Celeste Restaurant

(212) 874-4559

502 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024 40.7865 -73.976

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Neighborhoods: Upper West Side, Midtown

Price:

$

Last updated 10.17.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

Cash

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, Notable Beer List, Family-Friendly Dining, Romantic Dining, Hidden Find, Family Style Dining, Group Dining

General Info:

Open 7 Days

Cuisine:

Pizza, Italian

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Celeste Restaurant

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – This lively trattoria takes a cue from its charismatic owner--a Roman named Carmine so dedicated to his newest venture (he also owns Tiadora on the east side) that he's been known to smuggle raw milk cheeses back from Italy in his luggage. In this tiny space, Carmine bustles about, glad-handing and challenging you to find a better neighborhood restaurant at similar prices. You'd be hard-pressed to. – – The Food – Pizzas are Neapolitan-style--thin, made with San Marzano tomatoes in a 700-degree wood-burning oven, and loaded with Mediterranean goodies. The…

Editor's Tips

Know Before You Go:
The restaurant takes no reservations: During peak times (7pm to 9pm), expect a twenty-minute wait. Tables aren't seated until the entire party is present; so if you see a big crowd outside, you might get in sooner than expected. For weekend brunch, reservations are taken for parties of 12 and up.
ambiance
60.0% positive
  1. “Despite this, Celeste is a lovely place to have an inexpensive, high quality meal, and even though you are likely to be inches away from the nearest table, a little wine and some candlelight makes for a romantic (though quick) meal.”
  2. “The cramped space was a little annoying but it all seemed fun.”
  3. “It is true that the service is rushed and the place is crowded (it is very small) so I wouldn't recommend the restaurant for a romantic date or a first date.”
  4. “Great pasta, small, not good for groups, a bit loud, not romantic but great for outings with friends in group of less than 4”
  5. “It combines what I consider to be the best attributes of a restaurant: Great food, low cost, small, and good atmosphere.”
dessert
80.0% positive
  1. “But not good enough to be asked by not only the server but also the owner to leave before we had finished our dessert and wine.”
  2. “read all of the previous reviews and was prepared for a long wait, pushy waiters, and ordering my dessert early, but to my surprise these people were dead wrong!”
  3. “one of us still had wine, so the others tried to order dessert drinks, but the owner told us no because there were people waiting and the waiter said if he served us more he would be fired.”
  4. “By telling the wait staff ahead of time that we were going to order coffee & dessert, then ordering both at once, we avoided the rushed feeling some other patrons have mentioned.”
  5. “If you order a desert or coffee after the cheese, they will tell you it's not possible since they have already brought you the check.”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “By telling the wait staff ahead of time that we were going to order coffee & dessert, then ordering both at once, we avoided the rushed feeling some other patrons have mentioned.”
  2. “My pasta was fresh and tasty, the wine was very nice, and the homemade ricotta gelato was amazing!”
  3. “it's such a unique place; the food is wonderful and i still can't believe the prices - the wine list is really quite good (splurging for the wines on the last page is always worth it - Carmine knows his stuff) and the place has so much personality!”
  4. “If you order a desert or coffee after the cheese, they will tell you it's not possible since they have already brought you the check.”
  5. “drink lots of good red wine and be merry.”
  6. “The meal and wine were really good.”
  7. “one of us still had wine, so the others tried to order dessert drinks, but the owner told us no because there were people waiting and the waiter said if he served us more he would be fired.”
  8. “Despite this, Celeste is a lovely place to have an inexpensive, high quality meal, and even though you are likely to be inches away from the nearest table, a little wine and some candlelight makes for a romantic (though quick) meal.”
