East River Cafe (CLOSED)

always passed by but never tried it. went in last night. piano playing was nice. First of all bread was not Italian. Calamari was unappetizing and sauce was watered tomato sauce . I ordered spinach fetticune with pine nuts with truffle sauce and wild mushrooms. The chef must of forgotten how to make fresh mushrooms because he opened a can of mushrooms and used the water in the can as sauce. the pasta was swimming in the sauce. My friend ordered the salmon. no taste, couldn't wait to get out. never go back. they are trying so hard to be Italian. they absolutely failed. We give it 2 thumbs down.

A friend and I went on Friday night. The place itself is cute. Wasn't busy but wasn't dead either. We shared a seared scallop & grilled calamari appetizers. The scallop dish was ok- nothing to write home about. The grilled calamari was over cooked. Too tought to enjoy. For our entrees we had a Bronzini special which was very good and a seafood and veggie grill which looked beautiful but every piece of seafood was over cooked. It was very disappointing. I'm in no rush to go back.

We were here in 2007 and had a great experience. This time we found exactly the same menu with dishes prepared exactly the same way and with exactly the same good points as last time. But, after 3 years, we expected to see their obvious regard for quality transferred to newer items. High quality and excellent service but boring on a second visit.

Girlfriend and I went in November '09 and loved it. Great experience and we decided to go back last night. Made a reservation, no problem, for 7:30. Arrived and were seated immediately. Not crowded, but not empty either. Waiter was nice. Appetizer - I ordered tomato and mozzarella salad and a crab cake, while she had the Carpaccio. The crab cake was terrible - it arrived greasy and I could barely detect any crab. I only ate half. Carpaccio and mozzarella were pretty good, but not as good as either of us remembered. We asked for pepper, and the server said he’d be right back with it. He never came back with the pepper. Entrees – we both had the pollo alla vecchia, which I’d had the last time. Chicken seemed a bit overcooked. It came with mashed potatoes and spinach, but neither of us were given much spinach. It was almost like an afterthought. The entrée was serviceable, but again, not as good as I remembered. Service was good, not exemplary. I had a soda and my girlfriend had two glasses of wine. Total bill was just over $100. We both walked out thinking the first time had been a much better experience and neither of us was sure we wanted to go back again. It’s a shame, as it’s close to us and would make a good dinner spot. They have a piano player. I don’t know if he’s there every night, but I’m not much for piano players. It’s not awful, but I don’t think it adds much. It was a disappointing trip and as I mentioned, I’m not sure I’m going back. The food wasn’t nearly as good as I remembered. Definitely stay away from the crab cake – it was one of the worst crab cakes I’ve ever had.

The food here is very good and reasonably priced. My girlfriend and I come here all the time. Their tuna tartar is great, and their seafood pasta special is amazing.

Clean, Large selection, Well prepared, Great Martini's, Server Shady charming, Best of all Piano player Thurs- Sat. We will return.

I come here with my gf on a regular basis... the food is great with sizable filling portions, the atmosphere is nice and comfortable, and the service is efficient. I highly recommend this restaurant