La Mela Ristorante

Food was decent and would have given it three stars. But I was upset when the waiter chased an accordion player away from playing across the street from the restaurant. No wonder Chinatown is closing in on Little Italy. The understanding of what makes a place great is lost.

Good for late night food, but do not expect anything special. Food is average and the service is pretty terrible. Waited about 45 minutes for our food, and we had several different waiters throughout the night which was annoying. Finally, my pasta was good but the sauce they served on the side was not pleasant. In addition, the hostess lied to us about his name and was not genuine.

The food was nothing special but the staff was great. Fun neighborhood for people watching. There are some tables under an awning just off sidewalk that were a fun place to sit. We did 4 course family style for 2 (and there were 3 of us.) It was more than enough. Fried cheese on hot appetizer platter and tortellini were the best. Also has cannoli for dessert, and that was really tasty!

This place has some of the best chicken parm I have ever had in my life seriously! I found this little place on Mulberry street in NYC and have been in love every since. The atmosphere is quaint with an old school Italian feel and the little red and white table clothes set the tone! They use fresh ingredients the food tastes great and when ever I want that out of this world chicken parm!!! I go there!

This place is awesome! The food was
Amazing. I had eggplant Parmesan and it was melt in your mouth delicious !!! It all
Started with a perfect salad. My friend had chicken Parmesan and she loved it too!!! It was just by chance we went here but so glad we did!!!

This is my first time on the east coast and there are so many places to choose from in Little Italy. Stumbled upon this restaurant and loved it! Portions are big for sharing and everything tastes great. Also, service is wonderful, everyone is very nice and friendly :)

Where do I begin with this place!?! We had a good friend of ours take us here when we were visiting. First time we went we got the antipasto salad which was on point! Tasted fresh to us. The wife ended up getting the spaghetti which she thought was amazing. Authentic tasting Italian cuisine. Me I got the tortellini in the rose sauce. Holy Mario’s mustache this shit blew my socks off! In fact we have been back multiple times. We hop in the cab slightly inebriated and trust the cabbie will drop us off in front of this lil slice of heaven.
Cannot remember the waiters name for the life of me but he remembers us every time we visit. ALWAYS the tortellini in rose sauce for me! This truly is worth stopping by if you’re in the area! Friendly, fast, and damn good food!

Let’s start with the antipasta. The asparugus was to wilted, way overcooked. The mozzarrella was cooked but didn’t have the stringy texture, stuffed mushroom where pretty good as were the ok grilled peppers. The sauce all of this was served in was ok, but not necessary.
Main course, was terrible. The chicken parmessan was very tough. I have never had hard to cut with a fork chicken. The cheese layered on top, could have well been imitation mozzarella, as it just all lifted up with the fork when I cut a piece of the tough chicken. Not the usual stringy stretchy texture that eminates from cooked mozzarella. This was all without flavor. The ziti that accompanied the dish was tasty. The sauce has potential.
In conclusion, I could not return to this restaurant. The $ 11.95 Sunday special is no insentive for me. Without the special, this dish would have been $ 23.99. Can you imagine?
The salad that came with the main course was also not good. A salad to not be good, clearly means they do not care. The presentation, was not appealing.

Fantastic Italian food in little Italy. We had the trio of pastas and it was fantastic! Meatballs were also great. Low key setting and packed due to the great food and service. Highly recommend if you like pasta!

My favorite restaurant in Little Italy. I have gone here many time over the years and the food and atmosphere is always to die for. The Pomodoro sauce is the closest thing to the sauce you get in Italy that I have ever had. Must try!

Ooo la mela
If you looking for authentic italian food? Go to this place
The food is amazing!
The atmosphere is italian like

We visited NYC last week with a group and had the pleasure of dining at La Mela in Little Italy. I must say, the meal was great!
They served bread and salad first (delicious!), followed by mixed pasta and spaghetti family style. The spaghetti was delicious but the mixed pasta was even better! Gnocchi, tortellini and penne! All on one plate! Yum! Carb heaven!
The wait staff was also outstanding.
Happy to give La Mela 5 stars on our experience!

