Crispo Restaurant

(212) 229-1818

240 W 14th St (Between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue)
New York, NY 10011 40.739 -74.0009

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Neighborhoods: West Village, Downtown

CRISPORESTAURANT.COM

Hours:

Mon-Wed 5pm-11:30pm

Thu-Sat 5pm-12am

Sun 4pm-11pm

Price:

$$$

Last updated 1.24.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Diners Club, Visa, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Romantic Dining, Outdoor Dining, Private Rooms, People Watching, Group Dining

Cuisine:

Mediterranean, Italian

What People Are Saying About Crispo Restaurant

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – With flickering sconces and rough-hewn brick walls, Crispo may look like an elegantly restored Italian farmhouse, but frenzied servers, tight tables and wait-list hopefuls at the marble bar make it feel like a city-slick hotspot. In season, solace-seekers retreat to street-front patio dining, while foodies observe the kitchen through a wide window in the white-tile back wall. – – The Food – Frank Crispo's confident cooking drives this imaginative Italian menu. Start with prosciutto di San Daniele and peaches enlivened with tangy drizzles of aged…

ambiance
92.8600025177002% positive
  1. Romantic atmosphere with a couple of private rooms and unpretentious winelist and well educated staff.
  2. Crispo is a great place or a cozy date or even for a group date.
  3. It's a great restaurant for small parties or a romantic dinner for two.
  4. The food is pretty good, the place is nice looking and comfortable and the prices are about as reasonable as you could possibly ask for.
  5. While the garden and atmosphere can't be beat, my entree was just plain bad this past Sat night.
  6. The ambiance is excellent and everything in the restaurant has a story.
  7. Definitley ask to sit in the barn in the back - its a great atmosphere.
  8. The food was absolutely phenomenal, the staff was accommodating, and the decor - we were in the garden room next to the fireplace was absolutely great.
  9. Great food, nice ambience
  10. as it added charm to the cozy & intimate room.
  11. Not only was the food spectacular and the ambience agreeable, the staff was made up of some of the friendliest folks in Manhattan!
  12. great place for dinner in a festive atmosphere, Crispo delivers excellent food and it won't cost you a fortune.
  13. The atmosphere is nice, not great but the food is to DIE for.
  14. Filled with great atmosphere, an unpretentious chic-y crowd, great lighting and fabulous food.
  15. have been here for a romantic dinner as well as for a large party, and it is great either way.
  16. thought that the total bill was very reasonable for all that we had and the ambiance was just great.
  17. It had a really nice relaxing atmosphere.
  18. We went for a late dinner on a Monday night - the atmosphere was smooth and warm and the service was friendly and accurate without being intrusive.
  19. The atmosphere is nice, but the food was terrible.
  20. As always the food, service, ambience were all excellent.
  21. It had a great ambient atmosphere and I loved the lighting and rich wood and brick.
dessert
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. The only critique is i was hoping for canolis to be on the dessert menu, but the tiramisu was good.
  2. The food was unbelievably amazing - from appetizer to main course to dessert.
  3. We had a wonderful bottle of wine that complimented the meal very well and I had the Creme Brulee for dessert.
  4. Our chocolate dessert was yummy but not excellent.
  5. Service was slow (an hour between finished entree and dessert menu) and snippy.
  6. Appetizer through dessert was tasty and enjoyable.
drinks
84.61999893188477% positive
  1. The food was fantastic, the service great, and a wonderful, reasonably priced wine list.
  2. No wonder you're packed in like sardines: the food is consistently fresh and appealing, and a 3 course dinner for two (with cocktails or wine) will still clock in at less than $75.
  3. They have specialty cocktails and the crispo sparkler is wonderful.
  4. Waitress wasn't terribly knowledgeable about the extensive wine list.
  5. The food is good the staff is very nice and they have a great wine selection.
  6. We asked if we could order our drinks and some antipasto.
  7. The waiter couldn't recommend a wine or pasta after we asked him, and the restaurant serves wine in tiny glasses.
  8. the crowded bar soon disappeared and we enjoyed one of the best dining experiences in months.
  9. The asparagus salad is great, the Branzino is delicious, the wine list is so easy and reliable.
  10. We had a wonderful bottle of wine that complimented the meal very well and I had the Creme Brulee for dessert.
  11. We had a warm knowledgeable waitress, the bus service was a little underpar (the bread didn't arrive until the apetizer) but the drinks were very reasonable (6-8 for a very decent red wine by the glass and only 8!
  12. The food is wonderful and the wine list is impressive with out being snooty.
  13. The long-awaited drinks were delicious (I had a red apple martini) and we were seated timely and with a smile from the sweet hostess (no attitude mercifully).
food quality
87.36000061035156% positive
  1. The food is fabulous.
  2. we started with a hot proscuitto dish that was simply fabulous, next we had a rigatoni, which delivered on our servers promise.
  3. Incredible Service and pasta that redeemed the awful start.
