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Our extended family group of eight chose Pellegrino's after touring lower Manhattan all day on Christmas Eve. We loved Chinatown but decided on Italian for dinner because it met our many requirements - toddlers to grandparents, carnivores to vegetarians. It was mid-afternoon and everyone was starving. We walked in off the street. We loved the place. They were able to seat us immediately, and the service was gracious, friendly and attentive. The atmosphere was warm, the menu extensive and appetizing, the food very good and we could be as boisterous as we pleased. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, as well. I can't speak for New Yorkers, but for these strangers to the city, Pellegrino's provided us with exactly what we needed at the moment we needed it - a place for all eight of us to sit down together and eat a festive, holiday meal while talking over the events of the day and having a good time doing it.

We stumbled into pellegrino's, looking for a good lunch. Fried calamari was delicious, lasagna and pollo pail lard with broccoli was out of this world.

risotto was awesome, pasta tasty if you like the red sauce with cream. meat was very generous portions and well cooked, presentation was a bit odd. service great, friendly an fun place. pretty good price decent wine selection.

I love the pasta here, and I love the fact that you can enjoy it without being hassled by servers every 10 minutes, while your mouth is full (seriously, what is it with waiters who do that?). I had an incredible lobster bisque here once, that I haven't found on the menu since, with big chunks of lobster meat and some kind of twisted, cheesy bread. Out of this world. And they're so nice about accomodating non-meat eaters by ommitting prosciutto and various meat bits from their pastas and sauces (which are really so good, they don't need further embellishment). I like a lot of restaurants, throughout NYC, CT, and Westchester, and have only taken the time to review a tiny handful. That says something.

As a New Yorker I am surprised why some locals may call it great let alone “the best” Italian restaurant in New York. Pellegrino’s is a tourist restaurant with average (compliment for some of their dishes) food and unreasonably high prices. We went there based of ratings on menupages.com and were greatly disappointed. For appetizers we had Polenta Funghi & Vitello Osso. They tasted better than main course but nothing to rave about. Polenta was a precooked and re-heated corn meal sprinkled with diced tomatoes, garlic and lemon juice. Vitello Osso was the veal ribs in pepper rub. For main course we had Fettuccine Giovanni and Risotto Funghi. These are among the worst dishes we ever had. Risotto was a puddle of reddish slightly sour sauce. We had to fish for risotto in it, although by definition sauce must be in miniscule quantities in risotto. And for the very pricey dish they used dried mushrooms. Fettuccine Giovanni wasn’t any better. There was too much heavy cream in the sauce which overpowered everything else in it; the peppers and asparagus were undercooked and they forgot to put ham (listed on the menu). Service was mediocre: we had to ask them for the menu 10 minutes after we sat at the table. Interestedly, bill included twenty percent of gratuity. Finally, the waiter himself wrote the above tip on my credit card receipt. VERDICT: For the mediocre meal at best and bottle of the cheapest Italian Chardonnay combined with questionable service the bill was same if not higher than at better restaurants. Spend your money elsewhere.

Nothing beats this authentic, classy Italian restaurant in the heart of Little Italy. I have been coming to this restaurant for over five years and am often recommending this restaurant to friends and family, and they too have eaten here on multiple occasions. The food is always prepared exceptionally well, paired with decent prices. I personally recommend the penne vodka and pasta fagoli. If you come to Little Italy, you must dine at Pellegrino’s. You will undoubtedly be satisfied!

this is my first review ever!! I cannot understand how this place has gotten such good reviews. I have been living in the city for over ten years and i know all the great itaian spots in the city. We tried to do something different and decided to try Little Italy. Based on the reviews from menupages we selected this place. I must say this had to be one of the worst Italian restaurant i have ever been to. They have better Italian food in Topeka, KS. The pasta supermarket quality, fish forget it. I understand that little italy is a tourist trap but you would think the food would be decent. The staff happened to be nice and attentive just cant stress enough how unpleasant the food was.