Sotto la Luna — Restaurant in New York

Excited to try the claimed authentic, homemade pasta. I ordered a pizza and their signature dish Cacio e Pepe. Pizza was average at best. The dough was slightly less fluffy than expected of a brick oven napolitan pie. Cacio e Pepe is served in pasta alla routa style which is supposed to impress the clientele. The performance is less than impressive although not quite elaborate. Pasta comes already dipped in what the server called it the "cheese sauce" and remains there for quite a while which caused pasta to overcook. After serving the small portioned pasta on the plate they soak it with more "cheese sauce". Pepper is added from a simple shaker. Pepper didn't seemed toasted or cracked fresh for it was necessary to doze it with substantial pepper to give it the taste and the aroma. From the first bite one gets the impression of eating elaborate mac&cheese, except the pasta is overcooked and large amount of pepper gives bitterness to the whole dish. After two bites I asked the server to take the pasta back and try making it once more. I asked for the pasta to be slightly firmer, less "sauce" and perhaps pepper from the mill. Manager came over and complied but not after giving me a lesson on how pasta should be cooked. Waited for another 13 minutes and I see the cart coming over towards my table. My party of four were still working on their dishes, I was happy to join and enjoy dinner with them. However, the cart stopped at the table next to ours. They served "my" Cacio and Pepe to the table next to me. I got the server's attention but it was too late. Manager approached me and asked for another 10 minutes while apologizing. At this point my party had finished their dishes and my appetite gone (already had some pizza and tasted other dishes.) The Gnochi was too mushy, the carpaccio salad dozed in balsamic dressin. I asked the manager to bag the dish for I couldn't have it now. A knowledgeable Manager would object to it for it would turn into mush and wasted if taken away. However, she obliged to my request and of course charged me for it. I politely gifted the dish to the two nicest ladies seated next to us. The manager, ignored us purposely on our way out. I do thank her for that because I didn't have to be nice to her to thank her for a grand failed dinner we just...

Room for improvement: Quality very good and atmosphere is fantastic, service is ok, a little too on top of you to clear the table while you are still chewing it wasn’t that busy to rush us and another issue that is totally forgivable, but my main issue was quantity. Salad was too small for the price a sprinkle of cheese and the pasta needs to be more than literally two dinner forkfuls.

Pizza was really good. Ingredients super fresh, tomato sauce excellent and the other pizza was very balanced well with its number of toppings. Individual style portion, good reasonable size. Love the savoriness of the dough, not too charred - perfect.

But, if they are serving "primo" portions (not even) of pasta for those prices, they need to state that on menu or verbally . We ordered the cacio e pepe and it was literally two forkfuls as I watched two dinner forkfuls get plated for us table side and was waiting for more to come out of the cheese wheel. Two forkfuls. Huge plate did not help but a smaller plate won’t fool anyone. The other pasta we ordered was a little short in portion but not so much of an insult.

If you come in and just eat one plate and you order pasta for dinner, you are going to overpay and definitely leave hungry. I understand what Italian portions and how pasta is traditionally served at dinner, and I have been to Italy. I get it. But I’ve been served a little more than two forkfuls even as a primo plate.

The staff could specify or explain that the pasta dishes are traditional primo courses or to inform the guests that it is not a main course size. It’s not even a primo portion to be honest.

It’s pasta. Prices have gone up on everything, anyone can understand and empathize with the restaurant industry but don’t charge Manhattan prices for even smaller portions.

Timing also can use improvement. From the appetizer to main dishes it took about 40 minutes.

We may give it another try in the future. Hope there is room for improvement. But for a restaurant that is a month old, I do give them a lot of credit. They can perhaps go to their competitors in the neighborhoods and see what a reasonable pasta portion is. Even as a...

My husband and I consider ourselves to be regulars at Sotto la Luna and their brother/sister restaurants (Sole Luna, Sotto le Stelle, and Arcobaleno). The quality of the food is amazing and the attention and service of the staff are on point. When my husband and I were planning our wedding, the first place that came to mind to have our reception was Sotto la Luna. The environment is cozy but industrial with its warm colors, open kitchen/floor plan concept, and friendly staff. We really wanted to give our guests a proper New York City dining experience and the Soto la Luna team not only understood the assignment but delivered! Planning the entire event was very easy and stress-free. Valerio and Marco met with us more than once to put together a menu, do a tasting, and plan the seating arrangements and decorations. On the wedding day, their staff decorated and adjusted the entire venue as we had planned. Our guests were all greeted with drinks, and the staff ensured that everyone was taken care of. The food was exceptional! I wish we could go back in time to have the same experience! For appetizers, they offered cold cuts and cheese boards, bruschetta, arancini, fried calamari, and pizza. The main course was 4 different kinds of pasta (bucatini all'amatriciana, fagottini alla valerio, orecchiette with salmon, and gnocchi al tartufo) served family style. My favorite was the orecchiette with salmon pasta! This place is really a hidden gem in Astoria! Thank you Valerio, Marco, and the Sotto la Luna team for an unforgettable experience. We will see...