Scalini Fedeli

Amazing experience here. You will have an exceptional Italian dinner… from apps, to wine selection, entrees and dessert. Nicely decorated and Mike Cetrulo produces a great collection of Italian dishes.

One of the best Italian restaurants I’ve dined in.
Let’s start with what it’s not
Trendy, hip, loud or pretentious .
What it is delicious, fine dining with excellent service in a classic and comfortable atmosphere.
We did the tasting menu and made the mistake of adding a course, that course while delicious, was simply too much food the portions on this tasting are the largest I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen many.
Every pasta was cooked to a perfection. Ever sauce simple, elegant and very very rich .
The hamachi was nice and fresh the preparation wasn’t my favorite but still good
The arctic char with mushrooms was a perfect piece of fish cooked perfectly
I would go back just for this dish alone
The short ribs were perfectly cooked moist n tender although a bit heavy handed with vinegar .
We had 4 deserts
All good
Goat cheese tart was the hands down favorite
Donuts were excellent
Hazelnut crisp n gelato very very good
Caramelized banana n chocolate good but the tables least favorite
Let’s sum it up
The service was very good
The portions were huge
The price was very very reasonable for what was served
The quality of the food was top notch
Think Scott Connants Scarpetta
The place is a bit dated but clean and classic
The bar is a bit small but very well stocked with the necessities including a very nice selection of single malts
This place does classic Italian cuisine right, it’s not a red sauce Italian joint
It’s not a modern eclectic fusion type Italian restaurant. It’s a classic upscale Italian restaurant utilizing the freshest product and classic techniques to produces amazing dishes
With a nod to some more modern offerings
Don’t expect super modern
Super hip
Molecular gastronomy
Expect great service and great food
The one major draw back
The wine list is a little limited
And very expensive for what’s on it
Note to the management a little effort here would go a long was
We scoped out one selection that was on about 30.00 a btl over what I would consider average the stems were nice and the temperature was correct
The wine was excellent but it was one of the few btls on the list that was even close to reasonable
All in all a fine meal
I suggest you all try it

This is an elegant restaurant that we had dinner for a special occasion.
With curved vaulted ceilings and taper candles on every table, it is very intimate and romantic. The staff is professional and friendly, rather than stuffy. It’s the attention to small detail which stands out.
We were surprised that the menu selection was prix fixe, but the selection was extensive! The southern Italian food was faultless and the wine list was impressive with proper attentive service.

We came here on a whim, so let me save you from the unknown: it’s a prix fixe menu. You choose a first course from the left and a second course from the right = $ 75.00. I chose the mushroom risotto, then the arctic char. Both were melt in the mouth amazing!
The staff was amazing and the setting was lovely. Will definitely return.

My buddy absolutely raved about this place, so it came with very high expectations and it was good, but I wasn’t wow’d by it. I walked inside the restaurant and was immediately transported to Italy, I felt like I was in an old Italian church, it’s dimly lit, they have candlesticks on every table and the ceiling looked like the inside of a church. It also has the ‘old feel’ like it’s the early 1900s, very traditional old school Italian, there were a lot of older people in the restaurant. The maitre d knew who we were immediately and sat us down right away. Mt only gripe with this place is that they don’t have a bar (unless I missed it) and they don’t have a liquor menu. I get it, it’s old school, I’m 30, I’m used to ‘trendy’ and ‘new’. I asked for a few different liquors that they didn’t carry. GRRRR, so I started with a Cosmo and they kept walking over asking us if we would like homemade backed bread. I think the menu was awesome, all the pasta dishes sounded exceptional, as did the seafood/​meat dishes. We both had two dishes each. I started with the Butternut agnolotti with a sage brown butter topped with amaretti and buffalo mozzarella, OMG amazing. 3 ravioli shaped pastas stuffed with butternut squash in a delicious sage butter sauce. Excellent, but I have had similar dishes before. I tried some of my date’s truffle risotto, wow, great truffle taste and the mushrooms were incredible. The menu list is clearly exceptional, assuming of course you like Italian wines! My date picked out a great barola wine and the waiter said to him, excellent choice, but I was so bummed they only had one bottle. I really liked it! Anyway, as my other course I had the day boat sea scallops, which were delicious, awesome flavor combination, and my dad had the slow roasted duck breast with almonds in a madeira and sherry vinegar sauce, it was very good, but I have honestly had better duck before. My desert was okay, I wouldn’t rave about it. It was some pastry with bananas and ice cream and my date had ice cream.
Overall service was good, I thought they could have been a bit more attentive. Vibe, was quiet, older. I thought it needed a little bit of a face lift.
Great place to take your grandparents to be totally honest, they would love the fact that it’s not crowded, not loud, and dimply lit with candles.

