Caffe Falai

Why oh why did this place close? My favorite restaurant in NYC. The owner was nice. He greeted everyone who walked in. The food was amazing!!! Please bring it back!!!

I went here for dinner twice or three times two years ago. I stopped by here recently to pick up their phenomenal flourless chocolate cake as a present to my mom. I was really disappointed to see that they don’t have it anymore, nor do they display their decadent, pretty desserts inside the restaurant.
From what I remember, the pasta here is really good and I love the modern, classy feel to this place.

I have eaten here several times. It is one of my daughter’s favorite spots. And although it doesn’t look like a place to being the kids, sitting outside and people watching makes it a perfect spot.
My daughter loves their bolognase sauce and homemade pasta. And I have to say it is pretty fabulous. My son loves the roast beef. Cut into thin slices with some micro greens, it is a perfect meal for him. I like the gnocchi.
The service has always been friendly and good.

Café Falai is very pretty and white. The clientele is also very pretty and white.
Our meal was fine but not splendid. The wine list is extremely abbreviated — I think they had something like four whites, which at least makes choosing pretty easy. My salad had a nice variety of greens, two kinds of cheese (goat and fresh mozzarella), some fresh fruit and just a little too much dressing. My companion loved her tomato and bread soup; I thought it tasted a bit like Campbell’s, but then again I think all tomato soup tastes a bit like Campbell’s.
I had the garganelli with veggies as a main course. It was, to be honest, not great. It was full of green lumps and covered in green sauce, so it looked kind of like a mound of algae… and, sure enough, the uniform color belied uniform (and, unfortunately, uniformly bland) taste. They tried to spice it up with too much salt, but no go.
My dining companion had some sort of meat-​stuffed pasta that she really liked. I dunno, maybe I just ordered wrong, but I wasn’t super impressed.
We skipped dessert.

They broke dishes … then a wine glass. The glasses broke into pieces and fell onto my friend’s sweater. The guy sitting at next table was nice enough to tell my friend or she could cut her back. The waiter and the manager never apologized; SO RUDE. Will never go back there.
If you do decide to check this place out, sit far away from the long side of the bar where the wine glasses on sitting on marble stands. Idiots!

Came for Valentines dinner with my girls. So yummy, we shared the charcuterie plate and the avocado truffle salad. I had the squid ink pasta which was pretty good but not perfect. My friends dishes were tres magnifique. The rigatoni ragu and the branzino mmm.
Also they sent free dessert and free limoncello. Pretty damn good.
They were out of the ricotta app so might have to go back to try that…
Also, the CUTEST chic-​est ambiance.

The food here is really excellent, the ambience is wonderful, but the prices are not quite right. You can get a better deal on Italian for less (Torrisi/​Parm, Morini, any number of other places in SoHo) or for as much, but with better food (Il Buco) right in the area.
A few food notes:
–Polipo appetizer was amazing. I am in love with fried capers.
–Chicken breast will leave you hungry.
–Desserts are well-​done.
I will probably come back here at some point, but I’m not chomping at the bit to do so.

Overrated and overpriced.
I have been to Falai on Clinton Street which is now closed, and it was one of my favorite meals. So since I had some guests in town, I thought Caffe Falai would be the next best option. Everything was mediocre and the service was beyond sub par. I looked for the waitress several times throughout the meal as she just disappeared and never asked if we wanted another bottle of wine, which is just weird and bad service. The food was all non memorable and portions were tiny. Won’t be coming back here.

My friend suggested this restaurant. The décor is pretty cool but it’s obviously has been dirtied since its opening — which ruins the white concept of it.
Anyways, we shared the Bufala. The tomatoes were really tasty and flavorful and paired well with the mozzarella and toast.
I got the TORTELLI DI PATATE CON RAGU’ ALLA BOLOGNESE (copied and pasted from the website haha). The pumpkin purée was REALLY REALLY good. I’m sad that the dish didn’t come with more of it.
I paid $ 29 for my meal and for me that wasn’t worth my meal. The meal was okay but not memorable.

