Bricco Italian Restaurant

After another delicious and enjoyable happy hour at Bricco Tratorria on a perfect summer late afternoon, I felted compelled to write a quick review.
We’ve been to their happy a few times and while we can’t say we’re «happy hour experts», I can say the small plate offerings and drink options are spot on delicious!
Oddly I was half expecting to find no seating on this beautiful Friday at 420, but it was actually wide open. What a lovely surprise to be offered outdoor patio seating for happy hour! Couldn’t be a more perfect combo!
I ordered the blood orange vodkatini while hub enjoyed a SAM’s Summer. Our server was excellent, friendly and attentive. We enjoyed the Arancine, Meatballs and Arugula flat bread off the small plate menu… All were delicious.
Thoroughly enjoyable start to the weekend! Bricco really does happy hour right!

Very nice selection the appetizers were very good. Simple dishes with good flavor. The wine was good at a reasonable price.

Must have been a night where the wait staff was distracted as I have been here several times. Had to get their attention several times for water glass refills, formalities like the check, etc. Food as usual is good and dependable, you should order something off the menu that is more than basic because if you order something you know, you’ll feel as if you could have made it at home. I do wish they would tell you the prices of their nightly specials. It’s a little uncomfortable to ask but wish I had — $ 32 for a basic pasta dish was off the charts. The crowd on a Thursday night was mixed ages but skewed retired. I“ll try it once more but if this had been my first time it would have been my last.

Great service with affordable dishes in the area. My husband and I ordered two appetizers and one pasta to share, and they were quite enough for us. I would definitely like to come back.

Very good food, but I found it somewhat bland. The service is good one you are acknowledged as a diner. Our kids had the cheese ravioli and enjoyed it. I had the fennel, arugula and octopus salad followed by the linguini pescatore. My wife had rigatoni with artichokes. The tab for five of us with three drinks was $ 233 with tip.

Had a business lunch here this week, and Bricco’s food and décor were what I thought they would be; a decent little place with a cozy feel.
We had a party of six and were seated at a round table, which made conversation easy and added a homey vibe to the meal.
I started with a standard spinach salad. Lightly dressed with cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese. Good, not great, but I enjoyed it. Maybe could have used a little more salt and pepper in the light dressing.
For my entrée, I had the swordfish with broccoli and a few small roasted potatoes. The vegetables were good, but could have used a little more seasoning in the kitchen as well. The swordfish was not the best cut I’ve ever had, but was fresh and cooked correctly and tasty.
The table shared a few chocolate tarts for dessert. Very good and the whipped cream made it even better.
The vino was standard house and accordingly priced. Service was top notch, and our table particularly enjoyed the oversized pepper mill used by staff to season our meals. I mean, this thing was the size of baseball bat!
I have worked right across the street for the last 10 years, but this was my first time in Bricco’s. I will pop back in again for sure and try the pasta next time, which one of my colleagues had and looked super.

Absolutely the best service in the area. The kitchen will serve off menu items if you request. I especially suggest the seafood, even though I don’t eat it myself, it’s what the waiters order for themselves. I’ve had at least 50 business meetings here and everyone always leaves happy. Tell Luis or Nino that Steve the Vitamins Guy sent you and you’ll get plenty of love.

WOW! A true authentic Taste of Italy. I was absolutely blown away by my first experience. I have been told both by friends and hotels I stay at when visiting NYC that this is a must! Boy were they right! I am 100% Italian American and go to Italy once or twice a year. This is the real deal! And not to mention the service as well. The staff and the owners really make you feel at home. I will definitely be back every trip I make to NYC. Thanks Bricco!

Our dinner was the best. Comfortable atmosphere. Very good service. Food was perfectly prepared. I especially loved the Insalata Bricca, belgian endive and fennel. Perfection. Well located for going to the theatre or Lincoln Center. I definitely will be back.

It’s a shame that for the location and the feel of a old time red sauce place it doesn’t deliver. I had the Bocconcini to start that was presented in a hot oven plate, unfortunately the food was only medium warm. Next up was the Salciccia E Mozzarella pizza, which was not crispy or tasty, it fact it was quite bland with neither any zip to the sauce nor any hot from the sausage. The bright spot was the level of service from the waitstaff.

While the food here was savory we found certain aspects of the table waiting service to be annoying.
We ordered the baked calamari and the tricolori salad for appetizers, and followed with the fish soup and the fettuccine alla contadina entrees. All of the dishes had good flavor and were delivered in a timely manner.
The old line Italian wait staff was professional and courteous. But for some reason the restaurant had hired a number of new waiters in training (perhaps for the holiday season). The newbies were tripping over themselves and constantly pacing back in forth past our table and the other tables in twos or threes EVERY MINUTE we were there. It was impossible to relax with these hovering hawks staring down at our table and ready to grab something or do something. We just wanted to yell (leave us alone and in peace!).
I think the restaurant meant well but they were way overstaffed for the evening and the new staff was fairly clueless.
Not sure we’ll return here…

I really didn’t enjoy my time at this place. The food is good enough, not great, but having to wave around for service or be made to feel uneasy when the wrong dish comes out makes it not worth it. My friends ordered the steak which I didn’t like but the eggplant Parm was good.

