Arco Cafe
“Excellent moderately priced Italian / Sardinian, with great homemade pastas and lovely Sardinian servers.”
“We had the Cavatelli Broccoli Rabe E Salsiccia which was pretty good and the Gnocchi Alla Montanara which was even better.”
“Got the minestrone soup – light, flavoursome, very fresh vegetables and broth.”
Arco Cafe
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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We came here for brunch. They have both brunch menu and traditional Italian menu. The brunch menu consists of egg omelets, Benedict, pancakes and French toast. It's fairly priced around $11-14. More amazing, it comes with complimentary mimosa or Bellini. Such great deal. The coffee here is also great.
They have reservations on opentable, but not necessarily needed. They also seem to have great fix lunch much for something like $12. Anyways, it's a great place to go for bunch in the neighborhood without much wait.
A cute, casual, Italian-Sardinian cafe in Upper West Side. They have nice, high ceiling, red brick wall, and outdoor seating, serving housemade pasta and other delicious dishes at affordable price. The staff there is very friendly, and provide good service most of the time.
We went there on Sunday night with rather large group (with reservation, of course), and they accommodated us with warm greeting and nice big table. We ordered several different pasta dish, which they were all very delicious, the pasta had that nice, homemade pasta texture and firmness, and great flavor. They also have great desserts, so leave some room for a dessert or two!
Read my full review of this restaurant and food on my food blog, foodlovergirl.
This place provided one of my most beautiful memories in New York and in the past year in fact it was a memory so great that it will remain in my mind for years to come. I cannot speak enough about the hospitality the warmth, and the authenticity of the food and service at this wonderful establishment. To find food that is so well-made and so tied to the culinary traditions of Sardinia in the United States is no easy feat, but is certainly one that is worth the effort. The owners Daniele and Francesca are a power packed duo of culinary prowess, passion, and clear business know how. Francesca lets her brother Daniele handle the cooking and she is right to do so, as he is the kind of guy who will wake up extra early to hand form malloreddus (gnocchetti sardi), and seek out the proper type of pecorino for the Seadas(or sebadas in Nuorese).
Our meal started out with pane frattau, which I love the thin warm crisp Sardinian bread that has fed shepherds and an entire island for millennia with excellent olive oil which I could tell was Sardinian, and of course rosemary, next we had Daniele's awesome malloreddus with zucchini in olive oil and garlic with plenty of pecorino on top, pecorino being another of Sardinian famous pungent, nutty, salty and delicious products. To end Daniele gave me and my lovely wife Seadas and espresso on the house, the Seadas we ordered but he comped and the Espresso was just the right gift to accompany the meal.
For me of course Sardinia is the region of Italy with the best food, and though I may be biased dine here and you may just have to agree!
Arco Cafe serves one of the best gluten-free pastas I have ever had!
My friend and I started off our meal with the Salumi e Formaggi. The appetizer ended up being way too much food to share between the both of us, but it was nevertheless quite delicious!
As for our main dish, I got the Fregola (pasta with octopus and mussels in a tomato broth) while my friend got the Branzino (a type of fish, grilled over a bed of broccoli).
The first thing I noticed when I ate my dish was just how non-grainy the pasta was- you literally would never be able to tell that it was gluten free. With each bite I took, I found myself being amazed and wanting to ask how it could be that gluten free pasta could actually taste nice and have an appealing texture. The tomato broth was also more than just your typical, simple tomato broth; I can't quite describe it, but it had a certain depth to the flavor that let you taste less of the tomato and more of the mysterious other ingredients. The octopus pieces in there were cooked to perfection (=not chewy) and very tender. One thing I do want to note is that the mussels had quite a bit of sand in them… I ended up not eating 1/2 of the mussels in the dish because of it. So note to chef: please wash the mussels better!!
I tried a piece of my friend's Branzio and was pleased by just how perfectly seasoned it was, and how everything simply melted in my mouth. Would also recommend!
The service was absolutely superb as well. My friend and I stayed here for over four hours, but no one ever gave us any mean looks, or refused to re-fill our waters with the intention of kicking us out.
Last but not least, ambience!! I LOVED the ambience. The soft, slightly jazzy songs (i.e. tracks from the Sound of Music) in the background almost makes you think you're dining in some cozy, restaurant in Italy. I saw individuals come in to enjoy a light meal, and stay to read newspapers or books – might return to do this myself!
Disappointing – and surprisingly so. This place has a great rating and reviews, but unfortunately, this is not one of them.
I wasn't terribly hungry so I had the minestrone, which was good but nothing special. For $8.50 I expected at least some beans or pasta or something but it was literally vegetables in broth. Tasty, but not at all filling. I should have ordered a pasta.
My friend did order one of the pasta specials, which was trucioli with tomatoes and mozzarella. I had a bite and it was tasty, but the flavors were nothing too exciting. We were both sort of shocked when the bill came to see that it cost about $5 more than the other pastas on the menu, and this didn't even have meat or seafood on it.
Finally, I had the chocolate torte. It was advertised as molten, and while the inside was liquified, it was totally cold, and the cake shell was rubbery. I could tell it was premade/defrosted or whatever. Definitely not what I was looking for in a $7.50 dessert.
Great service and decor, but I was disappointed enough with the food that I probably won't be back. 2.5 stars.
An adorable, cozy cafe on the (upper) Upper West Side, Arco is the perfect spot for an enjoyable, lowkey meal with people you actually want to spend time with.
I celebrated my friend's birthday here recently and it was a great choice for the evening. There's sidewalk seating, large open windows and a calm, intimate atmosphere. And the pastas are very good, too! It was certainly hard to choose which dish we wanted as they all looked delicious. I enjoyed my [small but not underwhelming portion of] Alisanzas di Sardegna and my friend thought her Tagliolini Cacio e Pepe was tasty as well.
Their brunch looks incredible (serious points to anyone who has a separate section dedicated to benedicts) and the lunch special looks like a steal too (if only I were ever near there around lunch time…) Our server was lovely and also helped contribute to the warm environment.
The major drawbacks are that the menu is fairly limited/very regionally based, it's a bit inconvenient location-wise if you're not a neighborhood resident, and it's beer/wine only. Few complaints for such a nice little space, though!
We were in a party of forty-one that descended on this great little place on a Saturday afternoon. We arrived late after most of group was seated and the staff fit us into our teeming hoard of a party without missing a beat. We were served quickly and our entrees arrived when the rest of the table was served. Everything was prepared perfectly and the prices were very reasonable.
Eating at this Italian-Sardinian eatery was wonderful. The staff workers who greeted me were super kind and gave off a very positive, cheerful vibe.
I got a stack of pancakes with slices of bananas, strawberries and blueberries, with a side of Italian sausage that came with mixed greens. I savored both dishes– I like that there were a lot of fruit slices on top of my pancakes, and the Italian sausage was delicious– crispy on the outside, yet soft and well seasoned on the inside. The free bread was a plus, too!
This place wasn't full when I came in at 11:30am for a Saturday group brunch, but a lot of people came in and the place became packed an hour later. That's something to note if you're thinking of coming here for a weekend brunch or lunch.