Italian Food Center

Didn’t eat here. went for the bar… Rating is for a great open air space bar to go to on a nice summer day. Sangria and lemonade had too much ice/​too watered down but still was a good bar to cool off in!

My friends and I were wandering around little Italy and had a craving for some calamari so we decide to stop by this corner restaurant. We got the calamari which was a disappointment, waaaaay too salty and also different in a bad way (strange and experimental). Following that, we got their «pizza special» which was anything but special with their slices of mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of meat… smaller than most small pizzas that you can find around there. The taste wasn’t bad but it certainly isn’t Grimaldi’s or even as good as a local pizza shop. What was the cost of this adventure? $ 50 for the two dishes alone not counting drinks. My recommendation: do not come here for their food.
PS. Service was great but not enough to salvage bad and overpriced food.

We stopped for a nosh while strolling through Little Italy. I wish we’d looked a bit more for a mom & pop slice place, but Italian Food Center had excellent pizza. The other customers were a bit hoighty-​toity, but the service was great, and very friendly. We were charged for still water (still forgetting to order tap when they say still or sparkling), which is annoying. My cappuccino was really good.

Overpriced for what it is…
the small plates are very small but 2 out of 3 dishes were good–
Nice atmosphere if not a bit pretentious but probably won’t return…
too touristy.

This place was actually not bad.
I was hesitant to go in at first but had no choice since my friends just walked in and got a table. If I’m not wrong, this place is considered pretty new in the area. Some staffs looked pretty unprofessional too.
Our waiter seemed to be a new one as well. Whenever we had a simple question, he would go to the kitchen to ask his manager and come back with an answer. But it was very cute and nice how he tried his best to help us enjoy our dinner and later apologized and explained that there are some things he doesn’t know because he recently got hired so we understood. He always smiled and checked our table for water… or napkin or empty plates. We didn’t mind that he was not too professional because he was very attentive and friendly and the service was amazing.
Only disappointment — beer. Nothing on the beer list was available. Nothing but apple cider. So we just had apple cider and red wine. Maybe we picked a wrong night but they were out of everything on the beer list.
The appetizer, pizza, and pasta we ordered were very good though. We ordered fried calamari, rigatoni & vodka, and quattro stagioni pizza (I’m not sure about the name of the pizza but I think it was this one).
We also had desserts. Got a cannoli and … apple & caramel pie… or something (it was something apple) Both were very very good. Thought it was pricey for what it is but didn’t regret getting it after tasting it.
Overall, reasonable price & good service.
I would come back here if I’m nearby and try other things on the menu. Hope they have beer next time.

Very nice ambiance! Came in for a glass of wine and sat at the bar by the window and I love it!

Great place for a casual or even a romantic dinner.
Big bar and a lot of tables in a industrial interior.
Stopped by just for drinks.
Environment:
Place is pretty big and really nice interior. Lot’s of tables and seats at the bar.
Service:
Service was awesome at the bar and the waiter’s were very attending even though we didn’t eat anything this time.
Price:
Not your cheapest drinking or eating place but still quite reasonable considering the service and the place.
Environment: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Price: ⁵⁄₅

Came here with my friend when i visited New York last week. We were basically just looking for a place for us to eat real quick before I left for my interview. Definitely thought that it was pretty good for an italian restaurant since I’m not the biggest fan.
I got a chicken parm, with a side of potato fingers. I LOVED the potato fingers. My friend got the mussels and a side of broccoli rabe. Overall the pricing was okay, I think I would have rather perferred something else for a better price. But It did the trick and filled me up!

To begin with the blonde ditzy hostess had a total attitude. We ordered a Meatball Parm Sub. When it came out the
Meatballs were raw. The waiter tried to argue with me that the meatballs were suppose to be raw! Overpriced, and there are plenty of authentic Italian restaurants in the area… keep walking past this one!

I’d give 4 stars for the food and atmosphere. Service is fine, just need to be a bit aggressive in getting their attention, then you’re good.
The biggest thing is DO NOT DO TAKE OUT! That absolutely screw you on portions. Had the same thing in the restaurant as take out. The takeout is half the size and exactly the same price.

Came here for San Gennaro festival. The staff here is horrible, not sure if they were pissed about all the tourists who don’t tip or they were brought up with no manners. The hostess was some wannabe model that was too into herself to pay attention to customers. The waiters were unattentive and could not be bothered with what you want. Food is OK.
Definitely would not return.

This is by far the greatest place of little Italy. The staff is beyond service minded, the food is great, and the price is definitely reasonable!
I love this place!

This place is a tourist trap!
It might look like a cool place to eat — sure it has an «open-​air» atmosphere, ample outside seating, and Italian style décor, but once you get inside and start experiencing it, you’ll realize that you are in «the TGI Fridays of Little Italy». It’s a cookie-​cutter chain restaurant masqueraded as an old New York, taste of Little Italy establishment.
You should just go to Times Square if you want big box, McMansion, corporate America Italian food. I’ve had better meals at Olive Garden.
These are the reasons for my complaining:
1) The meatballs are straight out of a Trader Joe’s frozen bag. They did not taste chef crafted, hand-​made, or anything of the sort. They tasted like they were squirted out of a meat tube as a paste.
2) The dessert, while tasting OK, was clearly thawed out before arriving at my table. The warm cake I was supposed to eat was frozen in the middle!
3) The appetizer bread and olive oil was not fresh. The bread was stale. It tasted like they bought a big bag of rolls months ago and just kept «dishing them out» until they were gone. Unfortunately, my table got the bread at the bottom of the basket.
4) The food took forever to arrive at our table. Unless you have a few hours to blow, I would not recommend coming here. It’s definitely a process. W

Bön pour né rien cacher en dehors d’une déco indus sympa le reste bof.
Le serveur prétend né pas avoir de soda, il nous en a servi quelques heures avant en terrasse. Le vin servi n’est pas celui commandé (imbroglio dans le nombre de verres il corrige à trois reprises — sommes deux). A la place de deux pizza et une entrée on a 3 pizzas. La facture est fausse. La liste est longue mais je pense que je peux m’arrêter la.