  9. “the food is good & fresh, the place has a homemade feel and a good wine list.”
  10. “But not good enough to be asked by not only the server but also the owner to leave before we had finished our dessert and wine.”
food quality
86.6100025177002% positive
  1. “Decent food for the price”
  2. “Great food at a great price.”
  3. “The food was amazing.”
  4. “and the perfect pizza, finished off by a delectably perfect (and smuggled!)”
  5. “Restaurant has good food and prices are very reaonable.”
  6. “finally asked for the menus and he ran off again.....2) waited forever for COLD underdone pasta and red sauce that tasted like the can..3) not even offered parmesan cheese, etc.”
  7. “all of us enjoyed our meals and one even wiped the plate clean with a piece of bread.”
  8. “ordered the spinach and ravioli (perfect portion, wonderful sauce and freshly made), my friends had the pasta Mo Mo (the mozzarella is not melted - fyi), and calamari, and the margherita pizza.”
  9. “We had a wonderful time, the food was great and the service was superb!”
  10. “the food is good & fresh, the place has a homemade feel and a good wine list.”
  11. “it's such a unique place; the food is wonderful and i still can't believe the prices - the wine list is really quite good (splurging for the wines on the last page is always worth it - Carmine knows his stuff) and the place has so much personality!”
  12. “The food is good, but not worth getting pushed out.”
  13. “The pastas were all good and we all enjoyed our meal.”
  14. “The food at Celeste used to be wonderful, and perhaps they were having an off night, but it's just not worth the hassle.”
  15. “Good food, lousy owner”
  16. “and go on Mondays to order the special Robiola/truffle pizza - it's amazing.”
  17. “you cannot enjoy your meal without being disturbed every 5 min.”
  18. “The food was mediocre at best (mushy pasta, and is it me or are the sauses canned), the staff was rude.”
  19. “The meal and wine were really good.”
  20. “The service has always been bad, the space has always been cramped and hectic even by New York standards, the owner has always been discourteous, but until last night, the food and prices redeemed the place.”
  21. “While true it is crowded and cramped celeste filled a huge void in the neighborhood producing high quality authentic italian fare at extremelt affordable prices.”
  22. “nice small restaurant to enjoy a nice meal.”
  23. “The food is relatively good for what you pay.”
  24. “It combines what I consider to be the best attributes of a restaurant: Great food, low cost, small, and good atmosphere.”
  25. “Despite this, Celeste is a lovely place to have an inexpensive, high quality meal, and even though you are likely to be inches away from the nearest table, a little wine and some candlelight makes for a romantic (though quick) meal.”
  26. “The food is incredible and healthy.”
  27. “From the homemade pasta to the wood oven made pizza everything was delish.”
  28. “celeste is one of those gems that offer affordable food that really tastes wonderful.”
  29. “Best Italian food I have ever had”
  30. “The meals were very tasty, rich but not overpowering.”
  31. “Very good food, but very bad service”
  32. “Love the well-priced authentic food here.”
  33. “Great pasta, small, not good for groups, a bit loud, not romantic but great for outings with friends in group of less than 4”
  34. “Despite the tiny size of the space the waits are not terrible- your meal here will be relatively quick even if you are having courses as this little spot is in high demand- so don't expect to have a long and leisurely meal.”
  35. “The specials are always good, but if you order off the menu, I like the raviolis or the shrimp pasta.”
  36. “The food is okay, but you'd be better off going to Bianca where the food is far superior, the host (George)is charming, the place itself is prettier, and the staff is always friendly even if it's busy all the time.”
  37. “Tasty inexpensive food- awesome after dinner cheese plate”
  38. “We were prepared for either, but were pleased to receive outstanding service and great food.”
  39. “The food here is delicious and the prices are extremely reasonable.”
