11/03/08

A bit pricey, but overall good experience

by LCohen1968

I love Italian food and my boyfriend took me to this place. It was busy, yet romantic and the food was excellent. We were seated promptly and the service was friendly and efficient. I did find it to be a bit pricey, but the quality of the food, the ambiance and the service were well worth it. I recommend this place to anyone who would like to celebrate a special occasion and wants an overall pleasant experience.

• Pros: Great food and service
• Cons: Pricey

08/05/08

Ask for Emilo at Il Nido - he's the best!

by RhondaF

Last Saturday nite me and my boyfriend decided we were in the mood for some Italian food and so we went to this place on East 53nd Street called Il Nido. We usually eat our Italian food at Olive Garden so we were in for a real shock at Il Nido. First of all we could not completely understand the menu as written. But we had this wonderful Italian gentlemen named Emilio who was real helpful in explaining anything we had a problem with. First was the wine. Emilio thought we should have a bottle but the cheapest one cost more money than we had so we settled on a glass of Chianti Emilio recommended that cost $12 a glass. It was very good even if they don't fill the glass all the way up. Wish we could have afforded more. Next we had to decide on what we would eat and Emilio helped us out and we ended up with a veal dish called veal piccata and a side plate of spaghetti and tomato sauce. It was all real good. We would of had dessert but we had already used up all the money we had on us, so we just told Emilio we were already full and could not deal with the extra calories of a dessert. Emilio treated us real nice, just like the other people there who were spending a lot more money than us. He talks with an Italian accent that's real cool. We would go back there anytime that we can save up enough money to have a special meal that's like going to Italy without the airfare.

Rhonda from New Jersey

02/14/08

NOT WORTH IT!!!

by DonAlfonsoSorrento

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! HORRIBLE STAFF AND HORRIBLE MANAGER, EMILIO! NEVER GO BACK THERE AGAIN. WILL SPREAD THE WORD! OVERPRICED AND FOOD WAS HORRIBLE. BUT THE RUDENESS AND THE JERKINESS OF THE STAFF LEFT ME SPEECHLESS!!!!!!!!!

07/11/06

Far too overprized for really average (call it honest) food - in unfriendly atmosphere

by alex_r

I went to this place in my neighbourhood with my boyfriend and a friend of the family at 9.30pm - for NY a decent dinner time. Though we were seated, the whole atmosphere was rather in the style of a big rush ("eat fast, spend a lot of money, and get out")! Wait staff was uncompetent (or unwilling) and could not tell us much about the 'cheaper' Chianti - 'cheaper' meaning '60$'. You don't expect this in restaurant where you spend 230$ for the basics of an Italian dinner (we only had entree, wine, and dessert) This experience will remain in my memory - unfortunately as one of the most unpleasant restaurant experiences in NY.

• Pros: portions are OK
• Cons: atmosphere, service

04/19/06

overpriced

by jkny21

I just had dinner here tonight, I'm not sure what so great about this place. The food was bland, there's no distinguished taste to the fish nor the pasta that I had. The service wasn't all that great, I had some snotty Italian waiter who thinks he's the wine expert and recommended us a few top line wine. It's a waste of money, I think I can have a better meal at a no name mom & pop restaurant and pay a fraction of the bill.

• Pros: wine
• Cons: food, service

12/17/05

Fuggeddaboudit!!!!!

by pmyrick

Monstrously over priced and with attituded to boot. We went with a big party of 9 and tried numerous dishes--all basic, bland and way too expensive. The ceaser salad we ordered was old, limp and yellowed. Waiters are snooty and snubb you over and over. We couldn't wait to get out of there. For an Italian NY experience there are so many great places with better atmosphere, MUCH better food, for half the price and twice the experience.

• Pros: none
• Cons: inedible food, snooty staff, totally overpriced

11/03/05

WARNING!!!!! Eat at your own risk!

by ahappynygirl

The only thing we were able to digest was the wine. Food so unedible we HAD to ask to take it back. They returned in a minute...as though they had zapped it in the microwave for a minute! We asked them just to take they plates away we couldn't eat them. Starving still, we asked for the desert menu. I ordered icecream. Apparrently they make the waffle part which they serve the icecream on in a pan in the kitchen. My waffle tasted like ONION! The pan had not been properly cleaned and the smell and taste transfered to the waffle cone. The icecream melted on the cone and tasted like onion also.. Vanilla Onion flavor! We were starving afterwards and spent like $114 dollars each on food that was not edible!

• Pros: Wine, Empty, Quiet
• Cons: DISGUSTING FOOD, EXPENSIVE, CLUELESS

10/28/05

Not worth the expense

by nycer12

While I am more than willing to pay a little more for a phenomenal experience, I found Il Nido to be not worth the cost. The wine list is extensive, and expensive. The servers try to upsell everything, pointing out their "favorites" as the most expensive dishes and bottles of wine available. The pasta is very good, though nothing extraordinary. The meat and chicken entrees left much to be desired. All told, I am not likely to return. There are plenty of better Italian restaurants in Manhattan.

• Pros: pasta
• Cons: Expense, Entrees

07/29/05

Excellent Food!

by anteldel

We split the Eggplant Parmigiana for our appetizer and the Three Pasta Special as a first course. We had a veal dish and the red snapper for our entrees, Italian Cheesecake and Pistachio Gelati for dessert. Everything was absolutely delicious. The service was great.

• Pros: great food, interesting menu, nice decor

03/08/04

No experimentation--just classic Northern Italian cuisine done very, very well.

by Contributor

The Scene
The long dining room with low ceilings and exposed wood beams feels like a country cottage squashed into a rectangular box. Multitudes of career waiters hover about, yet service feels rather brusque--it no doubt helps to be one of the regulars who dine here solo. In traditional style, many dishes are cooked at a couple of small stations in the middle of the space.

The Food
Plenty of room is needed in both the belly and the wallet here--diners really should go all four courses. Old standards like spaghetti carbonara--rich, creamy fresh and perfectly balanced with garlic and onions--are revealed in a new light. Main courses, like veal coated in a glaze of cheese and prosciutto, offer decadent pleasures. For those sticking to a diet, salads are surprisingly good, too--peppery baby arugula comes with generous shavings of parmesan and a high quality olive oil-based dressing.