Villa Berulia — Restaurant in New York

I work around the area and always walk by when I head to the post office down the block. From the outside, I did not feel at all compelled to try it out. I finally decided to try this place for restaurant week, especially after reading all the positive reviews. Upon entering, it was very dim. When asked if we wanted our coats checked, my friend and I said no, much to the disappointment of the coat check clerk. The decor was old, and the overall atmosphere was of those outdated establishments that have passed its prime. It also feels like a family owned restaurant from the way we were treated by the waiters. They were all very blasé and there was not much hospitality.

The Meal:

The bread and breadsticks were definitely outsourced and were terrible. At least warm up the bread!! 1st course - baked clams. Meh. Average. Nothing worth remembering. Main course - Broiled salmon with seasonal vegetables and pasta of the day (lasagna). Broiled salmon was dry, overcooked, and burned at the bottom. The seasonal vegetables were a small slop of spinach. The lasagna was warm, and tasted quite generic, as if I could've purchased it at a nearby supermarket. When it was time for dessert, there was no dessert menu. Instead, they pulled a cart around with 4 different choices - all the desserts were uncovered and exposed (not very sanitary). The gentlemen who tried to explain to us what the desserts were didn't seem to even know what it was himself. "And that's the apple something...apple.....apple cake." My friend and I tried the Tiramisu and cheesecake. Dessert tasted like something that's store bought from a bakery.

We barely touched dessert and asked for the check. Would never return and would not recommend anyone to visit either. I'm baffled by all the positive reviews...perhaps the diners have not yet seen the better restaurants of NYC. It was a waste of $70 lunch and I wish very much to rewind time and...

Found myself dreaming of this place again & realized I forgot to leave a well deserved review. In short, my spouse and I reserved an evening here during a celebratory trip in the city. From the moment the door was opened for us, staff was welcoming with care start to finish, my first impressions being how beautifully dim with candle light our table was.

Our appetizer, calamari, was perfectly cooked and crispy. We were practically drinking the marinara sauce! My spouse ordered an in house champagne and gave it good marks. I then received my tortellini and was floored. Simply the best I’ve ever had. Impeccable from-scratch mushroom sauce and pasta, as expected, but not at this level. Portion sizes were great (maybe too great, we barely waddled back to the hotel!). We were then convinced by two gentleman handling the dessert cart to get a pretty undersold “chocolate cake”, which ended up being a decadent mousse topped with sugar and drizzle.

Overall, worth the money, time, and company to be here! The only thing I would suggest to the wait staff is to not constantly attend our water, especially when it’s a couple on a romantic date. A nice man came every five minutes or so and it was truly unnecessary. Regardless, we...

My wife and I were in town for her 2014 nyc marathon tomorrow - and wanted an early but nice dinner before calling it a night. She wanted Italian, but neither of us wanted to take the time to head down to mulberry / motts streets, so we learned about this gem via yelp.

A very romantic restaurant close to Park on 34th, we walked from our hotel (see separate review) on 38th/Madison and had a thoroughly enjoyable dinner.

Previous reviews revealed Croats owned this restaurant, and so this came up in conversation early on. 30+ years ago, my parents periodically took me to a Croatian restaurant in Germany and I often ordered Ćevapčići. Turns out I could order it here! (Not on the menu - but available). It was a time capsule back to more innocent days.

My lovely vegetarian wife ordered the Agnolotti with vodka sauce which she really enjoyed (spinach crescents, marscapone, artichoke heart purée). I had the lamb shank with arborio. Very enjoyable dish.

Mer's sweet tooth gravitated towards the pumpkin cheesecake & the wild strawberry tart. I went with a double espresso and had a surprise cognac on the house.

From the coat rack check-in to the mints upon exit, we enjoyed the evening and definitely...