Al Dente Fresh Pasta — Restaurant in New York

A Must-Visit Neighborhood Gem for Italian Cuisine in Park Slope!

If you’re in Park Slope or simply craving authentic Italian cuisine, Al Dente on 5th Avenue is an absolute must-visit! This charming neighborhood gem delivers an experience that feels like stepping into a cozy trattoria in Italy.

From the moment you walk in, the warm ambiance and welcoming staff make you feel like family. The star of the show, of course, is the food—crafted with love, tradition, and the freshest ingredients. Their homemade pasta is cooked to perfection—true al dente—with sauces that burst with rich, authentic flavors. Whether you go for the silky, indulgent carbonara, a perfectly balanced marinara, or the heavenly truffle-infused specials, every bite transports you straight to Italy.

Beyond the pasta, their antipasti, seafood dishes, and handcrafted desserts are equally spectacular. Pair your meal with a great selection of wines, and you have a dining experience that lingers long after the last bite.

Al Dente is more than just a restaurant—it’s a culinary experience that embodies the heart and soul of Italian cooking. Whether you’re a Park Slope local or visiting Brooklyn, this is the kind of place that you’ll want to return to again and again. Highly...

On the inside, the place is beautiful with gorgeous plates. The service was excellent but the food was absolutely terrible. The choices made with the dishes were perplexing. We started with the burrata with tomatoes which was very fresh but peculiar. It had hot tomatoes, prepared two different ways surrounding the cold burrata. The octopus was okay but again a peculiar dish with puréed butter beans and crunchy potatoes underneath creating an unnecessary heaviness. But the absolute worst dish I had was the $30 gnocchi which included 13 gnocchi. The gnocchi were the size of golf balls with a gelantinous texture and filled with an orange substance almost reminiscent of a Cadbury egg. It was the most peculiar dish I have ever had and just did not work. The best part of the meal was the bread with carmelized onions but that’s about it. This place has potential but they very much have to revamp the dishes. It says fresh pasta but didn’t seem like homemade fresh...

I want to be generous with delivery pasta, because I know it continues to cook (in the hot takeout box) while en route to me. However this pasta was unexpectedly bad.

I got the Rigatoni alla Luciana. some nice elements were there, capers (green flag) diced tomatoes (green flag), and the pasta looked nice too, but it tasted flat and dull. The beauty of ordering pasta is it’s supposed to be something you can’t easily recreate at home. This was something I could whip up in 10 minutes (and it would probably be less flat tasting)

the octopus was also okay quality. I’m sorry to the owner if this review comes across as harsh! I was super excited to try your place out because of the high reviews. Just trying to be honest :)

update: the restaurant response to this is pretty sassy lol. my only quality related comment was about your octopus. most of my review was about the flavor and feel of the dish. the rest of it seemed high quality!...