Via Vai

Authentic Italian restaurant in Astoria [right off the ditmars stop, q/​n] also great food & fantastic service. Can’t go wrong with anything in the menu– the food is always so fresh

The only reason this place gets two stars and my time in writing this review is because; First star, the place has great ambiance Second star, the risotto the night I went was delicious.
The main reason for this review is the owners need to hire employees to serve customers because the larger owner was too rude and into his cellphone more than his customers. Food was too salty and too saucy and the tiramisu was flavored cream out of a container.
We did not receive good service or the complimentary pita or anything without having to raise our voices or hands to get served. Via Via was a turn off and I can spend $ 200 elsewhere with less attitude and theatrics and more customer service.

The food is always fresh and delicious!
I think the waiters should smile more often.

This is truly 5 star food. No joke. Best Italian I’ve had outside of Italy. (And even better than a number of places I visited in northern Italy a couple of months ago.) this is a pasta place. Great homemade pastas that are subtly and scrumptiously prepared.

I would give Via Vai 6 stars if I could. Or perhaps 11. I have spent extensive time in Italy learning how to cook both northern and southern cuisine; this is by far the best Italian food i’ve had in the city. Without a doubt. The Roman chef you won’t find anywhere else who painstakingly crafts his own foccacia, pizza dough and Pasta. Lasagnnette is incredible and pasta is paralleled only by the best restaurants in Italy. Many of the pastas are very sophisticated/​authentic to the various regions of the south you wouldn’t find anywhere else in NYC. His mozzarella and prosciutto is top notch and imported, more quality than I’ve found anywhere else. Do yourself a favor and go here. I would probably eat here every day of my life if I could manage not becoming the size of a tracker trailer.

Another great Italian restaurant recommended by my friend who is also my regular dining companion. And you know this restaurant is authentic Italian when, upon my request for marinara sauce on the side for the calamari appetizer, the server explains that the marinara sauce is not included because it takes away from the taste of the shellfish. But the server was happy to provide a side of marinara sauce for my Americanized palate. I didn’t dare to also ask for tartar sauce. This reminds me that authentic Japanese cuisine does not use cream cheese (as in the Philadelphia roll) or spicy mayo, or excessive soy sauce, which prevents the full flavor of the fish.
We also ordered the pizza with prosciutto, which was so delicious because it’s baked fresh in their stone oven which is in the dining room. The pizza was appropriately crispy and chewy with the right amount of cheese and sauce. We also had a spring salad which was fresh, light and delicious.
Will definitely be back again soon to try the other delicious items – whether or not it comes with a side of marinara sauce.

I guess the cheese stands alone on this one. I’m not sure what all the hype is about. I went the other night for the first time; very convenient location to the subway and home. It’s cute inside, very romantic setting. The servers were fine; I wouldn’t say they were best in show but they did their jobs.
I did not think the food was anything special at all. The fried calamari is ridiculously salty. I adore salty things and even after squeezing the life and soul out of a lemon onto the squid, all you could taste was salt. We had to stop after a few bites.
My boyfriend had the stuffed gnocchi – there really wasn’t any flavor to it. It tasted fine but no herbs, no seasonings. I had the margherita pizza – again, no flavor. Tasted fine but nothing remotely special. The crust was plain and limp.
We didn’t bother staying for dessert, as Lefkos Pyrgos is around the corner and we knew that was a safe bet for something sweet.
The best part of the meal was the complimentary baked pita bread (yes, pita) and rosemary infused olive oil they serve at the beginning.

Lovely place. fried calamari very salty. If you are not a salt user I would pass. Overall food was very tasty

What a lovely place!
My husband and I finally got to try and visit this corner of Astoria. We normally do dinners around Ditmars.
The pasta dishes we chose were delicious, flavorful with the right amount of saltiness or sweetness that it made a such sumptuous dinner. The cheese and prosciutto combo are awesome, (best appetizer ever!)
The server was so nice and knowledgeable of what to recommend. It’s a little slow in service at the time we were here but we’re not in a rush to leave anyway.
I highly recommend in fact, we are set to come back next week to bring a friend for her last night in New York.

Tried this place for the first time a couple of months ago and it has become my favorite. Chef and staff are amazingly friendly and the food is always delicious.

My compliments to the Chef and staff working on the night of Tuesday, ²⁄₁₆
This place came recommended and reservations made by Miss Lory from our company; as a business traveler from California, this was my first visit to NY and to this adorable restaurant.
Everything was delicious: appetizers (calamari, meatballs, prosciutto & cheese board), my main dish — Branzino Special, dessert and a glass of wine that never seemed to be half empty
Everyone at our table was extremely happy with their selection. Appetizers and discussion kept us entertained till our food was served which didn’t seem too long for our large party… though we know you can’t rush perfection
Service was great. We were a party of 13 and the staff were attentive and hospitable… polite enough to repeat the specials twice so us out-​of-​town ladies could be enamored by the authentic Italian accent! Good times, great experience

This is my favorite Italian restaurant in Astoria. The host and wait staff are sweet hearts, have always provided me with excellent service, are very attentive. The low lighting and décor have you entranced if the aromas from the neighboring meals don’t already leave you spell bound. you feel like you are in an Italian movie. While I usually go for the pasta dishes, I ordered pizza this time: the fior de latte, porcini mushrooms, and truffle oil. Delicious!

