Malatesta Trattoria — Restaurant in New York

While looking for a casual but still nice dinner spot for a date, I came across Malatesta. Located right in the West Village wasn't flashy at all. With some nice indoor and outdoor seating, this place gave off that chill but still intimate setting that I was looking for. For parties under 4, Malatesta does not take reservations. Even so, I was able to come here at 8pm on a Thursday evening and still get a table without a wait. However, an hour later, this place was pretty packed with a bunch of people waiting outside.

If you're looking for a place that is out of the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, then Malatesta is your spot. As far as the pasta goes, they do make their own, which is pretty neat if you like that homemade pasta taste. For starters, we went with the grilled calamari. This was a great deviation to the fried calamari that most places serve. Nicely served on a bed of greens, the calamari had a nice grill/char taste to it, while still being chewy and juicy. Definitely one of the better plates of calamari that I've had in recent memory. For entree, we both coincidentally ordered the Penne All Arrabbiata. This pasta was the only one on Malatesta's menu that wasn't homemade, but that did not make it taste any less awesome. Loaded with tomato sauce, red hot pepper, and parsley, this dish was full of flavor. What I really liked was the fact that it wasn't overly powerful. There wasn't a soup-ful of sauce lathered on top of the pasta. Instead, it was lightly mixed into the pasta, giving it just the right amount of flavor.

Malatesta is a great place for a date. The lighting is just right, there is an open dining area, and it's also a casual restaurant that won't break the bank. In total, with two beers, an appetizer, and two pasta dishes, the total came out to be just shy of $60. Quite reasonable, considering the fact that the food was pretty solid as well.

Note: This place is cash only. I made the mistake of not knowing that beforehand. Thankfully, there is a deli next door with an ATM. Fee there was $1.95 so it didn't...

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. Our waiter was incredibly rude and condescending. We simply asked informed him that we were not told we would be charged for refills of soda. Genuinely other places that we have gone to let you know that there are not free refills beforehand. When we told him, he was so rude and made it seem as though we were just complaining so we wouldn’t have to pay for the soda. Then he walked over to seemingly a friend of his sitting at another table and was telling him the story. We knew this because his friend looked over at our table while laughing. To be honest, I’m more embarrassed for the waiter who had nothing better to talk about than the table of girls that simply asked him a question.

To make matters worse, when we called the manager over, the manager gave us the most insincere apology I have heard at a restaurant. Instead of apologizing for the fact that his server was treating customers this way and assuring us that it was not consistent with the ethos of the restaurant, he maintained that they don’t give free refills. Mind you we were absolutely fine to pay for the refills,, but wanted to ensure that customers were informed of this prior to ordering. Instead, he then took the bill, removed the drink charges, and brought it back to us with another half-hearted apology. He didn’t even look us in the eye when he came back, and simply reached over the hand the check instead of standing directly in front of us as he “apologized.”

I have never been treated that way in a restaurant before and am just saddened that I even supported such a place with my business. I would urge everyone to avoid this restaurant as there are far better options where you are genuinely treated kindly and...

Lengthy review incoming Ambience: 5/5 Food: 2/5 Service: 1/5

Terribly disappointed as I came here via a recommendation. Arrived at 8pm and waited 15 minutes to be seated, not bad considering they were quite busy. No one introduced themselves as the waiter and someone provided water as we sat down, but it wasn’t until 8:30 when one of the staff noticed we didn’t have menus and gave them to us. We ordered two entrees after 15 more minutes of no one coming to check if we were done looking at the menu. We got the special (fettuccine with shrimp) and the veal meatball dish. We had to ask for olive oil and vinegar for the bread as it was not provided initially.

At 9:15 or 9:20 a completely different person arrived with our dishes; both tasted abandoned. The pasta was cooked well, but notably cold. The veal meatballs were dry, cold, and mediocre. The pasta sauce reminded me of the leftover marinara from trader joe’s sitting in the back of my refrigerator for too long.

After eating we waited another 30-40 minutes before we were able to flag down someone for the check, no one came by to ask if we wanted dessert or to take anything to go.

Overall this place is lovely for photos, candlelight decor and the outside dining was very comfortable. Entrees are reasonably priced for the area. However the food and service was a miss and with all the other options for Italian food in NYC, I will not...