Novita Restaurant

This place knows how to make pasta. Come here for pasta if you can’t get into babbo. I would consider the atmosphere a little stuffy but you forget about the atmosphere after your face down in a plate of great food

Really enjoyed my evening here. I took my parents to Novita and we were all very happy. The noise level is quite low (important for my parents) so we had a very pleasant conversation. The waiter was very kind and seemed to match the restaurant perfectly. Our meals were delicious. I had the carbonara which I highly highly recommend.
I read a review prior to coming that this restaurant would be the top Italian restaurant in many cities but as it stands, it is basically an unknown in Manhattan… more of a neighborhood gem. I totally agree. I will definitely be coming back!

Fantastic food & service on Christmas Eve! Small, boutique and family owned gem. Had great service from the moment we sat down and it only got better from there onward. Fantastic pastas, all made from scratch in-​house. Their version of caprese was phenomenal. Even though we got their about 10 minutes before kitchen was closing on Christmas Eve, not only they served us great food but also they did so with any shortage of attention and/​or quality. To top it off, a waiter /​not ours but one who was attending another– surprised us by serving us on-​the-​house plate of homemade tirumesu that was to die for. A+ to these guys…

Pappardelle with lamb ragu was delicious. The pasta was very fresh. It was a big difference compared to when I tried it at another restaurant. The tuna roll was interesting but a good twist to the typical roll. The outside was fried. Novita is a cosy restaurant. You might miss it walking by because it is a bit below ground level. Definitely worth a try if you like Italian food.

Best Italian restaurant in Manhattan. The food is so fresh and delicious and the service outstanding. All desserts are home made and much better that what you get in overrrated famous pastry shop in NY.
Among my favorites: tuna rolls as appetizer, lamb ragu papardelles for main and tiramissu for dessert.

Solid three could be a four but inconsistent I had filet, was ok, not outstanding
Lots of pasta ranged from great to good, apps were good
Dessert was very good
Will try again

Just ok. Small portions. A bit snooty. Recommended by Grammercy by concierge. Nice atmosphere.

This food was ABSOLUTELY unflavored and not worth the money. The only thing good was the company. I don’t recommend it at all. And on top of it the service was horrible. No one came to ask us how the food was or if we wanted water. I had to get up and walk inside to ask for a beverage. And to get the check i had to wait 20 minutes because my waiter left. Honestly disappointed with this dinner.

Always a delightful place.
The best location to dine in NYC.
Food always delicious and consistent.
Service outstanding as well.

Service has become VERY hit or miss. Another reviewer described it as «cold» and I think that’s pretty accurate. We dined as a party of 4 this past Friday night and our waitress was terrible. Incredibly slow service, bad attitude and every time she came around to refill the wine, she spilled it all over the table. It’s a shame because the food is always quite good, but I’d rather eat somewhere where we will be treated kindly. I hope management addresses this issue.

Perfect special occasion restaurant! I think the highlight was the amazing (and super friendly) service. It was my birthday and the staff, lovely outdoor seats and amazing food (the pappardelle pasta & the asparagus starter for me) made the whole evening perfect! We didn’t feel rushed at all and were able to relax, people watch and generally enjoy our food and wine.

I really want to give this 3 and one half stars. We ate here last night with friends.
Good was a solid 4 stars. We had cocktails followed by 2 appetizers. Mine was octopus and it was very tasty. The entrees were soft shelled crabs, sea bass, black pasta with seafood in spicy tomato sauce and linguine with white clam sauce. Every dish was very good.
The place is small but we had a banquet and conversation was audible– to me dinner without screaming is a 5.
For desert we shared the peach with vanilla ice cream and the cheese cake. There were no left overs.
Now for the bad. Our waiter came by to give us the specials and after answering a question about the preparation of the soft shelled crabs, he abruptly left the table. We didn’t think he had concluded the list of specials and had to call him back to ask.
We never got bread. We were never asked if we wanted another cocktail. Our water glasses were not filled.
We ordered a limoncello and were told that they were out of it but it appeared on our bill. The waitperson who gave us our bill (not our waiter) noticed the charge. He immediately told us and adjusted the bill.
Kudos to him and to the restaurant for honesty.
Because the food is so good, I’m definitely going back, but bad service can really affect a meal.
Restaurant should address this.

