Sotto Le Stelle — Restaurant in New York

This inviting eatery situated on a bustling Queens Boulevard will make you feel like a regular the first time that you visit. The easy, laid back and yet attentive staff will seat you as quickly as possible and the charm of the interior will feel immediately comfortable. The wine list is compact but well chosen and does not disappoint. The brick oven pizza station is quickly paced, very clean, quite appetizing, and surprisingly organized despite the volume of delicious looking pizzas being assembled! I have two improvements to suggest: The low ceilings and narrow shape of the indoor dining area (they have a backroom indoor/outdoor seating area as well!!) are prone to a build up of noise from even reasonable levels of talking when the restaurant is full (which I'm sure it often is!) and I think that the space could use some artful sound diffusion/absorption, possibly on the ceiling, to cut down on the build up and make talking/hearing one another less difficult. The second is more important and has to do with our experience of the food. The menu is promising and the choices are very appetizing, however, the use of salt in the delicious mashed potatoes, vegetables & eggplant parmigiana that we ordered was, in my opinion, far to liberal, while in the case of the perfectly cooked boneless ribeye, was under seasoned with barely a trace, if at all, of salt & pepper. Being that there was no salt and pepper placed at the bar when we were served, I assume that all seasoning has been accounted for and intentional. I want to give this restaurant five stars because it really does have this potential, however, I went with three because the food we ordered was not well seasoned, and this is a problem. I have traveled throughout Italy plenty of times and have experienced the wonderful and unmatched cuisine that the various regions have to offer, and I would love to see Sotto Le Stelle make this true in their little gem of a restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens. I WILL go back for the pizza, and I won't mind the bustle of the noise, but I would be cautious to order off of the rest of the menu until I was sure that this crucial element...

I would give this place 0 stars if I could , utterly disappointed I’ve never had such terrible service in my life.

So we walk in and are promptly seated, 5 mins in and we get our menus and waitress is already confused where it is . Anyways we proceed to order and we both know what we want , and the waitress does not seem to pay attention . My bf ordered a drink and our appetizer and I said I’ll stick with water. Then I proceed to order my marghareta pizza which I explicitly said and pointed at it on the menu. She runs away without looking back , And we’re both at a loss because my bf did not order . She never comes back , so I try to stop her and instead the gentleman behind the bar comes noticing our confusion and takes his order .

So after about 10 mins this lady comes to me with a margarita utterly confused that she didn’t cancel my bfs first drink order I look at her like we don’t want this . She’s like oh you don’t want it anymore I’m like no, we said we said we didn’t originally remember. Also side note I don’t drink so yeah no way I ordered that. So she takes that away.

We get our calamari order and it’s extremely chewy , tasted frozen it was not it . Then worry starts to kick in to me that she mistook my marghareta pizza for a margarita drink. You cannot be so aloof, but i still gave her the benefit of doubt. So after we’re done with appetizers we both said we’re all set she’s like oh okay you want a check , we both looked at her like are you serious, what i feared was true she made my pizza a drink , also that means you never came back to take an entree order or even have the decency to ask.

We walked out at that point , the gentleman behind the bar was apologetic and we appreciate that. But the lady did not apologize for her sheer incompetence. I hate to sound mean but the stupidity she displayed was astounding. Teach her etiquette please or else she’ll chase the customers away .

Got pizza at Philomena's Pizza across the street , better service , better prices and all around probably a better ny pizza then this...

Excellent service & delicious foods!!! We were seated right away & water was brought to us & poured immediately. Here are what we got:

1.Fritto Misto - was okay :) Tiella Pasta - yummy! Loved that it was baked in pizza dough (which was surprisingly tasty to eat with the pasta!) We just wish the portion was a bit bigger Generous amount of seafood compared to the pasta. The sauce was addicting. Angel & Devil Pizza - SO. GOOD. The pizza was thin w/ crunchy crust. The center was so flavorful (maybe too much?) but we ate it with the crust so it evens out. Tiramisu - delicious! But halfway into it, it tasted a bit too sweet. Gelato (pistachio & hazelnut) - I wish there was more flavors but they were good! Smooth & melt in your mouth.

I didn't know they have a dessert shop next door, I found out by noticing that the manager went out the restaurant & came back with out gelatos, which amusing to watch. Lol. But if you notice, they pass the desserts through a window by the bar. Oh! & we got 2 shots of limoncello on the house when we got our check! :)

All the staff was very attentive, everyone was friendly, the food came out quick, & the experience was superb. The atmosphere was cozy & welcoming. Highly recommend & we will be back to try...