House of Lasagna
“Those looking for flash, extensive wine lists, etc. probably ought to look elsewhere.”
“At first I was taken aback by the attentive service after a few hours of strolling Manhattan.”
“We got sick and tired of eating hot dogs and hamburgers, Italian feel and food was just right to rest and recharge before taking another bite of the Big Apple.”
House of Lasagna
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I haven't caste a two-star vote for a while, so I had to tally the pros and cons of this place. Once I did that, the scales slowly tilted to "3"
This is a clean and modest Murray Hill diner. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig (as this is a diner).
After we were seated, we were "watered" from the grolsch-type bottles that were surprisingly room temp. Nary a cube of ice in sight. The waitress came by for the drink order and Mer asked for Pinot Grigio. This particular Italian outlet extends Chardonnay (a nod to the Gauls, perhaps) but no Pinot Grigio available here.
Now… They DO have NORA ("product of Italy – Ale brewed with(a) spice") – as well as Peroni. Obscure Italian boutique beer available, but likely the most commonly ordered white (Grigio) summoned for in an Italian-american outlet? Nope.
Ok – Mer (a vegan) ordered the spinach lasagna and I ordered the veal. We ordered Bruschetta for an appetizer. If you're expecting toasted bread lovingly rubbed with garlic – topped with an elixir or diced and seasoned natural Roma tomatoes – I'd recommend parking that expectation in a spot close to your mental front door and staying with it as long as you can while having the first few bites. It's not that it's bad (picture pitas halved, then warmed, then diced mealy tomatoes on top) – it's that it's not bruschetta. Some standards are off limits to reinterpretation or "versioning"
My wife did not at all enjoy her spinach lasagna – saying that it was too spinach-y. I absolutely did enjoy it – so bravo for the cooks for putting it together accordingly. It was essentially a spinach sandwich, with lasagna being the bread and spinach being the stuff in it. Sautéed spinach rocks (lasagna, in the traditional sense, this is not – but I liked it – and it was clear how they put it together)
My veal cutlet and green beans were fine. The Picatta didn't graduate cum Laude from its class – but rather showed a penchant for middle-of-the-road work.
Here is when one of the kickers occurs: the other waiter (they tag team) comes up with the bowl of grated Parmesan and offers it for my wife (remember, she ordered the lasagna). Then, I ask for some on my green beans. (What… There's a problem with that?)
He lets out a pffft, along with a full eye roll, and then smugly says "say when…"
The second kicker is the backstory of why our card was declined. We used another card to settle the bill – but when we called the declined card's CS number to discuss this – they said they stopped the process because it was odd that we had done business in NYC just a 1/2 hour prior, and that now we were suspiciously in NJ. (The square payment account is likely a personal acct in NJ).
Anyway – situation resolved. If you're seeking diner fare in Murray Hill, this is the place for you!
I was in search of excellent lasagna while in New York and was told this was the place to go. I made a telephone reservation and we were excited to go.
We arrived shortly before our reservation time and it may as well have been a graveyard. There was no one in there but a few members of their staff and they seemed more interested in conversing than cleaning or greeting us.
We were told that they had decided to close early and they would be unable to serve us. I mentioned a phone call would have been nice considering the $50 round trip cab ride to our Times Square hotel. No apology, no nothing, I was irate and if I could give zero stars I would.
The food may be good here, but I wouldn't know. Hopefully you have better service than we did because I'm pretty sure I've been treated better at a fast food restaurant.
Really more of a 3.5-star joint.
I walked by House of Lasagna last night and was drawn to the name and the "$6 cocktails all night" sign. So we ended up coming back around for dinner. We came around 9pm, about an hour before the restaurant closed, and it was more empty than not– just a few other groups around. The first thing I noticed here was the muzak. It was just all 90's jazzy Kenny G elevator schmaltz the entire time. So bad. I felt like the entire room was just a giant phone and we were all perpetually on hold with our insurance companies.
The available $6 cocktails included martinis, manhattans, and cosmos, obviously pre-made. I had a manhattan, which was not good, but hey, $6. We were also brought a complimentary salad with balsamic vinaigrette, which was a nice thought, but it was literally just lettuce and dressing. There was bread with olive oil, too, which was unremarkable.
Where House of Lasagna obviously shines is in the pasta realm. I actually decided to not have lasagna and instead went for the gnocchi served with pomodoro and pancetta (although come to think of it, I didn't notice any pancetta). The gnocchi itself was just wonderful– soft, pillowy, nicely sized bites filled with ricotta, I believe. The sauce was good, but it was just tomato sauce…coulda been a little more interesting. The bf had the house lasagna made with a bolognese sauce. I didn't really like it, but I'm beginning to think that bolognese sauces just aren't for me. He did enjoy the dish.
It would be fun if the House of Lasagna offered many different varieties of lasagna rather than the 4 or 5 that they serve, but I get that they just want to offer the classics here. Still, if you're gonna do the classics, you need to do them really well. I thought HoL delivered in terms of the main dish, but was a bit lacking in other areas including the other food, the ambience…and that music.
Popped in on a Sunday evening. We ordered 2 types of lasagna: pork roast and salmon. They were both so good, and came with table bread, and a house salad each, for $15. Not bad!
Nice staff, and a small, intimate dining area. Quaint little place with good food.
The food is pretty bland and lacks any texture. It is a quick sit down lunch spot but at the cost! I had the spaghetti and meatballs lunch special and it came quickly. The servers are attentive but you can only do so much for crappy tasting food
House of Lasagna is really House of Salmon with Broccoli Rabe. Hubby and I came here to celebrate my best friend's birthday. She wanted to try this restaurant. Since it's House of Lasagna, I insisted that hubby order Lasagna so I could try it. I ordered Salmon with Broccoli rabe. My dish came out wow wow wow (3 wows). His dish came out half a wow. My friend ordered Spinach Lasagna, that's 1 wow. I think lasagna is not the best here but the salmon with broccoli rabe is. I think if you dine alone, try something else other than lasagna. If you have a party of two, order lasagna and something else. If you bring the entire family, try everything so that you have more choices. If you have a date, try not to match in everything, lasagna for you, non-lasagna for her and live happily ever after. We had a cheese cake to share. They don't take reservation, so it helps to go early if you're hungry. Service was ok. We had a great time celebrating our friend's birthday. Now that she has tried this restaurant, not sure whether we'd come back here. But worth a try.
Came here for a work lunch last week and I liked the intimate feel of the place. I ordered the spinach lasagna but it seemed I was eating more spinach than pasta. It was actually an overwhelming amount of spinach. The bus boy was pretty rude to us when we asked for extra plates to share some entrees, and the place wasn't busy or crowded so we weren't sure why he was bothered. All pasta dishes are accompanied by a starter house salad but I substituted a caesar salad in its place and it tasted great.
I was just searching with my friend for somewhere to eat in NYC that sounded interesting and we came across this place. Mind you this is a very belated review… this was for Thanksgiving Day. We came here right after the parade and it was pretty empty which was awesome! The salad was delicious and the dressing was amazing. I can't say I had lasagna but I did have the pasta abba. which was decent. My friend had the Thanksgiving Course (turkey, spinach, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn chowder and apple pie). Everything was very good. The mashed potatoes could have used more seasoning but otherwise, really good! This place is decently priced and I would definitely check it out!