02/11/09

Freshest Italian Food with Reasonable Prices

by SusanRovezzi

This charming Italian restaurant in the East Village was a great find. The food was fresh.. The prices didn't break the bank. And the service was impeccable from the owner down to each and every staff. As an Italian with great cooks in the family, I would say even my grandmothers would be happy after a meal at John's.

• Pros: food, service, prices, atmosphere
• Cons: does not take credit cards

11/01/08

Good food, great old time candle lit ambience, great prices, say no to the pizza!

by drdrdrt

The service is good, though they tend to circle the room like sharks- no doubt because the owner bizarrely sits at a table in the dining room reading a newspaper and scrutinizing everything they do. At one point he poured water for us, offered us another drink and said something about his staff being asleep. Strange.

The food was good and always has been but like the other review on this page mentions, certain requests can be met with a waiters having to question the owner for approval as he stares at the table and considers. Great wine list and prices- terrific value, though some glass prices slide a little too high for this type of place, but still a terrific value. The pizza, new to this place, was not so good. they advertise thin crust pizza but offer only one and it's not really a pizza crust. I love that the specials are sort of a rotating permanent fixture but are really a terrific selection though we tend to get the same thing, the Papardelle, very good!!! I would reccomend this place, with it's dim candlelight and great step back in time. It really feels like you're in a time capsule and in New York these types of places with thier perfect imperfection are diappearing. Been a fan for years.

10/20/08

Wonderful!

by ocokel

Adorable little italian restaurant! The environment is so welcoming and cozy. Great menu, delicious seafood. Every dish we got was was so tastey. Love going here and it's a great little place to go on a date. Highly recommended!!