Scarlatto

Note to self and others in the same predicament … make a reservation if you want to eat at a 5 star Unilocal rated restaurant on a Sat evening in mid-​town.
We did not have reservations on a busy Saturday night. We had just gotten off an evening Bus Tour and didn’t want to commit to a timeframe. As a result, the 2 places that we wanted to try were booked until 10pm. With children in tow, we had to eat quickly or we would have HANGRY children!
This place had tons of empty tables at 8:15pm. They took about 15 minutes to set up a ‘walk-​in’ table. I’m guessing those empty tables for for ‘later reservations’. OK, so we got seated in a tiny corner where only ‘children could fit in the corner seats’. Our server was very friendly as were the other water glass fillers. Clearing the table was slow, and since it was a TINY table, space proved to be a challenge for arriving dishes.
The food was not earth-​shattering, and the presentation was meh. They served slices of a very dry bread but then again, maybe that’s «Italian». They provided a parsley dipping sauce but made no attempt to suggest olive oil dipping sauces that were on the table. They happily split a couple of salads we ordered but they were tiny and lacked taste due to scant amounts of dressing. I had to ask for more dressing. The suggested appetizers were generous. The calamari was crispy and plentiful. The ‘giant’ meatball (Kobe beef meatball, mozzarella and fresh ricotta) as was suggested was tasty but I’m not sure it was worth the $ 16 for the one meatball.
Our meals arrived shortly after the appetizers and salads. I ordered my favorite linguini with clams. Half of the clam shells were missing the actual clams. I’m not sure where they went because they were not in my dish. My sister ordered the same dish and had the same experience. The taste was lacking, in fact no taste. just a hefty bowl of pasta. My niece ordered Fettuccine alla Bolognese and said ‘hamburger helper’. It was very dry and loaded with pasta and lacking in meat sauce. A couple of people ordered the Pollo alla Parmigiana and they seemed to enjoy it. The special was the Braised lamb shank with risotto. Again, lacking in the shank but über generous in the very thick risotto.
Overall, the place was nice, the service was ok and the food was nothing near overwhelming. We might have enjoyed the food more if the table and seating was not so cramped.

Food was great the portions were big the only thing that wasn’t so great was the service.
The waiter was very pushy on ordering more food when it was just the two of us.
Everything came out in good timing just seemed like the waiter was impatient the place was nearly empty and we had paid and we were just finishing our coffee and and wine we hadn’t signed the check yet being that we were lost in conversation and the waiter came back about 5 times to take the check. It’s like they wanted us in and OUT very rude staff

Was going to see a Broadway show across the street, so convenience is what my date and I were looking for. We walked in around 5:30 on a Tuesday with no reservation and they were able to sit us with no wait, which was great!
Before speaking of the dinner, I must say the dipping sauce that came with the bread was interestingly herb-​y. Take that as you may.
I ordered the Ravioli di Granoturco and definitely give it 4.5 stars. It was the perfect amount of food and left me very satisfied. The asparagus pieces in it were a little on the al dente side, but I didn’t really mind!
I also got one of their suggested drinks, which was delicious. I believe it was called a raspberry Bellini, definitely recommend!

Soup was amazing!
So many separate favors blended together for an absolutely wonderful taste experience!

great. Forgot anchovies on caesar. Busy night though. Snow storm of century. Service was too quick but nice and happy.
Octo was fantastic. Misto was good needed more cheese. Osobuco fantastic but not piping hot.

