Tiella

I usually give a restaurant five stars for exemplary service, ambiance and food. Service is pleasant but not high end and the atmosphere suffices. But the food here is just too good for four stars. The bread, the focaccia and the bread sticks are fresh out of the oven. I had the tuna tartare appetizer which was an explosion of flavors and textures created with fresh chunks of tuna over crunchy coleslaw and sour apple bits. My entrée (garganelle pasta with seafood, fava beans and black garlic) was prepared al dente — divine! It is so rare to have pasta cooked this way in a restaurant. My husband had homemade pasta carbonara and three scoops of gelato for dessert. Pasta portions are the perfect size — filling but small enough to demonstrate careful preparation. We have dined here several times and the food is consistently good.

This place is small and warm with an excellent chef. The bread is great and they use a very good quality olive oil. I have tried all of the vegetarian salads: arugula salad, caprese, tuna tartar over pickled slaw is fresh and delicious. The eggplant parm starter is great I especially love their sauce its perfectly sweet and salty. My fav dish is the home made noodles with truffle, also like spaghetti carbonara without pancetta. The pistachio cake has a great liquor flavor and was great.

This is one of my favourite place to eat authentic italian… Many choices every day, fresh and good quality ingredients, my favourite risotto with asparagus and prosciutto, I love the pizza with friarielli and good selections of wine, you can try something different not only the common and popular wines… My favourite: Primitivo and Negroamaro Fabiana
Thank you to Mario and Peppe and all the waiter that always are so nice with me ;)

Went here on New Year’s Eve with a reservation. We were seated immediately, and service was great throughout the night (waiter appeared on their own at the right time the whole time). Food was delicious, with servings just the right size; we (2 of us) shared an appetizer, each had an entrée, and shared a bottle of wine and a dessert. Will definitely be going again.

It was a very surprising experience.
This was our order:
APPETIZER
Pizzetta with Stracciatella e tartufo
Calamari (grilled)
PASTA
Garganelli
Fettuccine with lobster
DESSERT
Ricotta cake
Tiramisù
Biscotti (complementary)
WINE: Negroamaro — Fabiana
Everything was perfect, If I have to find a negative note it probably would be the wine, not that great, but for 32 dollars per bottle it’s a good deal and we couldn’t pretend more… Service attentive, professional and always ready. The restaurant is pretty small but they used every single square foot to make this place really functional.

This place is amazing. The restaurant itself is small but has adorable décor; rustic, cozy Italian. The staff is all Italian and very friendly. First of all the bread they serve here at each table is like crack. Hot fresh and delicious! I have tried many things on this menu and everything is to die for. The homemade pasta is authentic and soooo good. They have great small pizzas and everything is fresh and done right! I come here all the time and totally recommend it!

Hidden gem, so happy we found this place! The food was delicious and the service was absolutely incredible.

I have been to this restaurant twice. The first time was fabulous. The second time was even better. This is a neighborhood gem that deserves the support of the locals and certainly worth a schlep across town for tourists.
There are so many dishes to complement. Just leave it to the server to help you and enjoy.
Last night I made a reservation for two clients of mine that wanted very nice Italian food. They came back to me today to relay stories of the great treatment they had from Mario and the staff, and how much they enjoyed the experience. And only $ 90 for two people with wine?
I am looking forward to coming back. Next time I will host a dinner for my staff.

I love their pasta, they was nice.
And their olive oil, if you love olive oil, you definitely should try it!
The pizza also delicious, not too very oily.

Food was very good for the price. We shares the chickpea fritter and they put it on two separate plates without us asking. Wine list was reasonable in price. Tried both the black and white pasta with lobster and the spaghetti — both were very good. Warm bread was actually quite tasty too. I’ll be back.

Tuesday is pizza night. Get a margarita pizza with some fine wine
It’s kinda fancy but they don’t discriminate. Would come back again on a date.

Delicious!
The eggplant was paper thin, crispy and ricotta cheese simply divine.
Lovely red wine by glass. Absolutely try it.
KW.

The best Italian restaurant in the neighborhood period! This is me and my wife’s third time here and the food and service never disappoints. If you are up for something that is top notch, imaginative and well executed I suggest you come to this place!

This restaurant is wonderful!!! My family and I went to dinner at Tiella for my sister’s birthday and it was great! We all ordered different things and the food was DELICIOUS! My sister ordered the special for the night which was lasagne bolognese, and it was ridiculously good! The wait staff were super friendly and helpful and the restaurant, although somewhat small, has a great, warm atmosphere. I highly recommend this place!!!

