Bar Italia Madison
“It was gluten free/soy free/and vegan so I am wondering how they made it so robust in flavor.”
“Sat at the bar with a friend and sipped on wine while enjoying the summer breeze and people watching.”
“Atmosphere is clean and bright with modern decor.”
Bar Italia Madison
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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The manager and the food saves the day. Very cool ambience too.
All of the food was delicious. The manager was a stately gentleman. Attentive and supportive of his staff. The waiter was awkward and didn't mesh with our energy.
We opted for the Restaurant Week menu. All good choices. As the pictures I posted show, the Polenta w Spicy Sausage Ragu and the Salmon Tartare were very good, the Swordfish w Arugula Salad was our favorite, but the Spaghetti Carbonara was perfect.
I think the only downfall is the service. It seems spotty as there were other patrons having issues.
I happened upon this place for a after work drink while I was waiting for a friend and left with with a really weird feeling.
This place wants to be so posh. Everyone who works here has an European accent, and they make you feel like you're not welcome if you don't also hail from across the ocean.
Since I was alone, I sat a the small bar in the front of the restaurant. Even though I was at the bar and the bartender was right in front of me the whole time, I still felt ignored.
While I didn't end up ordering food, the tuna salad that was deliver to the woman nex to me had no presentation to it, and for the price, I would expect more.
I have to say, the service was pretty impeccable. The restaurant was crowded, but the wait staff was on their A game. Our waiter immediately recommended a bottle of wine for us, which was delicious.
My boyfriend and I decided to dine here for restaurant week. The menu was varied (minus the lack of choice for dessert, Tiramisu was the only option). We were able to order 2 different appetizers and 2 different entrees.
Overall, the food was good, nothing better than good. Portions were full size which were very big, which is unusual to me for restaurant week, but in a good way.
We had the following:
– Crab Salad
– Prosciutto w/ mozzarella
– Short Ribs
– Risotto of the day (sausage and zucchini)
–
To my surprise my favorite dish was the risotto. It had a ton of flavor and was delicious. Everything else was mediocre and I was disappointed in the prosciutto/mozz. It was so blah. The prosciutto, I believe, was just deli ham thin sliced and a ton it. Nothing special about it at all.
Again, the service was great. Would I come back? Probably not, as there are so many nice Italian restaurants in New York with tastier, and less pricey options.
My best friend in the city can be a bit difficult to please as far as food goes. She is a gluten free/soy free/sober/vegan, and, whenever you have one of those on board, one must really take into consideration the restaurant to choose.
Now after all that being said, let me just tell you…she picked the place. Haha. We showed up on Thanksgiving for our annual "Friendsgiving" lunch.
DRINKS
She's sober – Fear no more! This place has "Mocktails". It kind of sucks when we go out with a big group and everyone is drinking except for her. She doesn't want to feel socially left out. Alas, mocktails. These tasty little drinks look and taste delicious! It's everything you'd have in a "drink" minus the alcohol. She had some sort of minty mojito style mocktail and loved it.
FOOD
Gluten free – Again, fear no more! This place has a lengthy gluten free menu that can satisfy even the pickiest eater. They were extremely accommodating to any of our requests.
I had the Tagliolini ai Gamberi which was really good. The portions are spot on. You won't leave this Italian restaurant feeling like you are going to just peel over and die or explode at any minute. The portions are Italian-style, NOT American. My friend had the Penne ai Funghi which was yes, Gluten free and yes, I honestly thought it was tastier than mine. It was gluten free/soy free/and vegan so I am wondering how they made it so robust in flavor. I am definitely going to order this when I go back and it is clearly a much healthier alternative to the standard pasta.
DECOR
Very cute white modern decor. They have pictures plastered on the walls of Hollywood Icons such as Brigitte Bardot. It's a cute and quaint little restaurant with an Upper East Side vibe.
PRICE
Yes it is overpriced. At pastas in the $30 range, one must really deliver something extraordinary. I felt that this pasta was definitely above average and deserving of the hefty price tag. Location location location! This place has it. Perfect little restaurant on the UES. Will return very soon!
I ate here on Wednesday night with the parents of Marco, a talented young musician playing at The Living Room, as they had found it on a lark one day and been pleasantly surprised.
This is the anti-Nello (for which you can find justifiable hatchet jobs both on Yelp and Urban Spoon, in spite of its undeniable beauty and okay but ridiculously overpriced food, among other things).
The husband is Italian and has predictably high standards and the wife is an accomplished chef as well as foodie on the board of a Farmer's Market in DC. They expected the typical Madison Avenue tourist trap (rich tourists) but were wowed by their romantic lunch.
Our server (who might also be a manager) said the place prized authenticity so that you wouldn't find "veal parmigiana" (or God forbid, fettucine alfredo) on the menu. "Americanization" is for him a curse word and everything is simple, fresh, and traditional.
