da Umberto

Fantastic, not a complaint about the food or service.
Went on a Saturday night in the middle of February and had an excellent experience. I had a pasta dish that was fresh, homemade and delicious. My husband had a risotto with a veal ragu that was to die for.
The wait staff knew their menu, were very attentive and friendly.
Overall a delightful meal.

Incredible, Fantastic, Amazing, that sums up every meal I have ever had there!!!

I think this just might be one of my new regular go to spots and that’s saying a lot! I only stumbled into this place after I found that Crema was closed and thank God that happened! From the moment we walked in, reservation less I might add at a very packed place, we were greeted SO warmly by both the hostess and I think possibly manager? He helped accommodate us with a table and the service was just phenomenal. There’s no official drinks menu? But it’s fine because they were able to get us good wines based on us describing what we preferred. Now let’s get on to the pasta… it was perfect flavors and the eggplant was very very delicious. Portion was good for what you are paying… yes, it’s a bit pricier than other places but I would rather spend a little bit more for great food and a place where I feel comfortable at. Even my friend who was from Europe exclaimed that it was perfectly cooked and assembled on the plate! Unfortunately we were so full we didn’t get to reach dessert but they gave us complimentary tiny biscuits (?) before we left. The total for 2 entrees and 2 glasses of wine came out to 120 with tip, but it was very much worth it! We were greeted goodbye just as warmly as the moment we first stepped foot into the restaurant. Can’t wait to come back again soon.

This is our go to restaurant for great food and service. We’ve been visiting several times a year for 25 years and it still impresses.
We never look at a menu (I remember it being great) because the specials are always the best.
Great bar, friendly atmosphere, the foods incredible and leave room for awesome desserts.
Vittotio and his staff make this a regular spot for us.

This is a super cute little Italian restaurant around 17^th street that has amazing fresh pasta and delicious entrée as well.
We came here for a dinner with wine overflowing the table enjoying the company of coworkers and people we work with for an awesome. We started with an antipasta assortment. This included grilled peppers, sauteed mushrooms, some sort of greens, and grilled octopus. The Grilled Octopus is awesome! Definitely try that if you aren’t squeemish about eating tentacles!
The next thing we had was 2 types of pasta. One was a bologense sauce and the other was some sort of sausage cream sauce. Both were very good and cooked perfectly.
Lastly our entrée was the filet mignon was perfectly cooked, deliciously seasoned and it’s sides (while the spinach was a bit on the salty side) were good. The sauce they used, i would have again.
So when you order a scotch on the rocks — expect your cup to be overflowing with ice… be VERY careful how you order your drink. One ice cube, please. Just as an FYI. i had 3 so the first one was consumed pretty quickly.

Visiting da Umberto was a very pleasant experience for my family and I. I did have some disappointments because I had heard this would be a quiet restaurant, and it turns out that is not really the case, but I will say that it is quieter than many.
What really stuck out to me was how wonderful their antipasto plate was. My dad ordered it for the table, and it included 3 types of ham/​prosciutto, Parmesan cheese, calamari, a fried ricotta ball, smashed eggplant, tomato and burrata, and a delicious shrimp along with some other things. It was just perfect.
For my meal, I had the mushroom ravioli with truffles, and I am a huge fan of truffle, so I loved it. It was very truffley!
All in all, it was a great experience, and I would definitely recommend it because there are so many good looking things on the menu it was hard to choose just one.

My wife and I came here about a week ago. We were extraordinarily excited — a good friend had raved about it.
Unfortunately we left crestfallen. Started off with a soup that was fine, but from there everything was downhill. The waiter didn’t check in with us, despite seeming like a nice fellow.
We thought it’d be authentic, given the people. but it didn’t seem to be. The dishes seemed Americanized, cheapened and fattened. Many seemed unbalanced in nature, unpalatable to our euro tongues.
If that sounds pretentious, remember how pretentious this place is. Maybe if you’re a fan of American fast food you’ll enjoy this restaurant.

We were in NYC for a short visit and one evening we decided to try an Italian restaurant. We got few names from friends living in NYC…
When we arrived to the restaurant we got a bad impression as the waiter got nervous once we told him that we cannot eat gluten… in fact they had no gluten free bread not even crackers that can easily be kept in a restaurant for such cases…
They could make a gluten free pasta but when we got it it was not cooked enough and we sent it back. They did not want to make it again as it started to be a bit late and wanted to close the galley…
Then I got a carpaccio which was part of the appetizers but we ordered it as main course but still came as a small portion. It was nothing special nothing close to a real Italian carpaccio. My wife ordered fish but also full of capers (like the carpaccio by the way) and not so good. We just ate as we were hungry and wanted to leave this restaurant ASAP.
As no gluten free deserts were available we got a cheese platter. Drinks, one glass of house red wine and two glasses of Prosecco. Total for the dinner was 200USD…
We also saw the restaurant manager always busy talking around known clients and not able to welcome new ones nor try to help the waiter.
They do not make proper Italian food over there. We do not recommend this restaurant if you are looking for good Italian food (I am Italian and expert in food and restaurant business)…
By the way I noticed that Italian restaurants in the USA and abroad in general do not cook proper Italian food but need to adapt it to the average taste of people in that country as consequence it may not taste as if you were in Italy…

