La Vineria

It was pointed out to me this weekend that when I wrote my review of La Vineria I must have been talking about a different place since I mention it is right down the street from Il Corso and across from Michaels.
Well, my review was written in Jan 2008. In August of that year they moved from W 55^th St to the new location.
If i could edit my old review, I would. but my only choices in Unilocal are to delete and rewrite, or update. I chose to update simply because I have not been to the new location and do not want to give the impression that I am reviewing the né place.
But I still stand by my review of La Vineria at it’s old location.

I only went there once for dinner, but it was very nice. It was a beautiful night out, but the place was strangely empty at around 8 PM or so. But hey, we had a very enjoyable meal. We had the special salad, which had wonderfully fresh greens, *fresh* hearts of palm (one of my favorite things), pears, and cheese. It was perfectly dressed and delicious. We also tried their maltagliati, which were very tasty. The homemade pasta was silky, which is such a simple thing but can be relatively hard to find. The main course, which was a red snapper special with veggies and cherry tomatoes, was nice but not especially memorable. Dessert was chestnut flan – different and very tasty. I happen to like the slightly mealy texture of chestnuts, but some may not. It was deliciously eggy and not terribly sweet, just the way Italians seem to like a lot of desserts. I thought prices were reasonable, considering the quality and portion size.

La Vineria is a fantastic spot to stop in for a liesurely bite. It’s got a great feel and the food has been great every time I’ve gone. Like others, I am not sure why it’s always empty. I know their AC had been broken due to construction next door. Anyway, the pasta is all freshly made, prices are reasonable with some deals on wine. A bottle of prosecca was $ 30, which isn’t too bad for a restaurant in NYC. The Lobster Brandy Bisque is pretty phenominal as is the Lasagna.

Went there on a weekend before Wicked, and it was empty, which I found crazy. After eating there I kinda understand, because I’ve had a lot better for the price.
Service was great, but that’s probably what happens where only 3 tables are filled. Meat/​cheese plate was good way to start off dinner. I didn’t care for the gnocchi at all… WAY to flour-​y for my taste and I’ve had so much better other places. I tried my friend’s pasta dish and it was pretty good, so I guess I know what not to get next time (if there is a next time).

I had a very nice dinner at La Vineria this last Sunday. Two of us shared two pasta dishes and a veal dish. The pasta in brandy lobster bisque (Paccheri all’Astice) was really superb and was one of the best pasta I’ve ever had. The pasta was very fresh, perfectly cooked, and the lobster bisque sauce was extremely tasty without being too rich. The second pasta was a special of the day — beet pasta with seafood. The flavor was spot on, but the pasta was unfortunately tasted a bit over cooked for my taste. Next time I’d try another one from the regular menu. Veal cutlet was another excellent dish. It was extremely thin and perfectly fried. The wine selection was also excellent.
The hostess and wait staff were all attentive and pleasant. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant is very low key and comfortable. It is not too loud or quiet and is perfect for friends or date. I’ll definitely go back

This is a great restaurant that I LOVED eating at on 55^th Street and LIKE eating at on 9^th Avenue.
They need to embrace the cozy– wine cellar feel of the old location and add it to the new location. The have lost the warmth of the establishment. Once that has been accomplished, crowds will certainly come and I will give the restaurant 5 stars.

Really cute spot with a great european vibe but quiet and relaxing. The cheese course was good. It’s actually meat and cheese but they were happy to serve me cheese only. Portions were not huge, but variety was decent. Service was really great. Even late at night near close, the staff was pleasant and attentive.
Bread was excellent and the lentil and EVOO was interesting. Great date spot.

Very tasty food. The lentils with oil was a great topper for their bread. I had the rigatoni, which actually was a little too hard for my liking, but I didn’t say anything about it because I was hungry and just wanted to eat. The chocolate soufflé was pretty good, but the whipped cream was almost tart. It was very small and romatic feeling, which was nice. What really killed it for me was that they were playing the RADIO! Who wants to go to a nice dinner and be bombared with pop music? It was really awful.

