Tarallucci e Vino Upper West Side — Restaurant in New York

I really liked this restaurant so decided to book a table for friends visiting the city and unfortunately had the worst experience.

We had a reservation for 8pm, they had called to confirm it earlier in the day also and yet when we got there we were greeted to "we don't have a table for you". We were given numerous excuses for this - it was open tables fault followed by it was because people are allowed to show up with a 15 minute grace period of their reservation. We asked if we could go to the bar and be seated as soon as a table was available (assuming it wouldn't be more than 15-30 mins based on her last excuse) and was told yes. I wasn't offered anything, but asked if we were able to have a complimentary drink while waiting and they gave us a glass of cava each.

45 minutes later we were looking around and noticing no one was even close to leaving. I asked the host again when she expected a table to be ready and she said "maybe 30 minutes". I said this was crazy given I had made a reservation, had even confirmed that via phone call that day and she started giving excuses again and spoke to me very rudely insinuating it was my fault for booking through open table. She brought up the manager and we asked to speak to him. She went off and just had another colleague speak to us (who we confirmed wasn't the manager). He said there was nothing he could do about it and blamed open table also.

After waiting 45-50 mins we ended up having to leave to find another restaurant and were all just shocked about the experience - we were very disappointed our reservation wasn't honored or we weren't notified before getting there that they couldn't seat us allowing us to rethink our plans instead of waiting around. I wouldn't be able to come here again based on the treatment...

I live in the neighborhood and frequent here often. Over the last 2 years, I've had various experiences. Service seems to be hit or miss, to no fault of the servers (they just seem to be randomly understaffed on the worst nights). I won't dock any points for that because the servers all mean well and very much do their best given the circumstances. In regard to the food; it seems they have changed their menu over time. The first time I came here everything was exceptional - however has declined consistently in the two years since then. My most recent visit, I ordered meatballs and the cacio e pepe (a common order for me). The meatballs were tiny (much smaller than usual, definitely different) and tasted freezer burned. The dish was so scalding temperature wise, it seemed they had flash warmed them and over done it. I dismissed it as a one off and moved on. However once my cacio e pepe came out, I was surprised to find a totally different pasta (not totally uncommon - I've had this dish served with a couple different types of pasta over the years) however the sauce seemed different as well - it was coagulated and separated and definitely didn't taste like the normal creamy peppery sauce I've come to expect. Overall leaving 4 stars because I've had more good experiences than bad but concerned this place is going in the wrong...

We had just finished wandering around the American Museum of Natural History and decided to look around the neighborhood for a quick bite to eat. So we walked two blocks up and came across this diamond. It so happened to be the perfect food for our last meal in New York. It is on the corner with floor to ceiling windows making it nice light and open inside even though the size is a little quaint. The hostess was very friendly and accommodating. We choose to sit at the bar because all the tables where full and we had time restraints with our departing flights closely approaching. The barista waited on us and were very attentive. We had the gnocchi and the meatballs that were on the menu at that time, it appears that the menu has changed since then so I am not sure what the items were called on the menu. We had a Bellini and mimosa as our appetizer, a lovely glass of red with our meal and an excellent cappuccino to accompany our Italian cookies. It was a very delightful experience. If I lived here I would come here often and it is nice to see that they change up the menu for the seasons. Overall the service was excellent the food delivery was prompt the pricing did not...