While not the typical Little Italy Italian spot this place offers a more modern, hip, spacious experience with a good wine list and fantastic pizza. We were in town with two exchange students (one from Rome) and two in our party were vegetarian. Not only did they menu meet everyone’s needs but we were lucky to have an excellent server who had answers to our many questions and made suggestions.
The pizzas were beautifully prepared and presented, and cut nicely so as to avoid the ridiculous game of attempting to dole out slices without losing 40% of the toppings. We shared some meat and veg options between us and everyone including my picky Italian mom and the Italian exchange student were thrilled with the meal.
Definitely consider this modern take on Little Italy when in the area!

Haven’t been to Little Italy in years, in my many visits to NYC. Found after a few visits to little Italy most places while good meals were very «old school». So my cousin who lives here and is always trying new spots with coworkers had done drinks and pizza at the bar. Said it was really nice and not what you’d expect for Little Italy, so «Okay» we felt like a little Italian food was in order on this trip.
We happen to be in the vicinity earlier on that Saturday shopping and stopped in to make a reservation for dinner. Perfect done. Headed back on the 6 and just stones throw from Spring St. or Canal (your choice).
The place has a nice industrial open airy modern vibe, different than most I remember of the restauants frequented in the past in the area. We were seated (7:30) promply, and offered with assistance some lovely beverages. Oh and some soft warm foccacia with infused rosemary garlic olive oil for dipping.
We started with an app of assorted olives (mind you there were three of us) and we couldnt finish the olives there were so many. Plus an order of Anancini.
Then we all just went full on carboload: Spaghetti and meatballs!!! Two giant meatballs with a large serving of delicious spaghetti in marinara. Not to mention… more bread!?! Okay roll me back to midtown…
And to add insult to injury to my already overstuffed belly lets throw in some dessert, I mean we are on a mini vay cay right? So we order something that the server says is her fave. Some Apple, caramel gooey warm deliciousness that we do share. WoW.
Now I can’t tell you what the bill was, because I left that detail to the husband. But who cares, the service was fab, the food really great and the ambiance fresh and inviting. We sat for quite awhile after and chatted and laughed, the restaurant filled and was never too loud you couldn’t hear a good conversation. I would definitely make my way back, thanks Cuz for the great new find!

L’endroit est vraiment très beau et l’ambiance très agréable. La terrasse par beau temps est appréciable.
La pizza était très bonne, le service très souriant mais les compliments s’arrêtent la.
Premier soucis rencontré est la quantité de nourriture. Puis mon amie a pris des gnocchis, ils étaient vraiment pas assez cuits. On veut bien le «al dente» mais quand même…
Le service commençait bien mais à terminé en catastrophe, et cela pour tout le monde! On a tous attendu très longtemps pour chaque chose, les serveurs né communiquaient pas entre eux donc il a fallu demander plusieurs fois… C’était fatiguant.
La note est toujours beaucoup trop élevée pour les prestations et la nourriture.
Mention spéciale à la serveuse (placeuse) qui ferait mieux de se tourner dans le mannequinat.

It’s a cute place to pop in for a quick pastry and coffee if you’re just looking for something light. The apricot scone was pretty good and they sell boxed water! It’s shaped like a mini-​milk carton. The prices are decent and it’s definitely better than some of the other places in Little Italy.
The inside of the storefront was hotter than the outside so we opted to just sit outside with our pastry. It does get kind of weird with all the people walking on top of you. Unlike some of the other places in Little Italy that section off their outdoor seating, the outdoor seating here is just out on the sidewalk.

I live in this funky nabe, and for the past year or so, wondered whether or not this was a front for some other secretive business. It’s seemingly been under construction for as long as the 2^nd Avenue subway, and when I walked by to see the front doors wide open with actual patrons ordering coffee and biscuits last week, I thought I was looking at a mirage. Could it be true?! It’s a real functioning business? Am I dreaming?
It’s no dream. It’s a real boy.
It’s a fast casual setup where you place your order for a bevy of breakfast items (egg sandwiches, americanos, pastries, et al), and you grab a seat at their communal table or any of their two and four tops that dot the interior. So far, I’ve only had their pear butter biscuit and their peach scone. I had very low expectations for both, and surprisingly, they were fantastic. The biscuit was soft and flaky and more than likely made on premise, and the scone did the trick as well. The next purchase will most definitely be something egg based. Stay tuned!
They need someone with a background in feng shui to come in and make better use of the space, though. There’s a communal table right at the entrance that throws the energy off. You feel cramped when waiting for your order to be called, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ll chalk it up to the kinks of a business opening up.