Il Postino

Checked out Il Postino for a business (ish) dinner last night. When the reservation was first made, I thought it was in the most random spot in the city. Review were okay, so I was still looking forward to it.
Anyway, the Il Postino is a classic Italian spot. It is quiet, and tucked away off of first avenue. It is a little overpriced, but I appreciated the ambiance. To start, there was cold antipasti placed on the table. The bread was delicious as was the olive oil. For appetizers, we got the burratta. prosciutto, calamari, tuna tartar, & baked clams. The tuna tartar was amazing. There was avocado in the middle and it just tasted really fresh and refreshing. The rest of the apps were meh.
For my main, I stuck with gnocchi topped with mozz and tomato sauce. I did really like this, and the service size was huge! I have leftovers waiting in my fridge for me. What made the service fun was the waiter told us we could order any Italian dish we wanted, even if it wasn’t on the menu. Everyone appreciated that and ordered a variety of veal and chicken dishes.
Overall, my experience here was just okay nothing to write home about. I think you can find the same experience with a smaller price tag in many spots throughout the city.

Superb, upscale, and intimate atmosphere. Definitely a destination restaurant, being so far east. Creative menu and wonderfully attentive waiters. One of the best Italian resturaunts in the city.

We live in the neighborhood and decided to give Il Postino a shot based on a pretty high Zagat rating. The décor is nice but everything else is not so much. Very chaotic service with multiple bus boys and only one waiter for 12 tables. Food is nothing memorable or spectacular but the prices are. At the end of the day it is too expensive for the sloppy service and average food. Will not be back!

DELICIOUS food and EXCELLENT service. Very pricey, a bit cramped, but an overall wonderful experience. Upscale and slightly stuffy. Ideal for a serious business meeting (when you are looking to close the deal), or for a romantic occasion. I’ve enjoyed many meals here, so no «favorites». Portions are generous, considering the type of place this is. Wine list is excellent but a bit pricey for even the more popular labels.
Staff is hugely attentive. Indoor parking next door on 49^th Street. A memorable place.

Excellent lunch today! We had a couple of hours to kill for lunch while waiting for Consulate paperwork from the Consulate of Macedonia. We stumbled upon Il Postino! Excellent little place … Very clean and very welcoming. The staff was VERY attentive from The moment walking in the door when they took off our coats. Perfect Lunch menu with 3 courses. Never felt rushed and the service was excellent! Food tasted wonderful… Especially the little tastings on the table before your appetizers.
I will definitely be back.

Old school at its best. No snotty waitstaff trying to be cool-​no crazy ingredients you never hearsd of or don’t like — Yeah!!! The dover sole is my favorite to share… and is one of the best in the city. Never had a bad meal here ever!

There are no shortage of old school Italian restaurants in NYC. Although this one has a nice ambiance with a good Italian vibe, the food is nothing incredible. The staff is nice, but bordering on overly attentive at times.
The food is above average, but there are other spots in the area that can match the quality and service. Like most nicer restaurants in NYC, the food comes with a higher price tag, but I think the food here is slightly overpriced for the quality.

This is best in class in Italian food. Food is delicious and of high quality. Wait staff is very attentive, but comes with a price tag. If they ask you something it’s usually with a price tag. The octopus salad they bring to the table is excellent, but will be on your bill. If they ask you that they will bring you some prosciutto while you wait, it’s going on your tab. If they recommend a bottle of wine, be prepared to shell out $ 1500 on that. The lobster dish is excellent and about $ 80. The steak with truffles was the best dish we had. Overall with 2 glasses of house wine and two margaritas and food for two people it came to $ 410. So be prepared, but if money is no issue, you should definitely try this a few times.

Il Postino is a very old school authentic Italian restaurant, you wouldn’t think so from their décor but the food and service is straight out of Italy. I dinned her last week with a group of friends and from the second that we sat down to the moment we left we were treated with utmost respect. You will not leave this restaurant hungry that’s for sure. They portion sizes were good, from the apps to the entrée and even the dessert. I would definitely return here!

This place would get five stars except for the uninspired décor. Food is excellent if on the pricey side.
This restaurant is good for the neighborhood. I try to go at least teice a year.
Service is promt and attentive.

Lovee even their takeout! Delicious, wholesome, heartwarming dishes! My personal favorite dish was a special Crispy Artichoke, Hearts alla Judia! Absolutely beautiful, crispy and yumm!!! Bufala Mozzarella and Heirlooms complement the start of any dish you decide!

I have been to Il Postino MANY times and it was among my favorites. I recently met an out of town friend there and I said how wonderful it was. I was so angry with the waiter. He offered a pasta dish with shrimps, which my friend chose. When the charges came through it was $ 22 a shrimp, he had two on top of the pasta price. These were small shrimp not langostino’s. Pushy waiters and arrogant. Prices are high here but this was way out of line. Was shocked when I heard about this after the fact. No menu’s I understand but the waiter didn’t advise us of the expense of these shrimp. Im outraged. I don’t know if Ill be going back.

Il Postino is an old school Italian restaurant in terms of the style of cuisine and the hospitality. My girlfriend and I both thought the service was excellent. I’m not big into décor, so you won’t find much in my review about that. I will say the restaurant is nice and clean. Other than that, go elsewhere if you’re concerned about décor.
Now to the food…
My girlfriend and I shared most of our meal. We had the prosciutto to start accompanied by the artichokes. She loved the artichokes, however I thought they were a little bland. After the apps our pasta course arrived. We order the linguine vongole. This was absolutely delicious! Everything about this dish was perfect and the portion was a good size for the two of us to split. We then moved onto the osso buco. My mom makes an incredible osso buco, but this was close. Again, a good sized portion, loaded with flavor and lots of marrow. It was so rich with flavor and the veal shank so tender… you’d think it was done at home by your mom. On top of the above, we did get a bottle of wine to go with the meal and two coffees.
Other than the artichokes, I thought the food was excellent. That being said, I did find the restaurant overpriced. For the above, our check was $ 278 (including tip). I did know the place was expensive, but I don’t think the food justified the check… don’t get me wrong, we were very happy with the dinner. I just thought this was maybe $ 50-​$ 75 more than it should have been.

