Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in New City

The food, atmosphere, and service were all impeccable one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. I love coming down from Westchester to have dinner with my girlfriend.

We live around the corner and have been meaning to go here--Valentine's day felt like the perfect opportunity. Once you step in, you're transported away from the casual vibes of the Upper West Side and into an elegant fantasy that reminds you to treat yourself. Notable moments: The service here is perfect--our waitstaff were so kind, efficient, and helpful all the way through. They aren't stuffy and are, in fact, very human, but they provide that upscale service all the same. The food is gorgeous. The Valentine's prefixe was $75 a person. My partner got a plate of calamari as an app that was big enough to share, and the escarole salad I chose was lush and bountiful. Our pasta mains were well-portioned, not to mention al dente and seasoned to perfection. We also received two desserts for the pre-fixe price--both of which felt like gourmet iterations of homestyle favorites. It's kind of like this whole restaurant. The ambiance is relaxed yet upscale. My partner and I are by no means fancy people, and yet, we felt welcome! We saw people of all backgrounds and dresscodes come and go. There's a buzz of conversations around you, but it's not so loud that you can't have a conversation. The only slight discomfort we experienced was that our table was kind of wedged next to another table and the main hallway where the waistaff hung out--we assumed maybe they overbooked for the night and had to make new tables--but it was worth nothing more than a giggle and asmile once we realized. And hardly took away from the experience. Instead, it was a great vantage point for people watching and the perfect place for attentive service.

Beautiful Valentines Day Decor , food was declicious but service was even better! Thank you

We don't usually do Valentine's Day dinner but we are longtime fans of Chef Peter Kelly's culinary skills, innovative menus, great cocktails, and fabulous service, and had been to Basso 56 before but have been wanting to try Chef Kelly's new location. So this seemed like a great excuse to check it and it did NOT disappoint. Great wine list, exciting cocktail menu, awesome service, and amazing and innovative menu but yet able to accommodate 2 dietary restrictions in our party of 4 without a problem or hesitation. And Chef Kelly made the rounds in the dining room twice during our meal and was as friendly and gracious as always. Sorry no pictures but everything was presented beautifully and absolutely delicious. Salads were fresh and light, grilled octopus was terrific, shrimp with truffle special appetizer was outstanding, branzino was cooked perfectly, all the pastas are made in-house and delicious, and while not on the menu, they made a cacio e pepe for one of our guests who had a dietary need and it was outstanding, especially since it was a very busy night. We will definitely be back soon!

Cocktails before dinner, Manhattan and Old Fashion were great. Server was attentive, friendly and engaging. Food arrived promptly and was delicious. Went early on a holiday evening and atmosphere was upbeat and over dinner grew to modestly noisy though it never impacted conversation at the table. Holiday Pre-fixe menu was a bit on the pricey side but good value for a special event. Look forward to going again.