Porsena

My experience at this restaurant was more irksome than it was anything else, and the only reason I’m writing about it is the way it ended, which was with me forgetting my card after paying. Which is my fault, I get it. However, I’m 99 percent certain that the reason I had to cancel my card is because the Porsena staff decided to be jerks about it, due to the small tip I left for our server. Following our meal, we walked just a couple of blocks away to a CVS, and when I went to pay, I realized I didn’t have my card, and I must have left it behind at the restaurant. I walked back to Porsena quickly (all of 10 minutes had passed since we left) and the host said he had cleared the table himself but hadn’t seen my card; he went back to the bar to ask my waiter/​bartender if they had seen it (or so I thought), but said it had not turned up. He asked me if I was sure that I hadn’t taken it, and I said yes, I had checked every single pocket on me, and I didn’t remember taking it, so I must have left it. He immediately became defensive, and suggested I hadn’t looked hard enough; took my name and number, then suggested that I just cancel my card right away, which of course I was going to do anyway.
About an hour later, he called and left me a voicemail claiming that they had «found» it, and that I could come and pick it up the next day, though I probably had canceled it by now. No explanation as to where it suddenly turned up, but due to that voicemail, I’m sure he was aware of it all along (after all, he was the one who cleared my table, and no one else was sitting at it when I returned to inquire about it), because, like I said earlier, I left a small tip. Here are the many reasons why I did not leave 20 percent:
–Came here last night (a Saturday) with my boyfriend for a 6:00 reservation, and we were on time. The restaurant had all of 4 other tables seated and 2 servers in addition to the bartender, and we were seated in the front window nook, away from everyone else – which was fine and kind of romantic, at first. Except that we were virtually forgotten about throughout the evening. It took our waiter approximately 12 minutes before he came to take our order, but we weren’t in a rush, and while bothersome, he was nice once he arrived, and recommended a really nice bottle of red.
–We ordered the beef tenderloin salad to share (which was quite tasty) as an appetizer and then for our main meal, I got a buttery pasta with prosciutto, while my boyfriend got the trout with lentils and we shared a side of brussel sprouts. These were good as well, once we actually received them. Following our apps, the food runner brought out my pasta, but failed to bring out my bf’s trout. At first, I thought it’d just be a couple minutes before the rest came, because that happens sometimes, but after 10 minutes went by (and our waiter failed to check on us), that didn’t happen. We flagged the host, and told him we were waiting for the rest of our food, and he instantly apologized and took my pasta back and said they would re-​fire our food and bring it all out together. It was only then that our server came to check on us and said that he thought we were sharing everything, and that we wanted it all one at a time, which is not a thing that any waiter anywhere has ever assumed about a main course dish. Unless your table tells you they plan on sharing everything, you don’t assume such a thing, and even if a table does tell you this, that usually means that you bring all of the main courses out together with share plates, not one at a time. He apologized generously, and we were STILL okay, and thanked him for apologizing.
–After our meal, they dropped a dessert menu, which we were too full to partake in, but my bf did decide that he would have a coffee to end our meal. Another 15 minutes went by with no one checking in on us (our waiter passed by frequently serving other tables, but mostly avoided looking in our direction), and by then, we were ready to go, and my bf no longer wanted his coffee. Finally, the host swung by – again, not our server – and we asked for the check.
Unless I have a truly unfortunate experience, I always tip 20 percent, because I’ve been both a host and a server and I know that sometimes things are out of your control when you’re on the other side of the experience. But while none of the service here was initially rude per se, they really dropped the ball, and there’s no reason that should have happened, because again, we came here at 6pm when the restaurant was practically empty. A 20 percent tip was not earned in this case, and it’s just unfortunate that I forgot to grab my card, because then I gave them a chance to retaliate. A minor annoyance, but in turn, I will not recommend this place to anyone, unless you’re doing take out & don’t have to deal with the inattentive staff.

Good wine and solid apps. Pastas were even a bit al détente for me, and I love toothsomeness. Really a 3.5 because the lighting is so calming.

