Joanna's Restaurant (CLOSED)

After reading the reviews on here, I was excited to try Joanna's. It's always great to have a new place in the neighborhood as I've lived here a long time and am tired of the old standbys. That said, when there is only one other occupied table in the restaurant on a Friday at 8pm (and they are in their 70s), there is probably a reason. The first thing I noticed when I came in was that it STANK. It smelled like a sponge that was going moldy. We considered leaving, but wanted the place to be good, so figured maybe they had just cleaned with an old mop? They were out of several of the wines on the menu, but the Gavi de Gavi we got was decent. I ordered two appetizers as I find they are often more creative dishes than main courses. I got the salmon carpaccio with greens and capers, and the eggplant napoleon. My friend got the tiger shrimp risotto. The salmon carpaccio was delicious. Very tender, though a small portion which was to be expected. The greens were fresh but overdressed. The eggplant napoleon had no flavor and the eggplant seemed undercooked. It was very disappointing. Just a few herbs and some smoked mozzarella would have made it amazing. And salt. They don't seem to use it there. The risotto was the most disappointing. It was watery and chewy, and the shrimp had zero flavor of their own. They were very small, rubbery and completely tasteless, which they seemingly tried to cover up by dousing them in cracked black pepper. They were definitely frozen, and probably way too long. You get the taste of rubbery nothingness, followed by a huge hit of pepper. Tiger shrimp are usually very sweet and tender, so I was surprised. The service was good, but I can't imagine that's hard when there are only two tables all night. It's a pity as the menu looked really good. Oh well.

My husband and I had the misfortune to eat there last Friday night. I had passed it a few times and we decided to try it. Wrong move! The food was tasteless. Some sort of green fettucine special. Not spinach, just green. With chicken and mushrooms in garlic, olive oil and tomatoes. needed salt badly. Chicken rather dry. Salad was fresh though. My husband had ordered the special salad with feta (?) cheese, avocado and strawberries. First time I'd ever tasted feta that had NO flavor. He had the chicken special, too. Said the same thing I did. Tasteless. The service was very good. Ambiance good too. Nice looking restaurant, but the food, not so good. Also, that location is probably jinxed. Any business in there usually folds. It's down a few steps and set back from street level. It's rather like eating in a basement apartment. No, we're not going back. We'll stick with Luna Rossa and Le Bistro de la Cote. And will try Felice, too.

This neighborhood needs a restaurant as nice as this. The waiters are extremely pleasant, the food is good and wine selection interesting. The cartoccio cod dish is spectacular. Salads are fresh. Please go there - without Joanna's, we don't have much else up here.

I returned to NY after many years of postponing a visit there, and one evening we walk past this restaurant on our way to the hotel. Love this restaurant. The food was cook to order and very tasty. Service was fast and our waitress very friendly. Would definitely go back there again.

I visited joannas a few times already and the food is great.Many different dishes and great specials. Everything is served hot and the flavors are mouthwatering. Our server did not clear a dish until everyone was done,which is rare,but that's the way it should be. Will return without a doubt.

Coming here reminded me of being in Italy. Very authentic. Really fresh and yummy. The wine selection here is amazing. Lots of variety, knowledgeable staff. Delivery service: Phone service is good, and delivery is friendly ,the food is hot and packed with care.

Classic Italian. Attentive staff, amazing food. Everything was fresh and excellently prepared. Salmon carpaccio was light and flavorful, porcini risotto was out of this world. Tiramisu was a perfect balance of a light cream to cake ratio and the cake wasn't drenched in alcohol. The difference between a good meal and an amazing one is control and balance and they nailed it. This was an amazing meal