Montebello Ristorante Italiano

Upper East Side favorite featuring Antipastis, salads, fresh homemade pastas and handmade breads! Pre-Fixe Lunch $25, Dinner $35

(347) 482-1371

120 E 56th St (Between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue)
New York, NY 10022 40.7605 -73.9703

Get Map & Directions »

Neighborhoods: Midtown Center, Midtown

montebellonyc.com

Hours:

Mon-Sat 11:30am-10:30pm

Price:

$$$$

Last updated 4.13.10

Category:

Restaurants, Catering

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, Diners Club, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Private Rooms, People Watching, Business Dining, Lunch Spot, Food Delivery, Carry Out, Prix Fixe Menu

Cuisine:

Italian

What People Are Saying About Montebello Ristorante Italiano

The Owner

Montebello Ristorante Italiano

Owner

Montebello is an Italian restaurant with a sophisticated flare for a business lunch or a date at eight. Located at the heart of Midtown, Montebello buzzes with excitement as a business lunch spot with high-powered patrons such as Mayor Bloomberg, Donald Trump, George Steinbrenner and Barbara Walters. According to Where Magazine, "Montebello is the most romantic of romantic rendezvous." Celebrities such as Kate Moss, Ron Howard and Michael Richards enjoy the beautiful private banquettes and soothing atmosphere of this elegant, unpretentious space. Montebello provides a dining experience…

Provided by CityGrid

Read more from the owner

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

Antipasti, salad, fresh and dried pastas and handmade breads are on the menu at this Upper East Side restaurant; catering available.

ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “Staff made you feel very welcome and the decor is pleasing to the eye.”
  2. “This restaurant provides delicious food, great service and a sophisticated atmosphere.”
  3. “This place is great for: romantic dinner, place to impress anyone, business dinner.”
  4. “The food is just so good, the waiters are so attentive and the atmosphere is simple and relaxing.”
  5. “The decor is cozy and great for any occaison.”
  6. “felt the atmosphere was very warm and welcoming.”
  7. “Glowing sconces, soft coral walls and vintage bottles of wine create an atmosphere of elegance that is perfect for both whispering sweet nothings to a loved one or discussing business during a power lunch.”
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. “Montebellos homemade ricotta and mascarpone cheesecake or the ultimate Italian pick me upa Tiramisu that is the best in New York City.”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “Glowing sconces, soft coral walls and vintage bottles of wine create an atmosphere of elegance that is perfect for both whispering sweet nothings to a loved one or discussing business during a power lunch.”
  2. “My wife both enjoyed our main courses and a bottle of wine and the service was excellent.”
  3. “We had some great wine and excellent food.”
  4. “Excellent food, wine, and service!”
  5. “Everything was perfect from the food, wine and to the service.”
  6. “If you like wine, they have an unbeatable list.”
food quality
100.0% positive
  1. “The food and service was excellent.”
  2. “Food was delicious too!”
  3. “The mozzarella cheese was delicious the way it had tasted on our trip to Italy.”
  4. “My husband had an excellent lamb dish in ragu sauce and I had the most delicious monkfish.”
  5. “My calamari was well prepared (not rubbery at all), the seafgood pasta was great and the blood orange sorbet was the perfect end note to a great meal.”
  6. “Excellent food!”
  7. “The food was so good we still talk about it and plan to go back very soon!”
  8. “Montebello is that not so rare Italian restaurant in the heart of midtown that offers up delicious meals, perfect in every detail, in an amb.”
  9. “The food and service were both great.”
  10. “The waitstaff was friendly and polite and the food was absolute perfection.”
  11. “We were happy with our choices as the food was very good.”
  12. “The food is great and service attentive.”
  13. “The food was fresh, the seasons perfectly balanced.”
  14. “The food was amazing.”
  15. “The food and service were great.”
  16. “The food is excellent and the waitstaff is great too!”
  17. “The risotto with shrimp and asparagus was really delicious!”
  18. “The food is just so good, the waiters are so attentive and the atmosphere is simple and relaxing.”
  19. “Excellent food, wine, and service!”
  20. “Everything was perfect from the food, wine and to the service.”
  21. “We had some great wine and excellent food.”
  22. “Having one parent from Northern Italy and one from Southern Italy, I am used to REALLY good Italian food!”
  23. “This restaurant provides delicious food, great service and a sophisticated atmosphere.”
  24. “Had the Parmisian Crusted chicken - it melted off the knive it was so good.”
  25. “The food is absolutely amazing.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “We were happy with our choices as the food was very good.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “It's a great place for a date and I highly recommend it.”
  2. “thought it was so cute and it would really seem like a great place to visit and it truly was.”
  3. “What a great restaurant!”
  4. “This place is great for: romantic dinner, place to impress anyone, business dinner.”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “The food was so good we still talk about it and plan to go back very soon!”
service
100.0% positive
  1. “The food and service was excellent.”
  2. “thought the wait staff was very attentive and polite.”
  3. “The staff was gracious and the service wonderful.”
  4. “Attentive service”
  5. “The waiters were very nice and made some great recommendations.”
  6. “Everything was perfect from the food, wine and to the service.”
  7. “The food is just so good, the waiters are so attentive and the atmosphere is simple and relaxing.”
  8. “make happy; there are people who get so angry at the smallest things that no matter what you do to try and correct it they will leave a nasty review and you have others that give their honest opinion.”
  9. “My wife both enjoyed our main courses and a bottle of wine and the service was excellent.”
  10. “The food and service were both great.”
  11. “This restaurant provides delicious food, great service and a sophisticated atmosphere.”
  12. “The food is great and service attentive.”
  13. “The staff was extremely friendly and attentive.”
  14. “The food and service were great.”
  15. “Excellent food, wine, and service!”
  16. “The waitstaff was friendly and polite and the food was absolute perfection.”
  17. “The service is excellent and very attentive.”
value
50.0% positive
  1. “The prices were pretty reasonable too.”
  2. “have a strong suspicion it was one of the more expensive dinners I've been on.”
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/15/09

