06/14/09

really awful

by anthonypizzaz

I went in April and just feel compelled to write a review of the experience. We had been there before a few times for celebrations and such so decided to go for my birthday. I never really thought the food was spectacular, but this time it was literally inedible. to begin, I ordered the eggplant rollatini as an appetizer which my friend and me split. I should have grabbed him and left as soon as I tasted it. the sauce tasted funny, too bitter and greasy and the cheese was nothing short of spoiled while the eggplant itself was stringy and full of seeds. there was nothing delicate about it at all. part of the beauty of good Italian food is the way its handled and prepared, the way the ingredients meld and merge and marry. nothing in this dish was right. my stomach immediately turned. to boot- it arrived about half an hour after we were seated. again, should have just left. but no. troopers, we decided to stick it out and wait even longer for the entree. if the appetizer was bad the entree was heinous. it was supposed to be swordfish, but it looked like a gray mass in the middle of the plate. the grill marks were not real, they were like painted on with food coloring, it just came that way from the frozen fish people. it was almost tasteless except for a slight putrid lemon fish broth taste and because of the very bad fish smell, the color, and taste I simply refused to eat it knowing I would be sick from it. we tried to eat the greens that come with it (unidentifiable) but they too were sour spoiled and inedible. we told the waiter the food is inedible and as a consolation prize he offered cappuccino and dessert on the house. the dessert was the lamest thing I've ever seen-bad raspberries in "custard" but the custard looked so gross. we just walked out after paying the bill , my friend trying to make me feel better but I was so insulted it just ruined the evening. it was the most insulting dining experience I've ever had. the slowest service for the worst most disgusting food.

• Pros: the ghost of lost grandeur
• Cons: what they consider to be edible

04/16/09

Not worth the horrible service!

by allthingsfood

THE CHECK WAS RIDICULOUS. Our server tacked on 20% for himself because we had a party of 8. I'm used to 15% or 18%, but not 20%. It didn't say that anywhere on the website or the menu. On top of everything, the service was TERRIBLE. I will never come back here.

It's a horrible feeling to be on pins and needles with out of town guests, knowing that everyone is starving and restless because your server never comes to check on you.

I get it, there will always be customers in Little Italy. The service doesn't have to be great-but it should be.

I know Italian food. And this is good Italian food, BUT not worth the horrible service and cost.

I chose this restaurant because of wonderful over-the-top ambiance for out of town guests from MI. There were 8 of us and I heard Il Cortile is great for groups.

We waited 20 minutes over an empty bottle of wine before anyone took our order. We ordered appetizers and entrees at the same time because we were all starving.

The apps took about 20 minutes and the portions were small. The mini calzones were good and the antipasti was nothing special. The entrees came about 20 minutes later. Again, small portions but pretty good food.

We waited another 20 minutes after we were finished eating to hear about dessert but it looked tired and lame so we headed to Ferrara instead.

This place is not worth it.

• Pros: Decor, Food
• Cons: Service, Audacity, Portions

03/13/09

It's the economy, not the restaurant

by dshapusa

In a galaxy far away, a long, long time ago, you made reservations at IL Cortile and often you would drop someone’s name and then maybe, maybe you would get a table. Boy has times changed! The other day I was in little Italy, now a ghost town, I walked into IL Cortile and was seated immediately. The huge restaurant was so empty that some preschoolers were playing tag in a closed section that was bigger than most other restaurants.

Il Cortile is over the top, there is a man sized floral display and some of the brick s have been imported from Italy The menu was presented as a folded parchment, cute, but confusing. However, the waiter was truly professional. I ordered the Scaloppine "Panettone", veal and mushrooms baked in bread. Very quickly the waiter came back and said. The panettone was not at its best and suggested something else.

The Antipasto Caldo "Cortile", hot antipasti was small and some of the items burnt. not a good start. The Spaghettini Puttanesca Speciali, the pasta, was only luke warm, but the pasta was al dente and the ingredients very fresh. It could have used a little more spice.

The Mussels Marinara was very good, the sauce restaurant made and just so. My Veal dish had lots of Puccini mushrooms and the veal melted in my mouth.

An old trick to determine the quality of the restaurant is to ask for a glass of the house wine, a good restaurant will not give you a bad wine. I did and got a Chianti Reserva that east very smooth and a beautiful bouquet.

Dessert was Espresso and a chocolate moose cake with crushed nuts that was worth the wait.

IL Cortile still has it and I guess the emptiness can be blamed more on the economy than the restaurant.

see ditmas estates

• Pros: Good Food & Service
• Cons: over the top

10/03/08

Tourist Trap Disgusting food

by NYTMSTR

I only gave it 1 star because I had to. There was nothing good about this place. The gravy(sauce for you non-NYC people) was garbage and actually tasted like there was curry in it. I would rather eat gravy frrom the jar! The service sucked and the prices were typical NYC tourist trap over-priced swill. First it took forever to get seated then the waiter had an attitude, so I tried to loosen him up by joking around and he got nasty. So I had a little talk with him and that was straightened out for the rest of our time there(and before your brain goes off the deep end I didnt get nasty or make any threats what so ever) was made slightly better. Hey everybody has bad days! But nothing could make up for the poor-low quality food. Dont go there, their are plenty of better restaurants in NYC where you wont break the bank and get a great meal.