  4. The asparagus salad is great, the Branzino is delicious, the wine list is so easy and reliable.
  5. Decent food, crappy mood
  6. They have the best chicken in the city and their tomatoes are the freshest and incredibly flavorful.
  7. Good food.
  8. had dinner there last night- the food was amazing!
  9. Great food!
  10. We had a warm knowledgeable waitress, the bus service was a little underpar (the bread didn't arrive until the apetizer) but the drinks were very reasonable (6-8 for a very decent red wine by the glass and only 8!
  11. veal tortellini pretty good, everything else average, hangar steak not good.
  12. anyway, the octopus was incredible, well cooked with the potatoes and large caper garnish.
  13. Thoughts: unmemorable food, pushy service, disappointed - overall, I had a bad taste in my mouth when I left about the restaurant and the entire experience.
  14. The food is great, especially the carbonara and if you like spicy, the orecchiette.
  15. The prosciutto plates are delicious, the pastas unbeatable and the hangar steak melts in your mouth.
  16. Crispo is aperfect combination of great food, sophistication, and neighborhood comfort.
  17. This restaurant has amazing food.
  18. The food is wonderful and the wine list is impressive with out being snooty.
  19. The food was unbelievably amazing - from appetizer to main course to dessert.
  20. The food is really good and so is the service.
  21. we got our entrees and while the food was tasty, it was a bit salty.
  22. Both the salad and fish were mediocre.
  23. The food is consistently great and the service is good.
  24. excellent service / pasta!
  25. love the food at this place and have been coming often but had the worst expierence at a aresturant the last time I went.
  26. the food was great but.
  27. yummy carbonara
  28. Food is delicious.
  29. The duck (which i tasted alot) had exactly the right amount of crisp on the outside with a perfect balance of meat on the inside.
  30. Filled with great atmosphere, an unpretentious chic-y crowd, great lighting and fabulous food.
  31. First things first, the food is fantastic.
  32. At $70 for the meal, I was incredibly annoyed and while my friend's fish special was good I still won't be back.
  33. the food's great.
  34. love this restaurant's food so much that I keep going back, but I have to beg the management - please, please stop overbooking!
  35. did not enjoy the food which was barely edible.
  36. The food was very good, we loved our meal.
  37. The food is pretty good, the place is nice looking and comfortable and the prices are about as reasonable as you could possibly ask for.
  38. The food was excellent!
  39. Perfect service, wonderful food
  40. for a vodka martini) and the food was very very good and under 18 for each entree.
  41. The pasta dishes were great, the angliotti stuffed with veal and mushrooms was amazing.
  42. Not only was the food spectacular and the ambience agreeable, the staff was made up of some of the friendliest folks in Manhattan!
  43. other than the awful service, the food was amazing.
  44. The Beef Steak Tomato & Bufala Mozzarella salad was really good- the mozzarella was so fresh!
  45. nice place, good food and great service !
  46. The food may be great, but with service lacking, why would i return?
  47. Appetizer through dessert was tasty and enjoyable.
  48. People seem to overlook the fact that Crispo is not a fine dining place, even though the food and the service are too good for the menu prices.
  49. Our orders of steak and ravioli were amazing -- would definitely come back again!
  50. My salad (with pears and frisee) was bland, Pasta (Polpette) was over cooked and the meatballs were tasteless!
  51. Bad food
  52. Not happy with that, but my friend's mushroom/pasta dish was really great.
  53. The service was great-server and manager on the floor were very attentive and knowledgeable, but the food was such a dissapointment.
  54. The mozzarella is the freshest I have ever had, and everyone thought their dishes were amazing (hangar steak, veal parmesan, spaghetti & meatballs).
  55. Our waiter was excellent as was our food.
  56. His food is amazing.
  57. The food was delicious, particularly the spaghetti carbonara, served in a "novel" way (for me).
  58. we expected the worst but we were greeted by an enthusiastic waiter who promised us "the best pasta you'll ever have
  59. But no matter how talented a chef you are, if your food is being served by rude people in an unprofessional manner, noone is going to remember how good the food was.
  60. Great food for a Great Cause!
  61. Been to Crispo twice and both times the food has been very good.
  62. the food is great, the service has improved 100% from the first visit.
  63. As always the food, service, ambience were all excellent.
  64. great place for dinner in a festive atmosphere, Crispo delivers excellent food and it won't cost you a fortune.
  65. The salad and cheese plate were decent, but the pasta and service were terrible.
  66. The long-awaited drinks were delicious (I had a red apple martini) and we were seated timely and with a smile from the sweet hostess (no attitude mercifully).
  67. We had a wonderful bottle of wine that complimented the meal very well and I had the Creme Brulee for dessert.
  68. No wonder you're packed in like sardines: the food is consistently fresh and appealing, and a 3 course dinner for two (with cocktails or wine) will still clock in at less than $75.
  69. The prociutto with the black mission figs and parmesan cheese is a wonderful first course as well as the perfectly tender calamari with the slightly spicy marina.
