Barolo

I heard this place served it’s last meal last night and I have to say that I am sad to see it go.
I used to frequent Barolo often a few years back with an old girlfriend. We loved everything about it: the ambiance, the food, and the desserts. I won’t say that the food was spectacular but it was tasty and consistent for us.
The crème brûlée was the truth here.
R.I.P. old friend.

Our first stop for Restaurant Week 2013 and we were so pleased. I was craving for Italian and saw how much effort Barolo put into their RW menu (plus they offered more pasta than most other Italian RW participants, and I wanted pasta) so we decided to come here despite the recent negative reviews.
For the RW offer, they have arranged a diff selection for each day of the week so if you go on a Monday, it’ll be different than what’s available on Friday. I felt like many RW restaurants don’t even want to bother with their menus (either poorly made or poor selections), but Barolo was putting something different for Mon-​Sun, how can it be so bad? I will try to make this snappy:
Monday ⁰¹⁄₁₄
[Appetizer]
Crunchy calamari & zucchini pancake — Very good with lots of tenticles, lol. The crunchy outside and chewy inside is a party in your mouth, that and the flavor. This was our favorite.
Veal meatballs — your standard meatball, tastes ok but pales in comparison to above.
[Main Course]
Squid ink bow tie pasta — The bow tie itself was made with squid ink and the sauce was cheesy (which was very overpowering and rich). There were also diced asparagus and salmon in this dish. It would have been more enjoyable if the sauce wasn’t so cheesy, in my opinion.
Grilled swordfish — Plus roasted red peppers & fennel salad on the side. This was our other favorite considering the refreshing flavor of the peppers & fennel salad plus the bouncy (lack of better word) texture of the swordfish. The fish wasn’t flakey or bland at all and not to mention they gave us a huge piece!
[Dessert]
Riccota Cheese cake — Honestly at first we thought this would be just any cheesecake, but after having other not-​so-​good cheesecake recently, Barolo’s wasn’t bad at all. While still very rich & hearty, the cheesecake still had a certain fluffiness while being densely packed. Not bad, but the better choice is definitely the –
Tiramisu — Yes, this was a happy ending to the generous portion meal above. Even the desserts were nice big pieces, we were SO full.
A lotta people be saying they no longer enjoy Restaurant Week because restaurants seem to serve only half as well as they normally would, but I think the case is completely different at Barolo. With their attentive service, generous portions, thoughtful menus, and tasty dishes… they are definitely worth your RW experience and regular visits as well.

Had dinner with a friend here last night, and «meh» is definitely an accurate description. To start the waiter brought the bread basket, which other Unilocal reviewers had positively commented on, and I’m surprised to say that they were right. Not that I don’t trust my fellow Unilocalers, but what’s so great about a bread basket? It wasn’t mind blowing, but was really tasty with the olive oil. Then our entreees… I got basic homemade spagetti with tomato and basil sauce, and it was just that, basic. Not to disrespect the homemade aspect, but literally I could have made this at home. My friend got the penne with some red sauce, and spicy and sweet sausage. Thinking it would be a bit more flavorful than my dish I took a bite. Surprisingly there was not a lot of flavor. Not that these dishes were bad, they were just bland. Did we just happen to make the wrong menu selection? The atmosphere is nice and the wait staff attentive, but the only reason I’ll come back here again is to try the beautiful outdoor patio in the summer. Barolo, I promise I will try another entrée that is more daring!
BTW, my friend and I noticed the appetizers were on the expensive side. I think the burrata was $ 24, and starter salads somewhere around $ 16.

Returned to Barolo during the 2013 Winter NYC Restaurant Week and enjoyed their $ 25 lunch with a group of family members. What I like about Barolo during Restaurant Week is that they offer a different menu for each day of the week so you can pick which day you might best enjoy your hard earned money. The food is always great as is the service and ambiance. So order a bottle of wine and enjoy your meal here.

If you’re looking for authentic, gourmet Italian food, come here. During the warmer season, they have a beautiful garden with a fountain, bar, and lovely trees that hang over you and gently sway in the wind. I have been to Italy many times, and the ambiance of their garden reminds me of a restaurant I went to in Milan. If a restaurant can recreate that scene in dirty NYC, it says a lot.
The bread and oil before the meal is ADDICTING! Every time I come, I always get a glass of pinot grigio, the beef carpaccio to start with, and the granny smith apple ravioli with a lamb ragu sauce on top. Not the most expensive place, but so worth it.
Barolo is outstanding. It has incredible Italian food and, in every way, the restaurant is near perfect.

