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Excellent restaurant. Made a reservation for 9:00 pm on a Friday, was seated by 9:15. Its a small place, not much of a bar which is fine. Extensive wine list. I had the octopus salad and the Cod. The Cod in one word - perfect. Cooked to absolute perfection, and the carrots/potatoes/onions were to die! YUM. Make a reservation and keep an open mind. This is the EV in NYC. Lavagna is a fantastic, non-pretentious Italian restaurant. I've read very few bad reviews. It's awesome - you should go.

was walking around LES looking for a place to eat dinner with friend and found this spot. one of the better italilan places i've been to in nyc. great service, food was phenominal. really. all around solid solid solid meal

Showed up at 10 pm on a Fri night w/ a party of 8 and no reservation, which normally just provokes eyerolls or outright laughter from a host in the EV. Ended up waiting a while at the bar b/c they were packed, but they were extremely accommodating, even when a 9th showed up unexpectedly. And when seated, wow! The food was unreal. The special 4 cheese pizza...fantastic. Porkchops..delicious. Artichoke appetizer...good god! And the wine was great. Somehow the waiter kept a smile on his face the whole time, despite our slightly loopy group. This is a real must go.

Warning-- do not come here unless you are prepared to become completely addicted to the food and crave it at all hours of the day. The rigatoni is to DIE for! Despite having tried and loved pretty much everything on the menu (usually off the plates of my dining companions) I have not been able to bring myself to order anything other than the rigatoni. Perfect meal at Lavagna: The artichoke/white bean puree appetizer (so amazing), simple green salad with fresh asiago cheese on top, and a half order of the rigatoni. Hits the spot every single time. Never get tired of it! Oh yeah-- not to mention the space is beautiful and the service is the perfect mix between attentive and laid-back.

I moved to the area a few years ago and I have been taking people here ever since. Lavagna has nice decor - granted, if you go in the spring when it's hot out and sit next to the kitchen, its rather warm. But the food makes up for it. I feel bad because I keep ordering their ravioli - it is seasonal so it is always different, but always delicious. You can just taste how homemade it is. The insalata misto is rather good as well, and they have a great wine list. Definitely worth a visit. Someone had mentioned the pizza - why would you go to an awesome italian restaurant and order pizza? If you are looking for pizza, go to grimaldi's or lombardi's. My brother ordered it because he isn't that adventurous, and he didn't like it because it wasn't like the pizza he normally eats. I thought it was great though.

took my woman here last week and we got the flambeed (sp?) snapper for two, it was incredible. she's been talking about it all week so we're headed back tomorrow night. been there several times over the years and everything's great but i'll be back for the fish again and again. place is a little cozy, nothing we're not used to downtown. service is terrific.

sadly i cannot agree with the previous reviewers.. the food was just not good. from the pizza to the rigatoni to the pappardelle.. pure disappointment. and they had the bill on the table before any of us had finished our drinks. definitely will not return.