GREAT ITALIAN :) It has been quite some time since I have been here but would gladly return :) All the iItalian dishes are on point! :) Also great lighting for a romantic dinner date :)

I don’t think I have ever had such spectacular service and food all in one. My cousin chose this place for a girls night birthday dinner. The service from the moment we walked in was wonderful. Everyone was very nice, which I was a little surprised about since we probably weren’t their usual crowd. We started with appetizers, they had started us off with a chefs special ravioli stuffed with truffle and mushroom– heaven in my mouth! then i had the egg white ravioli, which was good I would rate ⁴⁄₅. For my main dish I chose crab meat topped with fish, DELICIOUS! Although we were full we couldn’t pass up a chance at dessert… But first they made sure to cleanse our pallets with complimentary sorbets.
The ambiance and view were beautiful. We had an amazing view of the freedom tower.

DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT! This restaurant has a 48 hour cancellation policy and will charge you $ 50/​person if you don’t cancel in this window.
I had an illness in my party and called first thing in the morning when I knew we couldn’t attend and the extremely rude hostess told me she wouldn’t accommodate me. We ended the conversation and I said I would try and find others for my party– she cancelled the reservation on Open Table so I figured she had come to her senses but no. Two days after they charged me $ 300!
No other restaurant in NYC would do this– it only shows me how this place must be struggling for business as they feel the need to stoop this low. Terrible experience and will spread the word. I have very close connections with the best hotel in TriBeCa and will be telling them about my experience.

Superb Restuarant Experience
Everything you could want in a classy dining experience. This TriBeCa jewel delivers in so many ways: gracious attentive staff, fine Italian cuisine, easily one of the best in NYC; an elegant and unique room with dazzling vaulted ceilings, abundant long stem candlelight and tasteful decorations. All old school charm in a warm relaxed atmosphere. The food was great – the menu diverse. Scalini should be experienced.
Our crew was delighted. No flash, no gimmicks, no kitsch, rather an understated quality that satisfied all of us with lingering impressions late into the night.

This is not my usual kind of place, and I was not paying, which is fortunate because if I’d had to pay $ 100+ for this meal I’d be very disappointed. As it is, I merely learned there’s a good reason it’s not my kind of place. Lots of waiters fussing about in matching suits, safe-​for-​grandma old school Italian food. All the food was OK, but nothing was worth returning for. Definitely not in the same class as places like lupa, but then they have a very different atmosphere.

I somehow had a hard time understanding why this place was being dropped out of Michelin family, as the food was decent and ambience was mild. Now I completely got the logic — service. It was not only slow, but also very inattentive. We were left at the table for close to 20 minutes before the waiter came to us and offered us to order. Main course seemed disappeared at all… they came at last.
In terms of food, I liked their special lobster tail, the Arctic char was also cooked to perfection. However, the duck breast was a bit too sweet and skin hard to chew. One good thing about the pre fix menu was that they offered many small tasting plates in between. 75 dollar was a good bargain, yet nothing was special and remarkable here.
The restaurant was very empty, even at dinner hours.

Don’t bother going here if you’re not a WASP over the age of 60. The décor, ambience — everything — is dated and boring. Also, be prepared to be subjected to some terrible elevator music. The servers are all nice and very attentive but it all just felt so stuffy. We didn’t even stay for the dessert that was included because we couldn’t handle listening to the music blaring out of the speaker above us.
The food was decent but over the top rich and heavy and definitely not worth it. Don’t get taken in by the 5-​star Unilocal reviews like we did. It’s a tourist and stuffy old people trap that’s in terrible need of updating.