I love this place. I come here often, whether it be on double dates, with a few girlfriends, or with larger groups, and it always makes a great setting. And of course, the food has been delicious every time. The space is so large, I don’t find myself waiting for a table that often — nor do I let the number of empty tables mislead me… it is really just that big.
As far as the setting, Barolo is alright in the inside and I don’t mind sitting in there when I do, but I absolutely love the garden and I will wait for it if the weather is nice — there’s a bar you can wait by in the garden and I’ve never waited more than 10 – 15 minutes, so it’s worth it. The garden is beautiful, with trees and even waterfalls.
The only downside to Barolo sometimes is the service. They are either too pushy or just completely forget about you — sometimes even when you ask for something, like an extra fork! I’ve also had a couple of encounters with very rude staff (once it was just four of us and gratuity was added on!). Yet, I still go back — I’ve met the owner, he’s very sincere and understanding, and I know he’s trying to address the problem with the staff so I will continue going back.

My party and I had reservations for 8PM on a Sunday night. Quite surprised to arrive and find the place completely empty! Or so I thought. Turns out the front is their indoor dining area and in the back, down a short flight of stairs is a nice outdoor patio area with a number of delicately lit trees and water fountain. The patio area wasn’t packed, but did have a few parties scattered about.
The patio is cute, dimly lit, romantic but a bit noisy with the water fountain… though perhaps it was just loud for us because we were right next to the fountain? I loved the ambiance of the patio area and the comfy summer night was perfect for al fresco dining!
Onto the food:
For our Apps…
Calamari– Seasoned, lightly breaded, tender calamari served with a side of marinara sauce.
Watermelon Salad– I don’t think is on the menu, but one of my friends had been there before, made the request and they obliged. A light delicious salad of thinly sliced watermelon and baby greens in a light citrusy dressing. Super crisp and refreshing, a nice summer treat.
Tartara di Tonno– a dish of fresh tuna tartare with an avocado purée and cucumber salad. The dressing was light, fresh almost minty!
Carpaccio di Manzo– thin sliced beef carpaccio with shaved parmigiano and an arugula salad.
For my entrée I chose the Linguine alle Vongole– Linguine with steamed Manila Clams. Fresh, tender steamed clams atop a mound of linguine pasta with a garlic, basil and oil «sauce». The dish was pretty good, clams were plentiful, but overall the dish was kind of bland. I didn’t really pick up any of the garlic or basil and the main flavor was the clams. If the dish was just steamed clams, not bad, but under seasoned pile of pasta wasn’t necessarily my favorite.
The service was good, friendly and attentive. Appetizers, food were brought out timely and drinks were kept full.
Pretty nighttime ambiance, curious to see it during the day :)

I am a huge Barolo fan. I am so surprised by the poor reviews. This was one of my go-​to restaurants when I lived in SoHo.
The back garden is absolutely beautiul during the day or at night. The food is delicious and the service is always great. My personal favorites are the rigatoni alla buttera and the carpaccio.

Came here for a family lunch and had a great time! I made reservations beforehand but upon arriving (at around 11 AM) we saw that the restaurant was pretty empty. It began to fill up an hour or so into our meal. We got seated at the garden terrace and were surrounded by a beautiful atmosphere of running fountains, flowering trees, and stone paths. Everything felt incredibly tranquil, considering we were in the middle of SoHo. My 3-​year-​old brother loved all the greenery, although it encouraged him to occasionally get up out of his seat and explore the (mostly empty) area.
I got the green apple ravioli and thought it was unbelievable. Subtly sweet and tangy and doused in butter sauce — no complaints there. I only wish the portions were larger! I was also in love with the bread basket. I was amazed by the size of the wine list and we settled on a house red (can’t remember the exact name) that was refreshing and not too strong.
Overall a great experience, especially if you’re looking for a beautiful outdoor eating space and don’t mind higher-​end prices.

