Leonardo Da Vinci Italian Ristorante

01/24/09

NEW YORK'S BEST KEPT SECRET

by TeamPlayer2 at Citysearch

Oh No! I went to Leonardo Da Vinci restaurant today and you're gone! Chef Gabriele, where are you? Your place was the best kept secret of New York City. This is Beth from CBS! You'd better e-mail and let us know when you re-open! Regards from CBS friends.

• Pros: fantastic food, service and ambience

01/23/09

PERFECT. A MUST for Authentic Italian Food Lovers

by Epicureantreasurehunter at Citysearch

WHEN ARE YOU RE-OPENING?

I finally found an outstanding, authentic Tuscan restaurant after having tried and tried and you are no longer in the neighborhood! Having returned from an amazing epicurean tour of Tuscany, Italy in 2006; I'd been desperate to recreate that gastronomic experience. Leonardo Da Vinci restaurant and Chef Gabriele Bagni are the "real thing"...as good as it gets. I had gone to Locanda da Vinci, in the town of Vinci, Tuscany, as I am a travel writer. It is Chef Gabriele's family's five star hotel and restaurant. He is the 16th generation of a family of Tuscan chefs. Locanda da Vinci is paradise...a medieval convent with early Caravaggio frescos on the walls as well as Il Cavaliere murals. At the of my visit, Chef Bagni told me he would be opening a small place in New York City in March, 2007 and I couldn't wait. Alas, Chef Gabriele did exactly that and managed to create a cozy, elegant, epicurean's dream of a restaurant on the Upper East Side which far exceeded my hopes/expectations as to what he could re-create outside of Italy. From the outside, elegant but modest, and on the inside, he recreated some of the stone work and style of the convent/hotel Locanda Da Vinci. This place was a MUST for "foodies" and wine enthusiasts. I can't believe The New Yorker, TimeOut etc. "missed the boat". I never saw a review in one of those publications. My personal favorite dishes were Gnocchi Bolognese, Wild Boar Stew with red wine, olives and tomatoes and Three cheese tortellini. Oh yes and The Filet Mignon a la Toscana is to die for. Chef Gabriele personally visits each table, makes suggestions, describes wines (a wine connoisseur to boot). I must have brought every friend I have to this restaurant and was so very disappointed when they had to close. I heard that the Chef was quite ill but that he would re-open in Hoboken, New Jersey sometime in 2009. I'll swim there if I have to! Waiting with baited breath!

• Pros: Thumbs up all the way.

05/19/08

Incredible Italian Food

by PRrestaurant at Citysearch

I am in awe with seeing the few bad reviews that this restaurant has had. Although it has gotten many more 5 star reviews than bad reviews, I am just surprised with seeing some of the bitter (sometimes illiterate) bs written about great food. The goat cheese salad, caprese, chicken saltimbocca and the meat lasagna were all superb. The chef is from Italy and has brought a lot of authentic influence back from there. I have eaten all around Italy and thought this food was authentic and very comparable to that of Tuscany. Awesome experience, nice people, good service, good food and even great touch with having a jazz band playing once in a while.

• Pros: Food, entertainment, service, prices!
• Cons: nothing

03/30/08

Brilliance!

by sclaba at Citysearch

I don't have an Italian Grandmother... But I do have Leonardo Da Vinci Restorante close by,

which is the next best thing!!

We have sat at the bar a number of times and sampled almost everything on the Bar/Tasting Menu. We've tried all of the skewered meats (tuna chicken & steak) and loved each one. For me, the only thing better than Fresh Mozzarella, and some perfectly sliced Prosciutto for an appetizer, is Fresh Mozzarella, and some perfectly sliced Prosciutto for Dinner. Suffice to say, the Mozzarella is very good as is the Prosciutto!

The Traditional Bolognese Sauce is authentic EXCELLENCE.

An all around wonderful experience. We're going back and bringing friends!

I have to say.... mr. rickyrage, the vaginatarian, who wrote the uber-goober diatribe review.... stick to boston market and fast food pizza b/c your clearly an epicurianidiot.