  70. The food was absolutely phenomenal, the staff was accommodating, and the decor - we were in the garden room next to the fireplace was absolutely great.
  71. If you can deal with flaky service, you will get a good meal here.
  72. Our chocolate dessert was yummy but not excellent.
  73. Bottom line, in a city full of fabulous food.
  74. The waiter couldn't recommend a wine or pasta after we asked him, and the restaurant serves wine in tiny glasses.
  75. The food is good the staff is very nice and they have a great wine selection.
  76. Walked by here a million time went in on Thursday, this place is beautiful and the food was really good really good.
  77. Great food, nice ambience
  78. The food and waitstaff were excellent and therefore I would definitly recommend.
  79. The food is delicious, service is great and overall impression is just lovely.
  80. The atmosphere is nice, not great but the food is to DIE for.
  81. The food is absolutely amazing!
  82. The atmosphere is nice, but the food was terrible.
  83. The food was fantastic, the service great, and a wonderful, reasonably priced wine list.
  84. The food was good, not great.
  85. the food was very good.
  86. The food is creative and sometimes marvelous, sometimes what-were-they-thinking?
  87. all the prosciutto plates are delicious.
menu variety
66.66999816894531% positive
  1. The only critique is i was hoping for canolis to be on the dessert menu, but the tiramisu was good.
  2. People seem to overlook the fact that Crispo is not a fine dining place, even though the food and the service are too good for the menu prices.
  3. Service was slow (an hour between finished entree and dessert menu) and snippy.
  4. The food is good the staff is very nice and they have a great wine selection.
  5. Waitress wasn't terribly knowledgeable about the extensive wine list.
  6. The chefs at Crispo have been planning this special menu for months, and invite anyone with a big appetite, and a big heart to share in this unique dining experience.
overall
100.0% positive
  1. It's a great restaurant for small parties or a romantic dinner for two.
  2. Crispo is a great place or a cozy date or even for a group date.
  3. The best italian restaurant in NYC.
  4. nice place, good food and great service !
  5. Crispo is a nice restaurant to go to with your college buddies if you live in the area, but nowhere near the best new restaurant in New York.
  6. The food is pretty good, the place is nice looking and comfortable and the prices are about as reasonable as you could possibly ask for.
  7. great place for dinner in a festive atmosphere, Crispo delivers excellent food and it won't cost you a fortune.
  8. Crispo sounded great from the description that was written about the restaurant.
  9. saw Crispo as a candidate for best new restaurant in Time Out New York so I thought I would give it a try.
  10. Our waiter seemed like a nice and courteous server, Spanish I believe, but distracted due to a problem going on with a drunken, rude table making problems for the entire restaurant.
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. At $70 for the meal, I was incredibly annoyed and while my friend's fish special was good I still won't be back.
  2. The food may be great, but with service lacking, why would i return?
  3. Our orders of steak and ravioli were amazing -- would definitely come back again!
service
73.39000225067139% positive
  1. Our waiter was excellent as was our food.
  2. One or two servers who were really bad!
  3. The service was good - they were attentive without being intrusive.
  4. the food is great, the service has improved 100% from the first visit.
  5. awful service
  6. It was 20 minutes before anyone even greeted us at the table, and when our waiter approached, his pompous attitude was overwhelming.
  7. Our waitress was lovely, personable, and gave terrific recommendations which were totally spot on.
  8. Let me say that we were so fed up with the poor service here that we left before the waitress made time to take our order.
  9. The person affected is me, the customer, my all time favorite waiter is no longer there, and those I am now served by are no where near as knowledgeable as some of the long term employees that they seem to lose.
  10. From the icy reception, to the slow staff, to being seated in a hidden alcove built for a party of ten when there were only two of and the main dining room was half full.
  11. other than the awful service, the food was amazing.
  12. But no matter how talented a chef you are, if your food is being served by rude people in an unprofessional manner, noone is going to remember how good the food was.
  13. The food is really good and so is the service.
  14. The food is delicious, service is great and overall impression is just lovely.
  15. excellent service / pasta!
  16. we expected the worst but we were greeted by an enthusiastic waiter who promised us "the best pasta you'll ever have
  17. The waiter was polite and attentive.
  18. We walked in and the hostesses (there were 3) were rude, the bartender was funny but a bit snappish.
  19. We had a warm knowledgeable waitress, the bus service was a little underpar (the bread didn't arrive until the apetizer) but the drinks were very reasonable (6-8 for a very decent red wine by the glass and only 8!
  20. service terrific.
  21. The staff is always great, whether they're busy or not.
  22. If you can deal with flaky service, you will get a good meal here.
