/sandwich…NEVER.