Siena Cafe • Italian • Bar • Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

UPDATED REVIEW

During the earlier days of covid, there was WAY too much plastic waste so I gave this restaurant 3 stars: “The reason I’m giving 3 stars is because the food was on the average size and regarding our drinks there was just TOO MUCH PLASTIC WASTE. Each drink is served in a plastic cup WITH a straw, so including our ordered drinks, we were also served water in plastic cups with straws. I can understand that with Covid people are taking extra precautions, but this was to the point where it was excessively wasteful for the environment.” —

Since then, I have gone back and they have switched out their plastic cups for normal glassware (although they still do use plastic straws...)

The outdoor decor here is definitely cute, there are a lot of plants and lights that make it very cozy during the day or at night. Now that it’s getting warmer, their outdoor dining is really enjoyable for a casual night out or if you’re going on a date.

We usually order or eat dinner here every 1-2 weeks so we have tried a fair amount of their menu, including their boozy brunch. For food, this place is my GO-TO for their Parmesan truffle fries... they’re served with aioli and soooo delicious. (Note: they actually serve you a larger portion if you get the fries to-go rather than sit down.)

The boozy brunch is fine, their mimosas were a bit watered down, so we ended up switching to plain Prosecco. Their French toast was a bit burnt and the bread they used wasn’t the best - it wasn’t super soft and the crust was a bit hard to chew through. Their burger was good but a bit undercooked from what we requested (medium/ well done).

My favorite cocktail drink here is the Fig in the City, it’s very fruity and sweet if that’s what you’re into. But their other drinks (Moscow mule, marg) are pretty good.

Their the spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parm and chicken Milanese are good but nothing to brag about. However, my boyfriend LOVES their meatballs (Polpette) which I personally think are just ‘average’. I quite enjoyed their Rigatoni Bolognese and Gnocci with pesto, and would recommend those.

Overall, this place has become a regular restaurant we go to during this pandemic, as the environment and ambiance is great- and we’ve found the menu items that have become...

I visited Siena Cafe on a brunch reservation. I found the place while looking for a restaurant near The Met and Guggenheim museums. It's a short walk away from both museums as well as central park. Street parking was easy enough to find. I was able to find a spot a block and a half away. We arrived pretty early for the reservation, and the place seemed busy but they were able to accommodate us. Not only did they do that, but it looked like they paid attention to the note I left as part of the reservation, specifically a table in a spot away from high foot-traffic and drafty areas. They sat us at a nice, warm, beautifully decorated corner of the restaurant. They still had winter holiday decorations and we loved it!

Boozy Brunch was like $32.oo, a solid deal in my book! I stuck with the bellinis which were nice but had an apple-like taste that I wasn't expecting. I'm not sure if that was from the champagne or the juice used. My companion liked her mimosa's but I never tasted them to see if there was a similar apple taste to the champagne used for her drinks. Keep that in mind when deciding what to drink.

In any case, I had the breakfast spaghetti. Had I read the other reviews here, I might have second-guessed that decision, but the pasta was cooked to the right firmness. It was Al Dente from my perception. So perhaps they've adjusted to the written "opportunities for change." My guest had the egg-white Fritatta (I think) and she loved it too! So besides the curious bellini taste, I couldn't really pull an points from the meal. I should mention here that the service was excellent. I downed my initial glasses of water very quickly and they were immediately filled by this chill Hispanic/Latino fellow (I regret not getting his name). We also had this pleasantly cheerful Phillipino waitress. I think her name was Kim. She was kind and efficient yet we never felt rushed. It was an excellent balance in service.

Bottom line: If you're in the vicinity of the "Museum Mile," on the Upper East side, please consider this place, especially for brunch. I think you'll...

I come here every week and bring my friends for brunch. However, the last time I came they made all of our food wrong and then when we got the orders correct there was a big piece of egg shell in our food. The manager gave us the meal for free which we though was very nice however, he told us he had to stop the service of our bottomless brunch which we understood. We still ordered food to go and tipped the restaurant. Now fast forward to yesterday when I come in the manager had an attitude with me but i dont think anything off it he may have been having a bad day. I sit down and we eat our food and enjoy ourselves and we got to order our last round of drinks because we started the service at 3:40 and it was 4:57. The manager says no ur time is up we arent giving u any more drinks. I try to explain to him that i come here every single week and i know its 90 minutes bottomless and it hasnt been 90 minutes he says okay its 90 minutes in our system and u never tip anyways. WHICH IS NOT TRUE AT ALL. He then added required gratuity to my bill even though this has never been on my bill before and its not part of the restaurants policy. I call him out on it and he gives me the money back in cash and continues to say never come back here. I have come and spent so much money here and never ever had him as my waiter i always tip even when the service is really bad. So now for them to illegally add gratuity to my bill even tho we left cash at the table and tell me not to come back. I definitely feel as though the manager displayed extreme biases toward me and my friends because we are all woman of color and assumed we didn't have enough money to tip without any reasoning behind these...