Lavo
“Do not try to go for a quiet, leisurely lunch or brunch on a Saturday, it gets pretty bonkers in the restaurant.”
“I'm pretty sure their most infamous dish is the fried oreos with vanilla milkshake dip – to die for.”
“Oreo Zeppole: You have to get this because it is so good for you chocolate lovers.”
Lavo
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Good For Dancing: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Bought pre sale tickets for Saturday night and the service was absolutely terrible. There is no semblance of a line. I have been waiting outside the past 45 mins to potentially get in. I'm very disappointed in this place and cannot believe that they made us wait. If I understood what the club was like inside then I may be able to give a better review. Not worth the money. Do not go here. Hot mess.
Came to the night club with my girl friends. We totally love it. The music, decoration and drinks were awesome! Crowd was decent and chic! We will definitely come back!
This review is for Summer 2016 restaurant week dinner at Lavo. The experience was strictly OK in my opinion.
We had a 9pm reservation, and we were asked to wait at the bar till 9:30. We kept ourselves busy with a couple of cocktails which were nice but not particularly memorable. Once we were ready, we were seated all the way at the back of the dining room by the restrooms. Honestly would have liked a better table especially since we saw a lot of empty ones on the way in.
The food itself was okay. The complimentary garlic bread was delicious! Rich and buttery and loaded with garlic flavor. One of the best things about this place. The mussels appetizer we got were a-ok. The tuna tartare was good though, a nice delicate flavor and not too much citrus. For the mains we got the steak frites and the penne a la vodka. The steak was well cooked but not the greatest cut, so it was fine. The penne a la vodka was a bit underdone but the vodka sauce was delicious. The desserts were quite bad, the cheesecake we got was dry and mealy (likely stale) and the hazelnut budino had a lot of different flavors that didn't quite go with each other well.
I have been here in the past for a work lunch and the food was much better back then. Maybe just a case of trying to pare down the menu and losing out on a bit of quality for restaurant week.
The service was great, attentive and prompt. The ambiance is trendy and elegant like its sister Tao across the street. The nightclub scene seems to be good so maybe we'll be back here to check that out.
LAVO is one of the best clubs to go to in New York City. Upstairs has fine Italian dining and the food and service is great. The scene is primarily older guys with money to burn, young, attractive girls looking for older guys with money to burn and young yuppies looking to get drunk. The wine that they serve with dinner is excellent and overall each course they offer seems appetizing.
Now onto the club… It has a separate entrance and there is always a long line, so you have to look good to get in. It's full of older business men, models, and dancers. It is extremely hard to get in on Saturdays, so your best bet is to know a promoter or model.
This club is a must if your visiting NYC.
I absolutely love this place, it's probably our favorite restaurant in the world. I've been here about twenty times in the NYC location, and about 5 in Vegas. It's an unbelievable combination of sophistication, trendiness, and awesome food. I usually start with one of the specialty cocktails, the one at brunch with tequila and jalapeño is awesome. The garlic bread is out of this world, and comes with the meal. Apps are all pretty good, only thing I'll say is not amazing are the pizzas. Every single time I've been, either my wife or I have gotten the spaghetti and Kobe meatballs. It is just so unbelievably good. We get the veal parm pretty often too, also great, pounded thin and the red sauce is amazing. The rigatoni melanzana, white risotto, and truffle fries are all also phenomenal. Must, must, must get the fried Oreo zeppoles for dessert. I've had the gelato too, which is also awesome, but you can not miss the fried Oreos. I always promise myself I'm going to get one of their steaks next time I come, but I never do, I always get traditional Italian.
We usually go for a bottle of forever young Malbec too, it's only listed as a by the glass selection, but they are always willing to do a bottle for us. On Fridays and Saturdays, they bring a dj into the dining room around 8 to start pumping out trendy beats at a good volume. Last time we went we had a 730 res on a Saturday night for 4, they did rush us a bit as we could tell they were trying to turn the table. I've done all sorts of meals here, from business settings on weeknights, to early Sunday dinners with parents, to date nights before getting ready to rage at the nightclub downstairs, and they have all been magical.
