Giardino 54 — Restaurant in New York

Intimate, comfortable environment with a calm ambiance. We sat in the back in the "patio" area that is covered and in reality indoor. The service was impeccable. We had a server and a runner who were both attentive and kind. The server was knowledgeable about the menu and specials. We were never left unattended. The food was prepared and cooked to perfection. The calamari was not fried but just had a sprinkling of bread crumbs but it was cooked so well it was tender and flavorful. I got the ossobuco and it was hardly necessary to use even the butter knife it was so tender and well prepared. The saffron risotto wouldve been amazing on its own. My son got the pork belly and my mom got a pasta and all had their own flavors that were so well balanced. Max flavor without being overwhelming or pretentious. (We all sampled each other's dishes) We had such a great culinary experience. I don't come to NYC often at all but if I come back I will definitely return and would feel confident recommending it to even my most food savvy family/friends. Great experience and I give it 5 stars because there's nothing I'd change or think could be improved. Height of eating. Thank you (ps I posted the price at $50-$100 because we got two appetizers, an entree each, one quartino of wine, and a dessert. So you could probably go and spend less but we spent about $250 including everything and the tip....

I went here last night with my boyfriend, our close friend and our friend's brother who was visiting for the first time in almost 10 years. It's a cute wine bar and we picked it because it was open until 2am and advertised having a kitchen that was open late. We got there at midnight and were told there was no longer any food but decided to stay for some wine anyway. By 1 am they were stacking chairs around us and asked to take our final drink order. By 1:20 the server came up to us and told us that it was time to leave because they were closed. I asked if I was mistaken and that they weren't actually open until 2am like it said online (sometimes Yelp is wrong after all). He told me they close between midnight and 2am whenever business was done. Ive worked in service and I get wanting to go home on time, but this was 40 minutes before closing and we had already closed out our tab, we were just finishing our glasses of wine. There wasn't a chance we would still be sitting there 40 minutes later at actual closing time. Compounding all this is that the point of the family visit was that there was actually some pretty serious stuff going on and the night was a much needed bonding period. Nobody was drunk or rowdy, and being asked to leave in this way felt...

Underwhelming experience. I went there for my solo birthday trip lunch with the garden in mind and Italian food ( I am Italian ) . The restaurant was empty ( I was the first one in ) yet they put me in a corner of the indoor space on high table with a stool, knowing that was also my birthday. So uncomfortable from minute 1. Food is very average and definitely not a true Italian food place . People that gave a stellar review definitely are not foodies . Way too expensive for what it is ( portion and quality) Wine was ok, the only thing, might be worth to explore as wine bar perhaps. The gnocchi were so overcooked they might as well call that a mash potatoes with Gorgonzola. To top it all off not a single coffe was offered for my birthday … I wasn’t expecting a red carpet but at least a slice of cake it’s kinda standard in these cases , especially for the price point .So service was just enough to go by , noting wrong with it , waiters were nice enough , but no extra mile either, and again the place was empty . I was planning to spend way more time there but I left as soon as I could and went somewhere else. So like I said ,...