Perbacco

Why is Perbacco not insanely crowded all the time? I’m guessing because the cost per portion. Awesome service and atmosphere. The food is incredible. Don’t be turned away by the small menu as they often have a long list of specials. I have to say the cost per size of entrée is quite high though. I don’t need or want a monstrous sized entrée. But, their portions are quite teeny, even by Italian standards. In East Village, you can’t charge $ 25 for a teeny (albeit delicious and unique) portion of pasta. I go back often but understand the cost will be high.

Loved this restaurant! Everything was made to order and cooked just right. The setting is beautiful and perfect for a date night. The best part was the service though, they are very friendly and helpful. Will definitely be coming back!

Had a nice meal here Friday night. The restaurant is beautiful – great date spot. It’s a bit pricey, but my girlfriend and I enjoyed what we ordered. We shared the risotto ball appetizer, which was fine, and then she had cavatelli cacio e pepe while I had spaghetti ‘nduja. I would say my pasta was the more interesting of the two – the sauce was meaty in a way you don’t really come across that often, tasting more like organ meats than traditional sweet or hot Italian sausage. It was a nice change of pace. I don’t think we’ll end up coming here over Il Posto Accanto very often, but it’s still a solid option.

Underwhelming.
Small, classy place, heard many people chatting in Italian which should be a good sign, right? Yes, the parm crème brûlée was awesome.
But, nothing else was awesome. Neither the service nor the food. Food was… salty. Wasn’t even tempted by dessert options. It wasn’t crowded on a Thu evening. Two older patrons at a nearby table were working out the details of their groupon with the server.
Skip it, I think we can all do better.

Ate at the restaurant twice on a two week trip to NYC and an awesome experience both times. We had parties of 8+ both times and although a smaller east village place they easily accommodated us. Felt authentic Italian cool. The service was wonderful, as was the food! Eager to go back. I will have the rosetta pasta with cream and truffle. For my birthday they made an amazing desert called the chocolate slider. Angel-​food bun, choc moose center, pear slice fries with dipping sauces. Hard to explain… not doing it justice. Just try it… you’ll like it!

The first impression of this place is that the space is cramped even by NYC standards, but that was just the start of a bad experience.
With a reservation and a courtesy call that we would be a few minutes late (to which the answer was «OK, no problem»), we show up to find our table given away 8 minutes after our original reservation time. I wish that was the worst part of the experience.
Instead of showing any remorse or regret for having given away our table, we were then ignored. When we asked how long it would be, we were ignored and then told «I’m working on it» gruffly. Finally, 5 – 10 minutes later we are told 30 – 40 minutes after asking a third time. By this point, we didn’t believe the estimate or care to stand over people while they were eating at what was clearly our table.
As I told the manager, it is one thing to give away a reservation. It is another to show no remorse, issue no apology, and do nothing to attempt to solve the problem. I can’t imagine how a restaurant stays around with no customer service. Had he apologized and offered a round of house wine or something, we could have looked past the wait, but this seemed the tip of the bad service iceberg.
With the options available in NYC, I will never set foot back in this restaurant and hope others follow suit.

