11/07/09

Yankee fans..walk in Bobby Murcer's cleats

by tankjuicemaddog

I went with my son, who"s young enough not to have a recollection of Yankee world series victories, and members of my family, whom I have celebrated with for years!! We went to the parade for # 27!! I had read Bobby Murcer's Yankee for Life biography, and knew that this was his favorite place in the city. Murcer said he was a reluctant New Yorker, not playing baseball, but the size of the city! I have had a dining experience at Il Mulino in the back of my head every since I read the book. It seemed fitting to end the parade with my son and relatives in the presence of ghosts of Yankees past...and in only the Yankee way..Il Mulino did not disappoint. The service was a bit overzealous but always attentive. The lunch was phenomenal and the leftovers were even better! I had a super tuscan house that was out of this world.....and how can you go wrong imagining walking in the footsteps of yankee pinstripes? The prices aren't for the faint of heart. It's a special place in that regard. In my humble culinary opinion, worth it!! Ask for the table for 5 in the back corner...and imagine Bobby!

• Pros: old world italian, exceptional service
• Cons: new wallpaper may be needed??

05/14/09

Living on Old rep. and Zagat !

by jsantag643

wish the one star rating was not required on Citysearch Any REAL foodie would consider this a joke!Food was not as good as a nyc mediocre Italian...never mind a decent one ! Crowded tables I can kinda of get ...thats the deal GV area...however the food needs to warrant that and its not in the hunt !! Staff still in dreamland that the place is good ...will close down in the next coming couple years as the sheep wean down !

• Pros: feels exclusive
• Cons: everything else

05/13/09

Extremely Overrated

by RoccoM

Over the last 15 years i use to frequent Il Mulino often. The food was extremely good years ago, but since its been sold a 2 years ago its been a steady decline. I don't mind paying for enjoyable dinning experiences, but the last visit to this restaurant was my last. The food was over salted, greasy, overcooked and frankly offensive. Out of the 6 people at our table, (who are all italian), not one plate was finished, no one ate any of the pasta. The main courses were forgettable as well.

This resturant is nothing more than tourist trap at this point. The bill for 6 people, with 2 bottles of wine was $2600 and for that amount of money it better be higher quality. If your looking for good Italian food in NYC go to Babbo, Del Posto, Scalini Fedili, or Al Di Ala and I promiss you it will be ten times better than Il Mulino.

• Pros: Private Line for reservations
• Cons: Overpriced, Crammed, terrible food

10/27/08

May be my worst dining experience in NYC

by rachw1023

I dined Il Mulino on my birthday with my boyfriend on a Friday evening. We live in Manhattan and eat out at least twice a week. We were so disappointed with both the service and the food at Il Mulino and will not return.

First, we had reservation for 8:30pm and were on time. The reservation was booked 3 weeks prior and w/ the name of a friend, a frequent customer.

While waiting for the table, there was very little space to stand as there were many others in the same boat and a ton of giants plants randomly placed in the entry room so that people have fewer places to stand. My boyfriend wanted to leave after 1/2 hour but I insisted on staying--we got seated at 9:40.

Our waiter was more interested in watched the people come in than us. He shouted out the specials while looking at people walking in. I was expecting more personal interaction with customers.

We ordered 1 Caesar salad to share but when we got the bill, they changed us for 2. We told the waiter and he said no, we had asked for 2. He didn't change the check and we were shocked that he told us that we were wrong.

I decided on one of the specials while my boyfriend decided on the veal from the menu instead of the veal special. When the wrong one arrived (which by the way, was much more expensive), we told the waiter and he responded, "Trust me, you'll like it better." He didn't offer to exchange it and we ended up getting charged for the $60 veal special--plus, the veal wasn't anything special.

We decided we had enough. The maitre d' then came over and was very apologetic for the 1hr wait time--he realized that we had made reservations using our friend?s name, one of his regular customers. They ended up giving us a free dessert so after everything, we decided not to make a big fuss about the check.

Overall, it was so bad that it was funny. For NYC, there are a ton of restaurants that are expensive, amazing, and provide good service. Il Mulino did none of that.

• Pros: Name recognition, cool area
• Cons: Service, food, ambiance, all things important

07/31/08

fantastic italian!

by U2FanU2

my husband and i recently ate at Il Mulino and had an amazing Italian dining experience!! I ordered the Spezzatino di Pollo alla Romano, which was sensational, and my husband ordered the red snapper and didnt leave one bite on his plate. For appetizers, we ordered the caprese, or buffalo mozzarella, and we shared a rigatoni dish., Needless to say, we stuffed ourselves, but the food was so amazing that we felt as if we should!!! We couldnt even make it out for drinks in this fabulous Greenwich Village neighborhood because we were so full!! We were satisfied enough with our fine dining experience, though. Everything was perfect---the food, teh atmosphere, and the service!! I highly recommend Il Mulino!