Until today, I had only been to the now closed Falai in LES — which admittedly was dated, but I was still in love with the food and the ambiance, so sad to see it close. That said, NOW I have finally discovered Caffe Falai on Lafayette and am so happy! Why did I not uncover this earlier? Who knows. Too many places… too little space in my tummy.
The ambiance is white and airy and lovely. Sat at the bar for a bit waiting for our friends and enjoyed some drinks… I mean you could hang out there for hours… Which we eventually did once properly seated at a table. Delicious and inventive dish after dish came out. The meatballs and gnudi were especially good. The lasagna (which I believe it new) is a bit cheesy, but if you are in the mood for some cheese, go for it.
The service was just perfect. Attentive not hovering. And the various people who stopped by our table were friendly, funny and nice.
Definitely recommend. I’ll be back soon.

Reading other reviews, I think that the restaurant has handled its staffing problems. I enjoyed a friend’s birthday dinner here last night, and our waiter was a sweetheart. He was attentive, friendly, and brought a special birthday dessert without us even asking him to. The pasta was delicious, the negroni was good, and espresso fresh.
I’m curious if anyone has tried the cocktail with Fernet, spinach, olive oil and squid ink? I didn’t have the guts to order it but was very intrigued.

I have always walked pass by this place, but never really tried it. Although we did not have reservations (for a busy Monday night), the server sat us at the last available table for two immediately.
The bread had a licorice aroma to it and the olive oil was also «spiced up»…definitely a nice twist on plain olé bread and olive oil. My favorite dish was the veal burger. Instead of the typical hamburger buns, the veal patty was sandwiched between two big buttery Texas toasts. Yes, I said it… Texas toast soaked in butter!
Excellent service and quite affordable.

I imagine that on the right day, Caffe Falai could be an excellent place to grab brunch. We did not come on that day.
The meal certainly started off promising, as the avocado salad we decided to start with was DOPE. The avocado was perfectly ripe, the dressing stellar, and the truffle a perfect touch.
However, when our entrees arrived… they didn’t, actually. Four out of the ten of us didn’t get our food. That’s 40% of us, if my math is correct, who just had to sit around and watch their compatriots eat for about 15 minutes before they were served anything. Well, I suppose they wouldn’t have had to watch, if the people that got their food weren’t frightfully rude.
So I was one of the people who got my food. «Lucky,» I suppose. Having opted for the baked eggs with mushrooms, I was really quite excited. In my experience, restaurants rarely serve baked eggs unless they know how to do them well;* it’s just one of those brunch staples that everyone and their incompetent chef of a brother makes, regardless of whether or not they can do it well. Like Eggs Benedict.
But these baked eggs were so very disappointing. I’m assuming that the kitchen was just woefully unprepared to deal with a party of ten people, and they timed everything incorrectly. My eggs were probably just done first, and then left in the blazing hot ramekin to cook and cook and cook as the kitchen tried to get the rest of the [60% of the] food ready to go out. Instead of being fluffy and wonderful, the eggs were just hopelessly overcooked, hard and dry. The paninis around the table were simply uninspired, but these eggs were actually bad.
I might return for that avocado salad, but only with a very small party.
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*See Arcane, Spoon, abistro and I hear, Café Gitane.

Came here on the eve of America’s birthday, after having worked a very slow brunch. Leland and a few of the other angels were in attendance, and we did what we usually do: ordered a drink each, and passed them around so we could each get a taste. Our glasses drained, we came to a consensus: we just had the try the one at the bottom of the list that no one had dared to order initially. We were so apprehensive, we ordered just one for the five of us to share.
The Firenze Palermo: chef meets owner, back-​of-​house meets front-​, in a crazy concoction named after the cities nearest and dearest to the folks behind this branch of the Falai empire. Vodka, Fernet Branca, fresh spinach, squid ink, ginger beer, and olive oil. Not as scary as it sounds. Quite tasty, in fact, if you’re into savory drinks. It’s one of those magical concoctions that truly showcases cocktail chemistry: you can’t necessarily pick out each ingredient individually (not by taste anyway; the drink is the color of spinach, with a black smear of squid ink along one side of the glass, and unmistakeable pearls of olive oil dance at the top) but when it all comes together… wow. I would have added a touch of salt, personally. But nobody else in town has the balls to put a drink like this on their menu. This one really takes it to the next level.
I’d stopped by here in the past for a glass of wine or a cup of coffee, before they got their liquor license. And the pastries are sublime, of course. But who knew I’d be blown away by Falai’s… cocktails?

