Scalini Osteria

There was nothing to dislike about Scalini Osteria. Exterior front décor, lets out an old-​world charm with white-​washed walls. While the rear exterior, continues with the same whimsical effect, but with: mossy brick flooring, greenery, wrought iron sconces and «Christmas» white lights– that I so love.
Interior design is also, adorable and cozy. Even on a cloudy afternoon, having lunch at Scalini, seemed like that quintessential restaurant that I’d love to be stuck in under a rain storm. It had all the elements in my book: soft lighting, compact (but not annoyingly tacky) and soft wall accents.
Perhaps it was that fateful cloudy day, but service was attentive and friendly, then again, there were 2 tables occupied– mine included. My appetizer was a graceful red and yellow beet carpaccio with Burrata and a drizzle of aged balsamic. Entrée was a nice parcel of delicious and silky, carrot gnocchi in a subtle garlic/​butter sauce.
While I enjoyed my lunch here, dinner, should be a nice experience-​as well. And for the short time I was there, décor, warm service and food, gave Scalini an elevated look.

Went to Scalini for a baby shower and was thoroughly impressed with the wait staff. The attentiveness and overall level of service we received deserves 5 stars. In addition, the food was excellent. I had the salmon with a pomegranate avocado salsa served with quinoa, delicious! Will definitely be back for brunch or dinner.

I just had brunch at Scallini and it was disappointing. While the waiters provide excellent service and the décor is superb the food was not good. My husband ordered the burger, which was uneatable. I had the crab cake benedictine, which was ok. They do have excellent
mimosas.

A beautiful, gem of a spot with really incredible and thoughtful service. We had delicious gnocchi & wine, and the menu is truly thoughtful & creative. The service was outstanding. You will not be disappointed.

Very disappointing evening. The appetizer burrata ravioli had very little taste but any dish is allowed to be off one night or the next. The real problem was when I sent back my chicken dish which was so overcooked and dry it was inedible. I had it replaced with a dover sole dish which took about 20 minutes to come out while my girlfriend sat and ate alone. The dover sole was just ok, but the infuriating part is that they charged me $ 42 for this «special» while nothing else on the menu was anywhere close to this price. I guess they felt they had a make up both meals with one dish. Amazingly disappointing experience and received no assistance from the waiter or manager when I called them over. Would never go back again.

Failed to properly manage reservations, resulting in several tables waiting over an hour past their reservation time to be seated. We waited 1 hr and 23 mins PAST our reservation time before we were seated. I am wondering why we actually waited so long. There is hardly any room to wait in the cramped vestibule. An old lady with a cane was waiting near us and they didn’t offer her a stool for 20 minutes. The menu is predictable and the food was mediocre at best and certainly not worth the wait. I might have given 2 stars had we not waited so long despite having a reservation.

We looked forward to dinner at Scalini. Fine food, great service, and real tablecloths!
What a shock to walk in to a very loud bar crowd… Lassie movie on tv so it was not for sports though from the cackling women trying to impress it could have been a world cup on tv.
It was almost impossible to enjoy a gracious dinner with all the party like noise. We will never eat here again except perhaps midweek when the singles are at home. Their behavior was much more suited to a beer and wings joint. Having a quiet meal out is so nice and finding a good restaurant where conversation is possible difficult.

The Scalini Osteria is a well kept secret, for me at least, who is new to the area. Tucked on a side street just off Pondfield Road sits this gorgeous restaurant, only a few feet away from an easy to park area. You enter thru a small patio which can be a phenomenal environment during warm weather. Although the restaurant is small, there is another inside garden. The staff is extremely friendly, courteous, knowledgeable and helpful so you can make the right choices while ordering food and wine. Only a few staff members yet they keep your dining experience going forward with no flaws. And the food is absolutely fantastic. Worth trying such great restaurant, no matter what anyone else says.

My boyfriend and I wanted to sit outdoors to enjoy the décor and fresh air for dinner. We called during the day but you cannot reserve an outside table :(the staff was great! we sat right in the middle. LITERALLY center of the place which was small but we did not complain. The manager came and moved us to a larger table that we didn’t even ask for which was so sweet of him! We sat right by the window. The food was SO DELICIOUS and fresh. Very cozy little Italian spot. I will definitely be coming back. They have a huuuuge wine menu. The one we chose was perfect. Come here for Italian and wonderful service.

Nothing short of perfection. Cloudio is exceptional, his professionalism is wonderful. The farro/​mushroom /​chicken dish is. A repeat offender

This is for dinner for three. Appetizers, main courses and a $ 50.00 bottle of Red wine came to $ 180.00 plus tip. The meals were just OK, not bad, not great. The service was poor. There was hardly anybody there, see my picture, but our waiter was off somewhere doing who knows what. Really all and all, just a s s place.