Outstanding!

by RestaurantVisitor at Citysearch

My husband and I went into NYC overnight to see Jersey Boys (GREAT show!). Checked this website for a good local Italian Restaurant. Having one parent from Northern Italy and one from Southern Italy, I am used to REALLY good Italian food! This often makes it difficult to dine out. I read the reviews, checked out the menu, and thought we'd give it a try.

WOW! It's not often that your experience exceeds your expectations! The staff was extremely friendly and attentive. Our water glasses were never empty! It was Valentine's Day and the restaurant was busy but they were able to accommodate our request to add two to the reservation at the last minute! The appetizers were amazing! The Buffalo Mozzarella was AUTHENTIC Buffalo Mozzarella! The eggplant parm was SOOO FRESH! Three of us had the veal chop with the prosciutto and mozzarella. YUMMMMM! They were cooked to perfection and incredibly delicious! The risotto with shrimp and asparagus was really delicious! The salads were fresh and beautifully presented.

The owner was really on top of things! He walked by each table every ten minutes or so to make sure everything was up to his standards. Quite impressive! As we were leaving, he asked us how everything was. You could tell he was genuine. I LOVE when a restaurant exceeds your expectations! I would DEFINITELY recommend this restaurant!

  • Pros: LOVED THE DECOR, THE SERVICE, AND THE FOOD!!!!
  • Cons: Can't think of ONE!
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/06/09

What a treat!

by Angela1129 at Citysearch

I normally don?t leave reviews but I felt like I just had to for this restaurant. I have grown up in the restaurant business (my family has a Northern Italian restaurant in NYC for over 25 years) so I understand the importance of reviews and how you have to take them with a grain of salt. There are just some people that you can?t make happy; there are people who get so angry at the smallest things that no matter what you do to try and correct it they will leave a nasty review and you have others that give their honest opinion. I am going for just giving my honest opinion?.

