Lievito Pizzeria

I tried calling to reserve for lunch and no one answered. I figured they must be busy so my group of friends decided to show up for the next day anyway since it was a birthday part of 4, they should have room right? WRONG. I got there first amongst everyone else and guess what, it was CLOSED. No sign, no warning, nothing. You would think if they were closed for good or just closed for the weekend they would leave a message on their machine so callers would know or at least put up a notice on their website to indicate their absence but nope, I walked from LES to Lievito to only see their doors shut and lights off.
I was so embarrassed to let the birthday girl know about this because it was I who suggested the restaurant. What gives?!! Needless to say we were all disappointed.

Abandon all taste, ye who enter.
The appetizers (onions with chickpeas) and tomatoes with cheese were the most bland, uninteresting and lame dishes I’ve head in at least a year.
The biggest offender was the pizza. They have a huge pizza oven and claim to be a pizzeria. However it was just boring pizza. No crunch. No bite. Muted flavors.
And what’s worse… it was all overpriced. The wine was hugely overpriced with no bottles less than $ 40 (when they clearly cost under ten bucks).
2 stars for good service and a chance to practice my italian language skills.

A little, unassuming gem in the West Village. My husband and I were walking around and decided to stop in for dinner. We were surprised with the great quality of the food. The tagliolini was fresh and my scallops had the perfect sear on them. The food was better than some other more popular Italian restaurants we’ve been to.

Cute place, good service but the pizza is really sub-​par for what it costs.
Octopus salad was quite good though.

Lievito is a great place in the West Village for both food and cocktails. The décor is rustic chic, but not pretentious. A nice touch is that you can view the kitchen through a glass wall while your meal is being prepared. The food was very good, and the Tagliolini Mare e Monti (pasta w/​shrimp and mushrooms) was out of this world! The pizza was OK (I’m a pizza snob) and I think I will go back to try it again. I do like that it had a firm crust and soft center, which is how a Neapolian pizza should be.
I definitely recommend this restaurant for a date or a small group of friends/​family.

I’m usually reluctant about going to grade pending places. but I didn’t notice their grade when I entered.
Surprised though that their tagliatelle, gnocchi, pistachio ice cream were delish.
Tagliatelle was fresh and al dente, creamy goodness with aromatic truffle oil.
Gnocchi was nice and fluffy, not dense and sticky like others, like eating delicious little pillows.

A friend and I stopped by because we were in the area and it showed up in the savor app. It was a beautiful Friday evening and wasn’t overly crowded. The setting seems great for a date, our table faced out toward the street so we could people watch. The food was superb. The gnocci were perfect pillows of fluffy goodness that melted in your mouth. The pizza was perfect as well with great mushroom flavor. Most dishes and pizza had two sizes, and honestly the smaller pizza and pasta were plenty for the two of us.
I would definitely come back to try more dishes here.

What’s that you say, a little wine, cheese and meat al fesco? Yes please!
Nice little outdoor space gave an opportunity to kick back and have a nice little snack outside before heading out for the evening.
Nice assortment of meat and cheese with a delicious wine. Decent, friendly service compliments everything making this place a winner.
Not too pricey but not a bargain either — ended up around 50 bucks for the snack and drinks for two.
I would stop by when you’re looking for a breather outside.

Been here many times, and LOVE it!
No matter how many times I go I always have to get the ROBIOLA PROSCIUTTO, it is beyond amazing and like nothing you’ve had elsewhere in NYC.
Truffle, Cheese, Prosciutto! you cannot go wrong!

Eaten here a few times, and each time has been great. The food is amazing, pasta and pizza, and their homemade mozzarella might be the best part.
I definitely recommend this place for a date or just a few people, it’s small inside. But the atmosphere is nice, and they have a big wine selection. The service was also very good. It’s definitely pretty romantic, but you could easily eat there with a friend, too.
Overall, you have to try it. Probably one of my favorite Italian places in the city.

I have never written a review for Lievito but have been many times. It is such a pleasure to come here. They have the most fantastic staff and set a mood that takes you back to old school service. Everyone is a friend. Food, Ambience and Service. What more can you ask for? See you soon.

