Cielo At the Mayfair

Best Italian food in NY. Was a favorite for years on 8^th Abe and I thought they were gone. Now I learn they just moved. You must try it

It is hard to find an affordable restaurant in the theater district in NYC. El Cielo at the Mayfair is not only VERY reasonably priced, the food is excellent, the service prompt, attentive and friendly, and the atmosphere (I was downstairs in a quiet, tavern-​like space with wooden walls). I had the grilled salmon with two very-​nicely cooked vegetables (all for $ 18), and shared bruschetta, salad and fried calamari with my companions – all of them delicious. The chocolate Lava cake deserves any superlative you can think of to give it. I’m looking for another play to attend so that I may have the pleasure of eating there again.

My mom and I were looking for a place to go before a show that was not cheesy/​times square-​y… so of course I went on Unilocal.
1. The location: If you’re going to Broadway play… You can’t beat the location. It is close, but not too close or touristy or anything like that.
2. The drinks: Limited beer selection (but why are you ordering beer at an Italian restaurant anyway). Great (and strong) craft cocktail menu.
3. The food: My mom and I both got different pasta items. Everything that we saw people ordering looked phenomenal. Everything was super hot, fresh, made to order.
4. The service: Family owned, great friendly vibe. Newish location for an old area favorite.
I love in NYC and I try not to go somewhere twice (only because there are so many places to try)… But I will definitely be back to Cielo.

This place is a quiet haven in busy Time Square. The food is very good. The service prompt and polite. What I like most is that I can have a conversation at a normal volume and be able to hear the other person.

Went into this little place after arriving in the city late. We had a nice little table near the front window that was a couple of steps up from the rest of the dining room– very cozy spot. The chicken milanese was soooo good here. The red sauce on the pasta had the perfect amount of sweet and spice.
I read a lot of GREAT reviews of this place so I was expecting a little more out of it. Our focaccia didn’t seem very fresh and one downside was I that I found the salad dressing a little bland. I would come back to try the homemade pasta instead. I bet that’s their specialty.

Delicious! I had chicken piccata over linguini (my sub for their potatoes.) Was amazing! My son got the Pollo Milanese which was also so yummy! Small little gem of a bar and restaurant!

Perfect quick stop for a cozy, warm, homemade meal on the way to hamilton (4 blocks away). FYI book of mormon is right next door. Food came out 10 minutes after we ordered! We found out waitress to be very nice and helped us choose our entrees… We will definitely go back!

We had a terrific pre-​theater supper here on Saturday. Busy, but not crazy-​crowded. The tables aren’t crammed cheek to jowl. Lively but not noisy. The menu (available online) is populated with classic dishes that are thoughtfully selected. So it’s a helpful page, front and back, not one of those perplexing books of endless options.
We enjoyed some starters for the table: first-​rate fried calamari; really excellent bruschetta, plus prosciutto and melon. All five of us enjoyed our various main courses, including a ‘paleo-​friendly’ one made with gluten-​free pasta. My farfalle in a tomato-​cream sauce was spot on, generously flecked with salmon.
Service, by Mel, was generous and professional. Mel showered us with attention and really made it a memorable night.
We come to NYC once or twice a year and we’ve found our go-​to spot for excellent, by-​the-​book Italian. Heavenly, indeed.

We were influenced by all these five star reviews to visit and kinda wish we had stuck to our usual pre-​theatre standbys. The food and drinks here are just mediocre, I doubt we would go again unless in a real pinch.

Service: awesome.
Food: on point. Creaminess was perfect, not too heavy, not too sweet. I got angel hair pasta with the wild mushroom cream sauce and capers on top. It’s not on the menu but they’ll do it if you ask. Super sweet staff!
Atmosphere: cutest little bar area. Definitely wanna drop by on a snowy evening for some drinks :)
Price: worth it.
Very happy with the experience and I will definitely be returning!

