Went to dinner to celebrate my birthday, we were seated right away. We were seated right next to the fire place, at first it was not an issue for us. Then, our waitress gave us drinks in a timely fashion. I had asked her if it was possible to transform the veal marsala dish into a chicken dish, and she said that«No, I don’t think so, we don’t do that.» without even asking the kitchen first, she completely disregarded my words all together and did not seem to give a shit at all. Then, after we had ordered it got extremely hot in the room(they had turned up the fire place because of the party outside in the back room). We had asked her if it was possible to lower it back down, and she shook her head and said«you guys can move.» After we had already put in our orders and had been served drinks + appetizers, She had the most horrendous, obnoxious attitude plus a big smirk on her face throughout this entire experience, and showed no thought in providing us with good service. She was downright obnoxious and just plain horrible. We got up and moved, and asked for a different server, and my grandfather eventually left. Terrible, awful service from this waitress. Food was nothing special. Would not recommend this place to anyone. Get better service.(waitresses)
Lee P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
You get a lot for your money at Joanne. It is a picture perfect UWS Tratorria serving the very definition of Italian soul food. After a number of visits, and many carry-outs, we have never been disappointed. We are always surprised by the price points on the menu because they are such a contrast to neighboring restaurants. Pastas are alway fresh and generous. I haven’t found a pizza I like better. The chicken parm is standout. They even have an Italian Cabernet on the by-the-glass list that is great.(Wouldn’t normally consider an Italian Cab). Call for a reservation. They are always busy. Now you know why.
Irving R.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, NY
Overpricing and the food well Mmm not the best Italian food and the service was the same. Sorry but there’s nothing special about this place.
Rafael O.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Bronx, NY
The food was okay. The staff was very nice. The food portions weren’t so great. I wouldn’t eat here again.
Alex R.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Manhattan, NY
My wife and I live in the neighborhood and figured we would give Joanne’s a try particularly since they had gluten free pasta. The positive was we had a very nice table in the covered patio by the fireplace. Unfortunately it was down hill after that. Perhaps I am just spoiled by all the great restaurants in NYC. The first sign that the restaurant may have been that although it was busy, the crowd was mostly tourists. The generic hard rolls we got with packaged butter did not provide any more optimism. For my main course I opted for the namesake meatballs while opting for the fresh linguine. To sum the dish up it was over sauced mushy overcooked pasta with dense, not particularly flavorful meatballs. And I had to pay an extra $ 4 on an already pricey pasta dish for the fresh pasta. Maybe the dry pasta wouldn’t have been as over cooked. My wife had the pork ragu with gluten free pasta. Here was much better but the ragu still lacked some seasoning. A bit more salt would’ve gone a long way. Both portions were huge. I took the leftovers home bc I felt bad telling the waitress I didn’t want them but I do not intend on eating the mushy noodles again.
Michael C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 ASTORIA, NY
I am really surprised to see the one star reviews on this place. The food was exactly as good as I expected for the price and we all left satisfied. Food: Most entrees are in the low 20 $ range and come in satisfying portion sizes. My table enjoyed the spaghetti and meatballs which came with plenty of excellent home made pasta one large meatball that had great flavor but would have been perfect with 2. I had the chicken parmesan with pasta that was perfect in both flavor, composition and portion size. The Mac and Seafood Mac and Cheese was very cheesy which could be too rich for some but we enjoyed it very much. Trying to eat better we, skipped Desert so i cant speak to the taste but it looked really good. Service: Service was what you would expect at a restaurant in this price range. Courteous and patient with prompt service for all of our requests. Restaurant: This place is small and cozy. Lots of fireplaces and exposed brick. Its small but they do not overdo it with tables so we didn’t feel cramped at all. Its in a really nice area that comes with the expectation of a much higher price tag. You are a block from central park and a few blocks from Room for improvement: Better bread at the beginning would go a long way, and a second meatball with the spaghetti would round out the pasta to meat ratio. Bottom line: Good food at a reasonable price. With a 20% tip and bottle of wine between 4, we left at just under 100 $ a couple. That is a very rare find for this area of manhattan.
Christine J.
Rating des Ortes: 1 New York, NY
went back againnnnnnnnnnnn with a comped dinner on the house from a previous disastrous experience… mid way through dinner we are told our drinks aren’t comped just the food. how cheap can this place get?! Gagas family? Can’t afford to comp our whole meal. Drinks were a main issue the first time we went. Thats why we were coming back to a comped meal. The food improved as far as the appetizers but the entrees were both over cooked and tough, steak and fish(dry). I ended up spending another $ 80? between tip and drinks at a place that I never wanted to come back to unless comped. Not cool will never return and I never would recommend this place. it’s a shame. Staff is rude and unfriendly as well.
Joe G.
Rating des Ortes: 4 New York, NY
My friends and I went there for New Years Eve and boy did we have a great time! The food was so delicious!!! Everything, and we had 4 courses! I had heard the food wasn’t all that from bloggers but it was and then some!!! The staff was very friendly and the bartender was amazing! Added bonus was that we got to meet Lady Gaga’s mom, Cynthia. I didn’t know who she was and found out later, but she was so sweet and nice. I would give 5 stars, but they were out of bread. That shouldn’t happen in an Italian restaurant ever! Great atmosphere and they treat you like family.
Michael H.
Rating des Ortes: 2 New York, NY
If your idea of a good meal includes a roll of the same quality that would be served on an airline, then you will do ok here. The food is passable, but certainly nothing special, although I will give kudos to their salads which seem to be particularly fresh and crisp. Their«gravy» is rather bland for me.
