Locanda Vini & Olii — Restaurant in New York

I recently had the opportunity to dine at Locanda Vini & Olii, and while I had a fantastic experience with the majority of the staff, I was disappointed by the behavior of the owner.

Let's start with the positive aspect: the food. From the moment I took my first bite, it was clear that the chefs at Locanda Vini & Olii are incredibly talented. The flavors were rich, the ingredients were fresh, and each dish was beautifully presented. The menu showcased a variety of mouthwatering options that catered to different palates and dietary preferences. It's safe to say that the food alone made my visit worthwhile.

Now, let's address the issue at hand—the owner, who I believe is named Michael. Unfortunately, his behavior was a stark contrast to that of the rest of the staff. He displayed a rude and aggressive attitude throughout our visit, which left us feeling uncomfortable and disappointed. His lack of professionalism and courtesy was evident in his interactions with other customers and the way he spoke to my pregnant wife. He seemed to take great umbrage with the fact she wasn’t drinking alcohol and was visibly angry when we asked for the desert menu. Suffice to say that two attractive young women at the table next to us did not receive the same treatment as he was fawning all over them, nor did the large table of regulars to the other side. It was disheartening to witness such behavior from someone who should be setting a positive example for their establishment. Reading some of the other reviews on here it seems that there's sadly a pattern for this kind of behavior.

It's important to acknowledge that despite the owner's shortcomings, the rest of the team at Locanda Vini & Olii demonstrated exceptional professionalism and friendliness. It is clear that they take pride in their work and strive to provide a memorable dining experience for their guests.

In conclusion, while the staff at Locanda Vini & Olii were exemplary in their service and made our visit enjoyable, the behavior of the owner was...

Hosted a large party event there last week for a milestone birthday after having a wonderful dining experience in May 2023. The experience this time was horrible and disappointing in multiple ways, and I’ll never be returning there.

To start, there was miscommunication with the reservation and the pre-fix menu which I think contributed to the frustration of our server. He disregarded us throughout the meal and didn’t check in. We had to flag him down for service on a Sunday when the restaurant wasn’t very busy. The server was very short with me and my guests when we asked for anything. When I tried to provide feedback and explain the pre-fix menu options for dessert, the server barked at me and told me this was never how it has been. There was no apology for what was a miscommunication (not on my part) and then asked in a rude manner, “well, what do you want?!”

As a past server myself, I had empathy for someone having a bad day but he engaged with us in an unprofessional and disrespectful manner, as if we were a bother as paying customers. It was so bad that two guests stepped out of the restaurant to disengage with the server.

The food also wasn’t as good as it was in 2023, although the gelato and tiramisu were just as delicious.

The owners seemed to be receptive to the feedback and did give me a gift card to use at their other restaurants.

Hope that other patrons don’t experience the same level of discomfort while dining. It definitely ruined what was suppose to be a special...

Okay let's be as objective as possible here. I walked in by myself for a 8PM reservation. I first ordered the 28 dollar octopus appetizer. Some pieces were very chewy and others were soft. Overall not much flavor going on other than a mild "tuna-can' taste. The white beans were undercooked, so when you bite into it, you can taste graininess to them (that really sucked). I took 2 small bites and left the rest untouched. The bread was super dry (actually just sad) and the olive oil was just okay. It didn't really have that nice EVOO smell and taste you look for a good dipping EVOO.

I also ordered the truffle pasta for ~ 29 dollars. The pasta was overcooked, the portion size was simply not adequate for this price. The white asparagus was really lacking in the dish. They definitely used less than one white asparagus stalk for the dish, dicing it up into 0.5-1cm cubes. Almost none of the grana padano cheese added to the dish was tastable and in retrospect I should have mentioned that.

I put 5 stars for service because they did not charge me for the octopus appetizer. My overall rating was pushed from 2 stars to 3 stars because of the service. I am surprised that no one asked me what I didn't like about the dishes, so I am writing my feedback here in case someone at the restaurant finds it useful. Overall for these high prices, I was really...