Had a lovely dinner last night inside this cozy restaurant. We had planned to sit in the courtyard which reminds me of places we frequented in Italy. It’s private, far away from cars and pedestrian traffic, just a charming place to dine. Unfortunately, the weather was threatening, so we opted to dine inside, which was still intimate and lovely.
The waiter was quite knowledgeable and friendly and offered suggestions of what to order. Bread was served promptly along with a bean spread, which was very tasty. Two of us split the fig appetizer which was very good. The other two split the radicchio, arugula salad. Both of these dishes were split and plated in the kitchen and beautifully presented. Sorry I didn’t take a picture.
For the main course, we ordered the black ravioli, black squid ink pasta, tagliarini and the fourth person chose the swordfish special. Again all the dishes were presented beautifully. My husband requested more bread which was promptly delivered. I had first eaten the black ink squid pasta in Venice and I have to say that the one I ate last night measured up. We are all watching our waistlines, so we passed on dessert but told the waiter we’d like coffee, but only if it’s fresh. He told us to be patient while 2 pots were brewed, one regular and the other decaf. I’m not a fan of very strong coffee so sometimes I pass when in an Italian restaurant. This cup was perfect and I could drink it black with no problem as I have a dairy allergy.
I had first read about this restaurant in the NY Times years ago when it was reviewed. We’ve come several times, with different friends and have never been disappointed. I hope to return soon and sit in the courtyard.

How does this place have such good reviews? I give it a star only because the interior and outdoor seating both look amazing. Other than that the food was horrible, the staff was slow I had to get up twice to ask to see the waiter. We came here for brunch and had the pollo saltimbocca and the crab cakes Benedict, both were over-​fried. The risotto that accompanies was way too salty. The soup of the day that we had was lentil soup which seemed as if y threw veggies in water and boiled it, then served-​no taste.

Loved this restaurant. Awesome staff and amazing food! Looking forward to going back :)

Female hostess saw us coming in and continued to have her conversation with a waiter. After her conversation — she seated us. Not a good start for our first time.
Waiter was okay and not friendly. Other staff was fine. Service was slow and the restaurant was not that busy.
Food was good, so we will come back to give this another shot.

The atmosphere is very nice especially the outside seating. The staff was friendly. I ordered the Duomo panini. It tasted great but was a bit heavy afterwards. My red sangria was delicious but overpriced.

I had this place bookmarked for a while because of the reviews and the menu just looked amazing. We finally end up going here last Friday and I was a bit disappointed. The service was okay. They were fast but at the same time, it felt like they wanted to rush us. For example, when I was placing my order — my native tongue is not Italian… it’s going to take me a while to say the dishes out loud to its entirety. When I started to utter the dishes I wanted, the waiter interrupted me abruptly to finish what I was saying. It just felt very dismissive. For the appetizer, I ordered the crab cake. It was good but not the best I’ve ever had. For the entrée, I ordered the gnocchi. It was… a bit bland and tasteless. I couldn’t finish it so I stopped halfway through and packed it up.
We sat outside and their outdoor seating is very romantic, intimate, and beautiful. But I don’t think I would come back.

I don’t think I liked this place much.
There is parking near the rear of the restaurant, again metered, but offers plenty of parking. Although make sure you have some change on hand, because there seemed to be a dedicated officer who kept circling the meters while we were in the car.
The décor is nice, and we were seated outside, which was allright. I thought the main waiter was rushing us to finish our order almost, and didn’t really seem as friendly. The rest of the staff seemed nice though, and a bit more chatty.
The food was meh. They have some free bread and beans at the start, and that tasted great. If the meal had stopped at that, then I think the review would be rated higher. But unfortunately, we ordered food. I got the arancini for appetizer, while my gf got the crab and risotto cake. The arancini was good, tasted good with some marinara sauce. I can’t really complain about it. I didn’t taste the risotto cake, but she seemed to like it. We both got the gnocchi, and I thought it was terrible. It didn’t have much flavor at all. It tasted bland to me, and the only thing that saved it was the cheese that was put over it at the table.
I don’t think I would come back here, because for the price point, the food and the service was bad. I don’t mind paying money for good food/​good service, but this was mediocre all around.

We just had dinner in the courtyard, braised ribs and house special Chilean sea bass. Amazing atmosphere, service and food. Highly recommend. We are adding this restaurant to our favorites list.

We came by Saturday hoping to get brunch. Ooops! Didn’t pay attention to the menu/website…brunch is only on Sundays!!! :-(
But not a problem, I had dinner here once before & loved the food so we stayed for lunch.
My friend ordered a burger which was good. I went for the day’s special Four Cheese Risotto with mushroom & truffle oil, garnished with a bit of arugula. REALLY good. Creamy, flavorful & perfectly cooked.
Service was friendly & efficient. Will have to come back on a Sunday for brunch.