Both of my friends ordered the spaghetti carbonara and were very happy. I'm not big on carbonara but I had a bite and it truly was exceptional, creamy but not overdone. I ordered the penne tartufo (black truffle and parmesan) and ate the whole bowl (at 11:30PM) which I worked off with 3 hours at Luigi Jazz Dance Center the next day.
My friends ordered salads to start: both were outstanding with a tangy vinaigrette, fantastic arugula and plenty of shaved asiago which came in large sheets rather than small (one-inch) pieces.
We split two bottles of a Chianti Classico which was terrific.
A Manhattan friend of mine, when I told him we'd eaten here because Le Creperie on Ludlow was more takeout or hole in the wall (however phenomenal) with eight or so seats, wrote, "Bar Italia Is good but $$$$." It's expensive but not as bad as Nello and while I probably would not go here if I were not being taken out by friends of a family friend, I really enjoyed myself.
It's a hip, cool, youngish crowd (young for the Upper East Side) and while it is expensive, it's definitely a place for people in the neighborhood to add to their stable of fine dining Italians in the city.
I met friends at Bar Italia yesterday….here are my thoughts:
Ambiance: Very classy and clean. It reminded me of my favorite Beverly Hills Italian place, which is one of the few things I miss about living in L.A.
Service: Excellent. Servers are friendly and helpful, patient and quick.
Food: Here is where Bar Italia strikes out.
— Crab Salad – I ordered this expecting fresh crab on a lettuce with nicely sliced grapefruit and avocado. What I received was a lump of mayo with a bit of crab in it, "garnished" with limp pieces of grapefruit. I ate one bite and had to send it back – it was just nauseating. And for $32 I couldn't politely force this dish down.
— Tuna Salad – Servers were gracious enough to replace my dish with the Tuna salad (avocado, tuna chunks, capers, asparagus). This was marginally better but to be honest the tuna appeared to be canned and for $20+ I thought this was disappointing.
— Chicken Salad – My friend had this and was happy with it. She's a regular and only eats chicken salad in most restaurants. It looked decent.
— Corn Salad – Another friend ate this and appeared satisfied, although it was super simple and also overpriced.
Pricing: Here is where Bar Italia loses another star. I paid $36 for just my portion (the only additions to the above was one coffee and a side of asparagus). I understand supplementing the Madison Ave rent costs but I left the restaurant hungry and unsatisfied.
Overall: Maybe the pastas are good and that's what I should have ordered? Not sure if I'm an anomaly since reviews are decent for Bar Italia. Still, I don't think I'll be returning.
Finally tried this location recently —
I regularly ordered takeout and occasionally ate at their previous upper east location which closed – I loved the vibe, clean decor and fantastic food and service. The atmosphere and food remain wonderful at this location but I was disappointed with the vibe and feel of the new location. The service provided by the maitre d was not very friendly and he was hustling back and forth too briskly and appeared stressed. (Calm down, relax.) He was also initially unaccommodating with a simple request to add vegetables / chicken to a dish . The men sitting next to me – one was ignoring his clearly irritated date while taking a phone call half the meal and another neighboring man was with a woman and looking at many women passing by. I usually would not even notice my surrounding customers much more than a glance except the tables are spaced so tightly together you can't help but be a part. I was so put off by the disrespect, attitude and rudeness of the maitre d and customers in my immediate vicinity I was wishing I had chosen another restaurant half the meal. That was the negative and the reason for one less star.
The positive : the other servers and hostess were wonderful, friendly and attentive. Atmosphere is clean and bright with modern decor. Lively.
The food is wonderful: my favorites which were outstanding this time as in the past are the grilled octopus over hummus – so so delicious, and beef carpaccio – one of my top appetizers, and they have an amazing one. Also had prosciutto with mozzarella which was great.
My favorite entree which was great this time as well is the penne pasta with mushrooms and truffle oil. I asked them to add vegetables and chicken which was how I've always ordered previously . The maitre d was not accommodating initially which annoyed me.
My friend had a gluten free pasta dish with truffle oil which was also good … Another plus here is they actually offer a full gluten free menu.
In the past (previous location) the food was consistently good when I ordered to have it delivered – and the one time they delivered sub par food the owner Denis – who also does much of the cooking – was extremely accommodating and completely made up for it – making me an even more loyal customer there until they closed the location .
I would try once more to see if the vibe was better – but unfortunately they don't even deliver anymore / from this location – just offer pickup or
Had the brunch prix fixe. Mimosa, asparagus appetizer then the veal parmigiana. Ask for a salad instead of the fries as the entree is a bit oily. Relaxing seat near the window. Shared an affogato.