Italian Oven of NY — Restaurant in City of Yonkers

As an entrepreneur, I pay close attention to the little things that make a business stand out—and for me, service is everything. That’s why I had to take a moment to shout out the incredible experience we had at IO.

I called ahead to make a reservation for a party of 11, and the host who answered—Genesis—was nothing short of amazing. She was warm, accommodating, and incredibly professional. When I arrived 20 minutes early, I let her know about the reservation, and without skipping a beat she said, "Right this way, we have everything ready for you!" That level of preparedness and hospitality blew me away. Truly impressive!

Our server was Samara (I hope I’m spelling it right!). She was phenomenal—patient, personable, and deeply knowledgeable about the menu. She took the time to understand what each guest might enjoy, asked thoughtful questions, and offered spot-on suggestions. Her attention to detail and genuine care for our experience was so apparent, I actually asked if she was the owner. She’s not—but you would never know, because she works like she is. That’s rare and says so much about her pride in her work. Samara truly elevated our entire lunch experience.

As for the food—my party had no complaints! Everyone was happy with their meals and satisfied with their choices.

Now, I’m a dessert lover, but since it was early in the day, I didn’t get a chance to try any sweets. That just gives me the perfect reason to come back for dinner—and I absolutely will.

If I had to offer one piece of constructive feedback, it would be this: the entrées are à la carte, meaning sides like potatoes or vegetables must be ordered separately. For example, my dad ordered a chicken and spinach dish that would’ve been perfect paired with a starch. While this isn't a deal-breaker, it’s something to keep in mind, especially in a family-friendly area like Yonkers where larger parties (and kids) are common. It could make dining a bit pricier for some.

That said, the restaurant is spotless, the service is 5 stars, and the location is fantastic.

Huge thanks again to Genesis and Samara for making our visit so memorable. We will...

I’ve ordered take out pizza once prior that was pretty good so I had friends who are local Italian Americans meet me for dinner here and I’m sad we didn’t make a different choice. The Caesar salad was great. Rice balls were fine. Two of the three pizzas we ordered were successfully delivered hot out of the oven and they looked amazing but the one delivered for me was not what I ordered. They said no problem, they’d take care of it. I then waited long enough for my friends to allow their pizzas to cool and eat half of their pies before mine came. It was over fired and burnt so that the prosciutto was more like dried bacon. I normally love pizza crust but it was so brown and dry I didn’t bother. They said they could make me a new one in 5 min but if that was the case why did I wait significantly longer for the first one? Basically the server got the order wrong and never owned up to it. The pie should have honestly been taken off our bill but it wasn’t. Our server was friendly but not good at her job as she asked us repeatedly to confirm our selections and then still came back once after we had placed our orders to confirm which pizzas we wanted and still got it wrong…which is unbelievable as were a table of 3, not 7. Maybe just write it down. The second drink I asked for also took forever and came just as we were getting the check so that was also disappointing as they weren’t that busy and clearly had plenty of staff. They need to tighten up service or I can’t see this being a successful venture. My 3 stars feels pretty generous in comparison to others who rated this establishment lower. One last thing…the chairs are super uncomfortable and feel very DIY…basically a slab of flat wood over a metal frame. Not sure if the plan is to keep tables from lingering but that’s what it seems which is the opposite of great...

I don’t usually do this, especially for a new restaurant, but as a Yonkers resident and big foodie with my wife, I had to be honest. Let me start by saying we saw this restaurant based on a TikTok my wife sent me. We were in the area and decided to try it out. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the experience we expected. From the moment you walk in, the decor is beautiful. We came in around 12 noon and were surprised to see it empty. Despite the time, we’ve both worked in the service industry before so we know most people don’t arrive until 12:30, 1PM. While the staff were engaging and attentive, we found the food to be subpar. My wife orders penne a la Vodka with a meatball and her meatball was cold. She had to drown the meatball in the pasta to warm it up. I myself had the chicken parm and was surprised to not be provided or offered a side of pasta. Half way through my meal, I noticed the left side of the sauce was cold! As the only patrons in the restaurant at the time, we got our food quick but at the expense of it being colder than expected. With all due respect, for the bill amount at the end, we would have been better of going to Gianna’s up the road where we have had a great experience. Again the bartender was good, but for the price it’s straight up NOT WORTH IT! If Gianna’s isn’t your thing, the Applebees around the corner is...