Puglia Ristorante
“I ordered a cannoli to go because, how can you NOT get a cannoli while in Little Italy.”
“You could always count on this man to be playing his piano keyboard and singing the napkin song and other Italian songs.”
“The food was tasty and filling but the best part was the fresh-out-of- the-oven crunchy but soft garlic bread….mmmm….wish I had some now!”
Puglia Ristorante
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This is a great place for large groups….probably not so much for dates. Not sure how it looks on the weekdays, but on weekends, it's essentially just long table setups for groups (I'm talking groups of like at LEAST 12 people). On any given weekend night, you can probably expect a handful of separate birthday parties there at any given time.
As many other posters have stated, there is usually live entertainment here by a male and female duo. They're not amazing, but if your party is in a festive mood, its definitely fun to have going on.
As for food. We did everything family style, and while nothing here wowed me, nothing was bad either.
Definitely a fun restaurant. Not my favorite in Little Italy, but I don't think anyone else would have the napkin song.
When we 1st arrived, we were told that they were short staffed and it would be a long wait, even though we had a reservation. People were leaving after waiting too long to have their orders taken. I think that freed things up for us, as we sat down pretty quickly and everything was then served fairly quick.
Decor/Ambience: Meh. Almost feels like you're in a pizza joint in the burbs initially. Not a great 1st impression walking in the door. In the back, however, it looks like they've done some renovations and it's a little nicer back there.
Food: Food was good. I don't think you can really go wrong with anything here. It's not the best I've had, it's not the worst I've had, it's good.
Entertainment: this is the reason for coming. Jorge Buccio. He sings with a keyboard and makes the restaurant a lively place. And he does the napkin song. Which I still can't really say what that's about, but after a couple of glasses of wine, it's pretty funny watching everyone wave their napkins about. If you're looking for some fun, this is a good place for it.
Overall, come here for the experience.
Boy have I been missing out coming here all my life. It's here for so many years for a reason and it sure lived up to it's history.
I started with garlic bread which was about 3 bucks for 3 piece and it was delicious. It came out hot and fresh. Usually the garlic bread has the taste of the garlic, but I was able to see sprinkles of garlic on the bread itself. I requested for marinara sauce and yes, please ask for it. The marinara was the bombs, it was super hot and hand made. Something so simple made to perfection. (*****)
The entree I had the puglia special pizza and it was a small pie considering the price. Think of the 5 dollar Domino's pizza. It was on the salty side, but again the marinara sauce really brings out that pizza. I also tried the and I loved the shrimp (*****)
The service is unbelievable, the food came out fast and the waiters gave us everything we asked for. I think this was the only restaurant I went to that gave me the bill and told me to take my time even though I had nothing on my table. Although there was one small error the waiters made. While taking our food to doggy bag it, they also carried other dirty dish to bring back to the kitchen for cleaning. Ill over look that this time because they had good marinara sauce. Sorry no bathroom review, because the food was to good to get off my seat!
To top that off, they played live music and tried to get the guest to interactive with them.
My parents used to come here when they were dating and my family has kept up the tradition. The food is really great and their special calamari can't be beat. The service is always nice and the atmosphere is festive. Everyone joins in for the Puglia traditional Napkin song. I've knocked my review from 4 to 3 because the restaurant has gotten smaller in recent years (I think they sold part of their space) and the last time I was there in the summer, it was unbearably crowded and packed in. I couldn't move my arm without hitting someone and we needed to go outside a few times for some air.. still.. I'd come back.. just maybe not during prime business hours.
I did not enjoy my lunch here. The entire meal was bland and did not taste like authentic Italian food to me. I was shocked by this since this restaurant is located "in the heart of" Little Italy.
I ordered the three course lunch special. The minestrone soup was lukewarm and the rigatoni with sundried tomatoes was uneventful.
This place is very…interesting. As this restaurant is in Little Italy, this place pretty much represents what one would expect from a Little Italy restaurant, very touristy with some gimmicks, but in this case, a lot of gimmicks. The crowd is essentially tourists or large party groups looking to get trashed.
