Altesi Ristorante

Just say no.
3 course lunch.
Bad service, bad food, great tirmisu. at least
Stay away

We came back a second time today and it was splendid! My date and I both ordered the agnolotti ‚(duck ravioli) if I’m not mistaking. Perfect dish! Our hostess and servers were both very gracious. Love their smiles! Word must be getting around how fantastic this restaurant is… it became quite busy during lunch. Thank you!

We visited this restaurant on Friday evening with another couple we were visiting in New York. On first blush we felt like we had walked into an upscale NYC Italian restaurant. White linens on the tables, separate servers from order takers to water glass fillers etc. Sadly the service was a huge disappointment. We sat for several minutes before anyone came to our table. A gentleman came and filled our water glasses and brought us each a roll. The roll came with hummus with olive oil. Our friend requested plain olive oil, salt and pepper. The olive oil arrived without salt and pepper. Our server came to take our appetizer order and again salt and pepper were requested. The appetizers arrived and she again asked for salt and pepper. After much frustration our friend got up and grabbed salt from another table with no pepper anywhere in sight! The Calamari appetizer was tough and the batter chewy, not edible in my estimation. The pear and endive salad was tasty once I sent it back and had it returned with my requested dressing on the side since it was swimming in a tangy citrus dressing. The Branzino fish was delicious. Perfectly cooked and nicely seasoned, a winner. My husband and our friend had the sole special which sat on a tangy carrot purée and was served with mixed grilled vegetables, great meal. We decided to pass on dessert and waited a very long time to get our bill. We discovered that the bill was ready and we had to ask for it versus it simply being delivered once she saw we had completed our meal. With so many great restaurant choices in NYC near Central Park East we’ll pass on this restaurant in the future.

Never judge a book by its cover. Altesi Ristorante on entering the door looks like a winner. Nice atmosphere, white linens and well dressed staff with a fair number of diners throughout.
My wife and I arrived with friends who live in the city and were greeted promptly. We were offered bread, and our friends requested some olive oil with salt and pepper for the bread. The oil was brought over in short order, but the salt and pepper well either they didn’t understand the words, or just ignored the request. Salt and pepper was sitting on the next table but they never brought it. The other couple’s wife eventually got up and got it herself. Not a good start.
I ordered Calamari and my wife got the endive salad. The calamari was OK, but was a bit chewy. I’ve had much better at half the price. The salad came in a dressing bath and after one bite my wife asked for a replacement, which by the way was her original request of dressing on the side. Knock #2 on the service with and a fair on the appetizers.
Two of us got the Sole special, and the other two the Bronzino entrée. The sole was done very nice with a tangy carrot purée along with some perfectly done grilled vegetables. No complaints here, it was excellent. My wife and other friend got the Bronzino which they both said was very good and flavorful. Kudos to the restaurant for taking the head off before serving.
While dessert was offered we were too full to take advantage of it.
At the price point that the restaurant is at I expect a lot more especially compared to similar venues in the neighborhood. After opening the cover of this dining establishment I can say with confidence there are a lot more worthy choices.

Elegant, classy, Italian restaurant with pretty good food. Picking this restaurant for dinner doesn’t go wrong for any occasions with important people. It is a bit pricey but not outrageous. Weekends are always busy with classy neighbors.

Went here with my fiancé to have dinner. Superb service, romantic ambiance, delicious food. All things one would want in a restaurant. In terms of price, I would say it’s on par with its location. Would come here again and would recommend this restaurant!

I went here for a Restaurant Week Dinner. They only offered the dinner on Sundays. It was amazing. I will go back. The service was great, actually perfect. The food was also wonderful.

This place is a peace of paradise tucked in a beautiful brownstone. The interior is warm and romantic. There is even an outside garden. The food is tremendous, the staff is attentive and courteous. If you’re looking for great Italian food and a wonderful evening, this is as good as it gets!

A nice gem on the upper east side. Classy atmosphere, great service, and consistently good food. A neighborhood spot (few tourists here), patio seating in the back perfect for spring and summer date nights. And little hard to find because the entrance is downstairs from the sidewalk level, but it helps keeps the riff raff out.

I have been here twice. The first time on New Years Eve, when the place was jammed. The food was excellent that night as well as on my second visit.

I was more than pleasantly surprised to find this sophisticated Italian restaurant just off Madison Avenue. It’s situated below ground level in a townhouse. People don’t realize that spaces where you walk down stairs are more inviting than those you step up too. This was a major design flaw when the plaza at Lincoln Plaza was designed. But you want to know about the restaurant. It does feel inviting, starting with the inviting entry and continuing through the glowing décor. The staff is welcoming and efficient without any forced fawning. They don’t intrude on your meal. They have standard Italian dishes ranging from pastas to seafood and meat. Everything was good and prices in line with fine dining UES restaurants. Wines were reasonably priced. Dinner for four with one bottle of wine cost about $ 300. You should try this place – it has a very elegant feel to it. The hospitality is not forced and the food that comes out of the kitchen reflects professionalism of the front room.