My husband and I recently visited this little restaurant for dinner one evening after a long day in the city and no desire cook. Perbacco amongst a variety of other places in the neighborhood is what we chose. Living in the east village like many things, it was convenient. We recall it being remodeled months ago but have never gone in. For starters the décor is nice, slightly overdone in a tight tight space but the wine racks along the walls are a modern touch. Also in addition theres a nice semi private little back room.
Greeted and seated by an Italian gentleman. An italian woman promptly brought us menus and the water comes as per.
The wine list though extensive is not impressive, and the menu wasnt too eye grabbing either. There were some things that jumped out, but the appetizers were general for that of an Italian restaurant, and a bit overpriced. The menu is uninspired and the food & service was just as lackluster.
When the waitress finally returned and we asked of the specials. She had to walk away to ask someone what they were (which she did twice). Upon requesting a suggestion for an appetizer she replies“everything is so good here.“
Then overlooked and slowly read through the appetizer options with me, in english & italian as it was written on the menu, which made me feel incompetent to say the least. One thing I can’t tolerate is a sever unaware of what they are serving. Be it food, drinks or people, who should be treated respectfully and with patience. My husband is older and had an issue dissecting the menu to which she offered little assistance. I asked her how the chicken was prepared and she merely points under it on the menu and says «it says it right here»…
After ordering a bottle of wine a crumbled brown paper bag containing bread sticks and bread slices came with some oil and vinegar…
We ordered only main courses I had the chicken and my husband had a homemade pasta dish. The food was palatable. Both the chicken and pasta, the pasta was a bit firm and needed salt and the chicken was underwhelming, over-​salted and in smaller, rather «thinner» portion than I expected, still both decent. Went well with the wine we ordered.
After finishing all of our wine and ¾ of our dinner there was no desire for dessert. Though the server kept insisting. When she brought the check she placed her hand on my husbands shoulder which I found highly inappropriate.
I understand it can be hard for italian restaurants to give appealing variety, given the cooking parameters but this place has a ways to go. The service was insulting, the food was poorly expedited, the tables needed cloth, dimmer lights, better music, a more inviting family-​esqur décor and atmosphere, maybe diversity in it’s food, drinks, etc.
My husband is Italian and his family has a small dine in place on l. i, simply made well roman cuisine in a home like inviting atmosphere.
They say what’s around you can make your food taste better or worse, cause it’s more than a meal, it’s an experience.
If you’re looking for good Italian exactly a block over on 5^th is LAVAGNA
Inviting atmosphere, simply delicious food & superb service.
The food at Perbacco was decent. But based on service and our overall experience, we will not come back here.
Also the reviews listed before October 2014 are not for the same place. After inquiring I found out this is a «new» Perbacco, under new management. So when taking reviews into consideration, read wisely.

Perbacco is the kind of restaurant that makes you exclaim «omg, SO adorbs!» A small little place nestled in the heart of East Village with walls of wine bottles, it has that certain charm.
Armed with a 30% off Blackboard Eats offer, we decided to indulge starting with the insalata di polipo alla griglia (grilled octopus). This was an exquisite dish — the octopus was tender with a simple, fresh lemon flavor.
For our entrees, we split the lasagna verde (veggie lasagna) and the potato-​crusted fish. The fish was perfectly cooked and I very much liked the pairing of the seafood reduction broth. The razor thin, slightly crisp potato slices on top were a great addition as well. I was happy we received a decent portion size because I really enjoyed this dish.
The veggie lasagna however, fell a bit short. While it tasted okay, the dish did not blow me away. I felt like there was little bit too much pesto and not enough veggies.
Overall, however, a friendly and welcoming staff makes this place a nice choice for a cozy date night!

This place was pretty good, definitely a step up from most italian places in the city. Its small, but nicely decorated. The food was outstanding, but the wine selection is really amazing, almost all wines are available by the glass, and the merlot the waiter recommended was one of the best wines I have tasted in a long time (at an affordable level). Had the meatballs, which were good, wife had the fried artichokes which she really liked. Then for entrees I had the spaghetti with spicy sausage, loved it. Wife had some sort of special that had gnocchi, which was good, and the portion was quite large. Definitely worth checking out. The service was friendly, but I did notice that some of the guys were doing double duty (our waiter was also serving drinks), so I could see that during busy times it can be a little slow, but I dont think it was too bad.

Awesome brunch! Polenta with shrimp and bacon was outstanding. Endless mimosas and charming Alberto!
Grazi!

Perbacco is a very solid 4 star Italian restaurant. They have a nice selection of creative dishes, particularly the pastas, so when you’re looking at the menu you’re genuinely excited to try several of the dishes.
We started with a dish of zucchini strips wrapped around cheese over salad. It was pretty good. I’m guessing some of the heavier apps, like the fried polenta, would have been better but we didn’t want to go crazy. Next we had their gnocchi and a homemade tagliolini dish. Both were excellent but their gnocchi are absolutely amazing. They are little cloud pillows. We order them every time, and you should do. They change up the sauce/​accompaniments but the gnocchi remains the same, delicious.

Came here a second time and upon reflection realized that the first time was so unmemorable that I came here the 2^nd time thinking it was a new restaurant to try. It was still disappointing. Pass.

