Da Silvano

How is this place still in business?! The food is simply not good. The pasta I ordered was inedible and over cooked. For an Italian restaurant that has been around for a few decades, I would assume the chef knows how to cook pasta al dente. The servers were also cold to the point of unpleasant. The only staff members that smiled were the two young gentlemen who cleared our plates and gave us water. I’ve lived in NYC for most of my life and I frequent both high end and casual eating establishments. Da Silvano prides itself on being high end however it is not. The aura is snobby yet there is not much to be snobby about. The food is subpar, the wine list is sophomoric, and if I were you, I would save your money for another restaurant.

I went here for dinner last night, and got kicked out for adding salt to the olive oil before dipping my bread into it. At first, I thought the crazy person yelling at me about the salt was a homeless person (my dinner companion noted «this is why I prefer backyard dinner to eating on the street in NYC»), but no – that was the owner, Silvano Marchetto. When I asked him to please stop bothering me about the olive oil, he took away our drinks and told us we were not allowed to eat there anymore.
I joined Unilocal just to post this review, and there are many other reviews below noting similar behavior (e.g., kicking people out for salting the soup, throwing plates at diners who complain, etc). Insane that someone like this is still in business, but from googling the restaurant, it seems as though it has catered to celebrities for 40 years, and Silvano Marchetto gets to treat regular people however he wants. Well done NYC! New York Magazine shamefully has this as a critic’s pick; Zagat at least notes that «staff can be snooty to outsiders» (abusive would be accurate, not snooty) but gives it a high rating.
If Mr. Marchetto is reading, I’m of half Italian descent and grew up with a Abruzzi grandmother who always let me salt my food however I liked. Of course, even if I hadn’t, criticizing a diner’s manner of eating and throwing them out of the restaurant is not acceptable behavior.
And I’m sharing this on Facebook for everyone I know in NYC to see.

Supposedly Rihanna and other celebrities have dined here. It’s a great place when the weather is warm, I recommend you get a seat outside and order the lobster gnocchi.

I’ve come here quite a few times and never been disappointed, the food and service is amazing!

Although it’s a brisk night in NY, we are enjoying a nice bottle of red wine and desserts outside. I am under a heat lamp nice and toasty. The wine helps too!
The service here is excellent. Very friendly staff. We decided to order a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon a slice of tiramisu, and a Panna cotta. I never had Panna cotta before and we loved it. It’s a heavy cream custard and topped with a drizzle of chocolate fudge. It is such a light and creamy dessert with hints of vanilla and chocolate.
As we walked through New York City we just happened to stumble on to this place and I’m so glad that we did. We had already eaten dinner and only came for dessert. As I sit here I can smell all the dishes the people around us ordered. We are going to have to come back here for dinner.

i had the Rigatoni Focaccia and it was so good! i ate the whole plate which is hard to do sometimes lol. kinda pricey at 18.50 but it was worth it. delicious bread with olive oil too. very nice staff. i also manage to spot anne burrell outside! i took a pic with her becuz shes amazing :) this place apparently gets stars so keep a look out!

Disappointing delivery! We ordered online and part of our order was missing. They were not accommodating and told us it wasn’t their issue. They said to contact Seamless. Seamless said it was the restaurant who didn’t pack the whole order. After 20 minutes of wasted time, Seamless credited just the item missing. Big fail Da Silvano and Seamless. Perhaps you aren’t ready for delivery!

AMAZING food, lovely quaint location… no issues with cleanliness or waitstaff.
My dinner partner had the «whore style» pasta lol which was full of flavor. I’d like to go back again in the summer time.

Went here with my girlfriend for dinner recently on a Thursday and had a lovely experience. Started with a meat and cheese plate (Soppressata and Parmesan) which strangely was served on butcher paper. We then had the focaccia rigatoni and linguine with clams — both were excellent. Tiramisu for dessert was also tasty, a stronger coffee liqueur flavor than I’m used to but still good. Portion sizes were perfect and prices typical, except for the wine. Cheapest bottle was $ 60 and guests are not allowed to BYO. The owner walked around chatting with guests and making small talk. Service was efficient and not rushed at all.

After 40 years Silvano is still a Master
Lunch with friend in March terrific Cacio
E Pepe and even better Lamb keep going
Emlio

Da Silvano is very good. I went there recently with some regulars so got the regulars treatment which is nice. The owner of Da Silvano, presumably named Da, is charming in his own way. One of those things you either enjoy or don’t, but not good for all seasons. I happen to enjoy it.
The food is good. I don’t think it is spectacular, but definitely above average.
There is a lot of hate for the silvano here on Unilocal.I am guessing it is mostly from people who don’t enjoy the rough around the edges fun that others find charming about this place.

