Vico

This restaurant a total of three times for lunch. This restaurant always has some great specials! I’ve chosen from the list of specials each and every time I’ve eaten lunch here. In addition, the service is impeccable!

A very unfortunate dining experience. After a viewing at the Cooper Hewitt, in 7 degree weather, we were hungry and cold and semi-​desperate. My friend and I walked right by this place, remarking to each other later that neither of us particularly liked the look of it. But then a stranger walking his dogs said one word, «Vico.» We bought it, to our eventual dismay.
Ok, so the bread is good. That’s about it. Everything else was just so-​so, from the wine by the glass ($ 15!) to the calamari fritti, which we actually sent back to be re-​done as it was bland and limp. They were accommodating, yet the second tiny portion ($ 26.50!) was barely any better. We decided it was a kind of style thing and made the best of it – the actual calamari had good flavor, despite the colorless, un-​crisp breading.
Our pasta entrees were mediocre, my friend liking hers more than I did mine. If you serve a fairly traditional Ligurian-​style dish with pesto and potatoes and green beans, please let me taste the elements individually, and, synthesized into a glorious whole. Not this weak, diluted, tasteless mush. I’d just returned from a trip to the Italian Alps and Venice, so I admittedly wasn’t in the mood to be overly gracious here. But really?!
The prices were ridiculous. We knew we were on the UES, but honestly, it felt completely like price gouging for the size and quality of our dishes. Oh, and the «Parmesan» they sprinkled on our entrees? That finely ground dust that appeared to come out of a jar. Again, please grate us some actual reggiano!
My friend remarked after that she wanted to hunt that man down with the dogs and «kill» him. Enough said.

Since this is one of our neighborhood restaurants, we have been here many times in the past 15 years.
The lovely décor is outshined by the freshness of the maitre’d and the rudeness of the waiters. My husband was very upset as he watched the maitre’d freshly looking at my back and all the ladies back as they walked by. The food has simply gotten too ordinary for the price. We ordered barley soup and to our surprise it also had raw black beans… The veal milanese was served with a tasteless lettuce and tomato salad. They still serve their delicious biscotti in an attempt to make it up to you or lure you back. Thank you, but, no thank you!

Vico is a neighborhood Italian restaurant whose generally decent food is overshadowed by grossly overpriced menus and uniformly sleazy business practices. In the Fall they usually offer specials with fresh truffles (at the usual ridiculous prices), which is good if you like truffles. But beware: this year toward the end of truffle season, when they were no longer offering them, we went for dinner and brought our own fresh truffle that we had been able to obtain. They cheerfully made plain pasta and risotto and scrambled eggs for us, and shaved our truffle over the dishes. And then the check came. In what has to be the close to the most amazing display of chutzpah in New York restaurant history, VICO CHARGED US $ 400 FOR SHAVING OUR OWN TRUFFLE. We have been occasionals at Vico for many years, putting up with the pricing for the convenience, but I can assure you that we will never be going back again.

Diners beware! Food at this Madison Avenue restaurant is mediocre at best and obscenely overpriced. We ordered a half-​portion of penne with butter and it was $ 20! Cranberry juice is watered down and costs $ 4 (ask for no ice and get a quarter glass of juice). The trout is bland, two tiny filet strips with some lettuce leaves, for $ 40. Finally we complained about the price of the penne and the manger said that he would only take off $ 3! But when we gave our credit card, the check showed the original amount. Waiter was apologetic but manager didn’t seem to care at all. I wouldn’t mind if the food was good, but it was just average. Lots of other options in the area with better food and management that actually cares about it’s customers. Go elsewhere.

Best ricotta cheese cake in NYC. Wonderful pastas and great service. Have been going here for years. Still a favorite.

I forgot to add that another friend that ate at Vico swears the waiter spit in her food. Her pasta sauce had a large spoon size lump of what appeared to be saliva sitting on top. She said she walked out with a friend refusing to pay. The waiters just laughed. This place deserves to be shut down.

Vico is a prime example of the «quaint local italian restaurant.» The food is authentic and beyond phenomenal. I always leave satisfied.
If there’s something you want missing from the menu, just ask one of the friendly waiters and they will assuredly respond «of course, we can do that for you.» E.g. Chicken Parm.
It’s relatively expensive, and sometimes it takes a little while to get seated, but it’s only a testament to how incredibly good the food it. Excellent.

Have been coming here for 11 years and we are always impressed with Vico’s food price, service, and the accoutrements you get during your meal. The bread basket is phenomenal and is usually gone within 10 minutes. The pasta dishes are great and the ravioli dishes are my favorite. We have a vegan and a vegetarian, as well as a «regular eater» in our family and they are always very accommodating. Vico becomes lovelier and lovelier the more you frequent this small charming restaurant with the authenticity of a real Italian ristorante. The servers have been there for years and they remember the locals. They are great and at lunchtime and when the restaurant is not busy they will come and have conversations with the customers. The prices are high– there is no darting around that– but the food is consistently very fresh and there is something for everyone. Completely worth the money, without a doubt. ¹¹⁄₁₀

Excellent service, delicious food. I’d give it 5 stars, but it’s SUPER pricey. Despite the hefty tab, I always know I’m in for a wonderful meal at Vico — it’s been universally good the dozen times I’ve dined there.

