Francesca La Vela Cucina, New York, New York, Italian Restaurant Details

Food:

Honestly, let's start from the beginning.
I was seated with my girlfriend quickly. Shortly thereafter, we put in our drink orders (two waters) and a group of men were seated at the table next to us.

We look up, they already have their wine and what looks like the owner is taking their order.

We didn't even get our waters at this point.

The "owner" came to take our order, my girlfriend ordered penne alla vodka. I elected to not order food myself and that I would order dessert.
Upon hearing (or mishearing) me, the "owner" clawed the napkin, silverware, and appetizer plate from in front of me.
That was a drastic change in tone. From that point, my girlfriend and I felt uncomfortable.

However, the penne appeared almost instantly, which was nice.

We called the over a different server, a nice Russian woman, and relayed that we didn't even receive bread. That pre-appitizer staple of Italian restaurants from cheap to five stars, that one little indicator that you're being profiled as a young person who didn't have the decency to order wine.

The service changed at that little complaint, but I didn't order dessert.

Actually, I didn't even recieve my check. We waited ten minutes after they took our plates. The "owner" made three rounds and didn't even stop to ask us how our food was.

We left a $20 bill, the penne was $16.50.

Don't bother with this place.

Food:

The bread and oil were perfect. The pollo al forno was perfectly pounded and the seasoned white sauce stuck to every bite. Her ravioli al pomodoro were understuffed but in an outstanding house pasta, the tomato and basil sauce an excellent balance of sweet and not.

The service was unbeatable.

Food:

Very good food and service. This restaurant is favored by locals for dependable, tasty meals and a good space to have an easy, in formal dinner in the Italian style on the upper West side. Don't be discouraged by reviews from many foreigners who stay in local hotels and don't spend time here.

Food:

This place was a find. ravioli stuffed with mushrooms excellent. 5 people each enjoyed their meals

Food:

this is a neighborhood italian restaurant. every neighborhood has one. this is ours. when you want dependable, predictable, generic italian food, withot surprises. there is nothing wrong with this.