Fumo Harlem — Restaurant in New York

On Wednesday March 16, 2022, i invited two friends to Fumo for lunch. I had been there once before and felt it was a chic place offering a good menu. Still do. We were each working and i felt that with the day being sunny, the Hamilton Heights location by City College offered a great view to accompany the menu and the company.

We get there at 1:10pm and order one fried (spicy) sauce calamari, two branzinos, 1 arugula salad (added shrimp), a diet coke and two glasses of white wine, which i deferred to the waiter to select.

After about waiting for 15 minutes we get two diet cokes, 10 min later one glass of white wine and the calamari. We try to alert the busboy that we wanted two glasses of wine and ONE diet coke but he left too fast to noticed so we figured we’d wait until the waiter came around. Except that the original waiter didnt.

We waited for about another 20 minutes before someone came back to us- they pleasantly brought the wine and said nothing to the extra coke. In retrospect, the person only focused on getting us the wine and paid no extra thought. No foul. It was appreciated.

The time was now 2:10 and no one had come by once to alert us whether there was some issues, a need to step out and perhaps buy the fish, nothing. We had somewhere to be at 2:30pm and never thought that lunch would take so long to be served.

Finally, at 2:13 pm we give up. We alert the busboy to please pack our food to go and bring us the bill. Another 5 minutes go by and nothing. A senior busboy comes by and apologies but nothing on the food. The other busboy hadn’t communicated that we would be leaving. We voice our frustration and he sends the waiter, another one now. Our original one never came back to us-not at this point that was.

We ask that waiter how long for the food to which she says 6 minutes and apologies.

We tell her that we just cant wait and she made the extra effort to go to the kitchen. That was too appreciated. But too late unfortunately. Finally, at 2:24 PM the packaged food comes.

We were charged for the extra coke despite having not drank it ($3.00). The bill ($132.83) wasnt the worst part-it was having paid knowing that yhe original waiter, who was pleasant at the beginning, seemed to have been out off by our wanting to return the coke in the first place. She never came back, neither to apologize or offer some explanation.

I was a fan of Fumo but no more; not this location at least. They seem to be struggling as a small business that caters to the delivery service vs on-site customers. There is no way that lunch should take as long as it did much less should no communication be an acceptable practice. The customer service really was sub-par and not even to somehow try to make things right was an added turn off. By the way, the...

Fumo offered a delightful dining experience that I highly recommend. From their service, to their food and atmosphere, everything was absolutely enjoyable.

Check-In: I was immediately acknowledged by the host upon arriving, and immediately seated. They do get very busy so (depending on the party size) they tell you there is a maximum amount of time at the table, although I sat over the time and they didn’t rush me out or even ask for the table back.

Service: Service was attentive, the server took my order and consistently checked in throughout the rest of my stay.

Food & Drinks: They have various options in their menu, I opted for their Brick Oven Pizza which I heard great things about, and boy am I glad I ordered one. It’s officially my favorite pizza in the area now. The flavors mesh together so well, especially when paired with a nice glass of wine. The pizza was a perfect balance of crunchy and creamy, and the Montepulciano was bold and rich. I also ordered the Panna Cotta, although it didn’t quite taste like a normal Panna Cotta, I have to admit it was absolutely delish. It did have a strong taste of vanilla bean, and had a thicker custard consistency than what Panna Cotta tends to be, but again it was very tasty (however, if you don’t like vanilla bean flavored items then this wouldn’t be for you). I accompanied my dessert with a glass of the Friulano which was also tasty and refreshing.

Price: Compared to other Italian restaurants in NYC, the pricing at Fumo is quite fair. They have wines ranging from $10-13, beers from $6-8, and cocktails at $13. Also, for the quality of food you’re getting I think the prices are definitely fair, especially when compared to other Italian restaurants in proximity.

Atmosphere: The place is located on Amsterdam Avenue, right across from City College, which is a beautiful campus with beautifully designed buildings therefore it’s an enjoyable sight, especially if seated alone. The vibe of the place is very calm and relaxed, perfect for a date, family dinner or intimate gather with friends or others. I also did notice they have heat lamps, so the place is already highly cozy without them, now I can only imagine during the cooler nights it’ll be cozier with those around.

Overall: Absolutely, I recommend this place. It is a must try; also heard their pastas are just as delicious as...

On Sundays the kitchen closes at 9:30pm. I got there about 8:45pm for takeout. The front door is a bit of a bottleneck since they have extended their dining capacity with enclosed outdoor seating on both sides of the sidewalk. You have to go into the main entrance where the host stand is to be seated, and if there are more than two or three people in that area, it can get crowded. If you are still a little skittish about crowded spaces like me, it could be alarming. I placed my order outside and waited for the crowd to thin before I went inside to sit and wait. I ordered the meatballs, a side of rigatoni, the fried calamari and shrimp, and a kale ceasar salad with double chicken. It was super crowded, so I knew I would have to wait. The amount of business they were generating for a Sunday night 45mins before closing was definitely respectable. It was also a good sign because that meant all the food was all being prepared to order, and they weren't running out of basic menu items. Their kitchen team was prepared. I waited a solid twenty minutes for my order.......$75. It did seem that there was some communication breakdown between the gentlemen I ordered from and the kitchen, though. A woman who looked like the manager came from inside the restaurant to ask what I was waiting for. Shortly afterward, the host appeared with my bag. Hopefully that was just a one-off. When I got it home, I was happy to find that the food was quite good. Sauce was nicely balanced. The meatballs were firm. Just enough binder to hold the meat together with classic flavours and the rigatoni was perfectly cooked. The calamari/shrimp was also good, but the shrimp were a bit overcooked. I had planned to save the salad for the next day, and it held really well overnight. I'll ask for extra dressing next time. The chicken was beautifully grilled, and the amount was great. All the portions were pleasing sized. Not too large, not too small. This is interesting to me because many times, takeout portions are smaller because the containers are smaller than the dishes used on the dining room floor. I did see quite a few "doggie bags" leaving, but I'll return to find out for myself. Thank you, Fumo Harlem, for such a terrific takeout out experience. I look forward to returning and trying the other properties as...