Peasant

Came here for Valentines Day with the manfriend. One of my top NYC restaurant experiences.
We were running late for our 6:30 reservation due to traffic. We called and they were able to accommodate us and said that we would have to get up by 8:15. Being as we were sat by 6:50 and we had another spot to be at by 9, this didn’t bother us too much. The seating all faced the open kitchen for the most part (the back dining area). Also table spacing was generous compared to typical NYC restaurants. They had light jazz playing and crowd noise was a comfortable level.
Our waiter (forgot his name already) was very authentic Italian and had fabulous recommendations. He directed us to the Sagrantino di Montefalco from Umbria, it’s a fantastic bottle! They had a rissotto special that night with black truffle + lobster which was SO hard not to order ($ 65). Would’ve maybe sprang for it if we didn’t pick a $ 100 bottle.
Apps:
Cannolichi
Burrata Salentina
Pasta:
Gnocchi Special (Rabbit ragu)
Tagliolini con Vitello
Dessert:
Panna Cotta on the house (a nice touch everyone got)
Loved everything we ordered! They also had a porchetta special for an entrée they were pushing that included the head. Was not brave enough this time but I am for sure coming back.

Get uni pasta! Service is excellent and the ingredients are very fresh.

My fiancé and I went last night to celebrate Valentine’s Day a little early and it was completely worth it. To start we had bocconcini and speck which was absolutely delicious. For dinner we split the veal ragu and rack of lamb with polenta. Both dishes were great and I highly recommend. Our server was also very nice! All in all I give the place 5 stars!

Very good! I have been here several times and have had a good sampling of the menu.
The asparagus is great. The oven really imparts great flavored into all of their food.
Restaurant can be hectic at times but service stands up.
I have not gotten the attitude some of the other reviews have mentioned.
Will definitely be back!

I spent a great birthday party at Peasant few nights ago. We were seated in the below room. The space had a great atmosphere, with candles, a jazz trio, and great waiters and bartender.
The food thou was the best part of the party. We shared many plates, in a family style way. Two different salads, a delicious risotto, a great fish and steak meals, and 5 desserts. Also, prior to the dinner they pass around with «to die for» pizza and prosciutto. So amazing!
I think this is also a terrific place for date. Intimate and cozy. I can’t wait to go back with just by boyfriend.

I stopped in here for dinner with friends the other night & was intrigued as it was my first time dining. The setting is lovely — I enjoyed being able to peek into the open kitchen as I dined, it’s dimly lit without being pitch black, & it didn’t feel super cramped which is usually synonymous with NYC restaurants (granted, we were there on a slow Monday night, but still). For our first course we split the prosciutto e frutta, burrata salentina, & an arugala salad. All super tasty but my favorite was actually the bread with the ricotta spread — that spread is killer. For my entrée I had the ash pasta con pomodoro; the pasta was delicious but the dish itself was super oily, I tried a combination of all of my utensils to minimize the oil dripping but there was no stopping it. Regardless it was a great meal & I’m really looking forward to coming again & trying their goat cheese lasagna!

Beauty in the design of this place as well as the staffing Eating is about having a good meal but more about the dining experience. Exceptional warm service by everyone from the greeter to the barmaid to the wait staff complemented by a very nice menu and rather good wine list I’ll be back for sure

Recommended by a friend, Peasant turned out to be the best dinner of three (including the always fantastic Gramercy Tavern). Beautiful rustic setting, terrific vibe, spot on service were only the entrées to dinner. I can’t stand Burrata. Until last night. The imported version was complimented by roasted tomatoes and a touch of oil. Terrific. The waiter under sold the seasonal salad that was the best of the three. Terrific roasted, seasonal veggies with just enough greenery to let the veggies stand independently.
While the roasted pork specialty was awesome (I could use just an entire serving of the crackle ribs… YUM) the winner-​winner was the gnocchi with rabbit ragu. Oh my, thank goodness someone found a rabbit in Manhattan. Outstanding dish with perfectly executed gnocchi and a flavor from the ragu that made you hopping for more.
Wine selection was all Italian which was fine with me. Very eclectic selection.
The only commentary on improvement is the menu font, color and light combo. VERY difficult to see if at all and I’m glad that this 55 year set of eyes was flanked by iPhone lights being used by the 30 something crowd next to us. Make it easier to enjoy the menu!
This jersey boy done good in his Italian classes.
The Peasant is the King on Elizabeth street.