My boyfriend and I recently visited da Umberto and it was fabulous! We had the special grilled calamari, the mushroom truffle pasta, I had the swordfish and he had the pepper crusted steak. We also had a bottle of chianti. The service was phenomenal. We weren’t rushed at all and we felt like we could sit and enjoy our wine/​food. We wouldn’t enjoyed one of the desserts from their delicious dessert cart, but we were stuffed! This is a great place for a date night or special occasion.

Wonderful dining 5 stars for food 5 stars for service and staff. Halloween night I was dressed as a nun, I had no reservation and they accommodated me and my friend as if we were regulars. The food was amazing and cooked to perfection. The service and staff was wonderful as was the wine.

da Umberto is a phenomenal Italian restaurant. Beautiful space, awesome, friendly Italian service and amazing food. Every single dish is to die for: burrata, antipasto, butternut squash soup with mascarpone cheese, ravioli with ricotta cheese and truffle oil, salmon, unreal tiramisu. It is up there with Del Posto and Babbo; however, it is less expensive. I can’t wait to go back there!

Amazing food and service, definitely worth it for a splurge night. The do the crumb scrape thing! Waiters waiting along the walls… waiting! We were seated next to Richard Gere, who arrived to celebrate a birthday with his brother. My friend said «this food is so good!» I said «And, I can reach over and touch Richard Gere’s arm if I want». Make a reservation, and I seem to recall the only card they accept is AmEx.

5 stars for food 5 stars for service and 5 stars for ambience
Visiting from Los Angeles and went to da Umberto upon a friend’s recommendation.
Had a truly memorable and delicious dinner and a great experience
Waiter Alan and his colleagues offered great suggestions and provided superior service
The chicken parmigiana, ravioli, lasagna were all great
Specially created assortment of root vegetable, caprese and shrimp appetizer was divine
Never had tirimasu that good!
Can’t wait to go back and refer to anyone looking for a great NYC restaurant!!!

The food was TASTELESS. I ordered the plate of mixed veggies to start and they were tasteless. Then I ordered the truffle ravioli as an appetizer and they were even more tasteless. Then I ordered the salmon as an entrée and that was awful. With the ravioli being $ 30 for 5 pieces it should have been out of this world. The first star is because the décor is nice and the second star is because the service was very good. I just created a Unilocal account so I can warn people not to come here to get as disappointed as I was.

Amazing food and service, the meals were cooked to perfection and you could tell the ingredients were of highest quality! The atmosphere was nice, albeit a bit noisy.
Of course all this comes at a price. Be prepared to spend $ 100 — $ 200 per person.
Definitely one of the best restaurants I’ve tried in NY.

