Jody Williams is a self-taught, James Beard Award-winning American chef and television personality. She is known for her successful New York City restaurants and her culinary partnership with fellow chef Rita Sodi.
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Great meal.
I came in on a Sunday afternoon without a reservation and was able to get a table although my +1 wasn’t there yet. I asked to get a drink later at the bar and they didn’t give me a hard time about paying immediately.
At the lunch service the waitress made some really good recommendations that paired nicely with one another based on the dishes we were getting.
Pasta itself was very Al dente. No super heavy. Highly recommended!
Small place, very minimal decor, simple, clean. We sat at bar. Good service. The asparagus salad was delicious. Bread service came with a charge and was OK, came out warm but tasted doughy and almost underbaked. The fried potato appetizer was flavorless and very dry. The cacio e Pepe pasta was very good and came out piping hot! My son did not care for the lasagna. He said it was dry and he didn’t like how the meat was. It felt very hit or miss. Overall, mid experience and higher price point, didn’t feel worth it.
After wanting to come for years, I finally snagged a reservation. They open 2 weeks in advance at 10am. Scored a Friday night at 5:30pm, latest they had when it went live.
I was a little worried after reading reviews about bad service, but Shannon couldn't have been more friendly or attentive (she even told us the specials twice).
We started with the insalata di asparagi which was so great. Shaved asparagus, fennel, goat cheese, and pine nuts; perfect combination of flavors. Burrata e pomodorini was good as well and tasted so fresh.
For entrees we shared two. The famous lasagna is as delicious as people say with all the yummy layers. We were blown away by how good the pappardelle al limone was. The pasta noodles were long, tender and homemade with a delicious lemon sauce. A must!
We ended with the flourless chocolate cake and stracciatella gelato. Again so good.
We had a few different glasses of wines we enjoyed and Shannon even let us try them before commiting.
Service is great! Food is outstanding! The restaurant itself is quite small so I now understand why it's so hard to get in. If you can get in this is a must! I can't wait to come back.
Great atmosphere and definitely lived up to the hype overall. The fried artichokes were excellent — crispy, light, and probably my favorite thing we ordered. The lasagna was rich, comforting, and clearly made with high quality ingredients. The short ribs were tender and flavorful as well. Service was good and the vibe felt very classic NYC Italian.
Only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that for the price and difficulty getting a reservation, I expected to be a little more blown away. Still absolutely worth trying and I’d definitely go back.
I really don’t get the hype around this place.
They don’t clearly present or document the specials at all - something places like Torrisi do exceptionally well, so you’re left guessing instead of feeling guided.
I was also told there was no red sauce pasta available, which was pretty disappointing for a restaurant like this.
We ended up ordering the lasagna, which was just average and far too heavy.
The spinach ravioli with Parmigiano sauce was good, but nothing memorable.
The service is where things really fell apart. The staff didn’t seem well-trained, and communication was inconsistent. It wasn’t even clear that the house bread was chargeable, they asked if we wanted it and we just nodded, and we later found out it was 5 bucks. The table next to us didn’t even order it and still received it, which made the whole thing feel even more unclear.
Even ordering dessert was frustrating. There was no menu—they just rattled off options—and we had to ask multiple times before we could actually order.
At one point, they changed a tablecloth nearby and sent dust flying straight into our food, which was pretty unacceptable.
That said, just when we thought the meal was a total miss, the panna cotta completely turned things around—it was genuinely outstanding and easily the highlight of the night.