What an amazing place, fresh pasta, great staff, wonderful date spot.

What a wonderful find! Tucked away off Madison and 64^th is a fabulous Italian treat. We had just watched the Thanksgiving Day parade, walked 4 miles through town and Central Park and were starving. Being from LA, casual attire means lulu lemon attire and running shoes so we decided to stop in for lunch. We were sorely underdressed but were treated beautifully nonetheless. The service was top notch, the food to die for, and the ambiance very relaxing. Handmade pasta that melts in your mouth and delicious wines to complement. The owner stopped to chat several times and made a point to wish our girls a happy birthday. This will definitely be on our list for future visits to NYC.

The owner is the ultimate gentleman. The service was excellent and the food was amazing. Their pasta was so fresh!

Not great, but not bad either.
Because no one else was there at dinner time, I had fairly low expectations. But, the food was better than I thought it would be. The employees were not the most friendly and seemed upset when we arrived right after it opened and when we didn’t order drinks.
I would go back though if I wanted Italian and didn’t want to walk the blocks to a more established restaurant.

Boss is dick! Made me so uncomfortable he got mad at the waiter for allowing me to share a plate and we bought a $ 69 bottle! The boss got pissdd at him and yelled at him in front of me! Not happy. They spoke other language but I spoke it to and understood !

Listen, I get the UES and what it is. It’s now my home away from home. I’ve grown up in Manhattan and have eaten and sampled incredible fare. Altesi is a disappointment of catastrophic proportions. Here’s a little tip for the manager with a stick up her rear… YOUR job is to serve people. It’s what you signed up for. If you cannot handle that then it’s time to hang your hat and move on to something you are capable of doing. What I cannot wrap my head around is the utter arrogance of management in the hospitality industry. Customer service goes a long way! The customer is always wrong is their policy here. They falsely advertise as honoring pre fix lunch until 4. Was there well before then and they straight up refused to honor it! What the? Someone from mediocre Altesi better tell their poor management that she might want to change their advertising. Ciao!

Stopped in late afternoon around 4:00. was greeted with annoyance that we were somehow interrupting a box they were trying to move inside door. workers were eating and fixing their meals as if we were not a customer waiting to be seated even though not a single person was in the place eating. We even asked if they were open.
Salad was very good. portions of entrée very small. for 4 people it was 113.00 and that was with nothing to drink but water. won’t recommend or go back.

I’ve been a patron of Altesi since the beginning and will be for a long time to come. The atmosphere created by Paolo and Antonia the owners is nothing short of welcoming and amazing. The staff is professional, very attentive as well as genuinely nice! My usual dish here is their frittata which I get most every day along with the delicious coffee!

Went to this lovely Italian restaurant at this location in a townhouse, which New Yorkers may remember as the one-​time Euro-​club/​bar Fredrick’s (closed many years ago). This is an elegant, upper-​end, but not stuffy, Italian restaurant with an extensive menu including the usual Italian favorites of fresh fish, chicken, veal, steak (as a special), all prepared per the creative menu or as you request. I love when a restaurant invites you to have the your order as YOU want it without making you feel bad for not wanting, say, capers. The manager (owner?) couldn’t have been more welcoming and accommodating and the service was top notch. The tables are sizable and well-​spaced apart. There is a bar up front but it is away from the dining tables and was pretty quiet anyway. There is also a courtyard in the back of the townhouse building which was not open tonight but looks like a lovely setting for an outdoor summer meal. By the way, this block happens to be perhaps the single most exclusive block of townhomes in Manhattan. Versace once lived in the one near the corner of Fifth Avenue and some of the country’s wealthiest people have lived on the block. So take a stroll on both sides of the street between Fifth and Madison.
The food was exceptional as one would expect but might not always receive at other restaurants. The bread was particularly good and I was told it was chosen from Sullivan Street Bakery. The tomato purée they provided went perfectly with the bread as a smooth bruschetta-​like combination. The wine selection was excellent and not overpriced. Desserts included three flavors of crème brûlée, a warm chocolate soufflé and blood orange sorbet, even in early spring. They also had ice cream, tiramisu and cookies.
This is a romantic spot good for a date or special occasion, without feeling overly precious. Good for a business dinner too. On this Friday evening some were in jackets others just a sport shirt and nobody seemed impressed or bothered by either. Overall I was delighted to discover a neighborhood Italian on the Upper East side where I can go frequently and enjoy great food with excellent service and enough variety to not get tired of the same old thing. Examine the menu online to make sure it is in your price range. If so, you won’t be disappointed by the experience at this somewhat hidden gem. (Lastly, the rest rooms were modern, clean and nice – hate when that is not the case)