I came here for a friend's birthday and at $50 per person for group pricing, one gets all you can drink red/white house wine and beer (some type of Lite beer it seemed) as well as prix-fix formal meal. The wine and beer did its job and the house wine wasn't bad tasting to be honest. The waiters constantly refilled the bottles so it was a constant flow of alcohol which was appreciated.
As for the food, there were hits and misses. There was also a ton of food. No one left hungry unless they didn't like the food. It started off with the Garlic bread which was probably the best thing on the menu. The bread was crunchy, buttery, and fresh out of the oven. For the appetizers, there was a bunch, including Caesar salad, eggplant ricotta, mushroom caps stuffed with sweet potato, fried zucchini and stuffed clams. Everything was fine, maybe with the exception of stuffed clams. It was overly salty for my liking. As for the main entrees, they were misses for me. The pasta was cooked al dente which was good but every pasta dish was way too sweet. It was as if they mistook the sugar for salt. I couldn't finish. They provided marinara and carbonara pasta as well as chicken (or veal, couldn't tell) masala. All was way too sweet. My friends couldn't finish the dish as well so there was a ton of left over pasta. Then there was the dessert which was nice and plentiful, including cheesecake, chocolate cake, and tiramisu. The best thing was the cannoli. They were freshly piped. The outside was crunchy and the filling was smooth.
In between all the food, there was also side entertainment. A man played an electric piano and a woman sang every hour, doing the napkin dance as well as other oldies. Again, very….interesting.
Overall, it was a unique experience. I wouldn't necessarily volunteer to go back and for the amount one is paying, you can definitely get better quality but it definitely left a memory upon leaving.
Came here with a large group (~15) for a birthday dinner on a friday night. Had a fantastic time. The music was fun, the wine was flowing and I think everyone there had a great evening. Even with a large group in a crowded restaurant, the place still had a cozy, somewhat old-school feel. We did a pre-fixe thing that came with a bunch of food and unlimited wine and beer. I forgot the exact price but I think it was in the $55-65 range each – a great deal!
I knew this place was a fun spot to drink wine and listen to some great entertainment, however I was also extremely impressed by the food. Just about everything was fantastic. For starters there were baked clams, baked shrimp, a salad, stuffed mushrooms among others. For pasta there was a ziti dish and a penne alla vodka, then for a main course there was chicken parm and what I think was chicken marsala. For dessert we had a platter that came with everything you could imagine. The cannoli was phenoemnal. Everything was high quality and delicious. I have to say that a lot of places with a pre-fix in NYC pass off low quality food and keep the focus on the booze. While Puglia does not appear to have a wine shortage, they also very clearly pride themselves on their food.
The waitstaff was great as well. Despite the place being packed to the gills, they were still attentive and quick. Never had to ask twice for anything or flag anyone down. Extremely friendly and really helped with the celebration of our buddy's birthday. The entertainers made the evening extremely fun. I think I'll have the napkin song in my head for the rest of my life.
I guess this review is more centered upon coming with a large group for a celebratory night, so I can't speak to what it's like for lunch or quieter evenings. Also not exactly sure if I'd come here on date night. But I'll say this….Puglia has been around for generations, and it's clear why it's still around and thriving. I haven't been to a restaurant that seems to care more about their guests having a good time than Puglia.
I came to Puglia for a friend's birthday party last weekend and had a fun time. As described in reviews below, there is live music and lots of dancing. The restaurant is known for their "shake your napkin" song. It is definitely one of a kind!
Generally I don't expect much from pre-fixed meals, but everyone I was with commented on how good the food was. I particularly enjoyed the penne vodka and chicken parm. There is often not enough food to fill everyone with a pre-fixed option, but that was not the case here! There was almost too much food – I think they brought out 3 or 4 appetizer platters, and then 2 chicken and 2 pasta dishes. Everyone was stuffed at the end. I should also mention they offer unlimited red and white wine, and were quick to refill our carafes.
I only had a few small complaints — while we enjoyed the music and dancing, the restaurant was very loud. It was difficult to hear the people around me talk. It was also pretty hot inside the restaurant, but we did come on a warm summer day.
I would definitely recommend Puglia for anyone looking to have a lively celebration dinner!