This was my second visit to this restaurant. I absolutely loved this restaurant the first time I ate here. This time, I was so frustrated and disappointed I couldn’t wait to leave. The meal was just as delicious as previously but the service was very neglectful. My first visit was for lunch, this was early dinner. It appeared that if you were not a regular, you were invisible!

After living in ues for 15 years and been everywhere else on Madison ave, we decided to eat here with friends. First– we ordered wine by glass and 1^st glass was ½ filled. Upon ordering another ($ 15/​glass), it was filled full. Just a cheesy way to get you to order more wine.
Food was sub par for Madison ave restaurant w/​painful prices ($ 36 entrees). The lemon sole tasted prev. Frozen with Progresso breadcrumbs and pasta Vongole was plentiful Barilla pasta with clams. Nothing special, actually tasteless.
When bill came, it was handwritten and impossible to read. Very, very overpriced for lame food, with so many other restaurants to go to on Madison, I would not rec this one and won’t be back.

This is a great, fun restaurant, it is one of my favorites in the area and I am a picky eater! I love the grigliata del mare appetizer which has calamari and great seafood. I also love the pollo balsamico, chicken with onions and a balsamic sauce, yummy! The waiters and maître’d are very friendly and lively! This is a fun place to eat but it is a bit pricey. I love Vico!

I don’t really understand this restaurant. The food was decent, but way overpriced, even for New York. Appetizers $ 18.50, pastas $ 21.50, chicken $ 24.50 to $ 26.50, meat and fish $ 36. The portions were huge, but giving you too much food for too much money is not, at least to me, getting value. The wine list is maybe average to expensive NY pricey (cheapest bottle $ 45) and not particularly interesting («we have wine by the glass, white and red, $ 12.50»).
I’ve had more elegant service in diners. The water glasses were never refilled. The food was kind of thrown down, the waiter not once remembering who had ordered which dish. Even the glass of red wine that I had ordered literally two minutes earlier arrived via the same waiter I had ordered from with the question: who gets the red wine? The bottle of white wine was poured almost to the top of the glass and immediately topped up almost sloshing it in an effort to finish the bottle.
I had insalata di pulipo (octopus) as an appetizer. Huge portion of large tentacles. Very well cooked (tender) but not particularly well seasoned. We also had the tuna carpaccio and fried artichoke. All good.
I had pollo zingara for a main course which was very good. We had fettucine as well, which was decent but not exceptional.
The crowd seemed to be an older, affluent crowd (of course, given the prices), and they seemed to be happy. I don’t get it.

Ate hear with a few friends this past weekend. Although expensive (maybe
not that bad for NYC — I wasn’t too shocked) food was excellent. Atmosphere
was very sane and comfortable, unlike other places nearby that were very crowded.
Had Pollo Zingara (Chicken w/​Sausage) which was very flavorable and satisfying.

I love Vico! Let me make this clear, I am so picky about Italian food, and this place is spot on! I have been frequenting this restaurant for 5 years! I used to go to their sister restaurant on 70^th and Lexington, but now I much prefer to go to Vico. As a Native Upper East Sider, this is the best Italian Restaurant on the UES! Hands down! The service is much better than Sette Mezzo. I love to get the Tri-​Color salad and the spaghetti pomodoro. One word– AMAZING. So clean and fresh. I always say, the way you know an Italian restaurant is good is by how good the bread is, and they have very good bread here! My boyfriend loves to stick with the specials, and has enjoyed everything from lamb chops, to salmon, to chicken, and steak. Not one complaint. Very consistent food. Also, Vico takes only cash or Amex, as opposed to Sette, which only takes cash (unless you are Ralph Lauren, or the DEA of NY and you have a house account). While Vico is not by any means cheap, I believe you get what you pay for. This food is clean and of good quality. By the way, I read health inspections on the NY hygiene site and this place has consistently been rodent free!

Some of the best italian in NYC! The fried zucchini is amazing! Gnocchi is sinful… the best. Cash ONLY.

My friend and I stumbled in here the other day after wandering around the neighborhood looking for a nice Italian lunch. We certainly were not let down. This place exceeded expectations.
I ordered the penne with bacon special, just on a whim, and man was it good! I’m not usually a pasta girl per se, but the penne was perfectly al dente and had such good bite… the tomato sauce was just right in combination with the cheese, both in perfect balance to the pasta and bacon pieces. I never knew a pasta dish could be so harmonious and satisfying. Hit the spot.
My friend’s gnocchi was doused in a delicious tomato cream sauce, and each bite of the tiny potato balls was doughy, tender, and delicious.
We both got a small slice of chocolate cake afterward (came with a dollop of real cream and a sprig of mint), and again we were both blown away by the chocolaty goodness that somehow remained a LITE treat – I hate that «blergh have-​to-​shove-​this-​last-​overly-​rich-​bite-​of-​dessert-​into-​my-​mouth» feeling. Not so here… satisfying but not heavy.
The only sad thing was that there was barely anyone eating here… the food was so good and the wait staff so attentive (we loved watching the whole crew speak in Italian and converse with «Papa» by the cash register) we felt it deserved way more patrons. We actually giggled and cheered when a family of 3 came in.
Recommended.

The food is consistently good but the pries are too high and there is now better competition in the neighborhood. Better than Paola’s but that’s not saying much.

Vico is good, but never that good. And for the prices they charge, it should be very good. The wine by the glass left a little to be desired considering you can go to Sfoglia and get a great class of Primotivo for $ 8 and much better food.
I do love the bread though. Too much.