We were a party of six and were sat at a nice large table toward the back of the restaurant. I ALWAYS take a look at the wine list, I am curious about prices and selection. It was very nice a priced very competitive. It was a great selection of wines from all over the world. I ended up ordering a glass of the house Chianti and I thought it was great. Appetizers were a Hot and Cold Antipasto. I had the Pera salad afterwards (arugula, sliced pear and pecorino cheese). For the main course I ordered the pasta special which was penne with ground sweet and hot sausage in a light tomato sauce with a scoop of Ricotta cheese on top. My mouth watered just from the description so I knew I had to get it. It was out of this world! The combination of the two sausages with the Ricotta cheese was heavenly. My boyfriend had Linguini Fruitte di Mare and it was just breath taking. The ingredients that were used and how it was made so simple, you forget how good simple and traditional Italian food can be. So many places spice things up with all these crazy ingredients and focus so much on show that they forget what going out to a restaurant is really about, THE FOOD! Dessert was tiramisu for me and cannoli for my bf. Both were simple and tasty.

This is a restaurant that takes what they do very seriously and you can see that they love what they do. I highly recommend this place, you will not be disappointed.

  • Pros: Exceptional Food, Wonderful Service, Great Atmosphere
  • Cons: ZERO
4 Star Rating: Recommended

11/06/08

Fantastic Place...

by emmagailrobson at Citysearch

Montebello is lovely. I'm scared to know what the bill was but I figure my ignorance is a good thing. I have a strong suspicion it was one of the more expensive dinners I've been on. I had the Agnello . It was succulent and wonderful. Dessert was fabulous too. Probably one of the best meals I've had ever. In short, my impression was: a truly a fantastic place.This place is great for: romantic dinner, place to impress anyone, business dinner.

  • Pros: service,food,ambiance
  • Cons: pricey
4 Star Rating: Recommended

04/06/08

Attentive service

by TardyKat at Citysearch

My manager took our team here for dinner last month. The staff was gracious and the service wonderful. We started with anti pasto for the table to share. I ordered the chicken special. Food was delicious too! A bit disappointed with the tiramisu though.

  • Pros: attentive service, good food
  • Cons: a bit pricey
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/07/08

Topped my list for Restaurant Week!

by Lilly627 at Citysearch

I came here last Friday for restaurant week with five of my friends. This was probably my favorite out of all the places we were able to experience. I thought the wait staff was very attentive and polite. We of course had the prefix menu and they offered a much larger selection than most restaurants. It was nice to see. We felt that they wanted us to have an opportunity to taste more than just a plain pasta or chicken. The food was amazing. I had the eggplant appetizer and veal scaloppini which was phenomenal. You can tell they don't skimp on quality. Although it was very busy, not once did I feel rushed or ignored. They set a really fine example of how a restaurant should operate and treat their customers during restaurant week. I've already made reservations for next weekend!

  • Pros: Food,Service
  • Cons: No complaints!

The Details on Montebello Ristorante Italiano

Place Categories:

  • excellent italian food
  • great service
  • great place
  • favorite local italian restaurant
  • great delicious meals
  • very attentive wait staff
  • pleasing decor
  • polite waitstaff
  • like wine
  • great dining experience
  • very nice waiters
  • romantic dinner
  • perfect atmosphere
  • fantastic new york dining
  • excellent lamb dish
  • great seafgood pasta
  • great recommendations
  • most delicious monkfish
  • great show
  • best tiramisu
  • amazing appetizers
  • delicious mozzarella cheese
  • excellent main courses
  • excellent bottle
  • great attentive

Message from Montebello Ristorante Italiano

  • Business Lunches & Delivery
  • 3 Course Pre-Fixe Lunch & Dinner
  • Now booking Holiday Parties

Montebello is an Italian restaurant with a sophisticated flare for a business lunch or a date at eight.

Located at the heart of Midtown, Montebello buzzes with excitement as a business lunch spot with high-powered patrons such as Mayor Bloomberg, Donald Trump, George Steinbrenner and Barbara Walters.

According to Where Magazine, "Montebello is the most romantic of romantic rendezvous." Celebrities such as Kate Moss, Ron Howard and Michael Richards enjoy the beautiful private banquettes and soothing atmosphere of this elegant, unpretentious space.

Montebello provides a dining experience virtually unrivalled in the city. Montebello has received a 5 star rating from the American Academy of Hospitality an Elite Dining Award in recognition of excellence in dining.

Montebello Ristorante Italiano