I had the pleasure of dining at Lievito in November and I’ve been meaning to write a review ever since.
I found Lievito through Savored. A wonderful app to use for restaurant deals in the NY area. I hope they continue to participate!
We were a group of four and split two appetizers (fried goat cheese– yum! and roasted cauliflower w/​pine nuts– delish!), a salad, three pastas (they have half or full size pasta options), and two bottles of wine (they have a selection of ½ priced bottles on Sundays).
Everything tasted freshly made, had fantastic seasonal ingredients (think pumpkin purée and roasted nuts) and was overall incredible!
The staff was friendly and offered coat check (a nice touch), the ambiance was tiny but cozy (votive candles on every table). We will definitely all be going back for many visits to come!

Disclaimer: this review is for their takeout
Now I get it, pizza is hard to perfect. There’s your everyday I can’t help but be satisfied cheap pizza from 2 bros or papa john’s. There’s your so delicious I could cry and stuff more mozzarella in my face like no. 28 or keste… And then there’s the in between. The ‘it’s ok but it’s not amazing.’ which means it should be regulated to the ‘not so amazing’ price tag.
Unfortunately, Lievito clings to the ‘I’m a baller pizza’ pricetag. So unfortunately, I’ve got to say it’s not worth the moola.
It does appear crowded all the time though, so maybe it’s just the delivery that’s mediocre? But really, how hard is it to do pizza delivery? Pizza hut has been doing it for ages!

Five Stars! I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not true. I’m just favoring my fellow Italians. This place deserves five stars, and here is why…
When you consider the location, ambiance, service, food & price… it is perfetto!
Did I mention the great mix of reasonably priced and fancy pants wines on they offer? Hahaha, not sure why I just said fancy pants, but you what I mean.
This little spot on Hudson in the West Village looks similar to all the other bistros, cafes and restaurants that seem to be on every block. However, the minute you step inside you feel like you stepped out of NYC and into a pizzeria in the heart of Florence. The servers all great you in Italian with the charm Italians have made famous.
Once seated you are waited on immediately which I love. No waiting for a drink. They get you to your table, and you feel relaxed right away like you have no where to be for the next few hours.
The only serve beer and wine, but as I said earlier, you’d be hard pressed to not find something on there wine list that fits your needs whether it be flavor or price, by the glass or bottle. They also carry Moretti. Thank you! None of this Peroni crap.
The menu offers a nice array of simple salads, appetizers, and simple pasta dishes. The Tagliatelle ai Porcini has just the right balance of rich flavors that keep you from feeling bloated. Portion size is ideal also. The texture of the porcini mushrooms was excellent, and the flavor was bursting.
I think the highlights for both my wife and I (besides all the wine we drank), was the Veal Carpaccio and desserts. The savory, and surprisingly hearty, taste of the veal paired with fresh arugula, balsamic reduction and a hint of shaved parmesan left us both stalking each others’ plates to try to steal just one extra bite. The meal was capped off with (another bottle of wine) two fantastic desserts. Tiramisu and Millefoglie. Millefoglie was a deconstructed puff pastry with custard and fresh raspberries. Both were indulgent and 100% delicious, and if you’ve read some of my other reviews you know that neither my wife nor I really do cartwheels for dessert. More of a savory couple. Lol.
We didn’t have pizza, but plenty of them came out of the kitchen while we were there, and they looked fabulous… a great reason for us to go back soon.
Do check this place out. The little indoor dining room is great, but they also offer outdoor seating if that is your thing.

4 stars only for the adorable service and the RASPBERRY sorbet. That was simply outstanding.
We had quite a spread. There was capers pizza, margarita pizza, stuffed pita bread and another cheesy delight I can’t quite recall.
The capers pizza was exceptionally yum.
In desserts we had raspberry sorbet, chocolate ice cream (they got that for us because it was my friend’s birthday), we had tiramisu and chocolate cake type thing with ice cream.
Of all the tiramisu was eh ok. The chocolate ice cream was rich and delicious, raspberry sorbet was outstanding (try choc and raspberry together) and the cake was good too.
Service was very friendly (a guy popped into our pictures too) and the entire restaurant started singing happy birthday for my friend.
Adorable!

