Cotenna
“The space is small and intimate, but has never felt overcrowded or too loud to have a conversation.”
“Everything was delicious, wine selection was good and wait staff was terrific, especially Bruce.”
“The bucatini (which is a small, long tubular pasta) I think could have been cooked more al dente.”
Cotenna
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I checked this restaurant out last Friday and was really pleased with it. It is a tiny like place but I really liked the ambiance. We didn't have reservations but they squeezed us in anyways. They have a large variety of tapas so we started off with the goat cheese and sauce and meatballs. Both were really really good. We also had the lobster salad. We really enjoyed our meals and how quickly everything came. Definitely a place I will come back to.
Wow, I love this place. My fiance found this place and we went here on a Friday night around 830 and got some really good wine and Italian food in us. Unfortunately the host gave him a hard time about making a res for 2…apparently they only do 3 or more, but it's really dumb. If you want to make a res for 2, call and try!
Beware though, part of the reason could be because the space is truly really TIGHT. There are some 4+ seaters on the left and one tall communal table where they seat couples across from each other (bummer). They also seem to have a private room near the bathroom where you can rent it out for a private party.
I think the popularity of this place is that the food is really good but not terribly expensive. We had an array of wines- me the Barbera (red- full body) and Gavi (white -dry ) which were both good. I stick to Italian when dining Italian. Fi had the rose and the Pinot Nero which was surprisingly very good.
For dinner, we had:
– the special octopus salad – grilled octopus salad with potato, greens and balsamic, not my favorite ever but not bad.
-the white asparagus with fried egg and prosciutto- ok to good
-the gamberetti, which was shrimp with lentils and polenta. Sounds like an odd combo but very good and protein rich.
-the rapini, very garlicky, well done
– the special pasta of the night which was black truffle gnocchi – this was a bit of a letdown. It was very cheesy and I kind of wish it had more truffle oil. If I came back, I would definitely do a red sauce like the Garganelli or Bucatini. The gnocchi was perfect texture thought- clouds and soft.
– we wanted to order the clams but our waitress laughed and said we were ordering too much food. I thought it wasn't THAT bad but it was enough.
We decided to skip on dessert. Once we were winding down with our last glass though (about 1.5 hour in), they asked us to move the table for another party. Not a big deal. They were nice and comped us a half a glass for the trouble – which I did not need at that point honestly.
Service was just right; the food came out quickly. It is tight in here but I guess that's part of the charm- cozy, dim light, super romantic. Dinner was around $100 but we ordered a bunch of food and good wine- didn't think it was too bad.
My fiancé and I were looking for an Italian restaurant in the West Village and Yelp led us to Cotenna. It is a charming little restaurant, whose exterior is adorned with white Christmas lights, and the inside was dimly lit and packed from table to table. Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long at 7pm on a Friday night, though because it is so tight inside, there isn't much room inside to wait. There is also maybe 4 inches at most on either side of each table, so you are very intimate with the folks dining to your left and right. I didn't love that we could hear other people's conversations, but didn't care too much at the same time.
We ordered the eggplant with goat cheese, which I thought was a delicious appetizer, but my fiance found it too cheesy. Then I had the orecchiette with garlic, sausage and broccoli rabe ($12) and he had the veal with polenta special ($27), and we both had a glass of cabernet sauvignon. I thought my meal was OK (nothing special) and my fiance thought the polenta was bland and questioned whether it was veal.
Verdict: the food isn't much to write home about but the service was fine and the background music was good.
This is probably one of those quintessential reliable neighborhood restaurants. Sort of like the girl next door that's always there for you but never gets a second look unfortunately.
The menu is very reasonable priced, with $10-$12 pastas. I've never actually gotten any entrees here but have probably tried all the pastas at this point. The appetizers are also solid – with a wide range from veggies to seafood to meatballs.
They also have a private room downstairs next to the kitchen that can seat around 20 for those interested in larger group dinners.
I really can't wait to come back. Hit the spot kind of food, friendly service, and cutest/most romantic atmosphere.
Minus half a star because it's a little loud. Could be because it's very small space, tables next to each other.
Minus another half a star because very busy Friday night, service was a bit slow. Friendly, professional, but a little slow.
Tonight for two: we each ordered our own pasta, and shared a salad. My mushroom pasta was satisfying, meaty, flavorful, hearty, and just exactly what I wanted to to start the weekend off – yum
Pear salad was light, savory from balsamic vinegar, sweet from pear.
Can't wait to come back!!!
Had a lovely plate of seafood linguini and burrata at Cotenna. Other than the delightful range of Italian offerings, the ambience and service are impeccable; give a shoutout to Yohann when you visit as he will show you what great hospitality is about!
This place used to be my solid 5 star favorite, but not anymore.
I wined and dined here with friends, and yes, we did have two bottles of wine. (And one appetizer, four pastas and four desserts, all yummy!)
When the check came we were in a hurry to leave because our taxi was waiting outside. We all payed in cash because we were splitting the bill. The morning after we discovered that we had been overcharged by nearly $100. We did not bring the check back home (which we should have).
I called Cotenna and left my number. No one called back. Did I mention that I did the same ting SIX(!!!) times? This would have been easy to fix. But no. I even went back to talk to them in person. No luck. They said that they would fix it, but now it has been weeks.
It not about the cash, it's about their arrogance and lack of will to fix the problem.
I used to bring friends and family to this gem, but now someone else is getting my money. The irony is that if they just had fixed the problem I would easily have spent serious $$$ at this place. I'm actually very sorry about this.
Cotenna has very quickly become my favorite neighborhood go-to dinner spot. The only unfortunate thing is that I seem to not be alone in that judgment, as it's getting harder and harder to drop in without a reservation, even on a Monday night!
In the 4 times I've been here, I've tried a bunch of different dishes and not one has disappointed. The worst I could say about any dish was that it was just "good", because everything is so competently prepared using quality ingredients. The two items I order pretty consistently are the meatballs and burrata appetizers — amazing. The tomato sauce for the meatballs is so, so good.
What keeps me coming back is the fact that considering the food quality, all of the prices are pretty normal, even below average! I'm used to paying the same or more for worse food and/or more casual atmosphere, but Cotenna is completely affordable and such a great date spot. The drinks may be the one exception to the rule — I've had some meh wines here, and they are a bit pricey, so I usually just get one class of the chianti which is fine. I've haven't seen any happy hour offerings yet.
Call ahead for reservations, especially if you're more than 2 people. Actually, on second thought, uh, just ignore this 5-star review and go somewhere else because Cotenna has enough customers already 🙂