Really liked the modern all white interior of the building. We were seated right away which was nice :)
We had
Pappardelle Alla Zucca Con Cinghiale — loved the pasta with squash
Linguine Al Nero Di Seppia «squid ink black linguine, with baby clams and orange zest”— very interesting to try once
Spaghetti Al Pomodoro— classic tomato sauce spaghetti
of the three definitely liked the pappardelle with squash the most! recommend it :):)

Blinding white theme: circular white tiles, clear plastic chairs, large chandeliers, white walls, mirrors with white frames: the décor looks like a showroom more than a café. Beautiful shiny place with mostly beautiful people. Most of their patrons have more creative and more beautiful attires than people you would find in other parts of Manhattan. Boas, feather vests, Japanese inspired clothing, CLs, black sheaths, and silk gowns were a sampling of what I’ve seen (and this is just for lunch).
The food is delicious and pretty. I came here twice for their lunch special because is such a great deal. The prix fixe includes secondi or primi with antipasti or insalata for 20. I’ve had their polipio: octopus with fingerling potatoes, fried capers and squid ink sauce. Who knew fried capers could taste so good? The fingerling potatoes are cut into adorable circles, and seared so they are golden. Once you place these dime sized bits of sweetness on your tongue, once the sugar reaches your brain, you are hooked. Now you will have to work ungodly hours at your job to afford to keep eating here every time a craving for their fingerling potatoes hit.
Their squid ink linguine is homemade, cooked al dente with fresh squid. They are generous with their seafood portions, so each bite results in some form of seafood, whether it be cockles, squid or clams. And their veal meatballs have a beautiful crust; they are soft and tender with tomato sauce and cheese. Their frutti di mare is a plentiful appetizer with a briny sauce; it includes clams, muscles, squid, shrimp soaked in saffron sauce. Yes– this sauce is lick-​the-​plate-​clean-​with-​your-​tongue good. We used all the bread that they gave us for the sauce, so we took bread from our bread basket to soak up every droplet of the sauce.
My friend who recommended this place to me, came to Café Falai three times this week.
I’m afraid I cannot look at Italian food in the same way ever again. I’m afraid frutti di mare will never measure up to Café Falai’s standard. I hope I am wrong.

Great Place !
Awesome service and the pasta is excellent !
The portions are a bit small so you might wana a few entrees are share

House made chitarra spaghetti w chicken liver and bottarga. This caught my eye last Friday when I was dying of starvation at 5PM. All I had the entire day was bacon and eggs for breakfast. So when this dish came, I inhaled it in 5 minutes. It had a good balance of richness and saltiness. It was absolutely divine! I loved it.
The combination of outdoor seating, sipping iced coffee, cracking jokes with friends and stuffing face with this heavenly pasta made my crankiness go away. Whew!
This was a way better dining experience compared to last visit. The server was charming and eager to please. «I come, I come.»
That’s what she said! Haha.

I’m a sucker for ornate chandeliers and European pastries, so I was automatically drawn to Caffe Falai like a magnet. I’ve been to the one in LES, but I was pleasantly surprised that they have a sister restaurant in SoHo. I give them 5 stars for the modern and minimalist interpretation of the Victorian décor, love the white on white look! Very chic and elegant! And their Crêpe Cake made with a dozen crepes layered with whipped cream is such a treat!!! Mmmmm!!! Soooo goooooood!!! Highly recommended!!!

I took my beautiful wife here for Valentine’s Day one year and it was great. Eclectic, a little funky, all white, cozy with cool somewhat ornate chandeliers, customer service was good. There are about 20 tables and a great assortment of pastries that you can take to go too. They have the usual fare of fresh pastas and some meat dishes. We had one of the salads that was really good, sorry don’t remember which one, but they all sound great on the menu. Entrees are in the $ 13-​$ 25 range.
If you are looking for a good place for coffee its usually too packed to get a table to sit and enjoy a cup there, but my suggestion would be pick one or two pastries to go and a coffee and head to a «park» in soho with some benches at Spring and Thompson to enjoy. Park = basketball courts with some seating around the fence. Good people watching place.
You could certainly walk down Spring or Prince and there will likely be bakeries still open somewhat late night that will have desserts to go, but they won’t be as good as Café Falai and likely just as expensive. $ 5-​$ 8 ea.
Group stats: That’s always a fun thing to do with a group… everyone grab a dessert and head to the nearest park to sit, chat and talk about your favorite dessert/​pastry or ice cream.