I was the friend attending the horrific supper with Maria S. (detailed review below). I just want to speak up & second that everything in her story was completely true and (sadly) not exaggerated. Even though our experience was largely based on one waiter, I still would not recommend this place, considering the manager did little to assuage the situation. Plus, there are plenty of other fabulous spots to eat in this city!
In addition to all that Maria has already outlined, I spent a majority of the dinner looking around, behind me, for the waiter to get his attention (didn’t work). When I was looking for him to come pick up our check, he was standing by the bar inside, next to the bartender. The bartender caught me looking their way, and spoke to our waiter, gesturing at me that we were in need of him. The waiter (not kidding) looked at us and walked INTO the restaurant AWAY from the patio where we were sitting. The bartender was befuddled and came to take our check himself.
The whole experience was COMPLETELY ludicrous. I just had to laugh about its inaneness. And then I had to report to the Unilocal world, of course.

This is an adorable little spot! We came to Lievito Pizzeria after purchasing a TravelZoo voucher. We were oh-​so-​impressed with the service, food and ambiance of this cute little eatery. My salad was outstanding with the most refreshing dressing. Now the menu indicated mustard dressing, but this wasn’t an overpowering mustard taste, definitely not along the lines of a honey mustard at all; instead, it was light and sweet and wonderful. There were little mustard seeds in the dressing as well — something different.
I ordered a white pizza and be warned, their pizzas are large. My husband and I were each going to get our own and I’m glad we didn’t. The cheeses were perfectly balanced. I’ve had quattro formaggi pizzas from more places that I can recollect and the strong pungent taste of the gorgonzola cheese always takes over my mouth and I can’t enjoy the rest of the pizza. That wasn’t the case here; in fact, I could distinctly taste the mozzarella and pecorino.
Papa D ordered the gnocchi, but I’ll let him Unilocal about that on his own time. It was yummy!
For dessert, we had hands down one of the most amazing tiramisu both of us had ever tasted. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was the BEST tiramisu I have ever eaten, and I’ve eaten a lot. It’s served in a cute larger size martini glass with layers of creamy goodness. We also discovered a nice surprise in the bottom– I’m guessing they pour a little espresso in the bottom of the glass before layering in the ladyfingers — delish!
We had a wine pairing with each course and our server made sure our glasses were always full.
For being as busy as they were (maybe ½ the tables were full) we received impeccable service. Will definitely dine there again next May when we’re back in NY.

Excellent service– the entire staff welcomed us and made us feel at home.
Pizzas are delicious

My boyfriend suggested we try Lievito on the basis that he had read somewhere that the food was very authentic Italian, and I’ve been on an insane Italy kick ever since I got back from my trip there in the fall.
I’ve had nothing but good experiences here. The service has been great every time, and the food is fantastic and seems very authentic to me. Both the tuna and the salmon tartares were awesome. I always have to get the polenta with mushrooms because it’s just that good. We’ve tried several pizzas and have been pleased every time. The Boscaiola and the Norma are two of my favorites.
The pizzas are pretty big, I would recommend one for two people, especially if there appetizers involved. The crust is thin and crispy, and sauce/​cheese are applied with a judicial hand.
The tiramisu is the best I’ve ever had, Italy included. We’ve also had the panna cotta with caramel, which had a surprising and wonderful touch of salt to it. Ice creams and sorbets are great too, but that’s kind of a given… When have you ever had bad ice cream?
Love the wine list. There are values to be had, and things to be discovered.
So, next time you’re standing at the end of a line to one of the hipper places, considering booking it over to Lievito instead.

The food here is so basic but yet so incredibly delicious that I went there numerous times in my one week stay in NYC. Luckily they opened right below my friend’s building and it was just a short trip down the stairs to this wonderful and tasty place. I must admit at first I went because all of the men there have the cutest Italian accents and make you feel warm and welcomed… but as I took my first bite of the polenta and porcini mushroom appetizer I knew this would be a new favorite when I go to NYC.
It is hard to believe that their executive chef is young but yet so incredibly talented! The food, wine and knowledge of everything from the staff made this a wonderful experience. I can’t wait to return to continue trying everything on the menu!