What a random cute wine bar! I never knew it existed… it must be new since I live right around the corner. I only had a glass of champagne but I’d go back for some wine and try their food. Will write a detailed review at that time. In the interim, I just wanted to let folks know if they are looking for a low-​key wine bar with no crowds, here’s the place…

I stopped by this restaurant/​wine bar after dinner with a few friends Saturday night. It’s a small, romantic place and we were greeted by the friendly staff, who took our coats and offered to store our bags. how nice! We sat at the small bar and talked with the very attractive bartender.
What I like about this place is that the menu separates red and white wines by prices. There’s a $ 30 group, a $ 35 group all the way up to a $ 100+ group. Being the cheapie winos we are, we asked the bartender which of the $ 30 wines was his favorite – a bottle of red from Spain, which was lacking in flavor in my opinion and definitely tasted like a cheap bottle of wine. But the bartender liked us and gave us a couple free tastings of (better) red wines. Holler.
Because we dropped by after dinner, we didn’t get a chance to have any of the food but the dessert looks absolutely delicious. My only problem with this place is that it closes early! We were the last 2 customers in the establishment and it was only midnight on a Saturday. Then again, I think that because it’s more of a restaurant than a bar, closing at midnight is pretty reasonable for a Saturday night. Overall, it was a nice little place to have a couple glasses of wine.

Seriously average, and very very spotty service. Our first server was patronizing and had no idea about the wine selection or the menu, whilst the second thought absolutely everything was «my favorite» or «absolutely delicious». The food is alright, but watch out for uneven seasoning, especially on the side salads.

pretty good throughout — definitely much better after the renovations. try the gnocci — it’s not what you’d expect — it’s different but enjoyable.

Came here to celebrate a much improved LSAT score. Great neighborhood place with nicely prepared food. For a sit down Italian restaurant– it really is not expensive. We were lucky we were only two– we got seated immediately on a Saturday night. Others in larger groups had to wait (unfortunately they crowded around the front of the tiny restaurant, where our table was located) Excellent service and pleasant ambiance besides the people waiting, it does make a great date. According to the recent Times review they make their own pasta, and that was what drew me in. I enjoyed the pasta with veal sauce and would recommend it as a perfect balance between choosing from their meat dishes or getting pasta. They have also been awarded for their wine list, we were lauded for our choice of red– La Planeta, which went well with the meal.

After reading the reviews below, I definitely got the worst part of this deal here. La vineria is overpriced and I did not enjoy it. However, it seems as if I was the only one who did not and other meals were good, so I’ll give it a 2. I ordered the madili pasta that was OILY and tasted again, OILY in each bite. It was horrible, and the portions were small. The service was fine, nice charming waiters, and nice environment with dim candles, but the food needs to be kept up. I say, go to Lasagna Restaurant down the block for delicious Italian and good for the buck, too!

Brought my parents here after a day at the Met and a quick stop at the Apple Store. It was wonderful.
We started with a mozzarella appetizer special, which was delicious, and I followed up with classic lasagna emiliana… perfectly cooked pasta and baked just long enough to brown the edges.
We couldn’t have been more impressed with the wait staff. When I had asked the waiter for a red wine recommendation and could not decide… he poured me a sample of each and brought them to the table (without me asking).
I will be returning, no doubt.

We had a great dinner there, abeit a slighly funny night. We made reservations per the other Unilocalers recommendations and glad we did. We didn’t wait a minute when we came in but it was busy, and it’s a tiny place. We had a glass of wine, split an appetizer, dessert and each had our own entrée, total cost was about $ 90. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice for a chill evening.
There was a party of 8 that was being a little loud, but it didn’t bother us. Our waiter was a nice guy and my wife and I were commenting on how polite he was and how funny we thought it was reading about a few complaints of their service…
then our entrees came and I got the wrong one, though they were really insistent it was what I ordered (but very polite), I understand the confuion as I said what I wanted in English (my Italian is non-​existant) and I pointed to it, our waiter thought I had pointed to the entrée below. It was an honest mistake, no worries at all from either end. He was very apologetic and my replacement entrée came out very quickly, was hot and absolutely delicious.
Then we split a desert which was also delicious, my wife ordered a cup of coffee. Our waiter presented us with some complimentary port for the entrée mixup which we thought was very nice of him and totally unecessary but also yummy. Unfortunately, a busboy brought her cream and sugar, but the coffee never made it. D’oh! Again, no big deal and while it was on our bill, I explained we never got it, our waiter, highly embarassed at this point probably thought we were going to blow up and get pissy about it, but nothing could have been further from the truth.
We had a wonderful evening, the food was delicious and we would definitely go back there. It was a comedy of errors that, had my entrée not been an honest mixup, we might’ve only been missing a cup of coffee that was instantly taken off our bill. Overall, I think I’d still rate the service quit highly, we left a nice tip with our bellies full.