• Pros: sensational food, service, atmosphere

03/11/08

Fools rush in....

by Foodguy125

This is the perfect example of a tourist trap. The masses follow the advice of the Zagat guide in their travel bag. I will keep it short and sweet...long wait...rude staff....tough vealchop. I will never return. Try Babbo or Scalinatella if your looking for a class act.

11/08/07

You're kidding.......

by vinceny

Not what it once was. Once family owned and operated, now owned by a corporate group (look at their locations, worldwide) Definitely dine here if you wish to pay ridiculously high prices for usual Italian fare. I grew up in the restaurant biz, cook, and frequent all of NY's top rated restaurants. I've had better Italian food in neighborhood trattorias at a mere fraction of the price. If you want to impress people by telling them you went to Il Mulino, that's fine, status comes at a high price. Anyone who knows Italian food and value won't be impressed or fooled.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Ludicrous pricing, mediocre service

08/25/07

THE BEST RESTAURANT IN ALL ENTIRE WORLD

by costadoro

THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE EVERYBODY WISH TO GO ONCE IN LIFE AT LEAST.

I HAD A DINNER WITH MY WIFE LAST WEEK AUGUST 18 2007 EVERYTHING WAS

SUPER GOOD AND EVERYBODY ARE VERY NICE AND PROFESSIONAL.

FOOD TALKING THE BEST EVER BELIEVE TO ME I HAVE BEEN ALL OVER ON THE WORLD THIS IS # 1 RESTAURANT LIKE MADEO RESTAURANT IN LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA..

IF YOU ARE AROUND NEW YORK DO NOT MISS IT IS GREAT!!!!!

I WILL BE BACK 100% NO QUESTION AT ALL,I CAN ALSO JUST FLY FROM CALIFORNIA EAT AND COMING BACK HOME.

08/17/07

Don't waste your time

by rachelleadelle

Two of us in our party arrived 30 minutes prior to our reservation and had a drink a the bar while we waited for the other two in our party. They arrived fifteen minutes before our reservation. 50 minutes after our reservation we still hadn't been seated and any time we asked we were ignored or were rudely told they would get to us. Three tables that arrived well after us were all seated and we still remained waiting without a tale. Someone in our party went and asked what was going on and we were told that several tables had shown up to their reservation 30 - 40 minutes late and so they were behind. After an hour of waiting, being ignored and rude treatment by the staff we left.

I called Fiamma Osteria while walking out and asked if they could acomidate a table of four in 10 minutes and they said sure. We showed up and were seated immediately and had one of teh best meals I've ever had. The tasting menu was excellent and I was so full I couldn't even finish my fourth course.

Don't waste your time with Il Mulino. The service is so poor and the experience is so frustrating, I don't think the best food in the world could make up for it.

08/07/07

A New York Institution

by Burlington Tom

I went to Il Mulino once with six other family members. One of us was a regular, so a reserved table was miraculously awaiting our arrival. We sat in the middle of an extremely crowded dining room, the state of which served as testimony that this is one of New York's most famous eateries. The waitstaff here wait on their charges hand and foot, and there were probably about five tuxedoed men taking care of our party. We started the dinner with appetizers: a waiter came around with a monstrous block of aromatic cheese, cutting off pieces for each of us. The garlic bread was soaked in rich butter and oil and tasted as though an entire clove of garlic was infused into every piece! Delicious seafood-laden hors d'oeuvres are an excellent choice as well. For the main course I had the veal shank. No side dish was needed to accompany this enormous and tender roast, and I was by far the last at the table to finish my meal. If you don't wish to miss dessert, order smaller portioned dishes, for one does not leave here feeling skimped. The desserts were very rich and savory. Creamy cappuccinos were served alongside these after dinner treats. To top it all off, a digestivo of potent grappa was doled out of a giant brass cauldron. The experience I had at Il Mulino was certainly one that left me feeling as though I were a member of one of the top echelons in New York society. I wholeheartedly recommend it, so long as one can afford the mortgage-sized bill.

• Pros: Amazing Italian food, Romantic ambience, Waitstaff makes you feel like royalty
• Cons: Quite expensive, Not for those minding their caloric intake