Pinocchio Ristorante

Very Small, Neighborhood Italian Restaurant. Service is performed by the owner who is delightful, warm and friendly. Soft opera playing in the background provides fabulous ambiance without having to shout over the music. The food is spectacular, the service is impeccable and this is a wonderful gem.
The restaurant is tucked between PioPio and Peppercorn.

Wonderful!!! The food is terrific! Grilled calamari yummy!!! Atmosphere is cozy and full of life. Quiet music in background and room filled with chatter and laughter of patrons. Service is amazing! Wine great selection! Love this place! Definitely should try when in NY upper East side!

Quaint little neighborhood Italian restaurant. You wouldn’t even know it was there by just walking by. Looking for a romantic atmosphere, this is it.

Delicious Italian food with a gracious owner. NYE prefixe was only $ 59 for app, entrée, dessert and coffee. Complimentary bruschetta and gorgeous tin ceiling, just like being in Little Italy.

An absolute gem. In a city that is quickly losing its cultural identity, it is so wonderful to walk into this cozy little dining room, be greeted by Mark and made immediately to feel welcome and relaxed. Every meal feels homemade, the desserts are too delicious to choose just one and the service is altogether attentive, gracious and familiar. We go about once a month and always say we don’t go enough. Go all the way down to Little Italy if you like, but everything your tummy wants is on the Upper East Side.

Excellent service, yummy food and intimate atmosphere. Will be coming back again very soon!

Such a warm and inviting restaurant. It is a great local find. I have eaten there numerous times and every meal has been wonderful. Very consistent. Among my favorites is the: penne with sausage garlic and oil, grilled calamari, the pork chop on a bed of salad as well as many others.
The homemade tortoni is also a favorite end of meal treat.
The head waiter is also the owner (Mark) and he has always been charming and helpful. The décor is also warm and inviting.

So cosy & homey. Food was incredible! Artichoke dip is unreal! Attention to detail & service is top quality! The gentlemen & his staff were very friendly! A place I cannot wait to visit time & time again.

I have been living in the neighborhood for 7 years and this is our go to spot. The food is amazingand the owner Mark is incredibly inviting. I even love that he always has opera playing over the speakers.
The stuff mushrooms are our favorite. I almost always eat off the specials (which are rotated pretty often so one of your favorites is likely to appear). The normal menu is great as well.
They have a very affordable win menu and the house wine is great.
Whenever my brother visits from California he demands we go here. Highly recommended.

This restaurant is an Italian gem on the upper east side. It is by far the best place I’ve been in the neighborhood. A very unassuming façade and entrance this place is not to be missed. We stumbled about pinnochio’s on a Saturday night as we were looking for a low key dining experience. The owner greeted us at the door and was so pleasant. He waited on our table, my boyfriend commenting he was the best waiter he’s ever experienced. We were offered free bruschetta and had a bottle of delicious house wine (white) for $ 29. We each had an entrée — the ravioli and the truffle tortellini with asparagus. So, so delicious! The ambiance is also wonderful, and perfect for a date. We loved everything about this restaurant, and we are already excited to go again!

Great place, romantic setting, service fantastic, desserts exceptional. If you want a romantic setting with great food and nice service bring your wife or girl friend. Enjoy the opera playing in the background. Nice touch of old New York where you get authentic Italian food. About $ 100 to $ 150 for two.

Yum this tiny Italian place is one of my favs in the UES. My go to for many dinners! A bit pricey but worth it. Love their Homemade Truffle Tortellini Alla Vodka!

Hidden Gem. I rarely write reviews… but this place calls for it; it’s that good. Ambiance, the food, the service, all second to none. True authentic Italian feel to it, we highly recommend this restaurant.

Can’t complain at all. Owner greets you at the door, serves you, and is friendly, attentive and very helpful.
The place is warm and accomodating, and has a real authentic feel to it. I’ve been here several times and have yet to have a complaint. Very pleasant atmosphere and the food has been terrific each visit with generous portions. Last time, we were given a complimentary glass of wine after our meal, which was unexpected and very generous.
I’ve recommended this place, continue to hear good things, and will continue to eat here. Hidden Gem on the Upper East.

