Il Poeta
“The salty and smokiness of the speck perfectly balanced the creamy, subtle flavors of the polenta.”
“A must for those living in the area and those that want to take the trip into Queens to experience delicious Italian food.”
“The place is super cozy, Luca (the owner) and Mario (the chef) are both great and really accomodating.”
Il Poeta
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
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I wanted to love this small establishment, but the food and service wasn't up to snuff. Our party of 7 adults and 2 small children sat down at 5:30 however we didn't leave until 7:30 pm. Service was slow and the food was alright. There was a very long wait and long pause after the appetizers were cleared. I wasn't impressed by the appetizers. However others at my table who had the short ribs enjoyed their meals. I had the cannelloni pasta dish – it wasn't all that great. The desserts were pretty sad. The tiramisu looked like they just tossed a bunch of lady finger on a plate then poured some liquor and dollop of cream – enjoy! It was pretty sad
Il Poeta is a small but charming Italian restaurant in Forest Hills. The owner/manager walks around the restaurant in his distinctive vest and checks that everyone is dining happily.
We were first given our menus and a bread basket along with a small dish of their lentils mixed with salt and olive oil. Although the bread was good, the winner here was their special dip, which I finished by itself… by the spoonfuls…
Our appetizers:
-baked clams (half dozen)
-sauteed artichokes sliced and topped with shrimp, pistachios, and thick layer of parmiggiano cheese
— insert long wait here —
— insert being offered a dessert menu here —
— insert the table who came in after us receiving their entrees —
— insert asking around for our entrees —
Our entrees (finally!) :
-duck breast with sauteed spinach and sweet berry sauce — very filling
-grilled angus rib eye in brandy sauce that came with roasted potatoes and spicy peppercorns that added a pleasant kick to the overall flavor
We were too full to order dessert so we asked for the check. And little did we expect, the owner comes over with a revised bill to apologize for the delay of our entrees. He took off the charges for our two appetizers, which was quite generous and kind of him. It's pretty uncommon that a restaurant goes out of their way to make their customers feel appreciated and end their night with a warm gesture.
This restaurant is on Metropolitan Avenue which is lately called "Michelin Road." Now Metropolitan Avenue is the new hot spot in Queens. I went there on Christmas Eve. We called them to make a reservation at 8:45 about 5 hours before, but they took our reservation.
When we arrived at the restaurant, there were no open seats so the waiter escorted us to the counter on the back of the restaurant. The waiter recommended Italian aperitif. I enjoyed the drink and I didn't feel the waiting time was long.
They were serving Christmas Eve special menu. I ordered octopus salad for appetizer. The grilled octopus was soft and amazing. When I comeback here again, I want to order the same thing again.
For entree, I ordered monk fish. I am not familiar with monkfish, but I tried. I didn't like it so much. However, sauce was good.
For dessert, I ordered Panna Cotta. The desert was small, so for people who is used to American size dessert, it won't be enough. This is only for one person and doesn't suit for share. So it is better to order one dessert for each person. However, Panna Cotta itself was very good. The raspberry sauce was sour and sweet, and mouse part was creamy.
They have weekday Prix-fix dinner for very reasonable price, so I want to try next time.
Oh Il Poeta.
Came here with the gf upon the recommendation of a mutual friend. We were told it was Michelin worthy. It was suppose to be an amazing experience. We had a good experience, but this might be one of those cases where expectations were set too high.
The gf and I went to Il Poeta after making reservations. This was a Saturday evening. If you plan on dining here, it's best to call ahead to reserve. The place consists of a small dinning room and can fill up fast. One thing of note, and that was a bit irksome, is that they do not have a place for patrons to wait to be seated. The vestibule is miniscule and can fit two people at best and even that event, you'll be blocking others from entering/exiting. That's not a huge deal, but you should be aware.
