Paola’s Restaurant
“The clientele is middle age and older Upper East side and most are wearing jackets but you can get away with jeans.”
“The cacio e pepe was simple, yet elegantly served with the perfect peppery bite soaked in heavenly cheese.”
“The shrimp were cooked perfectly and the pasta was a perfect al dente.”
Paola’s Restaurant
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
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Classy and clubby, Paola's is the quintessential Carnegie Hill restaurant. Prices, while high, are not out of line, especially for the neighborhood. The servers are charming and professional, the decor comfortable. Yes, the demographic skews old, but this is certainly not a geriatric retreat; on my latest visit, I saw a multigenerational family, a girlfriends' outing, and several tables that simply oozed power–tastefully, of course.
But the atmosphere can't hold a candle to the food, which is stellar. In particular, I'll sing the praises of the pappardelle with the duck ragu: rich, satisfying, the pasta holding its own in the unctuous sauce. You can request any pasta in a half-order, which I strongly recommend unless you want leftovers the next day. (And, believe me, you probably do.)
Had brunch here in the summer a few times, it was lovely to sit outside. We had excellent service, great brunch cocktails and delicious food. The lobster salad was great as well as egg benedict.
It is pretty pricey but that's expected for the Madison location, but we enjoyed the place and will definitely be back.
Paola's takes the term "water closet" in the most literal of ways – it seems they used a hollowed out closet-esque space with just enough room for a toilet, sink, and 5 inches of extra room to stretch the legs, do a dance, and adjust your tie (or equivalent) in the mirror.
Not that you'd be going here just for the WC – that would be fairly odd. Suited for lunch or dinner, I find business lunches here to be an absolute delight.
A glass of red at lunch makes any day a good day to be…at Paola's.
The food has been excellent in each of my visits – I find myself drawn to a meal consisting of…
-Pappardelle with Duck Ragout
-Caesar Salad (to start)
-2 (two, dos) glasses of red (in succession, if possible)
(or just sparkling water…depending on the company.)
-Lemon Tart
-Cappuccino to finish
The service is classy, the food is classymoderncontemporary, and there is a delightful mix of italian specialties and seafood on the menu (and varying specials) that are sure to please just about anyone that walks through the door.
Wonderful Italian restaurant with excellent food, attentive professional service and a warm, inviting atmosphere.
Roses and small crystal enclosed candles on the tables are a nice touch adding to the warmth, and tables are spaced comfortably apart .
Service was friendly – both the hostess and server. Food was served quickly.
I had the seafood salad, and it was perfect- beautifully presented and wonderfully delicious. Extra dirty Martini was also great, made just right and with plump fresh olives.
Definitely recommend as a restaurant to go with family, friends or a date.
Good UES Spot with Madison Ave prices.
The restaurant itself is very attractive, mellow wood and tiles.
The service is top shelf. I was waiting a long time for the rest of my party to arrive and they never hassled me about it.
The fried artichokes are SO good. They aren't breaded, just fried, so it isn't super heavy. Just delightful.
The Duck Pasta is tasty. The duck is in a ragu, solid pieces of duck breast. The noodles are cooked perfectly.
Prices are normal by UES Madison Ave standards, but expensive by normal standards.
I like that you can get half orders of the pasta.
The food was good. However, in addition to having a hair in my food, we were beyond turned off by our waitress' attitude and treatment towards us. From the beginning, she clearly judged us and assumed we may not tip her as well as the tables next to us. For example, she split their appetizer for them but didn't split ours when we both ordered the same thing. For the other table, she made recommendations, whereas when I asked about a dish, I got a short answer. When I received my dish with the hair in it, she didn't even say "okay" or "sorry" but just took the dish, kept walking and replaced it. I never have received such awful treatment at a restaurant.
Came here for a late lunch and had an excellent meal! The service was great and the food was even better.
The fried artichokes were absolutely amazing– I would've happily eaten 3 more! Perfectly crisp and not greasy at all!
The cacio e pepe was simple, yet elegantly served with the perfect peppery bite soaked in heavenly cheese.
The apple turnover was quite good, though I wish it had been served warm. My expresso was also great!
Beautiful restaurant and our family has come here over the years as we have a place two blocks away. Last night I looked at our bill of $149 pre tip for three half orders of pasta and three cocktails and just laughed. Yes, this is Madison ave and we live here but the prices are ridiculous for the quality of food. The atmosphere is also very rushed. They will rush you out as quickly as possible even on a Tuesday night. Duck pasta was chewy and flavorless.