After seeing Via Vai on ABC news back in November I had been dying to try this restaurant. I finally got there this weekend!
Being that the restaurant is small I made a reservation for my husband and I for 7:00 on Friday night. When we got there the restaurant was quiet, with only 2 other tables seated. Jokingly I said I guess we didn’t need to make a reservation, but a half hour later was glad we did as the restaurant started to get very crowded.
The waiters were super friendly and attentive and welcomed us after learning it was our first time there. They gave us a few minutes to decide on food and drinks after hearing the specials and we’re always available to refill our water or drinks.
Now, onto the best part, our food. We split a prosciutto pie to start. This tasted just like the pizza we had in Rome and really brought me back to Italy. Along with the pizza we got unbelievable salted bread with olive oil for dipping. If this was on the menu I would have ordered 10 orders to go. After the pizza we both ordered pasta. I had the parpardelle with lamb ragu and my husband had the whole wheat fettuccine. Both pastas were cooked to perfection and were super fresh. We decided to save room for dessert and took some of the pasta home. For dessert we split the apple cake with ice cream. It was out of this world.
We can’t wait to go back to this restaurant. It’s the perfect place for a date or dinner with a small group of friends.
P. S. The food tastes just as good as leftovers. I just had my leftover pasta from the other night and it was as yummy as it was the first time.

Cozy Italian restaurant with well prepared food and an easygoing staff who accommodated our tastes. Especially like the shrimp prepared in a lovely crust and the wine selections really suited not only the food, but our tastes. Will be back soon! Viva Via!

My boyfriend and I decided to try out this place because I saw it on the news for its great pasta and brick oven pizza. I love Italian food and recently was over in Italy and I have to say the food took me back there. We started with the bufalina buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto, which was delicious. For our main courses, I got the margherita pizza and my boyfriend got the fettuccine bolognese, both of which were amazing. And for dessert, the panna cotta with cappuccino which was certainly the highlight of the meal.
Unfortunately there were a few down sides of our experience. The food took forever to come out. We sat down at 7:45, and our main course didn’t come out until almost 9. We had to ask if it was coming out soon. We ordered a beer, and the waiter forgot to bring it. Also they mentioned bringing some bread over that needed to be cooked, but we never got it. We felt like we were forgotten.
Over all, it was a long meal but the food was very good. Maybe it was just an off night service wise.

Wow wow wow! Five stars all around. Stumbled on this cute little Italian place while searching Astoria for some Italian food. Holy moly!!! A goldmine!
Started with the margarita pizza AND calamari (come hungry!). Both were out of this world — super fresh and delicious. Perfect to share.
I had the bolognese. The sauce was one of the best I’ve ever had and the pasta was clearly homemade. This is a must-​try dish.
My boyfriend at the Rotollo Di Gnocco, which of course I had to try and I’m glad I did. Stuffed homemade gnocchi with mushroom and spinach. Hell yeah! Needless to say, they had to roll us out of there. We were so stuffed that we forgot our leftovers, but the waiter chased us down the street to give it back :) excellent service for sure!

Very good pizza and pasta!!!
The place is nice and service very good, I definitely go back to try different items from the menu.

Wow! This restaurant is insanely delicious! All of the pastas tasted extremely fresh and homemade. The flavors were perfect and delightfully unexpected. The bread and oil dip they give you at the start of the meal is so tasty with a clove of fresh garlic in it.
They have sidewalk seating which is always a bonus, especially on a street that does not have heavy traffic.
To sum it up: some of the best Italian food I have eaten in Astoria!

Finally! An Italian restaurant that actually gives you a full plate of pasta. I am not a huge fan of the new Italian movement where you can get away with 4 ravioli on a plate as long as it’s «gourmet.» However, there was no skimping on Via Vai’s portions. Via Vai provided us with excellent hospitality. I went with a larger party and they were more than happy to accommodate. When the waiter accidentally forgot my beer order, he comp’d it. They also brought out fresh biscotti with our check. I ordered the fettuccine bolognese which was difficult to finish even though it was so satisfying. Great neighborhood restaurant for Astoria!

Let me tell you about one of the best new restaurants in Astoria that you probably don’t know about.
Via Vai might be one of my very favorite Italian restaurants — the food here will really just blow you away.
Via Vai is owned by Chef Antonio Morichini and his wife Cynthia, who have carved out a little piece of Italy for themselves here in Astoria. Chef Antonio’s past endeavors are impressive having worked in several Michelin-​starred restaurants in Rome and Chiavari as well as being Executive and Corporate chef in many of New York City’s well-​known restaurants such as Bottega del Vino, 83 ½ and much more. All of this experience has set the stage for the opening of Via Vai.
I chatted with Chef for a really long time about his journey that led him to where is he is today and it is so clear that the menu here is his expression of Italian food served as he believes it should be. Antonio curates everything from each ingredient to equipment used.
Take for example the Italian brick pizza oven with a rotating cooking surface inside which is used to make his Roman style thin crust pizzas and focaccia’s. I have never seen anything like it and what comes out of there is nothing short of stellar.
Antonio refuses to compromise on the quality of ingredients used — their prosciutto, mozzarella, Parmigianino and pecorino is imported from Italy. All of their pastas are made in-​house and each dish is made to order from scratch which means there is no parboiled pasta lying around so make a quick dish.
Beauty takes time and believe me its worth the wait. We were served the perfect plate of «Bucatini all’Amatriciana». I have never had pasta so beautifully al dente!
Every dish served to us was received with equal adoration. The «Polpette» (meatballs) and calamari might be some of the tastiest I have tried in a while. Each plate is composed with the simplest of flavors — all that speaks to you are the phenomenal ingredients used and the art with which it has been cooked.
The food at Via Vai is so authentic that it has been given a commendation of «Ospitalita Italiana» by the Italy-​America Chamber of Commerce.
Chef Antonio admits to not being much of a businessman and is all about plating what feels right to him. I feel it is exactly this pure authenticity that makes a place like Via Vai a cut above the rest.
Make Via Vai a must do your on your food list and go right now! I, for one, am already plotting my return.