Totonno's Manhattan
(212) 327-2800
1544 2nd Ave
New York,
NY
10028
40.7742
-73.9543
Neighborhoods: Yorkville, Midtown
What People Are Saying About Totonno's Manhattan
The Editor
Contributor
Citysearch
The Scene
At the Manhattan outpost of a Coney Island-based legend, an outdoor patio leads to a long, dim room with chalkboard specials against a side wall and baby strollers littered among the tables. Regardless of the noise created by the pitter-patter of tiny feet, service is attentive, friendly and meticulous.
The Food
Some say this is New York's best pizza, and indeed the sauce is light, the cheese fresh, the crust salted and rightly charred. But the 16-inch pies can also come vaguely soggy and not entirely hot, and the famously delectable white pie can be bland and dry. Similarly, staples like veal parmagiana are a little tough and rigatoni alla vodka could use less boiling and more chewiness, although the sauce is tasty and creamy. On the other hand, the chopped salad is chock-full of fresh, delicious ingredients.
User Reviews
two78
June 13, 2008
Nice, ample salads and fine pizza if you ask for it to be well done. The staff is fine. But the manager is one of the most offensive people I've ever encountered in a restaurant. I've grown accustomed to seeing him berate the staff, but tonight he tore into a woman and her two kids for seating themselves at a table intended for them before the table wasn't completely clean. They left. Intolerable behavior from the boss.
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allisonchambers
January 24, 2008
We went for my friend's birthday dinner and was shocked by the TERRIBLE managment. We brought our own cookie cake and was not allowed to eat it there without paying $5 PER plate. The manager came out and was terribly rude to us and RUINED our dinner. I have never experienced such rude behavior by management.
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jer1nyc
January 04, 2008
To be honest, food was clearly not our top priority on the biggest party night of the year. Totonno's was there, it didn't look too crowded, and we just wanted to get some grub on before we boozed it up. Big mistake. I already knew Totonno's had a great reputation as a pizza-maker, but I think I had heard better things about the original in Brooklyn. I probably ordered the worst thing you could order at an Italian restaurant/pizza shop: chicken fingers. Yeah, I know, what was I thinking? Well, I wasn't that hungry and I just wanted something light. My two friends ordered chicken parm, and chicken marsala, respectively. We ended up waiting almost an hour for our food, which in restaurant time, is an eternity. They kept giving us the "one more minute" runaround. Luckily, the food showed up before the ball dropped. Not that we felt very lucky when we looked down at our plates. They dumped four of the most unappetizing chicken fingers in front of me. How can you screw up chicken fingers? These chicken fingers looked like they had been run over by a car, breaded with saw dust, and overcooked. I refused to eat them and they took it off the bill. I could tell by my friends' plates, that their meals also looked very mediocre. The chicken marsala looked like it fell out of a Hungry Man dinner box. The chicken parm didn't look too bad, but the pasta was school cafeteria quality. Can you imagine waiting an hour for bad Italian food at $16.95 an entree? The only thing they got right was the bread and olive oil. If you do go, stick to the pizza. People who came in while we were waiting, got their pies in no time, and we're out the door already before we got our stuff.
read full reviewThe Details on Totonno's Manhattan
Know Before You Go:
Pizzas come in three incarnations, including the white pie and the Neapolitan (a red pie without sauce). Or combine the white pie with the margherita and request a sprinkling of fresh garlic and extra cheese.
Lunch Spot:
The lunch menu includes specials like eggplant parmiagana and individual-sized pies.