Ciao Bella!!!
Okay, so I’ll confess, that’s Italian 101 for me in a nutshell. I can’t state that I know anything further about the language but when it comes to O-​MAZZZZING Italian cuisine, I now know without a doubt where to go… when in Little Italy, NY!!!
La Mela just gave me life and served it up bountifully upon a charcuterie platter!!!
While visiting NY this past NYE, a simple Unilocal search for the «best Italian food around» led us to this place and bearing the holiday in mind, we weren’t certain of restaurant hours and so forth.
* Taxi —- check!
* Growling tummies —– double check!
* Italian translator —— (sighs,…) not so much. –_​_​–
Arrived and to speak candidly, there was no delay in finding this place whatsoever! Located on Mulberry — where pretty much all of the action is within this particular segment of town, we were compelled to «follow our noses» and our nostrils were immediately enveloped by the aroma of freshly made breads and pastas.
O yea! Papa’s home…
Walking into this place, we were greeted from the front porch as if we were relatives that had traveled from afar and bear gifts of myrrh and frankincense. For what it’s worth, this place is gi’normous and my observations indicate that parties can be served without any such need to acquire reservations.
No sooner than we entered were we seated and similar to Julia Roberts on «Eat, Pray, Love» —- the experience began.
Boasting a 5 course meal (consistent of gnocchi, tortellini and rigatoni) for all of $ 35.00 or so, we knew upon browsing the menu that we’d be leaving w/​doggy bags all the while requiring crutches. Instead of the aforementioned, I opted for the linguini with clams… minus the linguini, as an appetizer.
Buon Dio!!! (I just Wikipedia’d that…) — — THIS DISH DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!!
Served piping hot, and I MEAN HOT!, this dish arrived reminiscent of something sent straight from the heavens!
#the-​last-​supper
Bearing in mind that I was amid «family» and family doesn’t judge, lol, I requested another round of bread (1 of 5 servings that evening) simply to sop up the savor from the sauce! As any REAL foodie knows, the TRUE testament to great cuisine is the sauce!!!
Upon finishing this course, we partook in ordering the chicken marsala as well as a trio of 3 homemade dishes served collectively as a combination platter. Consistent to this was: Gnocchi, Rigatoni and some other pasta dish served with enough cheese to make any local farmer blush.
Admittedly, I’m lactose intolerant but this go round, I just had to take one for the team!!! Tag on a few glasses of wine and yes… some more bread and I was ready to kiss the chef!
Shortly thereafter and bearing in mind that we were only a party of 2, our table was joined by a party of 4. Ironically however, there was nothing awkward about this as they simply asked what we’d ordered and our party magically wafted into a table of 6!!!
Ora e una festa!!! (Now it’s a party!!!)
The bill (for 2) equated to no more than $ 60.00 for a smörgåsbord of delectables and no sooner than I can crunch my way to a flatter stomach, I definitely envision our expedient return!
Excellent job guys! EXXXXXXCELLENT!!! (…kisses fingers)

A real home feeling in little Italy! I am not down there much and was excited to visit a friend in the area! We stopped in quickly to grab a bite to eat before on to the next and the staff was awesome! Very friendly and conversational! We ordered a simple spaghetti and meatballs with a beer, the food was tasty and priced just right! I loved to go back the next time I’m there for a more sit down, full dinner !

I’ve been told La Mela is one of the best italian restaurants in Little Italy. I’ve ate here twice and i still cant seem to understand why people say that.
This past wkend we ate here for a friend’s bday and i was reminded why i only tried this place once and made up my mind it was not a restaurant for me.
We had a party of 12. It was a big restaurant which can be a + and -. La Mela is huge, but with such huge space u should assume there are enough well trained employees. Employees who do not have a problem w working at a large space and w a huge number of parties.
But that was not what we saw. We had a staff tell us, «tell me all ur drinks now so i wont hafto come back and get more drinks later.» Um. We’re sorry for makin u do ur job. At a huge restaurant w a huge party. But isnt that what u signed up for when u got hired? Btw i ordered a sprite and the waiter gave me a sierra mist without checkin w me first.
The food was decent, we had calamaris, stuffed mushrooms and casino clams. Our pasta was not al dente (but it didnt bother me since i dont like my pasta that way) but it was drenched w sauce. Too much sauce. And i dont like my pasta that way.
I would say the food is decent, but not the «best» italian food i’ve had. I’ve definitely had better, try Pepe Rosso on Mott Street and thas homemade pasta and it tastes great. And their service is impeccable. But here at La Mela. It was jus sad to hear a waiter say that. We wont be back anytime soon

Ok so it’s Little Italy. I realize most of these restaurants on this block are pretty much the same. We were given the recommendation of La Mela from a family member.
The inside isn’t much to look at, luckily we were in the right place at the right time to grab a table on the street in front of La Mela. If you can sit on the street, it’s the way to go. We were seated and served promptly.
The portions were served family style. Perfect for us since we usually share everything anyway. We decided on the calamari and the rigatoni bolognese. I didn’t try the calamari but I was told it was in the realm of the best he has ever had. Which is saying a lot… I thought the rigatoni was so good. I wish new the recipe for the sauce! If we were in the neighbor hood again we would definitely return.