  23. Not only was the food spectacular and the ambience agreeable, the staff was made up of some of the friendliest folks in Manhattan!
  24. The staff is friendly and effficient.
  25. Super friendly staff, casual, warm and welcoming, Crispo offers simplicity with quality.
  26. The waiter couldn't recommend a wine or pasta after we asked him, and the restaurant serves wine in tiny glasses.
  27. When I had dinner with 7 of my friends, the waitress (with a slight accent) was friendly and very fast, we didn't have to ask or wait for anything.
  28. Perfect service, wonderful food
  29. Thoughts: unmemorable food, pushy service, disappointed - overall, I had a bad taste in my mouth when I left about the restaurant and the entire experience.
  30. The food may be great, but with service lacking, why would i return?
  31. The service was great-server and manager on the floor were very attentive and knowledgeable, but the food was such a dissapointment.
  32. The food was fantastic, the service great, and a wonderful, reasonably priced wine list.
  33. Romantic atmosphere with a couple of private rooms and unpretentious winelist and well educated staff.
  34. We went for a late dinner on a Monday night - the atmosphere was smooth and warm and the service was friendly and accurate without being intrusive.
  35. The salad and cheese plate were decent, but the pasta and service were terrible.
  36. Attentive service from the waiter who kept returning to make sure everything was okay, in a completely unannoying way.
  37. The food is consistently great and the service is good.
  38. The food was absolutely phenomenal, the staff was accommodating, and the decor - we were in the garden room next to the fireplace was absolutely great.
  39. the hostess was very friendly.
  40. we started with a hot proscuitto dish that was simply fabulous, next we had a rigatoni, which delivered on our servers promise.
  41. The service was good.
  42. nice place, good food and great service !
  43. We received a friendly and prompt greeting and were seated right away.
  44. They have a private room (which is more like an alcove, but private nonetheless) for groups of 8-10 people, which is absolutely perfect.
  45. As always the food, service, ambience were all excellent.
  46. was nervous about the reviews on bad service, I went on a sunday night and experienced no negative service.
  47. The reservations people were rude; the people at the door were rude; the wait staff was indifferent.
  48. Terrible service
  49. Our waiter seemed like a nice and courteous server, Spanish I believe, but distracted due to a problem going on with a drunken, rude table making problems for the entire restaurant.
  50. I've seen some reviews about long waits, but I had a Thursday night reservation recently and we were seated right on time, and our waitress was extremely pleasant, if only moderately attentive.
  51. The most offensive service
  52. The service is good and the staff pleasant.
  53. The long-awaited drinks were delicious (I had a red apple martini) and we were seated timely and with a smile from the sweet hostess (no attitude mercifully).
  54. The food is good the staff is very nice and they have a great wine selection.
  55. People seem to overlook the fact that Crispo is not a fine dining place, even though the food and the service are too good for the menu prices.
  56. Our server was knowledgeable and helpful with his suggestions.
  57. The host and management were rude and disorganized.
value
87.5% positive
  1. prices are very reasonable.
  2. The food is pretty good, the place is nice looking and comfortable and the prices are about as reasonable as you could possibly ask for.
  3. love this new spot--but i have only one complaint: when i ordered the prosciutto special with peaches, there was not enough prosciutto--i know this b/c i had it with melon last time and the serving was generous.
  4. He completely forgot about us until he asked if we wanted the check, at which time we were about to leave he caused a huge scene about us not leaving our credit card reciepts.
  5. People seem to overlook the fact that Crispo is not a fine dining place, even though the food and the service are too good for the menu prices.
  6. If you don't mind near-claustrophobic crowds, Crispo is a surefire bet for good, hearty, sophisticated downtown dining without a designer price tag.
  7. Crispo is really a wonderful restaurant in its price range.
  8. Also, incredibly overpriced.
wait time
57.14000225067139% positive
  1. I've seen some reviews about long waits, but I had a Thursday night reservation recently and we were seated right on time, and our waitress was extremely pleasant, if only moderately attentive.
  2. From the icy reception, to the slow staff, to being seated in a hidden alcove built for a party of ten when there were only two of and the main dining room was half full.
  3. Service was slow (an hour between finished entree and dessert menu) and snippy.
  4. The person affected is me, the customer, my all time favorite waiter is no longer there, and those I am now served by are no where near as knowledgeable as some of the long term employees that they seem to lose.
  5. The long-awaited drinks were delicious (I had a red apple martini) and we were seated timely and with a smile from the sweet hostess (no attitude mercifully).
  6. It was 20 minutes before anyone even greeted us at the table, and when our waiter approached, his pompous attitude was overwhelming.
  7. This long term favorite is no longer a favorite!
4 Star Rating: Recommended