Stopped in here solo before a show — a cute, underground restaurant with amazing Italian food! I ordered the gnocchi — very doughy & soft, different than any other gnocchi I’ve eaten before (in a good way!). And the garlic bread = amazing! They dip it in olive oil with herbs, and it’s served warm. The waitress was very accommodating, as I was in a rush to catch my show (was able to order ½ plate since I wasn’t as hungry/​was in a hurry). Wine & food came out quickly, and the wait staff was very attentive. Perfect place to stop before a show, or even for a laid-​back dinner with family/​friends. Low-​lit, comfy, great service & great food!

My sister, mom and I went there on our last night in New York this past week and this was probably our favorite meal and service all week in the city! Isabella, the owners daughter served us and told us stories about how here parents drove up and down the coast of Italy for the perfect recipes, and let me tell you they found them! They even gave us a carrot at the end of the night to give our horse for our horse and buggy ride through Central Park that night. Will definitely be back next time I’m in town, and a big thanks to Isabella for the amazing service!

We found this restaurant on Unilocal as we were looking for a dinner before the Broadway show. I believe the restaurant has upstairs and downstairs, and we went downstairs.
It was a Saturday night and we had no reservations, but they were able to sit us as there were only 2 of us. We were sitted in a small room with wood décor. There were 4 or 5 tables in total in that room and like in any other NYC restaurant, the tables and seats were very close to each other.
The menu is pretty basic Italian food. When I saw the menu, my first thought was that all the items on the menu can be cooked quickly so everything is probably fresh. And it was the case! We ordered bruschetta for appetizer and pasta carbonara and chicken piccata for dinner. The food was fresh and tasty.
Overall, I had better and more sophisticated Italian food before, but for a Saturday night in a theater district in NYC it was great. Great basic Italian food!
Btw my current profile picture was made at Cielo.

I brought my mother and grandmother here before going to Radio City. I was looking for somewhere to go that would be quiet enough for conversation and catching up, and Cielo delivered on that perfectly.
Our waitress was very attentive, and helpful as well. I had a question about the sauce of the Penne alla Stefano, and she was able to answer immediately, and this is what I ended up getting. I also ordered a cocktail, the Bee’s Knees, and was able to order it with whiskey instead of gin (personal preference).
The rest of my table ordered pasta dishes as well. The bread basket was foccacia, and was more plentiful that we three bread-​loving ladies could finish. Our food was brought out quite quickly, and based on the empty plates, I would say that we all enjoyed our meal thoroughly. Definitely can’t beat the quality for the price in the Theater District!

My mother, sister, grandmother and I dined here in September. We had tickets to the Lion King, so we decided to come here for an early dinner.
The food was good, but nothing fantastic. Standard Italian fare. My sister and I had the Carbonara, my grandmother had the gnocchi, and my mother had something with olives in it.
One nice thing was that they offered a carafe of wine if you didn’t want to purchase a bottle. The carafe was the perfect size — about two glasses each.

This place is located right in the heart of the Theater District. It’s a charming place, however, I did have a few gripes while my friend and I dined.
First, it took almost a half hour for us to get two simple mason jars filled with water. We kept trying to flag the waiter and he kept disappearing into the kitchen. Now the place is small, and we were there on a Tuesday night, so bustling and busy wouldn’t be the words I’d use to describe the atmosphere. After struggling to get service all night, I finally had to go to the bartender at the bar myself just to refill my glass.
Based on the reviews here, I decided to go with a pasta dish. I ordered the pasta with spicy marinara dish, and I added hot Italian sausage. It was really delicious, the only thing is that the portions are really small and about an hour later I was hungry again. Prices were fair, the selection was decent.
Would I go here again? Perhaps, but I’d have to be willing and ready to order two dishes just to feel like I had a real meal.