I was drawn into this restaurant because of all of the reward stickers it had in the window, but my meal ended with disappointment when I realized I was duped into eating at yet another over rated place.
I tried three things total and nothing blew me away.
The homemade buffalo mozzarella was tasty, but the arugula side was way over seasoned, and the bread did not compliment it well. The bread was dry and bland. I saw that people raved about the olive oil for the bread, but it tasted no better than the Whole Foods oil I have at home. The mozzarella would have been much better with a light tomato salad. I have no idea why so much seasoning was on the arugula, but we couldn’t eat it.
I had the penne with the pork and ricotta. The penne was too al dente, it needed one more minute in the water, at least. The pork was gamey and odd tasting with the pasta, and I didn’t taste the ricotta at all.
My friend has the spicy lamb. That was the best thing that we ordered. It was spicy though, so if you are not into spice I wouldn’t get this. The cream sauce it was in was good, and at least the pasta wasn’t raw.
This place gets an overall rating of EHHH… I wouldn’t go back or recommend it to anyone I knew.

Food quite tasty.
Portions quite tiny.
Service quite nonexistent.
One-​hour wait with a reservation. We chose to eat at the bar.
Quite disappointing overall.

The pasta with lamb sausage had a novel shape and was delicious and a little spicy (not enough to interfere with the taste). The gnocchi was also really good.

Poresena is more than a neighborhood restaurant. Sarah Jenkins Is a celebrated chef and there are clever touches here. Crusty bread with fruity olive oil starts the service. The menu changes nightly and is pasta focused.
Ate:
Escarole salad w/​hot anchovy dressing
Raw veggies and radish with olive oil from Sarah’s own Italian property
Fiorentini with garlic pork sausage kobucha squash & Calabrian chilies
The veggies and radish with her oil and sea salt was really interesting. The escarole salad was good, but I don’t know if the large size of the escarole or its under seasoning just was underwhelming,
I swear anything with Calabruan chilies rocks and the pasta was first rate– meat & creamy squash– I was a tad dissapointed to hear the pasta was from a box cause I expected housemade, otherwise a solid meal.

Not kid friendly. We booked a table online weeks in advance and indicated we needed a high chair. We fully understand some restaurants are not kids friendly so we made it clear in our reservation we were bringing a toddler. We took a long über ride to our reservation and when we arrived we were told that they had just read our notes and the restaurant does not have high chairs. We were told that the owner has children and feels that high chairs are germ magnets. We agree that they attract germs and this is why we travel with sanitizing wipes. The host offered to get some books and napkins for our 2 year old to sit on… seriously??? We were unable to stay because there was no way to secure our child in her seat. How frustrating given it was a Saturday night and we were unable to secure a reservation elsewhere at that point.

Disappointing. Dishes are pretty plain and small. Nothing was really good for such small plates.
On top of that I think I got something bad because I feel awful to my stomach.

A good solid neighborhood venue. Small menu. Enough choices. Modest size portions. Last night my wife and I shared a root salad and a bruschetta appetizer. Both very good. The «house» white sparkling wine was terrible. They took it back and the rosé ($ 14) was much better.
I had a pasta dish (ordinary) and my wife ordered the rib eye steak. How do I say this? The steak was the ugliest presentation for a piece of meat I have ever seen. It looked like a pile of grizzle although my wife said it tasted fine. Yes it was «only» $ 33. but for $ 10 – 12 more you can get a superb piece of meat at any good steak house. No dessert, I think the total tab (inc tip) was about $ 100.
Noise level is very important to me. As long as you are not sitting in the bar area it was tolerable although not quiet.
Does not have a full bar. Wine yes.
Bottom Line: If you live in the area it is worth a try. We will probably go back.

Came here on a weekday night and it didnt meet my expectations.
Just a few notes:
— Service was friendly and quick
— Portions are small
— Mediocre food, seasoned well but something was definitely missing.
Most likely won’t be somewhere I come back to dine in.