I have been here literally 20 times. My mother makes fun of me because every time I come to NYC I come here.
When you come here, you know exactly know what you are getting. Great food and a lot of it. Get the family style. You have 2 decisions, red or white wine and how when to stop eating.
They have awesome cheesy pictures of everything and of celebrities that have frequented the place.
They ogle the ladies in their Italian ways, its part of the charm.
Come here.

When at the Feast of San Gennaro happens every September, it’s easy to get suddenly sucked into one of Mulberry Street’s restaurants with their makeshift outdoor seating. Seriously, blink and you’re being seated, like a tornado of waiters descending upon you! Last year, Benito One drew us in and I had the most horrible plate of Penne a la Vodka I had EVER had: It was just penne covered flavorless white sauce! Luckily, we had better luck this year with La Mela.
The beau, his little brother, and myself were suddenly seated on in front of La Mela on a warm Wednesday evening. Of course, the pasta menu was expensive and a bit deceptive: they boast «family style» portions of pasta, or pasta plates big enough to split among people. One could have easily fed two of us. However, the small print at the bottom of the menu states that there is a $ 6 PER PERSON charge to split a plate. In other words, if the three of us wanted to split two $ 22 dishes of pasta as had originally planned, instead of $ 44, it’d be $ 62. TRICKY TRICKY! With almost every pasta dish costing $ 22 (with the Spaghetti Marinara I got costing *just* $ 16), it just made sense for us to each get our own dish. We spent a little over $ 60 on all of the pasta, sure, but at least we were paying for pasta and not a shared plate charge. (And we all split it among us anyways! Of course!)
My spaghetti was fine, with the marinara being a bit watery. Lil’ bro got the ironically-​named «family style» pasta plate with gnocchi and two other pastas, which was delicious and covered in melted cheese. The beau got the Fettuccine Alfredo, which was the best out of all of the pasta dishes we got. While I think the sauce could have used a bit more of a punch of Parmesan, the fettuccine was homemade, and there isn’t much better in the culinary world than homemade pasta! It was really superb.
Cheers to the waitstaff that had to navigate the crowds of San Gennaro to bring us our food, and thank goodness for our waiter who was patient while we attempted to pick between various pasta options!
Also, on a final good note: They have REALLY good bread. That alone might bring me back. Ha!

I brought a group of co-​workers here for dinner on Monday night and everyone loved it! The thing about La Mela is it is not just about the food. You can get better Italian food elsewhere in the city but that’s not all La Mela is. For me, it is about the experience. It’s family style so everyone shares everything just like you would at your Italian grandma’s house! Big long tables with red and white checkered table clothes complete the picture.
We made it through 3 courses starting with a very fresh and flavorful tomato mozzarella salad with nice ripe tomatoes and decent mozzarella cheese. From there we had the antipasto which included roasted peppers, olives, asparagus and spiedini which is a bread/​cheese dish. A little salty but overall quite good. Next came the pastas, rigatoni with marinara, tortellini with alfredo and gnochi with a tomato/​parm sauce. My only complaint with these choices is that they are all very heavy and once you get done, you don’t have room for the meat course!
Dinner, including tip and two bottles of their wine, for 7 people was under $ 350 and we were stuffed with a big bag of leftovers for one of the local guys to take home to his family. Not a bad deal for a dinner in NYC!

My dad and I had a good but unexceptional meal at La Mela. We were in Little Italy for lunch and saw La Mela advertise an $ 11 lunch special. We were seated and given menus that said nothing about the lunch special, and most of the menu was priced at $ 18 to $ 28 per meal. We asked about the lunch special and found it included just four options. I just find it a tacky bait-​and-​switch when a restaurant lures you in with the promise of a well-​priced lunch special and then hands you a menu with most items priced double the special price and no details whatsoever on the advertised deal.
In any event, we both ordered chicken parm. The salad served with it was really unremarkable – some lettuce, two small slices of tomato and vinegarette. The chicken parm and penne pasta were good, but not different from what I’ve had at other restaurants up and down Mulberry.
La Mela is an okay place for a lunch, but I can’t think of anything that would recommend it above other similar eateries in Little Italy.