Best Italian food I ever tasted! Great service too! There was no menu. They just talked about the food and options which were one better than other!

I think the previous reviewers have it right. The restaurant has slightly above average service, above average food and is very expensive considering it is Italian food. The ambience of the restaurant is really nice and the northern Italian food that they serve is really good; however, all of the entrees are about $ 40 and there were absolutely no «leftovers» which is usually the norm when you «go Italian.»
The wine list was terrific and I would recommend:
1. Cozze Al Vino Bianco (new zealand mussels, white wine, garlic, parsley)
2. Striped Bass Mediterraneo (wild striped bass, little neck clams, mussels, asparagus, saffron tomato broth); and
3. Insalata Il Postino (red beets, fennel, baby carrots, scallions)
This is a great place to use a credit card that garners a lot of airline miles because you will certainly rake up a few miles here! Truth to tell, at these prices, I would not go back, but I am glad I went once.

Visited IL Postino as part of a group, so my review will not consider pricing. If you’re concerned about the amount of money you’re going to spend here, please do your research elsewhere.
Every member of the staff was welcoming and polite to our entire party. I read some other negative reviews that mentioned issues with staff– this was not the case with our party. Everybody was very nice and service was great.
The food was top-​notch. Fresh, clean and prepared at a high level. Our table had seven or eight different entrees and everybody enjoyed their food.
The gluten free options are quite limited, though they do offer gluten free pasta as replacements for their pasta dishes. However, the appeal of all the pasta dishes is the fresh pasta… so replacing their fresh pasta with dry gluten free pasta seems like a waste and a very expensive downgrade. I had a very well prepared steak and a really nice fresh mozzarella appetizer … and felt no ill effects.
This is not a spot recommended for people with gluten issues or for people on a budget.

This review is from 2 years ago, but nothing has since changed.
Sub par food (tuna tartar was inedible and the rest was just OK), with poor ambiance, laughably offensive service, and absurd prices.
If you PUSH, you can get a menu with prices and once you do that, prepare for the snobbery.

Wanted to try Il Postino for a long time and truly sorry I finally did. Pushy upselling from minute one in a room that felt like a Florida strip mall restaurant. The service was rude, condescending and the only saving grace was the food. It was delicious-​the chef shouldn’t suffer because the service and atmosphere is so subpar.
When the bill came is was about $ 100 over what we thought it should have been. It was handwritten and had 2 numbers-​a food total on one side and a drinks total on the other. Anywhere else we would have asked for a breakdown, but the attitude up until then made it clear it would not be worth bothering. Just wanted to get out of there and take a silkwood shower!

This 5-​star rating is based primarily on multiple visits to Il Postino for late lunches, either on business days or on the weekends. Late lunches are an unusually luxurious dining experience, with relatively small guest attendance and an exceptionally attentive and professional wait staff.
The prix fixe menu is a wonderful value, and offers a very nice selection of seafood, pasta and meat entrees. Our meals have always been «first class»… both in visual presentation and freshness and taste, and we have never been disappointed.
But while the food preparation and selection of available items from the menu is first rate, what really earns a fifth star for Il Postino is the overall dining experience. Overall, dining at Il Postino for lunch is a very calming and pleasant experience, especially in the midst of the hustle and bustle of midtown Manhattan.
It is very unlikely that you will regret your visit to this oasis in Midtown Manhattan, particularly if you chose to do so for a very nice and memorable «late lunch.»

Wonderful food, but at a fairly high price. I truly enjoyed everything. The fava bean salad had a flavor I hadn’t expected. The Veal Ravioli was rich and perfect. The tiramisu was decadent. The whole experience was perfect but even though the East side rent is undoubtably high I still felt as though the total tab was a touch higher than average. When I return it will be with much wider open eyes.
Go, but with the understanding that this is not budget Italian food.

Das mit Abstand beste italienische Restaurant, das ich bisher betreten habe!
Zunächst war ich beeindruckt von den großen Blumenbouquets und Früchte– und Gemüsekörben, die das relativ kleine Restaurant komplett überladen und einen phantastischen Charme ausstrahlen. Zum zweiten war ich beeindruckt von der Karte, die durch den Kellner frei vorgetragen wird in einer unfassbaren Geschwindigkeit und immer endet mit or what else you would like. Und genau so ist es: Man bekommt genau worauf man Hunger hat und das in einer unfassbaren Qualität, perfekt auf den Punkt gekocht und perfekt abgeschmeckt, so dass die frischen Zutaten zur Geltung kommen und nicht mit Gewürzen oder Sauce überdeckt werden.
Mein absoluter Favorit: die gebackenen Zucchiniblüten als Vorspeise. Da könnte ich mich reinlegen
Das Restaurant ist wirklich ein italienisches Restaurant, es gibt kein Pizza hier und kein schnelles Essen. Hier nimmt man sich zum Genießen Zeit und gibt diese auch den Kunden. Der Preis orientiert sich auch eher weiter oben — aber es lohnt sich auf alle Fälle!
Ich würde gerne mehr als 5 Sterne vergeben hier, wenn das ginge