Last minute Opentable reservation at Scarlatto for the win.
My mom and I had been really indecisive about dinner and decided to check this place out after not being able to get a table at the better rated Trecolori.
After entering this completely packed establishment and waiting about 10 minutes, we were seated at a cozy table for two. The service was rapid fire at first. Within no time, we had placed our wine order and then food order. Our soups honestly came out way too fast. I know a lot of people are trying to catch a show and soup is prepared in bulk, but we didn’t even have time to nibble our bread and take turns freshening up in the restroom before the soup came.
Thankfully my butternut squash wasn’t cold by the time I was ready for it. It was hearty and full of creamy, butternut squash flavor.
For our entrees, my mom and I split the ravioli di zucca and the braised short rib with risotto, which was a special of the day. Despite the short rib not being fall-​off-​the-​bone tender enough for my liking, it was flavored really well. The ravioli was excellent and the pumpkin/​ricotta filling was paired nicely with the sage and asparagus.
Dessert was a laughable experience. We each received a different menu, and unfortunately got our heart set on the one option not available. When asking our server for a recommendation, he kept saying everything was his favorite. At least everything was equally priced and he wasn’t trying to up charge us. The chocolate soufflé have the perfect amount of chocolate and raspberry sweetness without being overly stuffing.
Despite the pace of the meal being too quick at first, the not overly tender short rib and the dessert confusion, the food was pretty good and not overly expensive for a mid-​level dining experience. I’ll round up to a four star rating for Scarlatto.

Came here on a whim when all other restaurants nearby had a 2+ hour wait on NYE weekend and was pleasantly surprised. Service could have been better, but the food was amazing. Great little spot separate from the craziness of Times Square!

This is my first time writing a restaurant review on Unilocal.Had reservations for dinner there last night before the theatre. Arrived, and the hostess walked us past 3 empty tables to the last table in back, next to kitchen. When we asked if we could be moved to one of the empty tables closer to front, the snotty hostess told us they were all reserved. Well, we had reservations also. A lovely waitress intervened upon seeing that we were unhappy, and immediately moved us to one of the «reserved» tables. Waitstaff were wonderful and attentive. Food was mediocre, at best. It should be noted that a table next to us remained vacant during most of our meal. Hostess ruined the dining experience, we will not return. Hoping manager/​owner reads this review and attempts to teach his front door staff better customer service. This is not the first complaint about this on Unilocal

I ordered broccoli do rabe side for appetizer. It was fresh, well prepared and delicious! Then came the chicken scarpariello. The WORST chicken I have ever ordered anywhere. A diner has better chicken. It was either completely microwaved or boiled with a few pieces of pepper and sliced sausage on top. A brown gravy pooled around it could not hide the fact that the chicken was nuked or boiled. YUCK!

Great location and a spare menu make the overall experience a bit, well mixed. They do make pasta on request if you want to have something particular. Wine selection was average. I won’t mind going again.

My son loved the gnocchi. Portions are good sized and the Décor is what you’d expect of a nice Italian restaurant. Service was so so, but they served you fast and the food was reasonably priced for the location.
I had chicken and sausage which was tasty. The potatoes were a little of a surprise, but made for a hearty dish. The two ladies (my daughter and her friend) had pasta dishes that went over well.
My kids spit the chocolate soufflé which was so good it caused a fight over who would get more of it and we ended up getting a second one to break up the fight, so you might want to give that a try.

What a joke. My fault for thinking I would have a good Italian experience this close to Time Square. Our worst dinner by far during our stay in New York. This restaurant is perfect for you if you like to be incessantly rushed with mediocre food, in a loud environment. You will literally be in and out in 25 minutes flat without trying.
We were seated promptly after making Open Table reservations. The hostess, with a scowl on her face, mumbled to the floor something to the effect of «Enjoy your meal.» The assistant server spoke a language that was incomprehensible. He did not understand us, nor did we understand him, causing confusion with our Pellegrino order. Who screws up water? While pouring water, another restaurant worker decided to pass out paychecks, jamming it under his armpit while pouring. The waiter shows up and made it clear, his goal was to turn the table over in record time. All his responses were voiced in rapid staccato. I decided to slow him down and ask questions about menu items I had no intention of ordering. By now the place was packed and too loud to talk Looking around, most were leaning in to the person they were talking to in order to be heard. The bread was stale, nasty, rock hard served with equally hard butter. The food (gnocchi, Veal shank, pumpkin ravioli were about 3.5 stars). The problem is that the food was brought out in about five minutes. Seriously. The service became so ridiculously pushy to rush us out I literally held my fork in one hand and my water glass in the other just to extend our stay and block them from clearing the table.
By now, dinner was a joke. I realized that this is a bait and switch. It looks like an old school Italian establishment, but in reality they could give a damn about the experience or repeat customers. I decided to have some fun and make light of the situation. Still holding my fork and water to prevent them from clearing the table, I told my son to start his stopwatch on his phone to time how long it would take them to clear our plates once I put down my fork/​water.
49 seconds! We asked the waiter for desert menu’s, and he literally sprinted and then passed them out like a Las Vegas Casino dealer. We were all laughing by this point of the absurdity of this establishment.
I had the waiter explain every item on the Dessert menu. We split in microscopic lava cake a little larger than a silver dollar, and a banana split that was actually pretty good.
Never again.
Caveat emptor. You have been warned.

