Risotteria Melotti NYC — Restaurant in New York

Oh. My. Goodness. My husband and I ate here for dinner on one of the nights of our recent NYC trip, and it was so phenomenal, I can still imagine the taste of the food and the smile of the wait staff. If we were locals, we would be regulars, because this place is amazing in every possible way.

Even in a city as large as NYC, I know there are a lot of people who feel alone, and like no one cares about them. At this restaurant, I just kept thinking that the wait staff was so kind that there's no way anyone could so much as grab a quick dinner here alone and leave feeling like nobody cared. Beyond great service, the waiter and waitress made us feel like we legitimately mattered to them as unique individuals, in a somehow more personal way. I don't mean they were pushy or intrusive, because they weren't. But I would absolutely be a repeat customer even if the food was terrible, just because they were so warm and kind.

However - the food was AMAZING, certainly not terrible! So there's yet another reason to love this restaurant. It's family owned and operated by a family who grows their own risotto in fair Verona. The risotto is on sale in the corner of the restaurant, as well! I was warned beforehand that getting anything but risotto here would be, while tasty, a waste of an opportunity to have the world's best risotto.

My husband has Celiac Disease, so having any gluten at all, even from cross contact, would seriously harm him (and ruin our vacation). But we were in excellent hands here, and he could have everything! Yes, you read it right: EVERYTHING is gluten-free! They even brought complementary bread to the table which we devoured!

We ordeed the Frito Misto for an appetizer, and it was excellent! We always love fried calamari. This was differently shaped than we were used to (we could see the tiny octopus shape), but incredible, and the sauce was great with it! I got the Risotti All`Isolana in “Pentolino”, and I will forever wish that's what's for dinner every night. The hint of cinnamon in the savory dish is unexpected but pairs well with the rosemary and truly adds so much! Incredible. My husband got an oxtail risotto that was a special that night, and it was so savory with such tender oxtail - such a harty dish! For dessert, we couldn't choose, so we ordered both the Profiteroles and the Sbrisolona. They were both incredibly tasty, but the Zabaglione cream with the Sbrisolona really took it to the next level.

Guys, RUN, don't walk, to this restaurant. There are no drawbacks at all. If you like reasonably priced fare, incredibly tasty foods at every course, amazingly kind servers, and a hobbit-hole atmosphere that makes you feel like you're relaxing by the fireplace on a rainy day, you can do no better than Risotteria...

“In my opinion” I am extremely disappointed that I even have to post this negative review, but I have been a loyal customer and this has been one of my favorite restaurants until late. To start, I recently had a reservation and did not end up being seated until 45 minutes after, I get it things happen. As we were waiting, we had ordered a bottle of wine and stood at the bar, after about 30 minutes past our reservation the manager came over to me and my wife and apologized again and said he will take care of us. We finally are sat, and no one is coming over to us, while other tables who sat after us are being attended to. We notify another server and express our displeasure that we have been ignored. He ends up taking our order and so be it. The food comes out and it was ok, not the usual quality. Towards the end of our meal, the manager comes over to us with a half carafe of wine and pours it into our glasses, mind you, we had already drank a bottle of wine, and we were not looking to drink further. We had advised him that we did not need it, but continued and left the carafe on the table. Next, the check comes, and NOTHING was taken care of. We pay the bill , and on our way out we gave feedback of our displeasure and poor experience to the manager and he responded I gave you wine everything should be good. It pains me to see how this restaurant does not value their loyal customers... In my opinion I would go elsewhere...

** Response from owner is an utter lie, my wife and I paid for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and a bottle of wine. You offered us a 1/2 carafe at the end of our meal. If an appetizer was offered, this review would not have...

Prices: A+ Quality: A+ Service: A+ Decor: A

Went for the first time around 8:30 on a Saturday night and the place was packed, luckily they had on table for 2 in the corner which we were able to grab. The wait staff was so friendly and helpful, not flustered or stressed at all about the full house in this small eatery.

We ordered the Arancini del giorno - Fried Rice Balls of the day which happened to be Funghi Misti (mixed mushroom risotto). 3 nicely sized arancini came out with a perfect, not overpowering marinara sauce for dipping.

As entrees I ordered the Carciofi Risotto (artichoke) and my father ordered the Merlot Risotto. They came out quickly and perfectly cooked, and the portions were HUGE! We both took half of our plates home because the portions are so big. The amount of flavor they are able to pack into these dishes is incredible.

They have so many Risotto dishes I've never heard of or thought of and I can't wait to go back to try more, like the one with apple and walnuts, or fig and prosciutto... loved it!

And the staff are from Italy, so if you speak Italian say Ciao! Half of the diners in the restaurant were speaking Italian at their tables.

The only negative is that it is really loud when it's packed, wish they put up some sound absorbing decor like curtains. Also, they take reservations so if you go on a Fri/Sat, make one.

TL;DR: delicious, giant portions, crazy risotto combinations, they should charge more so GO before they realize they can...