Scalini Fedeli: Delicious food, all class without pretention, and surprises throughout.
We ordered the $ 75 prix fixe (a true bargain) and were delighted with every dish, including the ones served gratis between courses, such as the orgasmic mushroom ravioli. The bread, particularly the onion foccocia, was outstanding, but don’t fill up on this – there are too many goodies to come. We have had the Artic char, the short ribs and other dishes, and they are all first rate.
When I spilled a bit of gravy on my shirt, the unobtrusive waiter was suddenly there with club soda and a cloth napkin_​_​the stain vanished, and so did he, discreetly!
The palette cleansers were delicious, as was the entire experience from start to finish. A real gem.

I wish I could give Scalini Fedeli 6 stars because that’s how good it is. The moment you enter the restaurant you know that you are in for a great dining experience. We were there the night before New Year’s Eve and the restaurant was packed. But, it was not loud. You could very easily have a great conversation with the person next to you.
Scalini Fedeli is a beautiful restaurant. The lighting is dim but not dark. At the table you have a candle and a few roses to make your night very romantic. Very elegant and romantic restaurant that will blow your significant other away. It has a very classical feel to it.
We had a pre fix menu that night. Sometimes when you get a pre fix menu you expect the portions to be small but this place does not cheat you at all. Every course was very well portioned. Before every course, I think they serve you different sorbets to cleanse the palette. I had the short ribs for the main course which were very good. The wine was great and the sommelier was very helpful in assisting us in making a decision.
Take your next date there and she won’t be disappointed!

Elegant, romantic Italian restaurant with exquisite food. We were starving which is good because there was an abundant of food.
I had the Butternut Agnolotti with a sage brown butter sauce and my date had the Soft Egg Yolk Raviolo and we had a Chef tasting of mushroom truffle ravioli. The herbs and flavor were so delicious.
We had two different sorbets to cleanse the palette and both were very flavorful. Mine was a pineapple with fresh apples and his was a strawberry with fresh apples.
Rack of lamb was 3 pcs, would have been better if it was 4, but nevertheless it was good. He had the Braise short rib which melted in your mouth.
For the dessert we had the Flourless Chocolate Soufflé which was scrumptious (except the orange peel. not a fan of it). He had the warm Chocolate Torte which was okay, I didn’t like that it was over pistachio sauce (better without the sauce). But then I’m a Chocoholic!!!
And of course the Port wine to finish was a great end to a delicious meal!!!
Service was exceptional and very attentive. We were truly taken care of the entire night.
Definitely will return!

Exquisite Italian dining. Scalini Fedeli is an extraordinary restaurant that transcends the ambitious concept of its owner/​chef Michael Cetrulo.
The menu is extremely creative yet sometimes unabashedly simple. The wine list is rich with diverse choices, and it would be a painstaking effort to find fault with any of them.
Signature dishes include mellow braised-​pork-​and-​ricotta ravioli and truffle-​crusted Arctic Char, but there are too many delightful dishes to list, and there is not one course that stands out over others.
Arguably the most intriguing element of Scalini Fedeli is its unpretentious aura despite its well-​earned right to boast perhaps the best cuisine in a city that prides itself on restaurant snobbery.
This is a restaurant that needs to be frequented several times to truly grasp its importance to New York’s renowned restaurant scene.

Food was ok, however the wait staff were snubby and mean. My husband and I went for Valentine’s Day, which means they offered a special 5 course menu at a flat rate. I felt we didn’t get the service we paid for. There was a fight in the restaurant between two of the patrons which made our night super interesting. A member of «gangster community» wearing his backward baseball hat and 10k cash in hand, bumped into a «respected looking, tie wearing» patron and they got into a big verbal fight.
I probably won’t go back again to this restaurant; But we thanked them for the show!

Very interesting night! Stopped in for a classy dinner. The meal was very well prepared, pleased with most of the courses.
The night got VERY interesting, when one patrons decided to start a fight with another. What I found most interesting was that the instigator of the «duel» was even allowed in to dine. He was wearing a backwards ball cap and jeans, clearly not the dress code for a place like this. He wanted to fight the man at the table next to him, for some conflict between the wives. He also thought it appropriate to reveal his gangster roll of $ 100s to the entire dining room, offering to settle to dispute with the $ 10,000 in cash he always carries with him.
Secondly, we were seated next to a couple who were fine, except for the woman’s dress. Without going into too much detail, I can tell you that my view allowed me to describe to my wife, in detail, the subtle nuances of this lady’s most «special» areas.
It was certainly a night not to forget l, not because of the food or service (which was a bit pretentious) but because of the guests dining around us.
A smile and some special attention from the waitstaff would have elicited a 5 star review. Also, Scalini, do you want a classy, prestigious place? I’m sure you can filter you guests a bit better.

