Gina La Fornarina
“There's outdoor seating, but we were seated inside…it was still nice though because the whole place is very open.”
“Atmosphere: (A)when the weather is nice there is nothing better than sitting outside at their cute white tables and chairs.”
“The night was nice so the front was completely opened up with tables on the sidewalk.”
Gina La Fornarina
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Stopped by for dinner on the way home from a day of errands. Their poached salmon salad is something I'd order again and again. (If you read my reviews you know I'm usually going on about a good salad,) nice bread/oil, pleasant service. I take issue with complaints about the decor. Yes, it's feminine but it's a fun rest from a dreary world. One day I will have dessert!
Not a bad Italian place on the UES.
The ambiance is pretty pink and girly, but it's not that discomfiting. The service was friendly and the decor was nice.
The food was also pretty good – we had the butternut squash ravioli (really good) and the homemade fettucine (pretty good) and a mushroom pasta, which I forget (OK, obviously).
The biggest downside was how many middle-schoolers and high-schoolers there were there. It was packed with them, and without parents! It's a nice restaurant, but this was a bit surprising – it made the whole place very noisy and a little silly.
Solid. I was here with a fairly large group and little to no other customers, so the service was actually quite attentive (sounds like an anomaly judging by the other reviews – but yay). That made it easier to enjoy the good food, wine and cute decor. I especially liked the mushroom and the italian sausage pizzas. Nothing super standout, but not a bad choice if you're in the area.
My sister and I stopped in on a rainy Thursday night. I've walked by many times and thought this place is cute. My sister had eaten here before and said it was good and she is under 21 so going to a bar would be a bit lame for her.
The place was maybe 1/3 full and we were promptly seated. I was talked into buying a cocktail (it really didn't take much effort on the waiter as I'm 23 and don't turn down alcohol easily). I got a strawberry daiquiri which was pretty yummy.
I thought it was kind of weird we has to ask for bread and olive oil in a restaurant but when we got it, the bread was warm and the crust was stiff. Tasted like normal Italian bread.
For dinner I ordered the gnocchi and my sister ordered the pesto linguine. The gnocchi was overcooked and over priced for what it was. Portion size was okay but if I'm spending $17 on gnocchi I would like it to be cooked correctly. I've certainly had worse and I hate making a scene by sending dishes back unless they are really terrible.
The pesto linguine had was too much pesto and for a whopping $21 I thought the dish was incredibly overpriced. Especially with no meat.
As for the review about the bus boy, I totally agree! My water glass was never less than half full!
While the food was edible at best, the service was prompt and nice enough but overall my total experince here felt half empty. Maybe if the prices for simple pasta dishes were a bit less – say $10-16 and cooked well, I would be inclined to return.
I should like this place much more. The space is adorable, in all white with hot pink accents. And the lil cartoon girl speaks to the 10 year old girl in me.
They have a good selection of pizzas. Their ingredients are fresh but some of their entrees are a bit under seasoned.
They allowed my friend and I to chat uninterrupted for over 2 hours on a Friday night. No one came to clear our plates, ask if we needed another drink or dessert. This was refreshing until we were more than ready to go and could not catch anyone's attention. I suspected that we could have walked out before the check came and no one would notice.
Great spot for a brunch or dinner with your girlfriends.
Atmosphere: (A)when the weather is nice there is nothing better than sitting outside at their cute white tables and chairs. The inside is just as cute with muted pink and white throughout.
Food: (A) A little pricey for what it is, but overall the food is very good. I've tried many of their pizza dishes and love them all; they are light but filling. And you can't go wrong with their salad options either. Highly recommend the burrata.
Drinks: (A) strawberry-infused sangria
Meh, it's alright. Nothing special. The only time I went was with my family around brunch time – I'd say it's more of a girlfriend place than anything else, definitely not a spot for people with big appetites (like my dad and I) to fill up. My sister and I split the rucola salad which was pretty good – it has Baby Arugula, Shaved Parmigiano, Lemon & Extra Virgin Olive Oil Vinaigrette as well as the margherita pizza. Both parents got more breakfast-y dishes. Also? Kind of snooty environment…probably won't be rushing back.
A perfect little spot for the "chick" crowd who likes everything all pink and white. It's a very "girlie" looking place. As for me, I was not impressed the other night as I had one of the most horrible bloody marys ever, and way overpriced. I told the bartender to make it a bit spicy and basically got a drink full of tomato juice and hot sauce. WTF? No happy hour here either and I wasted about $10 on a drink I did not finish.
Now, the food is not bad here. They make some really tasty pizzas, pasta, soups, panini, and salad plates. For brunch on the weekends we have come here for the frittatas and breakfast style foccacia style pies. Those are pretty delicious, and they serve Lavazza coffee and make some tasty iced cappuccino too. Most things are ok priced but a meal for two will run up the bill here. Especially if drinks are added.
As others have mentioned, service is on the slow side and can be a bit so-so. Plenty of seating and during nice weather the whole front is opened up for sidewalk seating. Pretty nice bar area too. But the whole place is spic and span white with pink accents all around. Like a Barbie girl's design.
All in all, an ok place, but better Italian style food can be found in the area. If you are doing a girls night out this place is acceptable before heading out to the clubs.
More like 2.5 stars really.