Italian with a modern, eclectic twist in a cozy East Vill location. Super creative with unique presentation, friendly service. Foodie favorite. There used to be a long wait but it’s calmed down a bit now. Innovative and fun, surprisingly affordable spot.
Great date spot.

I found this spot on open table for a holiday dinner with a coworker. The reviews were great and we wanted to try something new. We were shocked when we got there to find out they have happy hour until 7 with $ 6 appetizers. We ordered six of them and were stuffed! They are smaller versions than the full priced ones, but great for sampling and sharing! We had the calamari, the rice ball, the fried polenta with delicious dipping sauces, two orders of the eggplant rollatini croquettes (because they were insanely delicious) and the tuna. We enjoyed everything and kept saying how we can’t wait to come back. The complementary olives, bread and breadsticks were all tasty and fresh. The service was friendly and great. The restaurant is trendy and quaint. Love the exposed brick! I can’t wait to try the pastas and dessert! I highly recommend it and will definitely be back!

This restaurant never fails. I’ve eaten here several times over several years and eaten many things here and everything is FANTASTIC!
The eggplant croquettes are amazing. Arancini balls? You bet! Beef tartare w/​raw egg and fresh mint? Of course! What about an expansive wine list? Duhhh. The list goes on and changes seasonally.
I was most recently here with a big party and we got a tremendous amount of dishes to split.
Pasta is homemade. Their gnocchi is phenomenal. Desserts are yummy too.
I would go here again and again over all of those half rate Italian joints in Little Italy. The prices are just right and they accept credit cards. The wait staff is so warm and welcoming + the accent is cute too!
Great date spot or place to take relatives.

It’s a cute little restaurant with a promising menu, but I felt a little let down. The meatballs were excellent, which in my opinion is a true mark of a good Italian restaurant but often hard to find. My main dish, pasta with ragout, was somewhat disappointing because it was just too average. I was yearning for more impressive flavors.
The staff seemed a little too nonchalant, but the server did have good wine recommendations.
I’ll probably return to give it another chance, but it’s far from the top of my list.

I was here just for dessert.
Tasty and quite inventive chocolate slider.
Banana n mascarpone dessert just ok.
Good Moscato.
I saw some interesting dishes passing around. I’d like to go back.

Overall, I feel like this is just really overpriced for poor-​quality food. Maybe I should have expected it from a tiny restaurant in this area, but I was expecting more.
We started with the rice balls, parmigiano crème brûlée, and the meatballs. The rice balls and meatballs came with tomato sauce that was bland and watery. The crème brûlée was good in theory, but I think it was just a mess of cheese that was too much of a good thing for me.
We also had the spaghetti and steak. The steak was a cheap cut and was super chewy. The spaghetti was al dente and had a good zest.
Maybe if you stuck to the pasta, you would have a good experience. But I ventured off that path and did not enjoy it.

You’d think I would learn my lesson to not order the salmon when you see it on the menu because many a restaurant fails miserably when it comes to that fish. But I went for it again at Perbacco and… success! Friggin’ delicious actually.
From the crescentina to the amazingly flavorful broth the mussels were drowning in to the hunk of quality parm (with a touch of a balsamic reduction drizzled on top) to the really lovely Italian red wines that were going down with ease… it was a great night all around.

Atmosphere is charming and cozy, especially in the winter months. There are a few tables out front when it is warm outside.
We’ve been here before but got inspired to come again last week to take advantage of a Scout Mob deal that offered $ 20 off dinner. It was bit of a mixed bag. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. We branched out and tried the whole deboned branzino for the first time and it was just not good. It was monotonous, lacked flavor and could have been cooked more delicately. We struggled to force it down. At one of the most expensive items on the menu ($ 28), we will never order it again.
Now, the good news: the parmesan risotto with balsamic reduction ($ 16) is one of the best versions I have ever eaten. It is creamy, cheesy, salty and sweet, with just the right amount of plum-​colored acidity. I challenge you to find a version so simple yet so divine. We fought over ever forkful to the last.
The $ 13 shrimp and scallop sausage appetizer immersed in slightly spicy reduction with chickpeas in a clay pot, was good, but not great.
If and when you come, and you should, get the pasta. Specifically the risotto. You will thank me for the recommendation!