Bar out front is tiny, but the area is a decent enough size to grab a drink and hang out before dinner. Not the worlds greatest lounge for hanging though, head across the street to tao or down the street to the four seasons lobby bar for great lounges.
As far as the nightclub goes, I've been here three times for a no name dj, Markus Schulz, and Andrew rayel. Buy tickets online before for cheap, otherwise the door at the club is pretty tough. Bottles are outrageously priced downstairs so plan on GA. Drinks are expensive but so is every NYC club. Sound system is good, and the club is kind of tiny. Two bars downstairs, one in the front and one tucked in the back left of the dj booth. They book pretty good djs here, and the place is not completely overrun usually which is nice. Dress code for restaurant and club is trendy, button down, dark jeans, blazer, and dress shoes for guys.
Pro tip, Saturday's during the day are the crazy champagne brunch. There's no lunch or anything like that on Saturdays, the restaurant is essentially a daytime club before they open for dinner later on in the night. Do not try to go for a quiet, leisurely lunch or brunch on a Saturday, it gets pretty bonkers in the restaurant.
This was probably one of my best Restaurant Week experiences.
We came here while RW was winding down. Service was friendly and quick and while it's loud up front, in the back it's much quieter. Our waitress was great and didn't even have to write down our order (which is always a nice touch). For my appetizer I went with the caesar salad which was not too heavy on the dressing and very refreshing. For my entree I had the salmon which is some of the BEST salmon I have ever had. It was cooked perfectly and paired with a light butter sauce. My dessert was the NY style cheesecake which was topped with strawberries. The cheesecake was delicious and had a perfect crunch from the graham cracker crust.
They offer an extensive wine list but we went during our lunch hour so we stuck with water. Lavo doubles as a club at night but I do not see myself ever visiting there to dance and whatnot. I will definitely return for another meal one day, perhaps off the RW menu.
Ugh. Maybe I'm too old for this place but our twenty minute experience here was dreadful. Long line, over crowded and small space so dancing is really difficult, deafening bland music, slippery floors, and the list of negatives go on…
With most recent visit figured I would update my review simply because this time around I was able to finally check out the Club part of this place.
Once seated we continue with our cocktails I stuck to my Cosmo which I forget why I stopped drinking them ?? So good & the bartender at the front bar was making it just right, my company had a Grey Goose martini good as well.
Appetizers went with the still Amazingly delicious Garlic Bread really hard not to get a second order of this & the Calamari haven't had it in some time it was good , nice & tender good dipping sauce.
Another great appetizers to share is the large meatball , we tried the Meatball & Sausage delicious, practically melts in your mouth.
Main dish this time I tried the Spaghetti Carbonara the pancetta , prosciutto & bacon was very tasty in a light cream sauce.
My company had the Salmon Oreganato nice piece of fish w veggies pretty good as well.
The Shrimp Scampi is very good as well doesn't come with much I forget the name of the vegetable not a fan but the shrimp & sauce was very good.
After dinner we made our way to the Club , I find it to be a bit of an inconvenience that they don't have an entrance to the club from the restaurant u have to go outside & make the line kinda of annoying after spending X amount at dinner they should at least try to give u some sort of a break if heading to the club.
We got on line didn't take long but here is where the pretentious attitude of the club comes out , no general admission apparently tickets were sold ahead of time online & they were "sold out" but of course if u are there on the line u can choose to buy bottle , table or bar service go figure !!
We decide to go with Bar service not bad at $200 minimum after tip & tax included it was a little under $250.
Made our way downstairs & enjoyed the rest of the night.
Drinks were a waste of money at the small bar to the far right pretty weak , u think that after having drinks at dinner then another 3 Grey Goose & cranberry u would be shit faced nope … I was basically drinking juice I gave up & just stuck to beer can't mess with that & at least I was able to get my buzz back.
Would be great if u could review the club on its own the 4 star review is strictly for the restaurant food has always been amazing & has yet to disappoint during any of my visits.
As for the club we had a good time so I would give it 3 stars but because of the bad drinks & snoody attitude it deserves 2 stars.