Osteria La Baia — Restaurant in New York

I was visiting my cousin in NYC and it was our last night so we figured we’d splurge. We saw the great reviews and figured we’d give Osteria La Baia a try. Unfortunately, our dining experience left much to be desired. Instead of a relaxing, celebratory evening, we felt rushed and stressed during the entire meal. We originally booked a reservation for 9:30 p.m. but decided to move the reservation to 10:00 p.m. (the reservations were available up until 11:00 p.m.). We arrived at 9:52 and were seated at a small table in a crammed area. When we asked if we could sit at a more spacious table, the waiter said he could not seat us there in case a larger party comes. For context, the restaurant was nearly empty, with just about 5 other groups seated. We felt pressured to make a quick decision on what to order when the waiter asked if we knew what we wanted almost immediately after we were seated. Once we told him we needed some more time, he lingered nearby watching us, just to come back less than a couple minutes later to ask if we were ready yet. He let us know the kitchen was closing and that we needed to let him know right away if we wanted to order anything else. Once we get our appetizers, the waiter tells us that since the kitchen had closed, they will have to deliver our entrees at the same time. Multiple staff members came up throughout the remainder of the meal trying to take our plates, even though we were not finished with our meal. To add to the already stressful atmosphere, my cousin ordered a side of broccoli which she described as “bitter” and “inedible.” While we were rushing through our meal, the waiter let us know it was “last call” at the bar and asked if we wanted one more drink. To further set the scene, this was only about 30 minutes into our meal, if even. The waiter told me I had enough time to order a second drink because he still had to do his “nightly report” (??). I was dying to try the cucumber spritz even though I still had some of my first drink left, so I felt like I had to chug both beverages. Finally, the waiter never provided us with a dessert menu nor did he even ask if we wanted dessert, coffee, or anything else. Most people enjoy a dessert to finish off a nice dinner especially if you’re already splurging at a place like this, but I guess we didn’t scarf down our food quickly enough to even have that option. I would suggest not offering reservation times at 10 p.m. if this is the type of service provided for this caliber of dining. We were highly disappointed that we not only paid a steep price for this mediocre, stressful, and rushed dining experience, but we are regretful that this is the restaurant we selected for what was supposed to be a memorable final night together...

Osteria La Baia has one of the best dishes I've ever had. The overall experience was very nice.

My wife and her family are 100% Italian, restaurateurs, business owners, etc. So we are very into the gastronomy of Italy.

Interesting note - the bread served on the front end, had a distinct flavor. Don't mistake the one with little dark chunks for raisin bread, it was olive bread with piece of black olive baked into it. Amazing olive tastes come through.

The fritto misto was very good, small portion appearance, but very perfectly sized for two. The lemon aioli it was served with is definitely something to learn to make. The burrata was good, but I expected it to be creamier / juicier. The overall taste was very refreshing and light.

Risotto, excellent flavor. Porcini mushrooms with truffles, excellent balance, cooked perfect.

Now the star of the show, the Frutti Di Mare. Squid ink spaghetti, octopus, shrimp, clams, calamari. I was thrown off at first by only seeing 4 clams, but underneath I found the shrimp, thin sliced octopus, and chunks of calamari. The pasta was right on the edge of al dente as well. This I have already told multiple people, was easily the best thing I ate in all of NYC. It was a light creamy type of sauce, and I'm lactose intolerant. But I ate every bit of it. 100/10. I would go back just for this dish alone. So anyone reading this, if you like seafood and pasta, this is it.

We finished it off with splitting the crème brûlée. Served a bit under lukewarm (would prefer it a bit warmer or a bit cooler), overall very good and the fruit on top was crisp.

I also had a glass of the Masciarelli “Marina Cvetic” / Montepulciano...

Here is a very fair review that will set up your expectations correctly as I am not sure what the hype is about with this restaurant, but frankly our experience was average. Firstly I understand that this restaurant is upscale'ishh, but there is this air of poshiness that is not necessary. For example, the hostess asked snobbily if we had a reservation (fine) but then insisted on having my personal info despite a lot of seating availability to the point where I had to almost argue with her and at the point where I changed my mind and wanted to go elsewhere she said no need for it. Not sure what is the aim in annoying a customer this way. The main waiter was ok but he had this slightly snobbish attitude too. Secondly, I can't say the place is overpriced overall as a restau cna charge whatever their concept dictates and this place have positiined themselves upscale'ishhh but when the waiter asks you if you want to add chicken to your salad and that bare chicken thigh comes out to 20$ extra (literally cost of a plate), then there is a trust/quality issue. Considering the price we paid and this place's positioning as expensive and upacale, the food was very average. Portion was good as I ordered pasta with seafood, but the plate was just so average, too salty and I could not make out any specific taste as the sauce was too strong which did not pair up well with the seafood..I expected a lot more from a 46$ plate. So overall, very average place and there are many other places one could go to, considering the quality of what you get and service...