The staff is incredibly friendly, they work fast, and are genuinely a pleasure. Il Poeta had a generous number of specials. We decided on a catfish appetizer, veal entree, and scallop risotto entree. Everything came out in good time–not too early, not too late. The catfish was rather good, but not the Michellin experience we anticipated. The entrees were just ok. The veal couldn't be differentiated from any other veal I've had at every other Italian place. The scallop risotto was also nothing to write home about. Drinks on the other hand were good. A little on the strong side, but I'm not complaining about that =)
Il Poeta is a good place, but I can't find anything to separate it from other Italian restaurants. They made good food and have great service, but I wouldn't patron it if I didn't already live in the neighborhood.
Try it for yourself and let me know if you experience is better. I'd love to find a dish that stands out.
The food here is great. I had chicken dish that was great. What drew us here was their BYOB policy on Thursday nights. The atmosphere is quaint.
Lovely and very welcoming staff, but the food was just okay overall.
The highlight dish was definitely their namesake pasta (18.50) being a creamy mushroom truffle pasta with a 2-3 sliced speck (salty cold cut. similar to proscuitto). Kinda weird combination but somehow it works. It's the creamy pasta that's the winner here.. the noddles were cooked just right! The portion size is "just perfect" for one individual. Thankfully so, because any more and your arteries would for sure clog as its a heavy dish. Their seafood linguini was a little too al dente, and a little sparse on the seafood. Fried calamari was quite plain.
Otherwise, beautiful restaurant. Nice ambiance and the whole shebang for a nice night out. In comparison though for italian in forest hills, I prefer Tuscan Hills.
This is the best Italian selection in Forest Hills. I won't go so far as to say the best Italian food I've ever had, certainly not. But I have yet to select a disappointing dish. I've been here my a dozen times over the past 2 years and have tried to sample a wide spectrum of their menu.
Pasta is absolutely legit; never overcooked. Sauces are authentic and never too heavy. The seafood tastes fresh and they come up with creatively simple specials. Every appetizer is yummy but here again they always have at least one special and I recommend trying these specials as they have never let me down. The best I thing is their octopus salad.
The owner is almost always there and checks in on all his patrons personally, without ever being overbearing. The prices are very reasonable, the atmosphere is clean and pleasant with a touch of warmth. Not much to criticize except maybe their beer their limited beer selection. Although they do have a great Italian beer called Forst. Give it a shot if you enjoy the lighter side of beers.
Il Poeta beats its neighboring competitor and Forest Hills staple, Alberto. I always enjoyed Alberto but Il Poeta is just a different level.
I came here in a group of four for New Year's Eve dinner. It was a full house. Despite having reservations, we had to wait about 10 minutes which wasn't too bad.
We were served water and complimentary bread while we browsed through the menus. For appetizers, we ordered the Croquette di Melanzane (eggplant and ricotta croquettes served with tomato sauce and sautéed spinach) and the Zuppetta Piccante di Molluschi (sautéed mussels and clams in a spicy tomato sauce) to share. While I did find the croquettes to be rather unremarkable, it did have a great light crunch exterior. I think the tomato sauce it was served in really took away the subtle flavors of the croquette. You get three of these little croquettes with a diameter that is only slightly larger than a ping pong ball… sad. I have to say, I did noticed a lot of people ordering the croquettes though. The mussels and clams were just okay. Again, unremarkable with decent ocean flavors. At least they were cleaned properly and were not fishy at all. The tomato broth of the mussels paired well with complimentary bread.
For my entree I had the Spaghetti Chitarra dell Adriatico, which is homemade pasta with seafood in light spicy organic tomato sauce. I really wish our waitress would have told me that this is literally the exact same as our mussels and clams appetizer… only with spaghetti added. I would have just ordered something else! So naturally, I wasn't excited about it. Plus, the spaghetti was overcooked. I had some of my husband's Tagliolini del Poeta (homemade pasta with mushroom sauce, speck, and truffle oil) and I thought that was fairly good… I mean at least compared to my entree.
Overall, I thought the food here is just satisfactory. None of my dinner companions nor myself were exactly blown away, or even remotely close to it for that matter. Food deserves 2.5 stars in my humble opinion however I did round up because the service here is very warm, welcoming, and attentive.