We stopped by the Porsena «extra bar» (the left half of the restaurant with its own entrance, it does connect to the rest of the place in the rear). We had eaten already so can’t speak to the food but it certainly smelled delicious! The menu changes fairly often and looked fantastic. They have a pretty limited beer selection (five or six in total) but a very extensive wine list. The extra bar we were in had a long bar stretching the majority of the space, and one small table in the window where we sat. Great people watching from the table! The main restaurant itself looked like a popular spot for large groups due to the size of the restaurant, particularly for the area. It’s also located a few doors down from McSorley’s, a popular NYC spot, so could be a good place to come before or after a beer there (or maybe to drop off any non beer drinkers before you head to McS’s lol). The restaurant and bar are both beautifully decorated and the bar even had a (no sound) black and white movie playing while we were there which was pretty neat!

A cure for the mid-​week blues can be found in a plate of Porsena’s anelloni with spicy lamb sausage, or in a glass of thoughtfully curated earthy chianti. Sarah Jenkins’ old world comfort food is rustic but executed to the pinnacle of flavor. Another favorite was the wilted escarole salad with anchovy dressing; tender and bold. The meal ended with their signature savory-​sweet olive oil gelato atop olive oil pound cake.
The atmosphere is comfortable for groups in the main dining room or at the well-​placed chef’s table outside of the bustling kitchen. The tables near the bar are an invitation for an intimate dinner or contemplative glass of wine.
The restaurant exudes a casual vibe with no pretension and yet an ease of class and elegance shines through the dishes. The appreciation for traditional trattoria fare is apparent in every bite at Porsena.

A hidden, yet spacious gem in the East Village, you would be amazed at the intimate décor and delicious food at Porsena. You can find yourself a table at entry on a weekday night. The portions are fair leaving you filled with content.
I tried annelloni con salsiccia e rape as recommended by my server. The thicker than usual pasta gave the dish depth and flavor as it harmoniously held onto the sauces of the dish. If you are looking for a simpler pasta, try their macaroni pasta each filled with their ragu sauce. When in doubt, you can always count on the server’s recommendation!

I had duck breast and olive oil gelato. They are to die for. The duck was not too fatty and cooked to perfection. Don’t be scared to order the olive oil gelato. It just had a hint of olive oil flavor.

Amazing food, amazing ambiance, amazing staff. I went for a birthday dinner on a Friday evening and was blown away by the entire experience. I walked in to the restaurant area and was the first one there (obviously), but they led me next door to a more quaint bar area where I sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the scenery. The walls are covered with really interesting, exquisite art, and the dim lighting in the bar area and candles across the bar make it for a great date scene.
The owner actually came up to me and asked if my whole party was coming, and when I told him maybe only 5 out of the 6 were coming he was actually super polite in asking if he could take a 2-​person table out of our seating area. Honestly most restaurants I’ve been to are pretty rude with a 1-​person late cancellation and force us to squeeze without asking, but I was really impressed by how respectful they were. When we finally got seated we got to know our server who was AWESOME. He recommended us a Xinomavro, which he really turned us onto. It was very easy to drink, a little fruity, and we all agreed that we could have been tricked to believing it was a white wine. The only thing is that the server was a LITTLE too shy in interrupting us to ask if we needed refills or if we were ready to order. He kept coming over and then leaving without saying anything, we had to flag him down a few times.
The food is divine — I got the lasagna of the day, which changes but mine had some braised rib ragu and parmigiano baked in terra cotta. It’s steaming hot when it comes out, and it’s great to share if you get an appetizer as well (but of course I ate the whole thing because why not). My friends loved the anneloni pasta and the gnocchi.
The nicest thing they did though was that they didn’t give us just one, but TWO amazing desserts on the house for the birthday! We didn’t even have to ask. They were so sweet to us, even though we were a large group of old friends catching up for hours, and the owner personally came up to me and asked about my experience when it was all done.
HUGE success, and great spot for families and large groups of friends. A little on the pricey side, so maybe not a casual date spot, but make your parents take you here when they’re in town !