• Pros: The Food, the food ... and... the food

03/18/08

beautiful, fresh, authentic italian- for those who can appreciate amazingly cooked food

by pickyfoodie55 at Citysearch

if you are a lover of food, and by that, i mean really good, melt in your mouth, give you goose bumps, lick your plate clean food, then i can only say that you should make it a point to try out this restaurant. the bread is baked there, the seasonings perfectly compliment the dishes (i had the tuna with zucchini and arrugula, and some sort of tomato/fish dipping sauce for the bread). and being a cook myself, i am a pretty harsh critic- i have to say i really did feel like i could be back in italy.

and if you are a chocolate lover, or just a dessert lover in general, indulge in the white chocolate mousse- it is the perfect texture (i usually think mousse can be a little anticlimactic, so i was pleasantly surprised).

i could go on, but you should experience the food yourself...

needless to say, i will be back.

• Pros: beautiful food

02/23/08

A pathetic dining experience

by rickyrage at Citysearch

I had pretty low hopes for this place. It's almost always empty, despite a good location and a really great layout/design.

First we asked about a specific bottle of wine. The waiter could not tell me anything about it other than "it was really good!" Not a great start.

Next, we ordered a $17 appetizer (mushrooms on toast). Besides being served on the same bread as was given to the table, it was like eating something prepared by Boston Market or Sbarro. Sauce was everywhere, just way way way too much seasoning. Not great.

Next we ordered dinner. I don't eat meat or fish and I asked the waiter what options he had for me. "Um, not a lot. Slim pickings. Slim pickings. You can have the ravioli. It just has prosciutto in it." What kind of waiter doesn't know that prosciutto is meat? What kind of terrible waiter pronounces it "pro-SKOO-toe"?

I ended up with plain spaghetti in a garlic/olive oil/Parmesan dressing. My girlfriend ended up with a lobster ravioli. Both dishes were mediocre at best.

For a restaurant with such high prices, you'd expect knowledgeable waiters. NOT SO MUCH. As much as I want a place like this to succeed, you can easily tell why there's never anyone inside.

• Pros: Nice setting, NOT HARD TO GET A TABLE BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS EMPTY
• Cons: Terrible wait staff, mediocre food, high prices

12/31/07

Finally a Real Tuscan restaurant

by gogofood at Citysearch

Finally a restaurant with real tuscan food , I dont know what the bad review are yapping about , the ravioli are perfectly delicious and on the menu I didnt find anything that I dont like , Web site like this sometime give frredom of writing to the wrong people , Leonardo Da Vinci is one if the few truly great Italian Restaurant In th US

R.R.

• Pros: Real Italian Chef From Vinci TUscany Italy
• Cons: NO kids

12/17/07

Amazing Italian food

by msljy at Citysearch

Had an amazing meal at Leonard Da Vinci the other night. The food is amazing. Everything we ate was good. We had mixed appetizers and a couple of salads, followed by fish for two of us and pasta with seafood for the other. The strawberry dessert is unbelievable. The owner is also the chef. He makes the rounds of this quaint spot to make sure everything is perfect. Service is good, and you can actually hear yourself and your party, which is a rarity. I highly recommend. Make sure to make reservations.

• Pros: Great food and atmosphere. Service is attentive.
• Cons: None

12/14/07

Avoid these Place

by katwild at Citysearch

anyone PLEASE this is the worst 'Italian food " the service is very bad me and my

sister waited about 1 ;30 for a pasta dish ,the waiter was very stupid a disrespecful calling me bella

mozzarella .the food is bad and the service is bad as well .

• Pros: not recommended

12/07/07

Great service, very nice staff

by dbarroness at Citysearch

The place has very nice, homey atmosphere and the owner came out to talk with everyone on many occasions. I thought the food was just mediocre though. The bruschetta app was made with the mealiest, supermarket-bought tomatoes and was rather bland. I had the lobster ravioli with seafood sauce and it was a little too fishy for my liking. We all had a version of the ravioli because there were so many yummy sounding dishes on the menu, but no one raved about theirs. However, the overall presentation, wine and friendly staff were terrific. Prices were not outrageous either.

• Pros: nice atmosphere and staff
• Cons: mediocre food