This is for the downstairs part…
Love the ambience and feel of this bar. A perfect date spot and a place I recommend to friends all the time. The emphasis is on wine rather than cocktails but you can still get a tasty concoction if that’s what you’re after. The music always seems to be right up my alley too.
It’s generally quiet and is upscale without being pretentious. It’s dimly lit — i.e. perfect for a date night :)

If they have the suckling pig as a special… get it! I didn’t have it, but ⁴⁄₆ of my party did. I tried it and had major order envy. My orata was very delicious, as well. The restaurant was a little loud, but the food was great and the atmosphere was lively!

Very surprised by the rating. Had an incredible meal here, and the ambiance is lovely. The bread and fresh ricotta is outstanding. Highly recommend the panzanella salad, gnocchi, and porchetta.

Feel like getting away from the hustle and bustle of NYC? Found this place randomly while walking in the neighborhood. It was freezing outside and the rustic italian ambience/​glowing brick oven in the back of the restaurant, captivated us. We walked in with no reservation and the staff was friendly and very helpful. The food was not only delicious but also well prepared. From the wine selection to the dessert — I ate so fast I barely remember what I ordered (an arugula salad with blood oranges, Ash Pasta Pomodoro… multiple glasses of italian wine from regions I can’t remember…). I can’t wait to go back to see if they can do it again…

A unique experience. Beautifully and simply decorated the name says it all. Farm to table, snout to tail, you feel that you are enjoying the simple foods elevated to a new level. Everything was delicious and well-​prepared. Full flavors, unique tastes. I had «ash pasta,» which had a backstory and a sauce that was incredible. It’s a little loud and I did take a few stars off for service. Our waitress was gone for long gaps of time. It’s a small place. The meal, which started as well-​paced (you have to order everything at once so they can figure out the timing), started to feel that we were forgotten. The menu is seasonal and the night was lovely. Just be prepared to have a long (maybe longer than necessary?) experience as a peasant in NY.

I recently came here on a Saturday night with a few friends. The place has a unique and interesting ambiance, perhaps rustic. We ordered 2 appetizers — Cannolicchi and Pig Liver. I liked the Cannolicchi, but I was not crazy about the pig liver. I ordered the Razza Con Capperi (skate, lemon, white wine, capers), which was good, but a little bit too salty. Our waiter was really nice and explained everything clearly.
I would give this place 3.5 stars.

I’ve been to this place a few times before, but it’s been about 5 or 6 years. I remember it being much better, and it has definitely gone downhill.
The food is still pretty good, but the attention to detail has definitely deteriorated from what it had been previously.
What was most notably different was the service… It was pretty awful. We were seated in a timely manner, and our food came out fairly quick, but it was the attitude of our waitress that was pretty poor. She was rude, condescending, and acted like she didn’t want to be there. When I tried to ask her a few questions about the menu, it seemed to really irritate her and made us feel like we were putting her out by even asking her. When dinner for two is $ 300+, I would expect a level of service a little bit above the Olive Garden.
Having said that, maybe our waitress just got dumped by her boyfriend and was having a crappy day, so I still gave her a 20% tip and thanked her for a great meal.
I would come back if I was in the neighborhood, but I would not make this place a destination with the level of excitement that I’ve had for it in the past.

Came here with my fiancé’, soon to be sister-​in-​law and my sister and we absolutely had such a great time. The staff were amazing and knowledgeable about the offerings and the wine recommendations. The ambience was dimly lit with candles and the kitchen with exposed bricks and brick oven added to the perfection.
Definitely give the specials a try, always changing but specials for a reason, one of the best salads. I had the grilled fish and it was meaty, flavorful, aromatic but be careful with the bones. Everyone else had pasta and by the empty plates it was apparent that they enjoyed what they ordered. I would definitely come back again.

Such a great date spot! The food was delicious, and the ambiance was perfect. The kitchen is visible to the guests and the food is prepared over open fire and stoves. Before the meal is served, everyone begins with fresh bread and ricotta cheese and oil. My date and I then shared the Heirloom Tomato Salad as an appetizer, and it was absolutely superb! Everything tasted so fresh and light. The portion size is perfect for two people, and they even split it for you ahead of time, so it makes sharing easy.
For my main entrée, I had the skate. It was nice and light, in a perfect lemon, white wine, and capers sauce. My date had the sea bream (whole fish), which they filleted for him. The fish was tasty and the sauce it came with was very flavorful, but be careful of the bones, as it is the full fish. We shared a bottle of white wine, which went well with our fish choices. Their wine selection is extensive and ranges in prices from about $ 35-​$ 900 per bottle (Of course I joked that I wanted the $ 900 bottle of wine. expensive tastes). While not at a «Peasant’s price,» the food was average priced for a nice restaurant in the city.
Excellent food. Excellent date spot. They take reservations (on Fridays at least) for 7pm and 9pm seatings. We probably didn’t need a reservation for 7pm, but it got filled closer to 8pm.