• Pros: LOL
• Cons: Everything once you get through the front door

02/28/08

For Tourlists only!

by lovenyc987

It used to be out-standing. It is so disappointing! The lack of nice ambiance, the attitude from over-worked waiters, and FOOD!!! I ordered aldente, but what I had was like, school lunch over-cooked PASTA. I would not go back there and it is expensive too. I would rather go some place else.

• Pros: Nothing...... Used to be wonderful...
• Cons: Everything..... Too bad, it's for tourlists only!

01/23/08

Awesome Food, Service and Atmosphere 1/18/08

by jetski42

My wife and I went there 1/18/08. We had a great experience. We shared an antipasta, a salad and an Entree. There was no problem with us splitting our meal. As a matter of fact, the server split the salad for us. The service was excellent and the food was great also.

This place came highly recommended by our flight attendant who lives in the Village. She was right on with her recommendation.

Joey

Tampa, Florida

• Pros: Food, Service, Atmosphere
• Cons: None

01/17/08

Terrible and Over- rated!!!

by jenniferbrown4

Worst restaurant experience I have ever had!

(This is my first time writing a review, but I went there BASED on the good rating it has on CitySearch so I felt compelled to warn others away!!)

I made a reservation for myself and 8 friends and family, for their first night visiting me from the London. They did not seat us for over 1 hour, and were extremly rude and obnoxious to us when we inquired, at various times throughout that hour, about our reservation and when we would be seated. Over an hour of '10 more minutes'- and then they argued with my brother-in-law, when he calmly expressed his disappointment! The manager was honestly the rudest , most dosrespectful man I have met for a long time. Food was completely average.

There are so many great restaurants, and fabulous service in NYC restaurants, do yourself a favor and DON'T GO TO IL CORTILE!!!

• Pros: location in Little Italy
• Cons: Worst service imaginable

11/15/07

A Joyful and Memorable Experience

by debyjizi

I have been meaning to write this review since I dined at Il Cortile in May 2007. I made arrangements for a large group, and when we arrived we were escorted to the lovely Renaissance Room. Our servers were gracious and kind, constantly making sure everything we needed was taken care of.

If you go to this restaurant, make sure you take your time. Food like this should be savored and enjoyed, rush free. The only mistake we made was to schedule dinner too close to the time our Broadway play started. You could easily take three hours having a wonderful dinner, topping it off with a lucious dessert and cappucino or espresso.

Whenever I return to New York, I will be sure to make reservations at this wonderful restaurant.

• Pros: great food, great service, beautiful ambience
• Cons: If you eat the American way, fast, maybe this place is not for you

09/03/07

Such a disappointment!

by nycgirl1331

I've never felt compelled to write a review before, but I rely on this site for restaurant recommendations, so I want to save other diners from a miserable experience at Il Cortile. I had friends in from out of town who wanted to eat in Little Italy, so I chose Il Cortile after reading other reviews... what a mistake. The service was terrible, the waiter was just plain rude. I'm all for a little personality, but he just made everyone uncomfortable with his terrible attitude. It took over an hour to get our food. We waited 45 minutes to get a table outside (even though we had a reservation) so we could enjoy watching the crowd walk by on a Sunday night and they put an umbrella up right in front of our table to block our view... not sure why. I could excuse all of this if the food was good, but it was mediocre at best. With all the other restaurants on Mulberry, make this a last resort.

• Pros: Big menu
• Cons: Terrible service, mediocre food

03/10/07

AMAZING food, great experience!

by sharopooks

My once-fave Little Italy restaurant closed down years ago...I can now say I have a new favorite there! We dined here because we've been researching restaurants with private rooms for an event we're planning. This large restaurant has lots of cool areas...many various rooms offering a different experience (we liked sitting by the windows & people watching). The food was amazing - great salad & dressing & for entrees we had pasta w/ marinara & prosciutto & a unique chicken dish w/ peaches, grapes, string beans & onions - not only was everything absolutely joyous for the tastebuds but well presented & pleasing to the eye. The nightly specials sounded excellent. I did notice no wine list, the waiters pretty much name what they have when you ask. & they can't do certain mixed drinks apparently...I ordered an Irish Coffee w/ dessert & they couldn't do it, so I had a glass of port instead. Italian cheesecake was good but we ended up being more intrigued by the berries-in-cream (that's what it looked like) desserts that we didn't get. Service was friendly - our waiter was outgoing (& sure to give any tourists a "New York-y" waiter experience) & the staff was prompt with refills, cheese & pepper, & whatever else we needed. Probably not going to have our event here... it's more of a "group dinner" place than a "party in a private room" place for us (seems like you need a certain # of people to get the private rooms; otherwise, you're just getting a somewhat-separate area w/ a long table). But we will certainly return. To top it all off, I forgot my credit card here & didn't realize it for a few days... They had it safely locked up & were really cordial when I returned for it.

• Pros: Excellent food, ambience & service
• Cons: Certain areas crowded, a bit pricy