  40. “The warmth and ease was the perfect complement to the stunning food (try the fried artichoke!)”
  41. “The eggplant appetizer was excellent and the veal with lemon sauce and cappers was terrific (but a little small in portion for an Italian restaurant).”
  42. “Excellent food”
  43. “This resturant came highly recommended as a great place for delicious Italian food.”
  44. “My pasta was fresh and tasty, the wine was very nice, and the homemade ricotta gelato was amazing!”
  45. “The food was quite good and the wait staff was courteous but alas the owner is scrooge incarnate (and a chauvinist to boot).”
  46. “Good food but a roll of dice if you like what comes along”
  47. “Very unfortunate as the meal was really good.”
  48. “Pass the pizza and go for the pasta; thats what stood out during our visit for its fresh, homemade taste and $10 price tag.”
  49. “Great food at amazing prices.”
  50. “Expect the authentic experience of "Ciao" being shouted across thye room, as the owner recognizes one of his regulars.”
  51. “Food was surprisingly tasty.”
  52. “My boyfriend and I had one pasta dish from the special and one pizza and ours came to $26, not big drinkers only had water.”
  53. “This restaurant has great food for cheap prices.”
  54. “For great food at a dirt-cheap price, it's a wonderful deal.”
  55. “live around the corner from this place and every time I go the food is fantastic.”
  56. “Just plain bad food.”
menu variety
50.0% positive
  1. “The specials are always good, but if you order off the menu, I like the raviolis or the shrimp pasta.”
  2. “finally asked for the menus and he ran off again.....2) waited forever for COLD underdone pasta and red sauce that tasted like the can..3) not even offered parmesan cheese, etc.”
overall
88.88999938964844% positive
  1. “It combines what I consider to be the best attributes of a restaurant: Great food, low cost, small, and good atmosphere.”
  2. “the food is good & fresh, the place has a homemade feel and a good wine list.”
  3. “Celeste has been my favorite restaurant for years.”
  4. “The service has always been great and although there is always a wait, I never feel rushed to get out of the restaurant.”
  5. “best italian place in the UWS”
  6. “This resturant came highly recommended as a great place for delicious Italian food.”
  7. “as a frequent patron of celeste and a local west sider i am suprised by anybody who does not have a great exprience at this restaurant.”
  8. “nice small restaurant to enjoy a nice meal.”
  9. “it's such a unique place; the food is wonderful and i still can't believe the prices - the wine list is really quite good (splurging for the wines on the last page is always worth it - Carmine knows his stuff) and the place has so much personality!”
service
53.69999885559082% positive
  1. “service is good and the owner is usually there to tell stories of how he hand carries cheeses in from italy.”
  2. “Bad, bad service”
  3. “We've dined here about 4x, and each time the service has been pretty bad.”
  4. “The food is okay, but you'd be better off going to Bianca where the food is far superior, the host (George)is charming, the place itself is prettier, and the staff is always friendly even if it's busy all the time.”
  5. “By telling the wait staff ahead of time that we were going to order coffee & dessert, then ordering both at once, we avoided the rushed feeling some other patrons have mentioned.”
  6. “The service has always been bad, the space has always been cramped and hectic even by New York standards, the owner has always been discourteous, but until last night, the food and prices redeemed the place.”
  7. “one of us still had wine, so the others tried to order dessert drinks, but the owner told us no because there were people waiting and the waiter said if he served us more he would be fired.”
  8. “We had a wonderful time, the food was great and the service was superb!”
  9. “terrible service.”
  10. “Our waiter, Marco is a charming young man, Italian/English, very polite, and extremely cultivated and gave us some great tips for our summer trip to Rome.”
  11. “Easily the worst service of my life.”
  12. “Horrible service!”
  13. “Very good food, but very bad service”
  14. “We will let all our friends know this is NOT a place that touts itself as a friendly neighborhood restuaruant.”