This is an elegant restaurant with a wide variety of choices. We were a party of 6 that evening.
Their prix fix has so many more than you would expect with 15+ starters and 11 entrees. I started with Strozzapretti with prosciutto, artichokes and tropea onions finished with mint and ricotta. Perfectly al dente. For my main, I chose the mushroom and black truffle crusted Arctic char over crab meat and spinach in a roasted garlic, thyme and mushroom jus. Outstanding.
This restaurant was a recommendation from a native New Yorker and he could not have done better. Everyone at our table raved about the meal. With the prix fix of $ 75 per person in Manhattan, you really cannot go wrong. They also have a very extensive wine list of both Italian and domestic wines. You’ll be able to find your favorite. Seamless and outstanding service.
This is my new special place in Manhattan.

The Italians like to live their lives without any commitment to order and norms. Scalini Fedeli is no exception to this. They offer up delectable northern Italian food with a french flair to it — hard to pass up and couldn’t be any further from traditional (and sometimes blasé) Italian cuisine. I almost kept forgetting where I was eating.
The butternut squash agnolotti is worthy of it’s favorable mentions. I imagined agnolotti resembled something like orecchiette but was pleasantly surprised that they were more akin to ravioli, and stuffed like soft little pillows. The dish was delicate, savory and it didn’t allow you to forget that it’s cooked in brown butter.
By habit, I proceed with caution when considering ordering scallops. They can go wrong — horribly wrong– when they are an ounce less than fresh. I put my faith in Scalini and not only were they up to the challenge, they took it in stride. My scallops were plump, seared and pleasantly rich in flavor. The leeks that accompanied it were nice and crispy. Perfection on a plate.
Like a cup of cold water in the midst of a running a 5k, the sorbet they brought out before dessert was refreshing and palate cleansing. When ordering my dessert, I didn’t even have to use any charm to coerce our waiter into bringing me a scoop of hazelnut gelato in addition to my chocolate torte (I’m inclined to think they are used to more difficult patrons than I). The gelato was carefully spooned back and forth into perfect a little almond shape* and came out in it’s own little ramekin. Cute! The rest of my dessert was fine, but the texture was off — both mushy and crunchy with pistachio so I took my time eating it. The dollops of hazelnut cream added to the flavor, however I wouldn’t of minded going all out and adoring it with a generous pour of frangelico.
The waitstaff worked with precision, labeling the bottles of bubbly water by table in the ice bucket, so as not to get them mixed up with one another. They also gave us plenty of time to peruse the menu and chat.
I was perfectly content when I saw they offered amarone by the glass and didn’t even glance at the wine list. It was delicious and thankfully, the waitstaff didn’t bat an eye when I clumsily knocked the last third of it over onto the floor later that night. Alas, sometimes I forget to refrain from talking with my hands in small quarters — even if I was in an Italian restaurant !
Open table designates the dress code as «smart casual», but I would put it more in line with classy. Everyone looked remarkably genteel with no «jeans and trendy sport-​coat» nonsense going on. Perhaps that was because the average age was probably well above 45. I’m sure I looked like a toddler in comparison to the rest of the crowd (and felt like one after I clumsily spilled my wine. Mi scusi, posso avere una «sippy cup», per favore?). **
The tall candlesticks on the tables and mantels added to Scalini’s distinct charm and allure however, they could of proven dangerous to my hair if I leaned in too close… or boisterously spoke with my hands again. Eep!
Moral of the story? You’ll eat well and enjoy your time like I did — but be careful. Did you know you can rearrange the letters in the restaurant’s name into «Fiancé Dies ill»?
~~~~~~~~~~~
* Google tells me that the official term for this technique is «quenelling».
** One like this, pretty please (
) !!

La formule prix fixe est bonne. nourriture bonne et carte des vins incroyables. Service peut être un peu insistant mais qui part d’un bon sentiment.
Restaurant classique.