Malatesta Trattoria - New York City

**Ambience:** 5/5 **Food:** 2/5 **Service:** 1/5 I was sadly disappointed after visiting this restaurant based on a recommendation. We arrived at 8 PM and had to wait 15 minutes to be seated, which wasn’t too bad given how busy they were. However, no one introduced themselves as our server, and although someone brought us water when we sat down, we didn’t receive menus until 8:30, when one of the staff finally noticed we were waiting. After a 15-minute wait with no one checking on us, we ordered two entrees: the special fettuccine with shrimp and the veal meatball dish. We also had to request olive oil and vinegar for our bread since it wasn’t provided initially. Our dishes were delivered by a different server around 9:15 or 9:20, and to our disappointment, both plates seemed neglected. While the pasta was cooked well, it was noticeably cold. The veal meatballs were dry, cold, and overall quite mediocre. The pasta sauce reminded me of old marinara sauce that had been hanging out in the back of my fridge for too long. After finishing our meal, we waited another 30-40 minutes before we were finally able to get someone’s attention for the check. No one came to ask if we wanted dessert or if we wanted to take anything to go. On the bright side, the restaurant is beautiful for photos, with lovely candlelight decor, and the outdoor dining area was very comfortable. The entrees are reasonably priced for the area, but unfortunately, the food and service were a letdown. With so many Italian dining options in NYC, I will not be returning.

I really enjoyed the spinach Gorgonzola gnocchi and the penne arrabbiata; both dishes were excellent. The food was served incredibly quickly. The bread they provide before the meal is also delicious. Be sure to try the crème brûlée as well; it had a lovely hint of lemon. The only downside was that it felt a bit crowded, so I wish there was more space. I've seen some comments about them only accepting cash, but my group was able to pay with a credit card.

The food is incredibly delicious! The gnocchi and ragù are outstanding! When compared to other Italian restaurants in the West Village, the prices here are quite reasonable. I'm puzzled by some reviews that claim it's expensive or that the portions are small—not at all! My only complaint is that the noise level can be quite high, but I'm not sure how they could improve that. The service was good—not the friendliest I've encountered, but I have no complaints. I will definitely be returning!

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. Our waiter was incredibly rude and condescending. We simply asked informed him that we were not told we would be charged for refills of soda. Genuinely other places that we have gone to let you know that there are not free refills beforehand. When we told him, he was so rude and made it seem as though we were just complaining so we wouldn’t have to pay for the soda. Then he walked over to seemingly a friend of his sitting at another table and was telling him the story. We knew this because his friend looked over at our table while laughing. To be honest, I’m more embarrassed for the waiter who had nothing better to talk about than the table of girls that simply asked him a question.To make matters worse, when we called the manager over, the manager gave us the most insincere apology I have heard at a restaurant. Instead of apologizing for the fact that his server was treating customers this way and assuring us that it was not consistent with the ethos of the restaurant, he maintained that they don’t give free refills. Mind you we were absolutely fine to pay for the refills,, but wanted to ensure that customers were informed of this prior to ordering. Instead, he then took the bill, removed the drink charges, and brought it back to us with another half-hearted apology. He didn’t even look us in the eye when he came back, and simply reached over the hand the check instead of standing directly in front of us as he “apologized.”I have never been treated that way in a restaurant before and am just saddened that I even supported such a place with my business. I would urge everyone to avoid this restaurant as there are far better options where you are genuinely treated kindly and with respect.

The food was barely good, the Tagliateli Ragu is not good since it does not feel like a restaurant, it tastes like if i made it at home. The restaurant was way to noisy and had to wait like 20 minutes past my reservation time. Definitely would not recommend. The calamari were okay, such as the burrata but nothing spectacular. The best dish were the gnocchi, but not worth going there inly for that plate. The wine bottles are also expensive compared to what they’re worth. (5x their price)