5 stars for food, 1 for service.
7:45 reservations for 7. Once seated, the waiter only took my father’s and my drink order (some people had drinks from the bar), and totally disregarded my mother and aunt, who were seated next to me.
This is one of those places where there is a laundry list of specials. Sorry, but I would much rather prefer to have it printed where I can see all options at once, am not required to pay attention for a while to hear everything, don’t feel bad having to ask to repeat things, and then try to decipher his thick accent on top of that. We asked him to explain what «dark ragu» was, only to find out he was saying «duck ragu,» which we figured out when he started to «quack quack» at us – yes, that actually happened, and yes, it was awkward.
We got the appetizer sampler comprised of a roasted vegetable medley, burrata, rice balls with mushrooms, meatballs, shrimp in some kind of buttery sauce, along with a plate of sliced proscuitto and soppressata and chunks of parmesan. Everything was delicious, especially the meatball. My cousin doesn’t eat meat, so she also ordered a salad. Generous portions.
At 9:06, I still couldn’t believe we weren’t getting our food — we were all sitting doing nothing, as we had finished the appetizers a while ago. I flag down a man who is a manager, I presume, and asked what was taking so long. He tells me he will see what’s going on, and walks to the front — the opposite direction of the kitchen. I keep my eye on him and he does nothing and talks to no one, and instead, decides to turn around by the bar and surveys the land. I couldn’t believe it. I flag down another male in a suit, and explain the situation, and he tells me that it’s taking a while and that this is normal. Shouldn’t the first words out of both people’s mouths be an apology? In what NYC restaurant does it take 1.5 hours from the time you sit down until you get your entrée??? He says he has customers who have 3 hour dinners there, and yes, that’s great, but that should be because they want to stay, not because they are forced to because no food is coming out. I ask what the problem is, and he says that it’s perfectly normal for the steaks to take this long, so I asked if he was killing the cows in the back at this rate. He tells me he wants me to enjoy my dinner and I say this wait is unacceptable, and he tells me, «Just be patient» and walks away.
Seriously? I have NEVER been spoken to like that in a restaurant of any caliber.
At 9:13, the food finally arrives, as well as the SALAD that my cousin had ordered as an appetizer. The suit man helps place the food down, and when he comes to me, again, no apology, and again, I tell him that this is unacceptable. He just tells me that he wants me to enjoy my food — at this point, how can I?
I shared the cavatelli and the braised rib in a chianti sauce. The roasted corn in the cavatelli added such a nice flavor and texture. The braised rib was tender and juicy and the buttery polenta underneath was delightful on its own. Other dishes ordered around the table included steaks, tuna, chicken milanese, and the ink ravioli, and everyone seemed to really enjoy.
About 2 minutes after we started eating, a woman walking by fell and hit her head on the stone countertop. Pushing my cousin’s chair into our table, she landed next to my boyfriend, who had to get out of her way. It turned into a commotion and soon a crowd formed consisting of members of her party, as well as the male in the suit. My mother and boyfriend had front row seats to this debacle, and she ended up only taking a few bites of her meal because she lost her appetite. Meanwhile, the crowd gathering next to us doesn’t move, and nobody from the restaurant comes to us and asks if everything is alright. Seriously, this is all happening like a foot away from us. I don’t care if it’s not the restaurant’s fault, but you should make sure that your customers who were disrupted are okay.
I’m so upset by this point by the wait and the blatant disrespect displayed by the staff, that my boyfriend goes to talk to the manager. I’m not sure what words were exchanged, but the entire bill was picked up, although he did say that the manager was still spiteful during the conversation. He had also implied that they had done us a favor by accommodating 2 more people last minute [but they had said «that’s great, actually!» (verbatim) when we changed it at 5:30].
We ordered dessert (chocolate mousse cake, cheesecake, napoleon), which was also great, although there was a consensus that the cheesecake was too ricotta-​y, and the napoleon was delicious and not overwhelmingly sweet, although I wish there was a bit more crunch to the flake.
All in all, although the food was excellent and I would want to definitely go back, the service was so extremely off-​putting, that not only will I not be exposed to that behavior again, but based on principle alone, I will never step foot back in da Umberto.

I am Italian (meaning I was born and raised there) and I was not impressed with this place. The prices are high and the food is not great. I was with a large party and we got some appetizers for the table which were good but not great.
As entrée I ordered the «mare» which is a dish made with seafood, tomato sauce and fregola. When the dish arrived I tried it and it was so spicy that it was inedible. There was no mentioning of the fact that the dish was extremely spicy on the menu. I sent the dish back. Interesting enough, except for few dishes (mostly from Calabria), italian food is NOT spicy at all.
It took them 10 – 15 min to redo the dish which wasn’t spicy this time but had no fregola. For $ 34 I honestly don’t know how can they get the dish wrong twice.
The dessert were ok, I liked the panna cotta which was to me the most authentic thing I had at umberto’s. My friends liked the cheesecake, which I didn’t try. All the other desserts were unimpressive.
Personally, I found this place not authentic at all. Service was inattentive and just loud (the waiter kept calling every lady «Signora» a million times and then didn’t even bother asking how our entrees were).

This would normally be a 4 star restaurant but I feel that our server decentful.
The food, wine, overall service and ambiance were good. We were a large group and the waiter suggested a small pasta sampler for the table — each person would get 1 ravioli, risotto and their special truffle pasta. He said it was a great option for the table if we didnt want the anti pasta, we all agreed and enjoyed the app. When we received our check we were extremely surprised that the appetizer was $ 570. $ 135 ($ 15 per person for the ravioli and risotto) and an additional $ 435 for the truflle pasta.
I don’t have an issue paying for good food but for a small sampler of pasta at $ 60+ per person (which is more than any entrée on their menu) the waiter should have mentioned something. It unfortunately was a disappointing ending to what was a great meal.

Da Umberto proves to be one of the tastiest and most memorable Italian restaurants in the city. I highly recommend dining here and sharing every part of the meal for the table.
The staff is incredibly attentive, and will ensure that the dining experience fits your ideal.

I have two Italian go-​to spots in NYC and this is one of them. Forget the menu and listen to the specials. The specials are normally longer than the actual menu and they are so wonderful.
If you are going to go towards the menu and you are a chicken lover, PLEASE get the capricciosa — holy taste buds. If you are feeling pasta and love hearty dishes the rigatoni is FANTASTIC.
The service is great, the wine is delicious, everything about this place makes it a five star rating. It is a bit expensive, but 100% worth it if you are looking for an amazing meal.