I was mainly disappointed in the Spaghetti dish. I know, it’s sounds basic, for such a fancy restaurant, but I’ve experienced bliss eating spaghetti elsewhere (see my other review *wink*). Not the case here. I was surprised (and baffled) by 2 things
a) the dish was ready 5 minutes after I ordered it. The other italian restaurant makes their sauce from scratch to order — and it’s piping hot. Not so with this one.
b) the presentation was awful — they put the spaghetti on a kids plate for crying out loud! No, really, the dish had these little spongebob looking characters on the plate. Note, this is a white table cloth restaurant and I’m after 30. I at least look like I’m over 21 geesh!
I ate it anyway, but the sauce tasted like somethng out of a jar (like Ragu), It was not worth the money at all ($ 18!!!). I also got a rose’ wine and that tasted like cheap White Zinfadel you could buy in drugstore.
The only things that WERE delicious were the breadsticks and the fruit tart. But spending 50 bucks for that meal was NOT worth my while. I won;‘t be coming back unless somebody else is footing the bill — but then again, I wouldn’t stoop so low.

Upon clicking the two stars for this review, I read the statement to the right of the rating I had chosen: «Meh. I’ve experienced better», and that’s exactly how I feel about Barolo. Was it extraordinary? Not in the least. Was it abysmal? No, I wouldn’t say that. Have I experienced better? Most definitely.
Our party of 7 sat inside for dinner Friday night. It was a bit chilly outside, so the outdoor courtyard was just not an option for us.
The table shared two plates of calamari, and I have to say, it was pretty weak. It was a few rings of fried squid on a plate. It wasn’t piping hot, and there wasn’t much taste to it. They could have been really tiny onion rings for all I know. Meh. I’ve experienced better.
I ordered the grilled Alaskan wild salmon with vegetables in a mustard red beet sauce. The salmon was overcooked and hard and dry. It was edible, but that’s about the only positive I can give the dish. Meh. I’ve experienced much better.
All in all, the place is way overpriced for the quality they offered. It pains me to say this, but I’d rather go to the Olive Garden than return to Barolo.

Great outdoor courtyard at Barolo, very European atmosphere. We loved the ambiance and the service was solid. The setting is definitely the highlight, more so than the food, which is overpriced but still solid in my opinion. Other reviews I am reading on here are a bit harsh.
Mozzarella/​tomato appetizer — For $ 16 this wasn’t as good as it should have been.
Branzino served with fingerling potatoes — Well cooked, flavorful but not overdone. Excellent.
My friend really enjoyed the squid ink bow-​tie pasta with salmon and asparagus, and another person had the linguini with basil, string beans and potatoes and loved it. Grilled chicken with broccoli rabe was so so.
Great wine selection as well!

I’m always surprised when I disagree with the majority opinion on Unilocal.It always makes me reevaluate. After reevaluating though, I have to say I’m sticking with my guns on this one. This place is fantastic!
I thought it was beautiful, and I didn’t even sit in the outdoor garden area. The service was pretty good, prompt and attentive. The appetizers were fantastic, especially the big mozzarella ball. All the entrees were pretty good, except (surprisingly enough), my ravioli with the apples and lamb ragu. I thought the concept was creative, but it just tasted weird. The ravioli was a little too sweet, and it just didn’t go well with the lamb ragu…
The one thing preventing this place from five star heaven is the prices were a little bit steep for what it was. BUT if you’re not short on cash, and need a quick table for four during prime NYC dinner time, then this is a good pick (despite the mediocre reviews)

The only good thing about this place is the look of it. The inside and the outdoor garden were both very nice. That’s it. Those are the pros.
However, when I was in the garden, it felt stuffy which may be hard to imagine since I was outside but it all made sense when one of the reviews said «With gigantic brick buildings surrounding the garden, it was tough to get an open air feel.» Seriously.
The food was ehhh. Some dishes were okay but for the squid ink pasta or something… the waiter bought it out to my friend and I just saw the look of disappointment. For the price he paid, he should have gotten twice the amount of pasta on his dish.
Now for the service.
At first I thought it was okay… then I noticed another table that needed someone and looked over at the waiters and they were huddled together talking about who knows what.
Anyway, we were celebrating our friend’s birthday (we were a big group) and we brought our own cake. One of the waiters asked if we wanted to cut the cake ourselves and we said yes but then they ended up taking the cake away. I didn’t really think too much about it. After we finished handling the bill my friend goes to the bathroom and on his way back he told me that he saw a few slices of OUR cake.
okay. FIRST OF ALL our cake was very unique so I knew right away it couldn’t have been another cake.
SECOND OF ALL, oh HELLLLLLLLLL NO. Did I say you could have our cake?! NO. I’m not being cheap but it’s the principle of the whole matter that bothers me.
Congratulations, my first one star review.

