Maialino

Expected great food, great service, great everything from another Danny Meyer restaurant. Service was lacking. Apps were fine, pastas were overwhelmed by salt & pepper, and the portions tiny. Sorbets were the star of the meal. Bread was good, but it was our first and last visit.

Absolutely delicious! Knowledgeable staff. Tough res. Loved it.

I agree with all the other reviews re: miniscule portions. I am not a big-portion person - in fact I usually complain about the opposite: too much food. But this was plain ridiculous: $23 for a 1-ounce sliver of trout and small handful of salad greens? It wasn't even good, just okay. My husband's smoked swordfish was even smaller - the size of his thumb. Especially disappointing after we waited 1 1/2 hours to get served. What was up with that? Seems the restaurant is more interested in preserving its hipster vibe than in satisfying its diners.

Ate dinner the other night. The pasta portions are miniscule. Pasta did not taste fresh. Could have been Barillo. Staff is nice and so is atmosphere but, food is lacking in portion size, freshness, and innovation.

Love the atmosphere, overlooking Gramercy Park, and I want so badly to walk away saying that food was worth the price....but I just can't. Dedicating half your menu to app. portions of pasta and then having a few even more expensive dinner entress is a good way to make a lot of money, but not leave a customer satisfied. I know it's not trendy and I know the chefs that visit Italy insist on small portions...but it's just not practical given the market. If you want to charge me double and include a full size dinner pasta fine, but don't force me to get a few pastas, order dinner, than dessert, and a bottle of wine for $350 or suffer the alternative of leaving hungry.

I had lunch there today, and I thought that the food was a major disappointment. The artichoke spread appetizer was extremely bland, unattractive, and unremarkable. The spaghettini with mussels consisted of a bowl of mediocre pasta with sour tomato sauce and a few stray mussels mixed in. The dessert was a chocolate panna cotta with pears, and it really wasn't good at all. The consistency was gluey and the flavor was...well..there wasn't much of a flavor at all. The pear morsels on top were pretty awful too. The Gramercy Hotel is beautiful, and the restaurant is lovely to look at and to be in. The wait staff was gracious. I won't be returning, however, because I really disliked the food.

We had a terrific experience the other night. The only glitch was a 30 minute wait before we were seated for our reservation, but the hostess personally and immediately brought over an appetizer to make up for it once we sat down. From that point on, everything was excellent, from the wine selections and suggestions, to the friendly waitress, to the delicious food (and we tried a number of different dishes). Will definitely be back.