I came here for lunch the other day– really wish it were closer to my office!
Service is really really sweet– our server (the daughter of the owner) was so personable and really made our experience special. We had come for my dear co-worker’s birthday and she even gave her a birthday hug. She made us feel like family.
Food was great and the portions were big! We all ordered pasta dishes (the seafood angel hair, penne pisani, fettucine with porcini mushrooms in tomato sauce) and we devoured everything. The pasta was just right al dente, and the food was simply fantastic.
Can’t wait to come again!

My husband and I were looking for a quick and quiet place to eat after seeing Book of Mormon at the Eugene O’Neill Theater, and this was the place we decided on-​mainly because of the Unilocal reviews.
Their downstairs is currently under renovations, so I was not able to see the place in its entirety, but we sat in the small bar area and that was fine. The server and bartender were extremely attentive — although, it was super quiet there for a Sunday in the city. The cocktail list has some interesting and funny names such as the «49 Shades of Gray» and the «Anti-​Mormon». I had the 49 Shades of Gray (a gin cocktail) and it was fresh and divine.
We weren’t terribly hungry, but my husband and I ordered some Caprese to split and each of us ordered a pasta dish. I felt that for the price and being in the city that the portions were just right. I didn’t feel as though we overdid it — in fact, I felt perfect. We spent around $ 80 before tip, and that was about what we had hoped for.
If we are near there again, we would most definitely go back. It’s decent food, good service, and in a nice area of the theater district. You really can’t ask for more!

We had a last minute change of plans and needed a dinner spot on a Saturday evening near 48^th street. Most of the Unilocal well reviewed restaurants were already booked for the time we wanted but lucky for us we were able to get in at Cielo At the Mayfair. Interesting location down a set of stairs behind a couple of doors with an almost speakeasy feel. Once inside we were greeted by the bartender/​waitress/​hostess who confirmed our reservations and showed us to our table.
Food: Decent, solid, Italian fare. We ordered the Gnocchi, Carbonara, and the Agnelotti. My wife actually ordered the incorrect dish, wanting to order the Agnelotti (which is the vegan ravioli dish prepared with garlic and olive oil) she ordered the regular Ravioli which came in a cream sauce. Our server mentioned she likes to change the Carbonara when she eats it here by substituting Penne for the Spaghetti and Prosciutto for the bacon, sounded good so I followed her recommendation. Food was delivered quickly, the Gnocchi was pillowy soft and delicate, the Carbonara really worked well with the Penne and Prosciutto. Once my wife realized she ordered the wrong dish, we asked the server and they switched out the Ravioli with the Agnelotti without a fuss. The edges of the ravioli in the dish was tough and chewy so it was the least favorite of what we ordered. The wine list is limited which was a little disappointing as we’ve been getting used to a large variety at each restaurant we visited. We finished the meal on a definite high note with a mascarpone cheesecake. The cheesecake was creamy but not overly sweet, a perfect end to the meal.
Service: As far as I could tell there were two Waitress/​Bartenders working early Friday evening. They were friendly, engaging, offered up suggestions, and were easily accessible. No service issues at all and we were accommodated perfectly.
Atmosphere: Nice space, quiet and away from the crowds, noise and craziness that lay just beyond the entrance. Lots of dark wood gave the restaurant a cozy, classic, rustic feel that just felt relaxing to me.
Value: One of our more affordable dinners during this trip, Cielo does deliver good value when you factor in the location.
Overall: We were happy to find this restaurant as it met our needs perfectly when we needed to make a last minute reservation near our show location. The food was solid if not spectacular and the staff were good and oh. we got 10% off our total bill by checking in on Unilocal so solid win there!

Cosy Italian food in a basement and a great place to grab a bite before a show. A great cocktail menu with some cheeky names and a lovely food menu. We had some pasta, and it was a good value serving that was also yummy. The lemonade here comes served in little hipster jars– very very cute. Also, the lighting and books on shelves add a nice quirky touch.
It looks kind of weird from the outside, but the inside is much nicer!