Elio’s

dinner with friends. Service professional, drinks as they should be no suprises, food very good typical Italian and we enjoyed it a lot. at the end we got a free dring because the needed our table
this is normal and no hard feelings. Will be back for sure —

Love this place. Great food, great service all in a traditional Italian/​American décor and atmosphere.

My first time here was a week ago. In that time I have come once more and nearly came a second time.
The food is great. It is just so good.
They have red sauce lolitalian food that won’t make you feel sick.
Veal Parm? I didn’t even know there was a right way to make that. I thought it was all just watery shit. No way… Elio’s makes it with, what I assume, is crack. I have been craving it since.
I had some stone crab claws one night that were so sweet I could have eaten them for desert. Pasta is spot on. Amazing how something simple like pasta is so f’d up so consistently. Not here.
Some reviews say it has a clubby atmosphere? I don’t think so. I walked in the first time and asked if they had a table on a packed night. He said sure and I waited 5 minutes and was seated and in another 5 minutes had a drink and was talking to tablemates.
Next time I went up to the bar 30 minutes before my reservation, grabbed a seat, had a drink with a great bartender and saw some friendly patrons.
This place is great.

Very fun atmosphere w/​friendly staff. Crab claws w/​mustard sauce along w/​beef carpaccio was awesome. What they should do is combine the mustard sauce from the crabs w/​the carpaccio. That’s what I did. Amazing flavors.
Bad news — Veal parm «on the bone» was like a tv dinner patty — thin, bland, etc. Chef Vola in A.C. destroys their veal chop parm. The penne w/​marinara and basil was quite mediocre. I make a better sauce from scratch than this place.
I’m a tough customer when it comes to Italian. There are so many popular mediocre places in the city it makes me quite cynical.

It’s nice to see so many good reviews on here, although in truth, Elio’s isn’t really about the food. It’s basically a clubhouse for old money types on the Upper East Side. And it’s really a fun night out.
The food can be quite good, especially the liver and a few of the pastas, but in short, it’s an old fashioned turn-​and-​burn type place, with impatient waiters who want to get you in and out.

food was amazing. The maitre de was nasty and rude. We spent 150 on a bottle of wine as well as salads, pasta and main dishes that cost $ 48 a dish. We were stalked by him 45 minutes after we sat down. We received our check and paid it all while he came over and dramatically took one of our napkins off the table and then said I need this table now. Dinner for three was $ 420 for three people all in one hour. I’m disgusted with the way we were treated. I will say that the food was good and the waiter was excellent. The maitre de ruined my best friends dinner!

The best food, usually great service. I love that we can come here any night of the week and the restaurant is full and going strong. I’ve never ordered anything that I didn’t love. I often order something off the menu and they graciously accommodate me. The crowd is fun and lively. It wouldn’t be a trip to the city without a visit to Elio’s.

One of the best Italian restaurants in New York. Great food, wonderful ambiance and fun waiters. Would not miss it whenever I am in New York.

Absolutely a 4.5 Italian restaurant!
During my last trip to NYC, I decided to venture out and try some new restaurants. Elio’s was recommended to me by my Doctor. He also told me to be sure to make a reservation. I wanted to eat early and I was only a party of one… but still decided to make a reservation.
Even at 6, there were several people at the bar and several tables occupied. I was seated at a two top with an empty table very close (typical NYC). By the end of my meal, the table next to me had been seated.
Even though I was eating by myself, I opted for the fried calamari appetizer and the lemon butter veal as my entrée. The calamari was very good! But what hit it out of the park was the veal. The veal was fork tender (as it should be) and the sauce was delicious. I remember sitting there forcing myself to finish (I think I came close).
Wine– they have a nice wine selection by the bottle. And they also sell half bottles of wine.
Coffee– I ordered an espresso. They gave me a biscotti with it.
I absolutely will return to this restaurant. In fact, I look forward to it.

All the best reviews written and then some–
Cozy, delicious worth the wait. Bartender knows you by name, waiters attentive and best of all great company! Growing up in the city, and this restaurant doesn’t disappoint — for any occasion or a quaint dinner. Be sure to make reservations