Décor is pretty gross however the food was terrific. Petite portions but tasty. Could work well as a date spot. The waiters with all have accents, adds to the authenticity of the meal. Worth a try for sure.

A+
Service is amazing
Food is fresh and delicious
You don’t know what your missing until you’ve tried it. Great place for salads l

Chef and owner Silvano Marchetto is a crazy arrogante SOB. I think he self medicates. (But that is my personal opinion) watching his mood swings during lunch and dinner service is a show and an example of someone impervious to reason.
He yells and screams and say off the cuff remarks which in a normal profession would have gotten in thrown into traffic.
the staff which is a tight group of insular ecuadoreans are notorious for pushing out any waiter that does not look like them or act like them. They are a pushy racist bunch but like
the old Italian proverb
«The fish rots from the head.»
In the summer time the chef parks his car out front (a Ferrari) in front of the fire hydrant, getting ticketed, all day. He is such a inconsiderate person.
So the ambiance is hit or miss depending on the medication of the owner.
The food is OK about a ³⁄₅. It tastes good but the portions are tiny so that combines with the jammed packed sidewalk seating makes for an uncomfortable eating arrangement.
Bar putti up the block is better less stress and more relaxing.
If I want to be yelled at while eating. I Chango to china town but at least they wil not be yelling at me just at each other in fukanese.

Two words describe this restaurant perfectly: Amazing Food!
I came to Da Silvano with friends on a Saturday night and thankfully I had made reservations because this place was popping! We were instantly seated upon arrival and I even got a compliment on my shirt from the owner.
Everything we ordered was so good. Seriously the food here came pretty close to the deliciously divine food I had in Italy. I will definitely be back to Da Silvano again and again. You should come and check it out as well.
Entrees
*Rigatoni Focaccia (rigatoni, double smoked bacon, sage, rosemary, garlic, white wine, cream and tomato) — 5 stars! Get this!
*Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese (homemade flat noodles with tuscan meat sauce) — 4.5 stars! My two friends who got this loved it.
*Ravioli Bella Firenze (spinach & ricotta filled ravioli sautéed in browned butter & sage) — 4 stars! Stuffed full of goodness and you actually get a good number of ravioli.
*Lobster Gnocchi — 5 stars! This was a special we were told and it was utterly amazing. I mean the gnocchi was like tiny pillows from heaven that were sent down to delight our taste buds. Best gnocchi I’ve ever had.
Dessert
*Bongo Bongo (beignets filled with vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge) — 3 stars. Just didn’t match up to the amazing entrees.

Ugh… Crowded, loud, overpriced. Place next door doesn’t take credit cards so we went here. Go elsewhere.
Now to add some detail. The lasagna portion was tiny. Another person got a pesto pasta dish that was simply some pesto mixed in with some spaghetti. Could make it at home for a couple of bucks.

We really enjoyed our dining experience in Greenwich Village at Da Salvano’s. The wait staff was polite and quick with our service. I have read mixed reviews but I was very pleased with our dinner choice.
We had the lobster gnocchi and Bolognese linguine and we both loved our meals. We were able to get seating outside which was a plus because the weather was amazing.
We heard that you might see a movie or television star while dining and we did, Famke Janssen from X Men was sitting a couple of tables up from us.
I highly recommend this restaurant if you choose to dine in Greenwich Village

Clearly you only go here if you wanted to go to Bar Pitti and there is no outdoor seating available.
The food was terrible. Really bad. Gnocchi was extremely soft and tasted like cardboard. Zucchini blossoms tasted like cardboard. Mussels were fine but the sauce tasted like cardboard. Prices for many dishes were fine, but there are a ton of landmines– if you get the fish the waiter recommends/​pushes you’ll be slapped with a $ 50 – 60 charge, if you get the langoustines (basically larger shrimp) you’ll get hit with $ 30 per. Otherwise a pleasant experience as I wanted to sit outside and didn’t order any of the landmines. Still $ 50pp to eat bad pasta and leave hungry with no drinks. In other words, Da Silvano is basically a poor man’s Nello’s. Also hilarious to watch the staff do their best and corniest Italian impressions.

Service: great
Food: ok. Mussels has seafood taste and broth was watery. :(I was hoping the garlic wine sauce would kill that taste.
The sausage pasta sauce was better but still overall experience was just okay.

A West Village staple. Probably top 5 best Italian restaurants I have been to. I had a variety of things, as I went for lunch and dinner :)
Lunch I had a italian meats and cheese platter along with the truffle pizza. The truffle pizza was probably the best pizza i have ever had, full slices of mozzarella and shaves truffle, it was amazing.
for dinner we started with red wine (of course), calamari, broclinni and sausage, then homemade ricotta and spinach ravioli in a butter sage sauce.
overall it was such an amazing dinner, atmosphere and a great time on my visit to NY, I will be back again!