AWFUL EXPERIENCE. SCAM ARTISTS.
Checked my bank statement after eating here. Was charged an extra 300.00 than what I asked to be charged (I was splitting a bill). When I called the restaurant I was passed around to different people and finally landed on someone who is the manager, Frank. From the get go he was rude as though I was interrupting HIS day. It was very bizarre. I wanted to know why he needed my card number and then he was like fine don’t give it to me, I don’t care what you do… Why would I give him my card number right away after I’d been charged that much?!
Frank was unapologetic, would not take any blame and was so rude. I work in the theater district and I will not be going back to this restaurant and will advise people who work in the area not to either.
The food was sub par, as well.

Great service, extremely polite and attentive staff. Top notch. Decent price for the theatre district.

We went for a pre-​theater dinner and were pleasantly surprised at how good the food and service was. I say surprised because there were some less than stellar reviews recently.
We found the $ 30 pre-​fixe dinner to be an excellent choice. We live in Manhattan and typically spend $ 100 – 150 for dinner for two, with a glass or two of wine. Here the Salad, Salmon and Dessert dinner was more than filling and very tasty. The fresh greens and tomato salad was a large plate which my wife and I shared. It had excellent ripe tomato slices and a light oil and vinegar dressing. The baked salmon was a large, crispy and thick serving, with a very flavorful caramelized onion topping. The spinach side with the fish was very good, not tart, with a little garlic. It was just right. The cappuccino flavored cake/​ice cream dessert was also a large and oh so good dessert. The burrata was a large fillet, perfectly baked, with fingerling potatoes.
All in all we had a really satisfying experience. And our waitress was very attentive and pleasant. Just last week we had dinner at a Michelin rated restaurant which was more then twice the cost for just as satisfying a meal. Now I know why this place was packed for dinner and the Michelin place (nearby) was only half full.

Decent pasta and fair price. Ordered through seamless and food arrived punctually. Tried gnocchi and ravioli, the former one is really good and the latter one is a bit different from what I expected and overall quite nice.

Went for a walk to find dinner and local mentioned this place. Figured a small Italian restaurant would be great, it was okay.
The food was very good, the service was okay, and we kind of felt rushed out.
The restaurant itself was cool and the food was good, it’s worth eating at.

Conforming spot if you are in the area. Nothing too special. Comfy.
I had the fettuccine Alfredo and a cesar salad, flavorful and acceptable.

I had stopped at Scarlatto’s in between a matinée and evening performance. I really like the space-​it was a large comfortable size. It was not too crowded when I arrived so i was seated immediately. I asked for ice water which they brought to me right away. I got a garden salad to start and chicken marsala for my entrée. All were delicious. They also brought some delicious italian bread and EVOO to the table. All and all, it was a great meal and I would recommend to friends in and out of town and I would return.

A solid go-​to restaurant in the heart of the theatre district. Our family comes here whenever we are parked in midtown and don’t want to move the car.
Always solid food, nothing too special. Standout is always their truffle and mushroom pasta. On this occasion we got an antipasti and fried calamari/​zucchini for the table. Antipasti was lackluster but the calamari and zucchini were nice, not too salty and delicious.
I shared the truffle pasta and chicken saltimbocca. Both were good, truffle pasta is hearty and flavorful. Chicken was a little flavorless, I think the sauce just didn’t pack any punches.
Service was OK, while highly attentive the staff all looked and felt hurried. It also took 4 asks for someone to bring my friend ice for their jack on the rocks.