Barolo is supposed to be a great spot for outdoor dining in NYC, thanks to its large garden courtyard. Sadly, it was pouring rain when I ventured here for dinner one stormy night. We were seated on the porch/​balcony area outdoors. While the area was covered, rain was still coming down hard, and some of the tables next to us (not to mention the ground were all wet), making for a wet, soggy, and uncomfortable dining experience.
Service was so-​so… not good, but not awful. Food was mediocre, as well. I got the Penne Alla Vodka, Guanciale E Uova Di Salmone (penne in a creamy tomato sauce with vodka, italian bacon and salmon roe). The salmon roe was an interesting addition to the pasta, making for small, unexpected bursts of surprise, which I rather liked. However, the rest of the dish was rather forgettable and was chain restaurant quality.
Finally, they didn’t give me my OpenTable points for booking my reservation through OpenTable, despite our arriving on time and having dinner there. I even called OpenTable and the restaurant to follow up after dining there, but still did not receive my points… Not cool!

I always love going to Barolo. Excellent Italian dishes especially the spicy seafood spaghetti. I highly recommend ordering some wine, salad appetizer, and focus on the pasta dishes. Service is impeccable and the outdoor courtyard is my favorite outdoor dining experience in NYC!

Maybe the New Yorkers were not expecting Cali weather the night we arrived. It was 71 degrees at night and I could not believe I did not need a jacket or scarf my entire time here.
From what my gf tells me, Barolo is always jam packed and hard to get a table. This night, the restaurant was slow and we were able to pick a table on the patio, catch up and enjoy a bottle of wine sans a noisy environment.
We shared the Seafood spaghetti which I enjoyed. The fresh bread was delicious. Service was good. This was the great start to my NYC quickie.
I did get to try the Filet Mignon but agree with other Unilocalers. It was a tad dry for my taste even though it was med. rare. Go figure?
Definitely come for the ambiance and the people watching. Will try again next time and order other items to bump up the star power. I think was toooo hungry to really enjoy my meal.

I sat in the outdoor garden. For once I ordered off the restaurant week menu, since nothing else on the menu looked all that compelling.
Beef tartare with parmesan — too raw for me. I felt like I was eating a live animal.
Cheese ravioli with lamb ragu — pretty good
Cheesecake with mango sauce — kind of heavy
Service was pretty horrific.

I have to say that my lunch here was quiet average. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad. The service was good, but incredibly slow. I never saw my water glass empty, but it took a very long time for the food to come out. And the restaurant wasn’t exactly packed. In fact, it was pretty empty.
The best part of the meal were the appetizers. When the mains came out, I felt like the quality that could have been reached at any normal restaurant. I had the Gnocchi which I felt was very potato-​y and heavy. Furthermore, it was only a vessel for the sauce (of which there wasn’t that much). I was actually kind of happy when I bit into a peppercorn for some flavor. I also tasted the Penne Vodka with Salmon Roe, which was decent but really nothing special.
All in all, I just wasn’t impressed. I think this is a place where you bring clients because it’s uninteresting and won’t overpower the conversation.

Overall Barolo was just OK, both in terms of service and food, although it might be worth going to to sit in teh beautiful garden area.
Service:
Everyone was very nice, but just a little clueless. For instance, we had a ressie, went to the maitre’d who was talking to another customer, and who then proceeded to ignore us for the next 5 mins without even a «I’ll be with you in a sec». Maybe I’m too high maintenance, but I do like to at least have my presence acknowledged… It also took a really time for them to take our drinks order, which is my restaurant pet peeve. Again, maybe I’m high maintenance but I do like to get the wine on the table before I order my food.
Food:
Again overall just ok, but varied between dishes.
–The burrata (for those unfaniliar, it’s a creamier and more delicious mozzarella) and prosciutto starter was great — I love burrata and they’d picked theirs well. The spinach salad was fine but a little bland.
–For main course I had the squash and mascarpone risotto special, which was very good, if a little bland. This was the best dish we ordered… the gnocchi special was bland and under-​whelming to the point where it hardly got eaten.
–The branzino was ok but a little dry and better accompaniments could have brought the flavour out better.
–The steak was over-​cooked (medium-​well masquerading as medium-​rare) and very fatty considering the waiter had definitively steered my friend away from sirloin and towards filet.
The pricepoint was pretty reasonable by NY standards though ($ 50 p. p for apps, main course and wine) so maybe that’s just what you expect…