This place is as good as it gets if you’re looking for a genuine NYC experience. It’s a small hidden Italian gem with about 10 tables max.
Just like your times at grandma & grandpa’s, the owner is a dominant part of your entire Pinochhio experience; he waits on your table, delivers your food, answers the phones and makes reservations, and sometimes even participates in the cooking.
Some things to note:
— The menu always changes, so what you see online is perhaps not what you’ll be presented with when you walk in. If you’re not into ordering off of the «specials» menu, this place is not for you — it’s their forte.
— Everything is good, especially the wine.

Authentic Italian food with a quaint atmosphere. The friendly and accommodating staff makes the experience even better. It’s very small so you may have to wait. The truffle tortellini is outstanding!

Really cute place. Food is amazing. Try the truffle tortellini with the vodka sauce! The owners and waiters are so friendly and so attentive. Definitely recommend this place for date night or with friends.

Stopped by here for dinner with a group of friends while visiting NYC for a work conference. The atmosphere is great. Brought me back to a dim-​lit, cozy restaurant I ate at in Florence, Italy years back. Tables are close together, intimate setting, homey décor. Excellent.
The service was outstanding. I think our host was Italian, or at least a first/​second generation Italian-​American. He was great, and extremely accommodating. I told him I wanted something like lasagna after I was unable to decide on an option (lasagna wasn’t on the menu). He immediately said he had just the thing and brought out a delicious dish that resembled stuffed and baked manicotti. It was downright delicious. He also made a great wine recommendation that paired beautifully with my meal.
If I’m in the area again when visiting NYC, I definitely would go back if Italian food is on the brain. Overall, this hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant is very true to its Italian roots, has friendly service, great food, and gives you the sense that you’re in the dining room of a home in Italy at times. Give it a try!

My experience here is limited to their delivery service so I can’t speak to the wait staff inside. We’ve ordered from here almost every other week and no matter what time of day the people on the phones are always professional, patient, and accommodating to your needs.
We stumbled on this place through Unilocal when we were on the hunt for some really good Penne Vodka that was nearby for delivery. When we called essentially for a custom order, since Penne Vodka was not on the menu, they happily checked with the chef and said it was no problem.
The food arrived hot and delicious and they still took the time to pack up bruschetta, bread and butter in the delivery which I assume is offered to the dine in guests as well. I had their homemade ravioli which my only complaint about was that I didn’t have a giant bucket of it for me to devour — but that’s okay because I eagerly stole some penne vodka from my friend which was creamy, fresh and ultimately had me switch over my regular order.
Obviously the food here is delicious and homemade, but the reason we keep ordering is because their delivery service is unmatched. My friend who I order with frequently is admittedly particular with his taste and one time received an order than wasn’t to his liking; their immediately sent one free of charge. This kind of service is becoming more and more uncommon especially when it comes to delivery. I think that’s ultimately what will keep us coming back and stuffing our faces with the made to order Penne Vodka with Chicken.

I am really quite disappointed with my recent meal at Pinocchio. We had initially wanted to go to Pio Pio next door for dinner, but the line/​wait was really long so then we looked on Unilocal and saw all the positive reviews for Pinocchio and decided to give it a try.
Unilocal really led us astray on this one. I’m really perplexed by the multiple 5 star/​4 star reviews of this restaurant. The food was not good and very overpriced.
We started with a mixed salad which was just okay. Nothing special. I ordered the rigatoni with eggplant and my dinner date ordered the roasted chicken. As for my dish I thought the serving was very stingy. There were literally 10 rigatoni noodles on the dish. Usually I don’t count my noodles, but when the serving is that sparse, it’s hard not to notice. The taste was average and the rigatoni noodles did not even appear to be homemade. The dish was quite greasy. I didn’t try the chicken, as it just looked like a heap of wet chicken. My dinner date said the chicken actually tasted okay despite its unappetizing wet appearance, but did have a lot of bones. The mashed potatoes, sausage and green beans were cafeteria food quality.
The service was fine. The man who seated us and took our order was quite pleasant making this review a little difficult to write, but in my opinion restaurants with average (at best), overpriced food with stingy portions are just not good restaurants.
The interior of the restaurant is cozy. I did have a glass of Pinot noir which was fine.
One more thing that bothered me was the list of dinner specials. It is written on a portable chalk board which is set on top of the table when you are seated with your menus. The problem is that, when not in use, the chalk board is set on the floor. So they take something that sits on the floor most of the time and then, rest it on the dinner table. Pretty gross to me. Would it be okay to put a pair of shoes on the dinner table?
The moral of this sad Unilocal tale, is that I never ever plan on going to Pinocchio for a meal.