Caffe Buon Gusto — Restaurant in New York

I ate here two weekends ago for the first time after seeing it viral on tiktok. However, the service was absolutely atrocious from start to finish. For a restaurant that will charge you almost $50 for a plate of their homemade pasta with add-ons, yes I expect much better service. The waitress serving us had an attitude the entire time, it’s like it was beneath her to be serving us. She got my order wrong, and when I asked to have it corrected she said I had told her my order wrong. The topping I had initially ordered was taking a while and the waitress told me she “can’t control when the kitchen finishes cooking” in a not so pleasant tone. My partner had asked if there were refills on the drink he had (it was a soda machine beverage by the way). A different waitress brought it and said they were charging him for it, he said he didn’t want it anymore and then she said it was on the house since it had been served already. A minute later she comes back and snatches it saying that it’s actually not free. Of course we were not trying to get the beverage for free, hence why we asked to politely give it back if it was at an additional charge. However to say it’s free and then remove it from the table is in poor taste if you ask me especially with the atrocity of service we received and the steep prices you charge for your food. Dirty plates from the appetizer were left throughout our whole dinner on the tiny table we had, and we had to beg the waitress to come refill our waters. We would call her over when she was only a few feet away and she’d walk away (genuinely, I don’t understand how she wasn’t hearing us, she was right there).

I can go on. The waitress also made an uncomfortable comment about my plate of pasta that I built, she asked if I was really going to eat a certain sauce with a certain add-on which I found bizarre. It was like she was judging me. I certainly don’t come to a restaurant to pay $50 for a plate of pasta to be judged for what I put in it.

In the end, we were still charged for the topping that came out extremely late and the one the waitress incorrectly put on my order. We got it corrected luckily, but if you’re making mistakes like this be mindful not be charging the customers for your mistake which affects the customer’s dining experience.

At the end of the manager checked in on us, he was extremely kind and professional, he seems very good at his job so I want to make sure to give him credit here. He gave us a treat and really tried his best to make our experience better after he asked if we enjoyed ourselves and we shared that we did not.

Ultimately, I do feel that the waitress made me very uncomfortable with her behavior. I’m not sure why she was behaving in this way or if it was a racial thing. Sorry to go there but as a person of color, this is not unusual for me to experience when I dine out. The manager as mentioned was great, but the dining staff need to be better trained. And if the waitress sees her job as so beneath her perhaps she should find another job where she does not have to serve people of color, which she clearly finds to be very insulting for...

I can't describe how amazing Caffe Buon Gusto truly is. It is a HIDDEN gem in the upper east side and probably one of the most underrated Italian spots in Manhattan. While everyone is paying 3x as much at I Sodi, Il Buco, and L'Artusi (which are great by the way), I prefer to spend a 1/3 on some of the most authentic Italian cuisines that took me straight back to Italy. I can't recommend this place enough... it's worth getting out of lower Manhattan and up to the Upper East side.

We shared the beef carpaccio, which was done beautifully. Super light and set the stage for the rest of the meal. They brought out the softest focaccia fresh out of the oven, which we did save some of to ensure clean plate clubs with leftover pasta sauce. The menu online does not match what you get in the restaurant. In addition to staple entrees, there is a variety of pasta you can choose from with your choice of sauce. On the left side of the menu, they had some non-housemade pastas, like capellini and penne - which I'm sure are fine. BUT on the right side of the menu they have a list of housemade pastas, which just so happen to be my favorite kinds of pasta (like gnocchi, ravioli, fettuccini, orecchiette, and cheese/veal tortellini.) I was pumped... we ordered the plain gnocchi alla vodka sauce and cheese tortellini bolognese. Both dishes were perfection - the pasta cooked perfectly and the sauces were on point. My husband preferred the vodka (which was bomb,) but I just LOVED the bolognese. At this point, I couldn't breathe, but that wasn't going to stop me from ordered chocolate souffle, which is a go-to pick on the menu if ever it's on one - I can't make that at home - WAY TOO HARD. With the warm, creamy center, the souffle didn't disappoint.

Overall this place ruled and I will go back every time I'm in NYC moving forward.

Also, Sunday through Tuesday nights you can get half-off bottle of wines...

I would never order from here again. It was my mom's birthday so I decided we can order in from this restaurant. This was our first time ordering from here. Had high expectations. What a complete let down and rip off. First, the prices they charge are completely different than what is advertised on the website. The lobster over black linguine is advertised on their website as $19.95 but they charge $29.95. To make matters worse, they forget to add SCALLOPS and MUSSELS to the pasta! If you are going to jack up the prices, at least include all the ingredients listed. The salmon pasta also had very little salmon it was barely visible. The pastas of both dishes were also clumped together in globs. Poor cooking on part of the chef.

Also, when I ordered over the phone with this woman, I requested extra bread and she said no problem but I only received 1 bread for the whole order. If you say you're going to do something, please do it. If you cannot honor a customer's request, just be honest and say so. Even super busy restaurants do not mess up orders like this so I don't know what is up with this place.

I called the woman to tell her about the issues with my order and she argued with me saying that is just how they come instead of trying to REMEDY the issue! Any good restaurant would try to appease their customers if the staff makes a mistake. If you're going to increase prices of the dishes, at least make sure they reflect in the quantity and quality of the food. Very sad and disappointing experience. I am sorry to my mother who had less than a...