Peasant has a great ambience and the kitchen looks awesome. Brick ovens with pans and such hanging from the ceilings. It does have that rustic Italian vibe.
I love how they start you off with bread and fresh ricotta on the house.
The prosciutto and fresh figs were incredible. Had a bit of Parmesan as well.
The sea urchin spaghetti had a beautiful garlic flavor too. With so many places making their own version, it’s hard to hate it if you’re a fan of uni. But it’s starting to really get played out.
I decided to go with the squab. Done very nicely. Sweet savory sauce with a perfectly grilled squab. I liked it but didn’t love it.
Skipped on dessert since nothing looked that incredible.
This is a nice date place. Are there better choices? Of course, but this rustic little place is worth a try.

Awesome food, great atmosphere and good service. Peasant is an unusually spacious downtown NYC restaurant with an open kitchen. They start you off with a great loaf of bread and some ricotta cheese on the house. I have been here twice and had the lamb ragu both times — one of the top five Italian dishes I have had in NYC.
The buratta to start is incredible and the Pizza is an excellent option to start as well. Italian style, super crispy with a glob of mozzarella.
Peasant is an all-​around great experience — top notch food at relatively good value in a very enjoyable setting.

KenScale: 8.0÷10
Peasant is a multi-​regional Italian restaurant in SoHo. It is the type of neighborhood restaurant that you’d like to visit over and over again for a casual dinner, with charming dining area and an oven right next to it. The food has many of classic, rustic Italian dishes that were well-​executed.
There is nothing at Peasant that you probably haven’t seen if you’ve been to multiple Italian restaurants by now. I was still a fan of crunchy baby octopus that came with hot chiles. I also had pizza with hot chile and dried sausage. While I liked the dish overall, the hot chile ended up overwhelming my palate with its insane spiciness. On the other hand, spaghettini that came with sea urchin and heirloom cherry tomatoes had a very nice balance of flavor and texture, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the juicy and tender leg of lamb that worked so well with polenta. Both dishes had that rustic touch yet I really appreciated that neither dish had overpowering mix of seasoning that could’ve changed the dynamics of the food entirely. For dessert, you can’t go wrong with ricotta cheesecake with pistachio gelato that was not overly sweet to my liking.
The restaurant has a large selection of Italian-​oriented wine, so definitely enjoy your meal with a glass or two. As noted above, I was a fan of charming vibe of this restaurant, which would make it a great place for a first date or casual family dinner. Getting a reservation wasn’t particularly challenging, although it still became moderately packed in the course of my meal on a Sunday night. Peasant has all the elements you’d look for in a place you’d like to visit multiple times for solid Italian fare, especially when it’s nearby your neighborhood.

This was a good find!
I usually don’t come downtown but a friend picked this place & we had a very pleasant experience.
The dining area has a very warm, earthy feel to it. Service was very good & attentive. Food was delicious.
We had the burrata salentina & polpi in purgatorio (baby octopus, chile peppers) for starters. Both were delicious. The octopus was perfectly cooked & is spicy! YUM! For main course I got the gnocchi con funghi (again…very good) & my other friends did the pasta special for the night.
Would definitely like to come back.

Pas terrible pour le prix. Le repas avait pourtant tres bien commencé: très bon moscato, excellente sardine, puis viennent les pâtes. Et là, terrible déception: de la crème et beaucoup de fromage dans la sauce alors que ce n’était pas indiqué (pâtes a la boutargue, et risotto aux asperges, plein de gruyère)
Horrible. Et cher

très sympa! la déco, l’ambiance tout est parfait… un vrai italien avec un carte diverse, des portions plutôt européenne. Ici c’est la qualité qui prime sur la quantité.
L’agneau sur lit de polenta était excellent. L’ambiance tranquille nous a conquis.
Une excellente soirée passée en Italie. euh à newyork je veux dire ;)