  15. “We were prepared for either, but were pleased to receive outstanding service and great food.”
  16. “The food was mediocre at best (mushy pasta, and is it me or are the sauses canned), the staff was rude.”
  17. “But not good enough to be asked by not only the server but also the owner to leave before we had finished our dessert and wine.”
  18. “The space is tiny and the owner has a big personality aod overall the service is sort of like Barney Greengrass meets Italy as some the charm could be wisecracking waiters and owner who serve and kibbutz amidst the clatter.”
  19. “However, the service was shockingly bad.”
  20. “read all of the previous reviews and was prepared for a long wait, pushy waiters, and ordering my dessert early, but to my surprise these people were dead wrong!”
  21. “It is true that the service is rushed and the place is crowded (it is very small) so I wouldn't recommend the restaurant for a romantic date or a first date.”
  22. “Service can be rushed for some - but if you are nice to the staff, they are nice to you - and by the way, Carmine (the owner) is such a great character, I trust his taste more than most.”
  23. “The waiters were outwardly rude and insulting.”
  24. “The food was quite good and the wait staff was courteous but alas the owner is scrooge incarnate (and a chauvinist to boot).”
  25. “the hostess is rude as can be, the waiters can't stop to check in, the busboys are flinging stuff on your table, and that's true even when the restaurant is half empty!”
  26. “The service has always been great and although there is always a wait, I never feel rushed to get out of the restaurant.”
  27. “Our server, Carlo, was attentive and friendly.”
value
86.84000015258789% positive
  1. “Despite this, Celeste is a lovely place to have an inexpensive, high quality meal, and even though you are likely to be inches away from the nearest table, a little wine and some candlelight makes for a romantic (though quick) meal.”
  2. “For great food at a dirt-cheap price, it's a wonderful deal.”
  3. “The food here is delicious and the prices are extremely reasonable.”
  4. “Great food at a great price.”
  5. “Restaurant has good food and prices are very reaonable.”
  6. “This restaurant has great food for cheap prices.”
  7. “it's such a unique place; the food is wonderful and i still can't believe the prices - the wine list is really quite good (splurging for the wines on the last page is always worth it - Carmine knows his stuff) and the place has so much personality!”
  8. “celeste is one of those gems that offer affordable food that really tastes wonderful.”
  9. “Tasty inexpensive food- awesome after dinner cheese plate”
  10. “The food is good, but not worth getting pushed out.”
  11. “... a wonderful and cheap restaurant where i went with my Princess.”
  12. “Great food at amazing prices.”
  13. “All this for a great price.”
  14. “we're in NYC and for a great bite to eat, good prices, just enjoy it for what it is.”
  15. “The service has always been bad, the space has always been cramped and hectic even by New York standards, the owner has always been discourteous, but until last night, the food and prices redeemed the place.”
  16. “Decent food for the price”
  17. “While true it is crowded and cramped celeste filled a huge void in the neighborhood producing high quality authentic italian fare at extremelt affordable prices.”
  18. “Pass the pizza and go for the pasta; thats what stood out during our visit for its fresh, homemade taste and $10 price tag.”
  19. “The food at Celeste used to be wonderful, and perhaps they were having an off night, but it's just not worth the hassle.”
wait time
66.66999816894531% positive
  1. “Despite this, Celeste is a lovely place to have an inexpensive, high quality meal, and even though you are likely to be inches away from the nearest table, a little wine and some candlelight makes for a romantic (though quick) meal.”
  2. “read all of the previous reviews and was prepared for a long wait, pushy waiters, and ordering my dessert early, but to my surprise these people were dead wrong!”
  3. “Despite the tiny size of the space the waits are not terrible- your meal here will be relatively quick even if you are having courses as this little spot is in high demand- so don't expect to have a long and leisurely meal.”
1 Star Rating: Poor

