Grotta Azzurra

This place is a gem. The food is authentic, the prices are reasonable and the service is friendly. It is puzzling that the rating for this place is not better.

Before we booked the shower, we tried out Grotta Azzura for brunch to be sure the food was good. I took 4 of my daughter's bridesmaids there for a "test run" and the food was fabulous. The waiters were very attentive...of course being with 4 pretty girls may have helped... We held my daughter's bridal shower there in July of 2008. We were a group of about 35 women and had the private party room downstairs. The room is actually a wine cellar with hundreds of bottles of wine keeping us company. The food was extraordinary and so plentiful. We couldn't even finish it. The service was attentive. They took care of ordering the cake and balloons so I could give a carefree event. They even helped pack up the gifts in bags. Whatever we asked for they did and then some. Excellent!

Since I was a little girl, my Dad took me here...my favorite dish in the world is the appetizier SPEDINI made with mozzerella& bread then deep fried with a anchovy, caper & chicken broth sauce. Its outrageous! I even craved it when I was pregnant. I come every time I visit NYC.

The decor was beautiful. The service was superb, we were seated quickly with a waiter that was very attentive to our choice and knowledgeable about all of the dishes. The food was delicious and the portions were huge, not to mention reasonably priced. All our dishes arrived nice and hot. I am recommending this restaurant to anyone that is looking for some place quaint, great service and DELICIOUS food. I can't wait to go back.

The food was decent (pasta was excellent) but wine was definitely diluted and garlic bread was almost completely black. When pointed out, the waiter doubted if something was wrong with all that but took it out (but he didn't bring a replacement and he didn't forget to charge us for all that as well). Oh and the service wasn't that fast despite just a couple of tables occupied for lunch. Interesting is that they AUTOMATICALLY add 20% service charge (they know there ain't gonna be any tip otherwise). Simply put, don't buy all those diplomas on the walls. There're for ignoring tourists, don't be one of them.

This place has an out of this world clam pasta. The clams are huge and the pasta is prepared JUST RIGHT....piping hot and not soggy.

I was in the neighborhood with a friend to celebrate her birthday. What better way to celebrate a great birthday with a great meal. Took her to Little Italy for a nice, quite dinner and Grotta Azzurra LOOKED LIKE a nice place to eat. From the moment we arrived, it look a while to be seated and mind you this was a Monday night around 8pm and no it was crowded. Fine, we looked over at our menu's and waited another 10 mins for someone to take our order. We literally had to turn our heads and wave down someone to take our order. On top of that, we order wine and didn't recieve it at all.....it really seems like the forgot about us. I was so disappointed with how we were treated b/c even though we waited very long and was being patience for that matter, we still didn't get no apology for their rude matter. Will def. not return again.