Isabelle's Osteria — Restaurant in New York

I wanted to share the experience I had dining at Isabelle's Osteria this past Tuesday 6/24/25.

I made a reservation for 6:30pm on Tuesday 6/24/25 about a week in advance for my partner's 40th birthday celebration. After a spectacular day, we were very excited to try our Isabelle's for the first time, having been recommended to this restaurant by many clients who live in the area.

When we arrived, we were seated in a lovely corner booth - perfect for an intimate birthday dinner. Not long after sitting, we realized that it was uncomfortably warm inside the restaurant. Eventually we were hot enough that I went to ask the hostess who told us "Oh yeah, the AC is broken." Keep in mind, this was the hottest day of the year with record breaking temperatures of 101*. I asked - "Don't you think this is something you should have disclosed when we arrived? We could have made the decision to go somewhere else." She had no response.

Also, if I can be sent 2-3 reminder texts to confirm my upcoming reservation, can I not be forewarned that the AC is not working in 100* weather?

Our waiter arrived at our table nearly 20 minutes after we sat down. We ordered everything all at once, having had plenty of time to peruse the menu.The wine and starters came out relatively quickly, and were delicious.

However, our waiter was dealing with a larger party (10-12 people) and did not come back to check on us once. After waiting for 1 hour and 20 minutes in the unbearable heat, our food finally arrived. Because of a combo of the heat and excessive wait time, we flagged down the nearby hostess and asked that our food be packed to go, as we no longer wanted to be in the restaurant. We were polite, but she could see our extreme displeasure, from the heat, the long wait, and the missing waiter.

As a kicker, the busser who brought us our food inappropriately and snidely quipped "Too hot for you?" when dropping off the bags.

The hostess was kind enough to ask for our meals to be comped (which they were), and we of course paid for the wine and starters we had.

Overall, this was a truly horrible experience. Though I understand that a broken AC may not be in the restaurant's control, all of the other circumstances surrounding this could have been handled better. A simple communicative warning, an informed hostess, an attentive waiter, and/or food taking less than an hour and twenty minutes to arrive on a not-packed Tuesday evening would have made this somewhat pleasurable.

This ended up being the one black mark on an otherwise perfect 40th birthday...

WORST RESTAURANT IN NYC! We waited 15 minutes to be seated as if no one could help us, it was a Tuesday and basically empty. Once seated we ordered drinks & apps. Drinks came out great - appetizers never came out. Our waiters response ( middle eastern guy w beard ) was “oh well I must have forgot” ARE U KIDDING ME?! That is completely disrespectful. We asked to speak to the manager Armend and his response was let’s have a great time I will take care of you guys then proceeded to hand our table over to another waiter. Food was disgusting!!! We asked for well done pasta and our pasta was extremely Al dente. Cannolleni was the worst dish I’ve ever experienced in my life. Manager gave us our appetizers and the focaccia was overcooked and hard - burrata was extremely watery. Cauliflower was extremely salty.

The manager Ivana needs to be fired! She came up to our table screaming at us - was incredibly disrespectful. Did not accommodate to how upset we were at all and then proceeded to mock us to her staff in front of us!!! Armend was kind in the beginning but still not accommodating.

I also asked for fresh Parmesan and was never given it - had to wait 20 minutes after being seated for water. We asked for an owner or manager and was given a business card for Miles Barker to complain. We called and Ivanna picked up, laughed at us and hung up the phone once she knew it was us. Owners I hope you see this - it was incredibly disrespectful and there needs to be severe consequences for ivanna’s actions. The way she acted tonight was beyond disgusting and poor of her.

This place is a JOKE. I could have gone to a hot dog stand for a better meal. IF YOU ARE A POC DO NOT COME HERE THEY ARE INCREDIBLY RACIST!!!

$400 for a meal that was horrendous. Please save...

There’s great menu items at Isabelle’s Osteria, but there’s also some items which are mediocre at best.

For appetizers, we ordered and enjoyed the burrata, crispy calamari, roasted octopus, fluke crudo, and tuna tartare. Out of these, I personally enjoyed the fluke crudo, tuna tartare, and roasted octopus the most. We also ordered the roasted beets and meatballs but did not enjoy these as much.

We tried the tuscan kale salad, which was better than I expected.

I tried the cannelloni, which was very tasty and unique! Had great flavors. A few of my colleagues ordered and enjoyed the mushroom lasagna very much, but personally did not try this.

For my entrée, I ordered the prime NY strip, which is 14 oz. It was quite large and filling, but I must say quite disappointing. I asked for medium rare, and it was definitely overcooked. Steak was not very tender or marbled. I would not recommend the steak.

As a side, we also ordered the crispy brussel sprouts which I loved! Would definitely recommend if you’re a fan of brussel sprouts.

For dessert, I had the tirimisu and gelato (comes with 3 scoops). The gelato flavors were vanilla, chocolate, and coffee. Gelato was average, but the tirimisu was great. A colleague got the gelato parfait and it was HUGE.

As for cocktails, I enjoyed the park avenue passion. My colleague got the amalfini which visually surprised us, because it came with a picture of the mona lisa lasered on! Apparently, if you scan the QR code on the menu, you can even customize the image. Certainly fun and quirky.

Isabelle’s Osteria probably wouldn’t be on the top of my list of recommendations, but if you do visit, there are certainly some decent menu items; but also some which might be a bit...