Wow. Now here’s a restaurant I plan to come back to again and again. Everything is a ¹⁰⁄₁₀ — the service, atmosphere (although, they allow little kids in there, which can be annoying if you’re looking to have a quiet, romantic dinner), the food, location…
I have very high expectations for Italian food because 1) I work for an Italian-​founded company and 2) I just visited Italy a few months ago, so I have pretty high standards. This place fulfills the Italian food craving. Portions are perfectly-​sized, and the food is never too greasy or heavy. Highly recommend for a date with your beau!

I came here for a late dinner with friends last night. The restaurant is on the small side, and is very intimate. I had the Insalata Mista, and the Tagliolini All’ aragosta (without the lobster ragú. My friends and I shared a bottle of red wine (Sant’ Emiliano), which was good. The walls inside of the restaurant are very Bare, and overall boring. The food was Okay.

The carbonara is the best I’ve had in the city so far. The interesting twist is it uses a special macaroni instead of the traditional choice of spaghetti. It works somewhat. Delicious is all that matters.
The spinach ravioli is really amazing too. Should definitely try that.
We had the melazane (baked eggplant). It tastes okay, needs more tomato sauce, at least to our liking.
Overall, great Italian restaurant! Definitely will go back and try the other dishes;

I came here for my birthday with my boyfriend and father and was highly disappointed. Let’s start with the décor. The walls were completely bare and there was no decoration or color scheme happening. Super low ambience. The service was decent, although at one point I passed my phone across the table to show a picture and the waiter stood behind and stared at the picture as well! Not only was it an invasion of privacy, but it was also super creepy because it was a picture of a female friend of mine.
The food: Totally boring and generic. My crab cake was fishy and not at all fresh and my dad’s seafood dish also tasted really stale. I ordered the veal Parmesan special and it was literally a breaded and burnt piece of veal with a bit of hardened melted cheese on top with absolutely no sauce. The steamed veggies surrounded it were also completely bland and inedible. I could have cooked it much better and saved myself the 30+ dollar price.
The wine: Okay, but again not at all worth the money.
Altogether, this shitty «italian» restaurant was completely overpriced for what it was and the maitre d’ was super rude and stressed, which was bizarre considering how empty the restaurant was. I would never come back here.

*** Cozy Atmosphere, Date Night Appropriate, Great selection of food and specials ***
Both times I’ve been here I have ordered pasta. Both times I have not been disappointed. The atmosphere is very cute and cozy. The staff is great and the service is excellent. I would have given it 4 stars but if you see my other reviews, I hold other Italian restaurants to a higher standard. This is a great place for a date night. Overall it is a place I would revisit.

Food was delightful and price was high, but not egregious. I think everything would be better served at $ 3-​$ 4 less.
The service was not bad, it was more cold than bad. The «host» but I think also the owner was gracious, but you could tell he only really gave his Italian charm to people he knew. It probably kills it with the locals and sometimes alienates the first timers. I guess they seem to be doing okay because it was packed on a Sunday.
Worth a try, but don’t be offended by the lack of warmth.

Food was good but the service wasn’t. First, when I walked in my reservation was not on the calendar but they were nice enough to seat us immediately — which was nice but at the same time what happened to my reservation? Our waiter was not friendly at all. The food was good — the mushroom with shrimp and scallion appetizer was delicious and I had salmon for my entrée which was alright — location was nice since I was going to the gramercy theater after.

Manager was very rude and demeaning.
I was arriving late with a friend – the waiter had told my already present friends it would be OK to add another seat to the table. When we got there, and the seat was added, as promised, the manager immediately started to make a scene about how it was unacceptable for an extra chair tot be added. Basically, he stood there berating us and working himself into a frenzy, culminating in, «THIS IS NOT A PIZZERIA.»
Dude.
Chill.
I know we look young, some of us were dressed pretty casually, and you’ve got standards to maintain on a busy Friday night in your overly loud, dark, and sardine-​packed restaurant, but angry condescension is never a good management strategy. If we’re going to be paying for overpriced Italian food, it should be served with the highest level of customer service. My friends and I didn’t appreciate being chastised as if we were recalcitrant children and would have much rather preferred a level-​headed conversation.
My friend offered to leave, but the others who had tried the appetizers said they were meh, so we just asked for the check and left.
Don’t come here if you want to be treated with respect.