Va Presto

I really want to like this place because it is so convenient for me (it is in my office building), however, they just can’t seem to get it together. The food is pretty good — breakfast is easy (good bagels and eggs, always tastes fresh) and for lunch they have great options (paninis, homemade pasta and pizza, salads, etc).
But the service is AWFUL!!! This morning, I went to get breakfast and I was the only person there. It took 20 minutes to make an egg white wrap and the guy making it had NO idea what he was doing. And this is a normal occurrence — basically a bunch of employees standing around while customers wait ridiculous amounts of time for their food that should take significantly less time to prepare. Also, at lunch, the salad guy is always staring at you and inappropriately flirting with the customers — it makes the whole experience VERY uncomfortable.
Overall, I think this place could be really good but they need some serious customer service help and employee training.

I found Va Presto through a Groupon Offer, which made my meal a great value. I highly recommend the amatricana sauce. Pros: many pasta (fresh) options, quality ingredients, clean facility; Cons: service– which is why it loses a star. However, I look forward to trying other menu items in the future and redeem the rest of the groupon offer.

I don’t get the poor reviews; we really liked it here. We watched someone make fresh penne in the window and so decided to come in and try it. The pasta was amazing, as were the obviously homemade meatballs. Simple, fresh and delicious.

Literally the smallest amount of food I’ve ever seen in my life. I was hoping for a little more than lunch for ants.

The Quick: Great delivery experience. Authentic Italian food with a flair enhanced by healthy salad options and an outrageous Nutella pizza pie. Good portions and quick delivery. New go to lunch spot in midtown east.
The Details: Nutella. Pizza. Enough said. Sweet and chocolatey, on a heavenly pizza crust. If you’re trying to be less gluttonous, (I’m always trying to lose 5 lbs) I suggest the Mediterranean salad loaded with goat cheese, or the quinoa salad which was a huge hit with my group. We ordered an array of different items and absolutely devoured everything.
The other favorite was the lasagna which had a sweet yet savory flavor to their sauce– very interesting and addicting. The portion looked average but was very filling and easy to share.
The delivery was quick and our delivery guy was so friendly– it’s the little things in life. I would order again for a team lunch or salad for myself. Recommend.
The Damage: Since it was a big group order, it’s hard to say. Looking at the website, everything is very reasonable especially for Midtown. Go try!

Stopped in here quick… the atmosphere was fine. It was nice and big. We got coffees… they do have decaf and offer soy milk for free. The food was alright and the only option they had for a bagel was plain. Good prices.

Va Presto offers a good selection of quality pastas and pizzas for lunch. Their owner/​manager is always greeting customers to make sure they know how to order and where to order (pizza counter or pasta counter).
Overall, the pizza tastes like its made with fresh ingredients. This is a great option if you work or are traveling in the 42^nd and 2^nd area. I also think they offer a discount if you work in one of the buildings surrounding the café.

Stopped in for happy hour at the bar while visiting NYC. The bartender was great and the beer was cold. Next time we come back gotta stop in.

Ordered lunch here for delivery
. Pizza was surprisingly good. Would definitely order that again. Had the lasagna too. Tasty but the portion size was too small for the amount charged (4″ x 3.5″ square). I’m hungry!

I ordered one of their make your own pasta meals. Spaghetti with parmesan cream. The sauce itself was tasteless, and the pasta was overcooked and tough/​chewy. You would think that the pasta they have laid out behind the glass screen were all fresh, but it was far from fresh. The pasta that you get straight from the box is even better. I thought I would try this place since it’s quite new and seemed authentic, but boy was I wrong. Returning to Patsy’s nearby instead for quality pasta dishes.

Overpriced. Greasy. Flavourless. Tries to be authentic but totally isn’t. I gave this place a couple of tries but I’m done. Save your money and down the street to Ground Central for a decent coffeehouse experience or Patsy’s for Italian.

Handmade pasta was what intrigued me.
Then I saw meatballs and I became excited.
Truthfully, I was nervous to try it
And I said, «this better be good !»
The portion size was ridiculously small.
Last time I checked, I am not two feet tall.
The meatballs lacked flavor and too soft for my taste.
Thankfully the marinara sauce was not as thick as paste.
Are you ready for this… $ 14 !
Are you kidding?
«Damn!» is what my NewYorker friend said.
I won’t be back.

Just what we needed. A quick and delicious fresh pizza with all of the toppings! Staff was outstanding.

Stopped in and grabbed two slices — the margarita and spinach/​cheese/​broccoli — delicious! Staff was very friendly

I have had a lot of pasta in the city that has been freshly made that day, but I have to day that this place has the freshest pasta I’ve ever tasted ever (and I’ve been to some expensive Italian restaurants). I had the ravioli with parmigiano in a cream sauce. AMAZING. Just enough cream sauce that wasn’t heavy at all and was the perfect ratio to the pasta. My lunch came out to $ 14.15 for freshly made pasta and a bottle of water. That’s a great price for the city. The staff was also very helpful and nice. I would come back here for lunch as often as I can.

I came back here after my original experience because the food was really tasty and I wanted to give it another shot. In general the customer service was a lot better than the first time and the food was hot and fresh. There is a nice area upstairs to eat and you can even see the staff freshly preparing the pasta.

This reminded me of institutional or hospital food. The maid to order pasta was the correct bite, but flavorless, with watery tomato sauce. For $ 1.50 extra per meatball you can have a flavorless «meatball» with gristle in it. Not even the grated cheese on top gave flavor. With drink this small/​modest portion cost $ 16. Never going back.

I was in NYC for a couple days last week and came upon the place where the pizza was delisissomo. I took the owners advise and tried the special which was the barbque chicken pizza and was happy, crust was crispy and the toppings great!
Also went to the bar and met a great guy named Micheal, which happened to be the bartender and gave him a bad time about not having the Warriors on the TV and we had a great repoir after that, I wanted him to meet my daughter but due to the time constraints with our schedule that didn’t happen.
When I was enjoying my pizza in walks Clay Aiken, this is a great place for a drink and food and sit and people watch. I will come back to visit the next time in NYC for sure! The people at Va Presto are great and food was too!
Kathy A.
Fremont, Ca.
4^th generation Niles, California native

Actually a surprisingly pleasant morning breakfast joint.
We went in not expecting a whole lot as the place seemed deserted but the hot and fresh breakfast (egg whites in a croissant) really surprised us.
The service was quick and almost everything is self-​service so one can do things at their pace.
A good ‘around the corner’ Diner/​Joint.

Really, this place sucks.
I looked in the window at lunchtime and the place was empty with lots of staff standing around. OK, I figure, should get good service. Oh, how wrong I was. This place is a complete disaster, overpriced, slow, poor portions. There’s really nothing endearing about it at all.
Avoid like the plague.