Piccola Strada — Restaurant in New York

I recently had a lovely dinner here pre-theater (New York Theatre Workshop is two doors down). While the reviews have generally been very positive, I am driven to write because some of the reviews have been quite harsh. This is a lovely small family-owned restaurant. Even if a reservation is not strictly necessary, the restaurant is so tiny that reservations can really help the owners plan for the service ahead. We started out with a shared insalata mixta. A simple salad is deceptively complex and the mixed greens and mesclun were fresh and tasty and the light dressing was properly balanced and delicious. Because of the restaurant's BYOB policy, I brought a lovely bottle of California sparking wine (Domaine Carneros) to pair with the pastas and the waitstaff took good care of the bottle and immediately brought out flutes instead of wine glasses. The bottle was kept chilled and the BYOB policy remains the biggest bargain there is for diners. I had the lobster ravioli in a pink sauce and the ravioli skins were tender and the fillings were delicious. Neither I nor my tablemates allowed any of the sauces to escape thanks to the warmed fresh bread. Prices are very reasonable and the waitstaff was solicitous and knowledgeable without being intrusive. I ordered cannolis at the end to be shared by the table with our coffees. The cannolis were separated for each member of the party and the fresh shells were filled with delicious ricotta. It was a lovely dinner and the restaurant will be a go-to resource in the area when we attend theater in that strip of...

Very very (very) tiny Italian place (so tiny that you have to walk through the miniscule kitchen to get to the bathroom, and you should be prepared to leave with you clothes/hair/jacket/etc. strongly smelling like fried foods). Came here as part of a group that does wine tastings because of their $5 corkage BYO policy, which is a big plus in this city, but our tight table of 6 took up almost half of the entire restaurant. I ordered the Mozzarella In Carrozza, which was a lot of bread, very little cheese, and very dry, as well as the Carciofini Al Forno (baked artichokes hearts with parmesan cheese and olive oil), which was also dry and had almost no flavor. For my main course, I ordered the Ossobuco Di Manzo, which was a definite upgrade from the appetizers - rich, meaty, and very good. If you're looking for a neighborhood BYO spot with average food and don't mind a claustrophobic space, then head over to Piccola Strada, but definitely not a place to go out of your...

I am loath to review Piccola because I don't want people to find out about it. The ambiance is great for a date (there's only like four tables in the joint, and you have to squeeze past the kitchen just to get to the bathroom) or for a small group of friends. The food is amazing, homemade Italian - just about anything on the menu is sure to impress - and the people working there are very friendly. The one time I went on a date there and we ran out of wine, the kind old man running the place came over and said, "Ah, it's an emergency!" before quickly handing us two free glasses of house wine (apparently BYO places can give wine, just not sell it). Did I mention it's BYOB? There's a modest corkage fee if you bring more than one bottle, but along with this place being BYOB, the very reasonable prices for food mean that you can eat like a king for little more than $80-100...