This place has the potential to be very good. The space is small but charming with exposed brick walls lined with wine bottles and an open kitchen. It’s the type of place that draws you in as you walk by because of the cozy atmosphere. But after that initial lure, you’re left standing in the tiny entryway. Our party of four had 9pm reservations and arrived a few minutes before. There was a couple waiting before us and I noticed 2 empty tables in the dining area. Despite the vacant tables, we were left standing there for at least 10 minutes without acknowledgment. During this time I also spotted a couple get up from their table and walk out. Apparently they weren’t happy with the service either.
After finally being seated, the evening took a turn for the better. They bring out a bread basket with a small plate of lentils and olives. It was different but in a good way. We started with two salads. One with arugula, beets and goat cheese and the second had prosciutto and mozzarella. Both were very good. All of the pasta dishes sounded appealing but I chose the pappardelle with mushrooms and duck ragout. The pasta was the perfect consistency and the duck tender and flavorful. The sauce was a touch on the salty side but it was still very enjoyable. Perhaps the waiter had a heavy hand with the grated cheese. I would definitely order it again though. Some of the other entrees sampled were the Bucatini with fresh sardines, raisins, pine nuts and toasted bread crumbs (very nice), the lobster ravioli (also good) and veal scallopini (decent). The wines by the glass were just ok. I tried the pinot nero and the chianti. You’re probably better off ordering off the «bottle list.»
For dessert we tried two cakes. A chocolate mousse (good but forgettable) and something called amarone cake. This was the crowd-​pleaser. It was a white cake with a pudding-​like filling (that I think is flavored with the amarone liqueur) topped with coconut. It was the first to go. The espresso was good. Nice and strong.
All in all, the meal here was pretty good. I’ll give it another try despite the spotty service and hopefully they can earn another star.

Very nice little Italian place (especially for Midtown!). Unfortunately, lots of people now know about it, so be prepared to wait (even with a reservation).
Delicious pasta! Pay attention to the long list of specials because you’ll be sure to find something wonderful. Go elsewhere for dessert though.

I went to this restaurant with my mother and brother during a recent vacation to New York on a Sunday night. As per several people’s recommendations, we made a reservation an hour or so ahead of time and arrived promptly.
The unfortunate beginning to our dinner was when we arrived, our reservation was pushed aside for a group that had had a reservation thirty minutes earlier and only just arrived. When we decided to protest, our waiter was very courteous, but a different waiter who obviously was in charge came by several times and very pointedly gave the impression of tell ours to ignore us for the time being.
Despite the fact that we were treated rudely in the beginning and were seated 15 minutes late, the service was thereafter courteous, helpful and prompt. Each of the four dishes that we ordered was far better than I expected, and our desserts (provided gratis) were excellent as well.
The atmosphere during our stay was, in contrast to what we had heard, extremely loud, though I suspect that this was from one group of patrons in particular (my brother described it to me as «finally learning what shrieking laughter is»). Despite this, we were able to still carry on a pleasant conversation.
Overall, I’d say this Zagat-​rated Italian restaurant has great food and prompt service to its credit; however, this is definitely one case where I’d recommend coming by away from peak hours.

By now, you must be sensing a theme — I don’t venture too far from my apartment — but when I have restaurants as good as La Vineria just downstairs, you can understand why!
A little hole in the wall Italian bistro with delicious food and old world charm. Everything I’ve ever had there is superb (the seafood salad and prosciutto and arugula pizza to name just two!), the waiters are lovely and very friendly (as in keep pouring you wine even when you are convinced you already finished your bottle) and the best part is, when I roll home at 2am and can’t get into my apartment building because my key doesn’t appear to be working, they always let me in through their kitchen.
I’ve taken friends and family and we always have a great time and it’s definitely a place you feel comfortable lingering over a glass of wine or an espresso. One thing to note though is that it is a tiny place, so if you are early for your reservation or your table hasn’t cleared yet, there isn’t anywhere to wait except outside. Which needless to say, sucks in the winter.