We came to Porsena to try Lakh Lakh (Persian pop-​up at Porsena’s bar) and out of the gluttonous musings of our hungry stomachs, decided to eat a pre-​dinner at Porsena while waiting for a table at Lakh Lakh. Turns out… Porsena is the real winner. Loved the pastas and salads — I scraped all my plates clean. Lakh Lakh was a let down after that to be honest. Skip the line, go for the pasta. That’s a pretty winning philosophy in life.

Adorable little place in the east village. Came here with an amazing groupon deal, got an appetizer to share, two entrees and a dessert for $ 40 before taxes and tips. Amazing deal and amazing food. The menu changes every week, I love it when restaurants do that, it’s seasonal and fresh!
We shared the aged prosciutto for appetizer. Delectable little bites, they ran out of the pâté I would have gotten but this was delicious regardless. Very fine.
Out entrees were fantastic! We had the pork chop with creamy polenta and roasted baby carrots. Every bite was succulent, the flavors were perfectly paired, the meat well cooked and the dish was huge. We also had the steak with horseradish butter and crushed fingerling potatoes. Awesome. Both entrees were on point, modern twist to kitchen classic, filling, surprising and it all worked.
We shared the chocolate walnut cake. Simple and straight to the point, topped with homemade delicious whipped cream, you are in it for a treat.
Overall, we had a fantastic meal, the staff was kind and professional, congrats to the chef for amazing and succulent dishes!

went on a Saturday night and the place was almost completely full. Got lucky to grab a spot or two at the bar and saddled up. Ordered a decent bottle of wine for less than $ 40 which was great. There were several options in this price range and that pleased me. The service both at the front door and the bar were impeccable. So they both get 5 plus stars.
The place loses stars for the pace of the food coming out and I don’t think this is service related, I think its kitchen related which is worse. The courses came out too far apart and a couple sitting next to us complained audibly to the server that they hadnt received food. A bummer for all.
The food was pretty good. Ordered the tagliatelle which was tasty but would have skipped in in lieu of the skirt steak which was awesome. Salted and cooked to perfection. Honest was great and I might be back for another round. Order this. Big enough to share a bite or two around and tasty enough to make you want more.

Wow! This is so so soo good! The restaurant is beautiful and cozy, every single member of the staff is nice, attentive, helpful and take the time to answer all of the questions (and I had many). But the best thing is: the food!!! Now that’s really cooking! Obviously the chef here knows the products and pays a lot of attention in selecting them, they definitely don’t try to be cheap. The tomato and avocado salad shows that perfectly with minimal ingredients and perfect seasoning, it is absolutely delicious. The steak and the sea bass are also really good. Absolutely recommended!
I’m editing this review because I had the lemon cake the next day… Wowowow!!! Simply delicious!!!

I had high hopes for this place after reading reviews and looking at their menu online, but sadly, they didn’t live up to their expectations for me.
For starters, you can only make reservations on their online system for up to 4 people, and we had 6, and they don’t open until the evening so you can’t call ahead of time to let them know. I made a reservation for 4 and in the comments box told them we had 6 people and that we’re vegetarians. After walking in, I realized we didn’t really need to make reservations because only a few tables were occupied around 8:30pm on a Thursday evening.
Little did I know, their menu changes daily and they don’t have many options for customization. Online, their menu had an array of vegetarian options, but when we sat down for dinner, there was only one vegetarian option — risotto. I’m not a big risotto fan and there were 5 vegetarians out of the 6 of us that were there. We asked if they could take the meat out of other dishes, but the waitress said that it would be difficult to do so and for those that she could take the meat out, we couldn’t get anything else substituted.
I understand that these restaurants are «true» Italian places, but when I made my reservation, I explicitly said that almost everyone in our party is vegetarian and then you only offer us one vegetarian option? C’mon now.
I will say this though, the vegetarian food we got was surprisingly decent. I kept an open mind even though I was a bit frustrated with the service and lack of customization with the menu to suit their customers’ needs.