07/27/11

Arrogant Owner Loses Long-time Customer

by StephenTG

I was a regular for five years, usually chatting-up Carmine, the owner, whenever he'd strut past my table. The fact that he never knew my name should have told me something. On one visit, the entire restaurant was disrupted when a man began shouting at Carmine, exclaiming that he'd never been treated so rudely in his life. He'd brought a friend for her birthday and after 20 minutes of waiting to order, they complained, only to have Carmine tell them they should just leave. It was shocking, but I assumed that there must have been two sides to the story. Ironically, five months later, I was there for my birthday with friends. At one point I crossed to go to the men's room. I asked a waiter to let me pass between two tables with a proper "excuse me." I got a smug, defiant look, followed by a pointed arm and a command to "go over there." I said, "Excuse me? Please step aside." He refused. I immediately went up to Carmine who was standing by the kitchen. I told him what had happened, made it clear I was offended, and that of all things, it was my birthday. Without responding to me, Carmine yelled across the restaurant to the waiter, causing many heads to turn. They exchanged words and then Carmine shrugged his shoulders, looked at me and said, "What can I do, he said he wasn't rude?" I returned to my table; Carmine never came over to apologize. Know this -- when you show up at Celeste, you are just a body with cash, and nothing more.

1 Star Rating: Poor

06/25/11

Worst experience ever had at an NYC restaurant

by lmpadill

Horrendous Service, our waiter was not attentive and completely disgustingly rude- When we decided not to order desert, he stormed away from our table. When we realized we still had a glass of wine left, we asked for desert and got a lecture. he proceeded to tell us that we couldn't order dessert because we were at the restaurant for far too long (when we hadn't even been there an hour) and that we had to leave even though they had 7 empty tables in the restaurant. we spoke to the manage/owner, the chiseled chin balding grey haired italian man, who was extremely condescending and belittling to my friend and i. he told us that he did not tell the waiter that we had to leave. in the end he did not take responsibility for the service and simply said "ok thank you". i will never ever go to a restaurant that kicks customers out who want to spend more money.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

10/30/10

Great UWS Italian

by SJJohnson

Great food (tried both the pizza and pasta) at a very reasonable price. Good ambience, helped by the friendly owner and efficient staff. A great little UWS spot that is a real gem.

Only odd thing that happened was that I accidently left my camera at the restaurant. I phoned the next day and the member of staff who answered was adamant that no camera had been found. He then asked someone else and again said no camera had been found. It had some really important photos on, so I said, "Oh, that's such a shame!" in a disappointed way. Then he said, "Wait a minute" and then said, "Yes, we did find your camera. It will cost you $100." He said this in a very serious way, so I said, "Sorry?" Again he reiterated that it would cost me $100 to get the camera back, in a serious way. I put it down to him joking, even though he didn't laugh at the end of it and was quite insistent. I went to collect the camera and the member of staff who brought it to me said, "He [pointing to the back of the restaurant] who found it says he needs $20." Again this member of staff said it in a serious way and didn't laugh or anything. I just found all this rather odd, that not only one member of staff said I needed to give them money, but it happened twice, with it going from $100 to $20. Also, the fact that they said they hadn't found the camera when I first called and it's only a small restaurant.

Apart from that, the meal at the restaurant was excellent - delicious food, efficient and friendly service and a buzzy atmosphere. When I go next time, I'll just be sure to hang onto my camera!

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

08/16/10

Best Find!

by loveyknows

This is my first review and it had to take something extraordinary for me to go to the trouble. And this restaurant is just that - extraordinary! Our waiter was charming, funny and an amateur magician. Our food was spectacular! From the artichoke salade starter to the ricotta spinach raviolis and pizza! Perfect. And even with an excellent bottle of Chianti - still fit in a budget in line with these economic times. 5 stars all around!

3 Star Rating: Average

06/02/10

Decent food for the price

by gaiamcraft

After reading the reviews I am glad that our group of 6 came in for a not so busy brunch. But then we don't linger anyway. However, the service was shockingly bad. The waiters were outwardly rude and insulting. They didn't have wine, and were out 3 of of the 4 beers they had - this fact was basically spat at us through gritted teeth. When we asked if we could BYOB, he sat "no" and left our table.

Food was surprisingly tasty. We ordered the pizza with mozzarella and tomatoes and it was really good. However, avoid the anchovy pizza - too much salt and tasted old. The pastas were all good and we all enjoyed our meal. The waiter forgot to bring utensils for one of the entrees, and after we asked him, we ended up waiting 5 minutes until he threw it at our table. Simply appalling!

  • Pros: pizza, pasta
  • Cons: rude and insulting service

The Details on Celeste Restaurant

Place Categories:

  • great italian food
  • bad service
  • really good meal
  • great prices
  • favorite nice small restaurant
  • like shrimp pasta
  • order cheese plate
  • mediocre food
  • insulting waiters
  • unique italian place
  • very nice red wine
  • attentive server
  • authentic italian
  • attentive carlo
  • big homemade taste
  • delish pizza everything
  • order coffee
  • rude staff
  • rude hostess
  • enjoys interaction
  • perfect special robiolatruffle pizza
  • particularly good nothing
  • excellent cheese
  • annoying cramped space
  • good fit
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