La Sirena Ristorante
“Not only Chef Batali delivers amazing food once more but the service in his new restaurant was beyond outstanding.”
“Overall great place as went when location was la bottega and can tell spent fortune to open this.”
“We also adored the panzotti with leeks, cheese and a brown butter sauce, totally my kind of pasta dish.”
La Sirena Ristorante
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I really wanted to love this place and maybe we visited on an off night, but I wasn't enthralled.
This is a 2.5 star spot, but I will round up because it's Friday afternoon as I write this, so I'm in weekend mode. If it was Monday morning morning, it would have been 2 stars.
First, we got seated almost 40 minutes past our reservation time and when we finally got seated, there were some empty tables around us. Hmmm, seemed odd but the host explained they were short staffed. Well, that explanation would have went a long way had they told us that prior to seating us so late. By then, we were totally annoyed and starving but the annoyed part could have been avoided had they communicated this to us. I've barked about this before in reviews….why is it so difficult for resto staff to treat their diners like humans, rather than just dollar signs? Communication and customer service go a looong way, but it's still difficult to find.
The food was good, some quite good, but given it's a Batali resto, I was expecting better. The burrata, which is one of my favorite all time foods, seemed to be missing something and it wasn't very creamy…disappointed. The artichoke salad was quite tasty. Bucatani la sirena had serious kick but the octopus was cut into such small pieces, I felt there was hardly any in there. The lamb chops were a bit on the 'lamby' side but the short ribs were amazing. Ordered a couple of desserts – the crema al cioccolato was delish.
The service was pretty slow, but given they were short staffed, I guess that made sense. They did give us a round of muscato and a dessert on the house due to the delay, which was a very nice gesture. But it would have been a nicer gesture if they comped a round of drinks or a dessert we actually ordered, rather than give us something we didn't really want/need.
Not impressed with this resto and not rushing back.
What a lovely little oasis getaway right here in Manhattan. We came here on the fly. It was my first time, but my friend who took us here had been before. What a lovely spot. Nice menu. It was lunch so we kept it light. Glass of wine, the big salad ( which was just that.) We all shared the food and it was all good.
Great on a nice summer day outdoors. My only complaint would be light on the pour, but I would recommend it highly.
I have to admit that I am not a fan of restaurants that promote pretentiousness, which is what I expected before we arrived. Man, I was WAY off base. You see, due to the muggy heat and the extended walking we were dressed in casual attire. Yes, this was Brunch but I felt a little anxiety nonetheless.
When we arrived and during our meal we were never given the " once over " OR the " up and down." This was a very good sign. Now, tossing away my insecurities……….
The design inside this Maritime Hotel restaurant is ULTRA modern and SLEEK. You could eat off the beautiful marble floors or the pristine countertops at the bar. We were seated in the corner next to the window.
Rico came over to get us started on waters and concoctions. Once again, I dove into my favorite breakfast drink…the Hibiscus. While reviewing the menu we devoured the fresh bread baskets that were provided.
For appetizers we had three items I can remember. The Fingerling Potatoes, the Heirloom Tomatoes AND the Octopus. I do not do tentacles but the Heirlooms were good and the Fingerlings were AWESOME.
Honestly, I did not want to overdo it on my entree' as we would be hoofing around town and my large 13 feet were already yelping. (Pun intended) I just wanted to keep it simple so I selected the Meatball Hero. My better half and my son went all in on the Panino Toscano. I realize that these choices are not complex but they felt right at the time.
Everyone was pleased and I especially want to mention how incredible Rico and his crew treated us. Sincerely, he welcomed us and took care of us as if we were breaking bread together at his own home. He deserves a lot of credit and you should request him if you dine there in the near future.
Beautiful place especially for the summer. Seems so much bigger than La Bottega. The service wasn't that great. It took forever to order the food as the waiter kept coming and going for the drinks.
Food:
Burrata – good
Soft shell crab – delicious
Lobster squid ink pasta – this was pretty bland
Octopus spaghetti – very good
Branzino – decent
Snap peas – very good with a nice spicy kick
Strawberry semifreddo – very good
Mango panna cotta – good
This place is definitely not for beer drinkers but fancy cocktails and wine! So I stopped with my 1 draft beer and decided to join the locals with… oh my… the wine menu can be quite pricey but settled for the $150 bottle of Sottimano Barbaresco Cotta 2011. Very nice.
As for the food the I will only comment on the Ravioli All'Amatriciano with Spring Onion Butter (Pancetta, Tomato, Onion and Pecorina filled ravioli)… Oh my goodness it was so delicious and definitely get lots of helpings of the hot bread refill to scoop up all the tasty butter sauce!
As for the interior and staff… nothing spectacular. Everyone was just doing their job and never really went out of their way. Place lacked smiles except for the wine connoisseur who recommended a range of $150 – 500 bottles of red wine.
Will be craving the ravioli forever…
Did not realize that this was located next to TAO, which was a little off-putting but still decided to give it a try. Did the pasta tasting for two where you pick two different kinds of pastas to share. I wasn't keen on the squid pasta with tomato sauce as it didn't taste bad, but it just tasted like something premade from the grocery store. The other pasta with pork ribs was tastier but still seemed store bought. The space itself is nice enough and the service was good, so its earning points for that. However, I definitely won't be coming back for its unimpressive food anytime soon.
La Sirena is one of Mario Batali's newest restaurants in NYC, and we even got a glimpse of the famous chef as he walked around the massive indoor and outdoor space checking on some tables. Orange crocs and all!
We started the meal with cocktails…my favorite was the Viola, a smooth mix of Hendricks Gin, Hibiscus, Lemon, and Prosecco. It almost appeared like a red wine, but tasted like a fruity, bubbly dessert.
You must order the tableside Caprese salad to start…it's so fresh and delicious!
For appetizers, we tried:
Crudo – gorgeous yet simple presentation
Crispy Soft Shell Crab – AMAZING!
Roasted Asparagus – the smoked ricotta made this awesome
For my meal, I ordered the Tonnarelli Neri which blew me away. The squid ink pasta was outstanding. And I also shared an order of the Beef Braciole 'Old School' which melted in my mouth! The portions were surprisingly large, which we all appreciated.
We had no room for dessert, so I'll just have to go back to try one or two of those!
Decided to check out this place with a friend after reading great things about it online. We went for dinner on a Sunday night and were able to be seated right away since this place is HUGE!
We were pretty hungry, so we decided to split a couple of dishes:
Bread (3 stars): The bread and butter here was pretty average–a good start, but nothing to write home about.
Sweet corn and charred beans (4.5 stars): This dish was a lot better than I was expecting and was super sweet and fresh. The only complaint I have with this dish was the size, but otherwise it was very tasty.
Bis of pasta (4.5 stars): What an excellent option–two choices of pasta for one price and a very good portion size as well!
—Tonnarelli (5 stars): The squid ink pasta with the sauce and lobster is absolutely fantastic. I had only had squid ink pasta once before and was pretty unimpressed, but this rendition was phenomenal.
—Cavatelli (4 stars): This dish was also very good–not quite the depth of flavor as the tonnarelli, but very good nonetheless.
Swordfish (4 stars): The swordfish was cooked decently, but I felt that the meat itself was a bit underwhelming as far as flavor goes. That being said, the added ingredients really did a good job of upping the flavor of this dish.
Overall, this place served up some great dishes, especially in the first couple of courses. Our service was very friendly, save for an awkward moment with the manager. The ambiance and look of this place is great and is perfect for a date or a large group. And be sure to check out that squid ink pasta, you won't be disappointed.