Omg Elio’s. I had no idea places like this still existed in NYC, let alone down the street from my apartment.
I first noticed Elio’s on the way home from the subway on a Monday night around 6pm, and was surprised to see it so packed. It was so early on a Monday that I put it to the top of my neighborhood Italian priority list. My husband and I finally got to try it out this past Saturday night. He called for a reservation a few days in advance, and they only had 9pm. We had to wait 30 minutes past our reservation time, which we spent at the bar, taking in the atmosphere.
And WHAT an atmosphere! The same buzz and crowded room as the Spotted Pig. The same clientele and martini’s as the Real Housewives. The same amount of neighborhood regulars as Cheers. The bartender’s giving out grappa shots for a patron’s 50^th birthday. Families are laughing over a bottle of red wine, calling their waiter by his first name. This place is loud! All on 2^nd Avenue and 84^th Street.
By the time we sat, it had become much later, so we just stuck to a quick entrée and glass of wine. The menu leans northern Italian and Italy Italian (not Italian-​American), though they have a few red sauce dishes too. I ordered the meat ravioli, and my husband ordered the liver. My ravioli was really delicious, and perfectly cooked. I had a bite of the liver, even though I typically don’t care for it, and it was fantastic. All the bitterness that usually plagues liver was muted, and a delicious piece of meat was left behind.
As I internally vowed to come back, hoping that one day I would be the 50 year old on the receiving end of a grappa shot, our waiter dropped a small plate of scrumptious lemon biscotti, and then joined his fellow staff members for their end of the night family meal.

Classic old school Italian.
Real tables mean you are not jammed along a wall.
Great service.
Only in NYC.

Place was excellent. Had the chicken Parmesan was outstanding. Portions was adequate and service was attentive

My favorite Italian restaurant
The best, most delicious, quality food.
I’m so impressed.

Best service you can get. Food was incredible overall, however their Chicken Parm is the best you will ever have in NYC, unbelievable!

I completely fell in love with this restaurant. This place is the real deal — authentic, old-​school Italian food with a romantic ambiance. I came here with my family who flew in from Florida and they were all very impressed. My mother ordered the orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage and she said it was one of the best she has ever had! I had the fettuccini amatriciana (which I was hesitant to get because I have always thought that sauce was supposed to be served with bucatini) but it was honestly unbelievable. I can’t stop thinking about this freaking dish! I’m telling you it’s that good. The service was also excellent. the waiter found out from my mom that I had just run the Brooklyn half a few hours before so he brought me a slice of cake! Thank you for a great night, Elio’s!

Elio’s had been a staple Italian restaurant for quite a while and has never failed in its quality and consistency. Food is well executed and service is casual but very precise, with some old school friendly staff, that regulars call them on their first name basis.
Clientele is a mixture of important power brokers, Hamptons regulars and some first rate celebs as well as you could tell first time diners that wonder with their jaw dropped at the amount of famous people frequenting the place on a same night.
The bartender is one of these rare pearls that you will encounter, with an Irish cozy old school charm. He is actually a show in his own right, and lot of big shot
Park Avenue type clientele come to the place to eat and drink at the bar specially to be entertained by him.
Wine list is made from affordable to expensive with some middle range options. But if you like your high end Brunellos, Barbarescos, Amarones and Super Tuscans, you will not be disappointed.
Be ready to spend a few bucks though, this place is not cheap, but you don’t feel robbed because of the quality and quantity ratio.

Went here on a Friday night. We live around the corner so I’ve been wanting to try ever since we say Tom Sellick here.
We tried the following: minestrone soup, radish salad special, shrine and white bean salad, snapper special, pesto pasta, pasta fruti di mari and tartuffo for dessert. Everything was ammmmazing. Really fresh and cooked perfectly. I recommend the fruti di mari– all of the seafood was out of the shell and the pasta was perfectly al dente.
A bit pricy but if you’re treating yourself, try this place!

Classic NYC. Overpriced Italian food, great people watching, and tons of self-​important people around. That said this place had a great energy and being packed in like sardines actually made the experience better. I was with some awesome people (extra awesome because they picked up the bill), so my experience was pretty awesome.
You may ask why three stars. Well, if I was writing this off my own experience it would be four stars as I liked this place and had a great dinner. I am giving it three stars as it pretty over-​priced and I can’t imagine rolling in here again if it was my cashola. So call it 3.5.
I would say it is definitely worth a trip at least once, but not necessarily a trip back right away with so many awesome places to try in the city.

I give Elio’s 3 stars because it’s overpriced. While the food is made well, I’ve certainly had better for less. Yes, these places are also in Manhattan. A very «old-​school» place with a lot of old-​timers haha.
Ambiance is pretty nice. The tables are very crowded, though. Service was okay. I mean, the waiter was a bit gruff and not the friendliest, but that’s what you normally expect at an old-​school place. I just feel like the service could have been better considering the prices being charged.
I had the lamb chops. Not bad, but also not great. The meal I had was not memorable. Boyfriend’s salad was average. Stuffed mushrooms were TINY. They were tasty, but it’s hard to mess that up. Definitely overpriced.
I know the UES isn’t known for great restaurants, but if you think that, then you’re eating at the wrong places. Elio’s is not a great restaurant. It’s an alright one, but if you can’t afford to live up here, then you will probably be upset when your bill arrives. It’s just so overpriced for what you get. There are plenty of other places up here around the same price range that serve much better food. I’m not so much upset about the price tag than the quality of food. I didn’t feel like I got what I (actually, my boyfriend) paid for.