Lunch Special is good. I love the vegetable salad with many radish and taste amazing. And I ordered a small pizza in dinner menu (the first one). It is delicious. My brother and I both loved it. Recommended it.
While only one thing, the desert should be improved. They are not good as main and appetizer.
Most important, it is vacant during lunch time. It gave me a good time of weekend.

This is my second trip to Tiella and my first time for dinner. Both were wonderful, quality meals with thoughtful service. Their menu features many house made pastas, seafood and a fun selection of starters that resemble focaccia, or as their southern Italian heritage calls them, «tiella,» which is a cast iron pan.
The restaurant gives a typical Italian neighborhood vibe… not too many tables, discrete decoration and laid back but attentive service. Unlike many restaurants in Italy, you can come for a quick lunch and leave having eaten well and worry if the waiter will ever arrive with the check. Equally lovely is the opportunity for a leisurely meal where you know they are aren’t pushing you out the door.
Having spent 11 years living near Rome and Milan, I am always dubious when Italian restaurants are recommended. However, as a frequent visitor to their sister restaurant in Cambridge, MA (Gran Gusto), I have no problems detouring to Tiella when I’m in Manhattan. Likewise, everyone to whom I’ve recommended Tiella came back pleased with their food.
Vegetarians will have to tip toe around the menu but count on Tiella for fantastic food and thoughtful service.

⁸⁄₁₀
I am a total fan. I dont LOVE italian food, but when I am craving my carbs and pasta, this is the place I go. The pasta is handmade, the wine list complements many of their dishes, and the staff are so friendly and amazing. Not to mention the restaurant probably only seats 20 – 25 people max, which gives it a nice cozy feel without being loud. Also, the place is dark with mood candles (its that kind of vibe — a place for a nice first date).
I have gotten to know the manager over the past couple times I have gone, and he is so nice and accommodating. He even knows that I like splitting dishes to get a taste of everything, thus he serves each dish in two separate dishes. Its like having your own pre fixe menu, and you get to try so many of their dishes! (hint: I also think you get a bigger serving if you get them split… teehee). So when you go and you like trying/​splitting dishes, definitely ask and they will happily do this for you!
I have gone here a handful times and so far, I have tried the eggplant parm, baby octopus, grilled calamari for appetizers; nera (black fettuccine), scialatielli, and pappardelle with short rib ragout
The eggplant parm and grilled calamari are my favorite apps. The parm is perfectly cheesy with the right amount of sauce. The calamari is cooked perfectly with just a right amount of char. Many restaurants overcook grilled calamari, but Tiella knows what they’re doing.
The pastas are all great and served pleasantly al dente just the way I like it. My favorite is the nera, because of the mushrooms. I do wish that the mushrooms and scallops were not cut into pieces. It would probably give the dish a better presentation as well. The pappardelle is great. Simple, but great. The ragout is amazing and I can eat just that every day. So so tender.
Overall, this is my favorite italian place so far.

Wow, what a nice little find in a neighborhood I absolutely loathe to visit.
On my way to a recent doctor appointment in the area, I found myself with an hour to kill for lunch. I didn’t want to eat a big meal, but I wanted something delicious and healthy. As I walked down First Avenue, I managed to spy a small, narrow café called Tiella. I couldn’t recall ever seeing this place in previous trips up this way. And it’s so small it’s easy to miss if you’re just passing by.
I walked in and noticed a couple of tables of yentas, yapping away, and dining on what looked like some pretty amazing pastas and pizzas. Boy, did I want some of that. (The pasta and pizza, that is. Not the yentas.)
Alas, I was trying to eat healthy going into Thanksgiving so I ordered the Cavolo kale salad. Kale turns out to be one of the most nutritious things you can put in your body, and in recent years, restaurants big and small all seem to be adding kale to their menus. The Cavolo is a simple mix of baby kale with apple, pecorino cheese, and golden raisins, dressed in a honey-​mustard dressing. It was delicious. Couple that with a complementary bread basket and a glass of tap water, and with tip, lunch cost me about $ 15. A great deal, in my opinion.
I’ll be back in the area in a couple of weeks and plan to have dinner. If everything tastes as good as it looks, this may very well rise to a 5-​star review.

You can’t go wrong with the pappardelle with short rib ragout — enough food for two if you share a couple appetizers.
Don’t be shy about flagging a waiter down if the service seems particularly unobtrusive.

My boyfriend took me out here for my birthday and it was one of our favorite meals together! We started with the chickpea fritters — great portion and flavors. I got a pasta with shrimp and scallops and he got pasta with mussels. Both were super fresh and the portions were a lot bigger than I was expecting. But the big star of the meal was the pistachio cake… It is hands down the best cake I have ever had in my life.
Service is fast and friendly, also the bread basket is huge and amazing! Can’t wait to be back for another special occasion.