Delicious! Cheese and olives is a great start. I usually get their day appetizer special, and my go to is their seafood pasta or a pizza. The waiters are attentive but don’t hover over you so you can sit there and enjoy yourself and never feel rushed. The atmosphere reminds me of all the little spots I went to in Italy.

Very disappointing experience. The costly bottle of red wine was served really warm. Asked for it to be slightly chilled. Waiter completely forgot about us and disappeared until the wine was too cold. The service was all along indifferent and unhelpful. It did not feel at all welcoming. The octopus appetizer was wonderful but the squid appetizer was overcooked and rubbery. We gave up on the main courses and just ordered the famous grape pie. Meh! More like a crumbly cake. Won’t go back even though we have been searching for a good Italian in our neighborhood. Much prefer Basso.

Major miss tonight.
I’ve been a big fan of Bricco, giving it 5 stars in the past and having been back many times. Tonight was a real miss though.
This place always makes me feel like I’m eating at the house of a family friend. The host and owner is very friendly and charming, and the waiters are too. It’s just a really nice place to have a good meal. Which made the food such a shock.
We ordered the recommended appetizer — a thinly wrapped zucchini around ricotta in red sauce baked in their brick oven. It was tasty and hot on the top but cold in the middle. I suspect previously frozen and went straight from freezer to oven. Even if it was fresh, it wasn’t cooked properly. Strike 1.
I ordered the chef special fettuccini with calamari and lobster in fra diavolo sauce. It was also pretty tasty but when I cracked the lobster claw the meat was literally pasty gelatinous grey and completely raw in the middle. Strike 2.
The waiter never did come around to ask about the meal, so I finished about 20 minutes later and the busboy came to clear plates. I told him the lobster was raw, showed him, and he said he would tell the kitchen. When our waiter finally came around after with dessert menus, I told him I kind of lost my appetite after getting raw lobster. He made a joke about making a dessert with lobster but otherwise didn’t seem to care at all that my dinner was not cooked. He brought the bill and no discount or credit or anything. Strike 3.
On my way out, the owner/​host thanked us for coming in, and I told him that he should pass along to the kitchen that the lobster was raw and inedible. He seemed genuinely concerned, gave me his card, and said next time I came he would buy me a bottle of wine. Nice gesture, but I would have expected him to do something that night. At $ 150 for two people (no dessert), we expected more that cold appetizer and raw seafood.
I hope they just had a single (very) off night. I give 2 stars, mostly for the owners attempt at the end as we left. Shame, because I still really like this restaurant overall.

Thank you Nino. You and your staff made our anniversary dinner very enjoyable.
Food, wine and the atmosphere were all top notch.
If there is a dessert Hall-​of-​Fame, your poached pear, would be inducted.

I had the best double-​cut pork chop ever! The ‘homemade’ pasta was workmanlike. The caprisi salad was plain jane-​ish but the octopus app was to die for! The cappuccinos were a nice finish but the ‘grape pie’ tasted like a … grape pie. The wine is all Italian but very pleasent.

Wow! Slowest service ever! Food was decent… but just the slowest service ever. Lack to attention and detail.

We had very good food and positively awful service.
Salads were nice. Risotto was excellent. Fedelini with shrimp in white wine sauce very good. Pizza was excellent.
But the service was about as bad as it could get. Our party of seven sat for 30 minutes before we saw menus or a waiter. Our waiter was surly and barely went through the motions. We waited another 30 minutes before we ordered. Once we finally did order, the salads came out in reasonable time, as did the meal. We then had to flag the waiter to get the check as he never once came over to see how we were doing. The only thing in his favor is that they were finishing up a party of sixteen at the same time. But for me, too many negatives at every stage to make this a good excuse for really poor service. And then of course an 18% tip was added automatically.

Not worth it. It’ll cost you the same as a good restaurant.
Granted, finding reasonable Italian in Midtown is next to impossible, but this place is just stupidly overpriced (scroll down for my recommendation). The sign outside said happy hour wine $ 5.50. So we inquire with the bartender who fetches the manager who informs us of the two options. The bill comes and the wine is $ 7.50 and they charged us $ 15 for a plate share on pizza (!). So we paid $ 80 for a pizza and some wine. Like I said, stupid.
I complained about the wine (indicating the sign on the front door) to which the manager says «you have to tell us you want the happy hour price.» I replayed the previous multiperson conversation we had about the happy hour wine. The manager replies «Ok next time you see me and I’ll make it better.» Whatevs.
The pizza and service were decent. It was quiet at the bar. But why bother with having to count your fingers when you leave. If you insist on Italian the best I know of (not in the Bronx) is Casa Nonna on 38^th.