02/03/12

If not great very close...

by Nigelnyc at Citysearch

Been three times and that is a lot for me as I like trying different places every week but it is very hard to go for other options when this one is always present. Last time I went I had the steak and hands down better than the majority of these exclusive "steak only" places in manhattan. One of the best restaurants in manhattan bar none.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

12/10/10

Go to local Italian joint

by shtzngiggles at Citysearch

Love this place. Get table in back room. Feel like you are transported to a backyard in Tuscany. Everything is awesome here including the service. Favorites are the octopus salad and guanciale pasta.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/25/10

Italy in NYC

by EY33EY at Citysearch

Bottom line this is one of the best italian meals I have had outside of Italy. Completely blown away.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/04/10

Really good food@ Crispo

by KT44 at Citysearch

Absolutely outstanding and can't wait to go back!

Rustic and comfortable surroundings; informed and friendly service, and some of the best and most reasonably priced Italian food I've ever had.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

07/12/10

Great Little Hidden place!!!

by Gaby at Citysearch

Don't let the outdoor appearance of the area fool you! This place is really great! As I was walking towards Crispo I thought no way this cant be it, because the area is not all that great.. and you wouldnt think that the restaurant could be good.. but it was :)

It was my mom's birthday this past saturday and we felt like italian so we decided on Crispo.. having read some of the reviews I thought we should give it a try and I am really glad we did. We sat in the garden/outdoor seating area in the back and it was really cute. The waitress gave us enough time to decide on our orders and gave us great recommendations; she was really nice. Also, the food was yummmyyy!! I would definitely recommend this place and cant wait to go back!!!

  • Pros: Great food, great lil outdoor garden and service :)

The Details on Crispo Restaurant

Place Categories:

  • great food
  • love place
  • best new restaurant
  • friendly staff
  • recommend frank crispo
  • great ambient atmosphere
  • just plain bad entree
  • not recommend waiter
  • fantastic back room
  • very fast waitress
  • enjoyable torta melanzane appetizer
  • not pleasant dining experience
  • romantic dinner
  • agreeable ambience
  • rude reservations people
  • great italian restaurants
  • really great hot proscuitto dish
  • terrible pasta
  • delicious branzino
  • loved lighting
  • very attentive manager
  • bad pompous attitude
  • great service
  • really bad server
  • just great ambiance