Ebony J.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Brooklyn, NY
This restaurant is small, warm and cozy. The service is great and the food isn’t too bad. I had the hanger steak and baked potato but I felt like there should have been some vegetables added to the entrée. It literally was steak and a bland baked potato(no sour cream, butter, etc.). Also, the calamari appetizer was absolutely delicious. If you are looking for a variety this would not be the place to go as their menu is extremely small and limited.
Jim H.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Manhattan, NY
The artichoke and spinach cheesed dip was served with«crusty Italian bread» had been better titled«stale Italian bread». The only reason we didn’t complain was that my husband was so hungry, he said to overlook it. The Spaghetti and meatball was so sweet I thought I would need a shot on insulin before leaving. The meatball was so dense and tough, I thought it was a rubber ball initially. The flavor of the meatball, once broken apart, was highly garlicy. Even the over sweet tomato sauce didn’t hide that pungent flavor. My husband’s Pork Ragu was so salty, had he we thought we would need to call a nephrologist for a dialysis session once we tasted it. Who is taste testing this food? There was enough dust on the window frames and ornaments that we wondered who even cleaned the place up. To see the needed cleaning even we didn’t need glasses. The service was poor. Two examples; I asked for a glass of Pinot Noir, and the waitress brought out a glass of Pinot Gris, then stating, «Oh, we don’t have Pinot Noir, I thought you meant this.» And, as we were leaving one of the waitresses was leaning on the coffee service area texting on her phone as we walked by. Overall a very poor experience, one I would recommend you avoid.
Michelle W.
Rating des Ortes: 3 New York, NY
Okay I’m not going to lie. I came here because I read on the reviews that Lady Gaga’s pop owns this so I thought maybe just maybe(slightest maybe of course) that I may bump into the diva herself but no sight of Gaga. The food is average. Nothing impressive. I loved the meatballs. The pizza is not worth trying. I’ve had better.
Cindy S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Arlington, WA
The food was full of fantastic flavor! I had Mahi Mahi with lemon butter caper sauce and Minestrone soup that was to die for. My daughter enjoyed a chop salad full of fresh goodness. We passed on desert but it was hard to do! Nutella Lasagne? Oh my! My only observation is that the staff seemed a little unprepared when we arrived and I could hear them shouting back and forth about«are we out of this?» Or «do we have that?» I felt that should have been out of earshot of the guests. Cozy dining area. Nice ambiance but mostly — the food was really great.
Caitlin Z.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Toronto, Canada
I had a dinner here with my wife & I enjoyed it very much. My favourite thing about the place is hands down the ambience. Perfect little cozy spot. The service was really quick, food was good. Mine was a little salter then I would have liked but I’m fuzzy with my salt so I would’t take that comment to seriously. If I ever am in the area again I would come back for sure. I really enjoyed my experience here!
Mariah P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Downey, CA
Great customer service! Travis knows how to make you feel right at home! The food is amazing too! I had the Mahi Mahi, it was delicious
Sabrina P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Downey, CA
Amazing lasagna! And amazing chocolate mouse cake! If you love Italian this is your spot
Julie D.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Cutler Bay, FL
Food was decent. I expected more flavor but not bad. The service was very unprofessional and it’s not inexpensive, the service should be better than the food.
Kandice T.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Seattle, WA
We were in NYC for our anniversary and a friend suggested Joanne’s. So glad he did because we had a most wonderful meal and great services on 10÷24÷15. We arrived early for our reservation and were seated immediately by the nicest young man, Mikey. I had forgotten, when making the reservations online, it asked if we were celebrating anything. So when Mikey wished us a happy anniversary, I was pleasantly surprised! We ordered Ricotta Pancakes w/Maple Syrup and 2 Eggs w/Pancetta & Italian Toast. These were the most delicious pancakes and eggs I think we’ve ever had. The toast was wonderful also. To top off the experience, Mikey posed with his artwork for me! Thanks Mikey, you made our day!
Eduardo G.
Rating des Ortes: 4 New York, NY
My best friend and I came here because as Gaga fans of course we wanted to try this place. The food was top notch. I had the artichoke lemon chicken and my friend had the mussels while we shared the meat balls. The chicken I had was cooked to perfection. So tender and really good portion size. The meatballs were everything though. I still cannot get over them. In terms of service, I do wish it was a little better. There was only one server who was working both the bar patrons and the dining room patrons so I can imagine he was stressed. I think another server would have helped because it took us a while to get the check. I definitely will come back because the food is really what makes this place special.
Ashley B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Louisville, KY
I am baffled by the less than positive reviews for Joanne. It’s wonderful! We arrived at 11:30 with reservations — we wanted to have an early lunch before a show. As soon as we walked in, we received stellar service from beginning to end. They truly treated us like family — with the owner, Joe Germanotta(yes, Lady Gaga’s father) stopping by before we even placed our order to greet us. Later in the meal, Cynthia Germanotta stopped by and she was just as lovely. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Germanotta in the restaurant running it so hands on. You can tell this is a true labor of love for the family. Service was friendly, helpful and attentive. I had the spaghetti and meatball and it was delicious! The meatball, of course, being the star. I’d be interested in trying the bolognese next time. The red velvet cake was also to die for. I was bummed they were out of the Nutellassagne, though! We ordered a bottle of wine, a bottle of water for the table, two entrees, and dessert, and it came to $ 100 before tip. I have to say, based on other reviews, I did not go in with high expectations, and ended up being very pleasantly surprised.