Rafele Ristorante

I have to say, of all the places I tried in New York during my week long trip, this restaurant completely stood out from the rest. From the attention at the door the minute we walked in, to the exquisite taste of the food, to the amiable environment and service, this place truly provided me with 5 star service and I will return time and time again.
My girlfriend and I made reservations for 2, which turned out to be a good idea seeing as it was full. We were seated at the bar and poured two glasses of water while we waited for our table. Though the staff seemed to be busy, their whole system seemed incredibly efficient. We were seated in no time, given a menu, and found the two sparkling wines we had ordered earlier waiting for us. I was captivated by the attention I received. It wasn’t one of just customer service, it was more of a ‘welcome to our home guest, we are excited to share our food with you.’ We were given bread with a small eggplant dish to top the bread with. I don’t normally enjoy eggplant, but I could eat this for the rest of my life. I was so excited with the flavors that I decided to order a variety of items in an attempt to try it all.
We had the Calamari, the Polpettine, and the Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina; and we did our best to keep it classy as we stuffed or freakin’ faces until every last drop of sauce was cleaned from the plates. I was in heaven. The waiters would come around and refill our glasses at the perfect times, they would offer help and engage in slight conversation. We learned how to correctly pronounce knawee. The gnocchi, by the way, was our of this world and the veal meatball was the perfect compliment. When all we had was sauce left we dipped the calamari and bread into the dishes to soak everything up.
The food is so good and the place so inviting it is no wonder there are regulars here. The chef/​owner would come out every so often and say hello to someone. He would sit down grab a drink with them and converse. His hospitality and amicable nature truly comes out in the cooking. Truly an amazing experience.

I’m super confused about the incredible ratings on this place. It’s a step above the «Italian» restaurants in Little Italy, but that’s not saying much. Even just around the corner in the Village there are so many better Italian places. Sure, Rafele is cute, and there’s a nice patio (though of course the subway is right underneath and rumbling every few minutes), but the food and service are lacking. It’s in our neighborhood and we watch Chopped — so we really, really wanted to like it — but we will not be back.
To start off, our waiter was rude, and actually scoffed at me when I misunderstood something on the menu. Didn’t set a great tone, but we moved on. They bring out some delicious bread and eggplant spread that we thought was excellent, and the wine came out quickly. The grilled octopus appetizer was pretty solid — not the best I’ve ever had, but cooked well. Things seemed to be looking up.
Unfortunately, the rest of the meal was nothing special at all. My ravioli di spinaci entrée, described as «house made pasta with spinach & buffalo ricotta, with roasted tomato and basil», consisted of six ravioli laid flat on a plate with a tiny smattering of a very bland tomato sauce on the top. They were a bit too al dente as well, and didn’t have much stuffing. Mr. F had the spaghetti with mixed seafood — which is a frequent order for him — and he said it was really underwhelming. Prices are not too bad for Manhattan, but it’s still not worth it.
Overall, a really disappointing dining experience.

A new yorker suggested this place to us, and it was well worth the visit. Ambiance is nice, we were seated downstairs for our party of five, though it looks much more lively. The food blew us away. The burrata special with mushrooms was incredible, as was the grilled octopus. The homemade pasta dishes were amazing as well. Would definitely come again if we visit New York the next time.

The Quick: Beautiful Italian restaurant in the West Village, with outdoor seating. Everything is very tasty. Great complementary focaccia.
The Details: There are a ton of Italian restaurants in the West Village, but this one has definitely caught my attention. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve tried here and would absolutely return. Obviously the pastas are incredible, but there are plenty of non-​carb options to suit your fancy.
The Damage: Average to pricey for Italian

Stopped here for an afternoon quick light snack. The ambience is really attractive inside. There is a wood burning oven for pizza. We got some kind of rolled eggplant and it was good but the sauce was a bit acidic. There is Italian beer on tap. I would be tempted to return for a full blown dinner since the reviews are excellent and the owner won on Chopped.

Fantastic food and great service. Highly recommend this place for big group reservations. The servers are very accommodating and the food is excellent. I love their pasta and the tiramisu is top notch. The Tuscan ambience and fantastic food makes it special and truly Italian.

A charming Napoli-​inspired restaurant nestled in the West Village, Rafele serves wonderful, authentic southern Italian cuisine. Its open kitchen concept creates a welcoming, family-​like atmosphere, and every detail, down to the weekly flower arrangements, is carefully selected in order to complement this feeling.
At 6:00 on a Saturday night, the restaurant was pretty empty, which initially concerned me. My slight skepticism of the high Unilocal reviews was quickly replaced with awe the moment I took my first bite of ravioli di spinaci. This was honestly some of the best pasta I’ve ever eaten. The fact that it’s homemade makes it even better. The ravioli are stuffed with spinach, naturally, as well as buffalo ricotta cheese. Roasted tomato and basil are incorporated into the sauce, but the tomatoes also act as a standalone ingredient, positioned around the plate to provide a bolder flavor.
Without a doubt, the filling of the ravioli is the dish’s winning aspect. The spinach carried a significant presence, and most importantly, wasn’t overpowered by the buffalo ricotta. Light, but tremendously satisfying, the ravioli were gone a few short minutes after they were placed on our table. Sadly, this means that I didn’t have the chance to take a picture! Yes, they were that good.
It seems like pasta is Rafele’s strong suit, as my boyfriend ordered the pappardelle, and similarly praised the dish. Before we even finished our food, we were already discussing our next visit! Needless to say, we can’t wait to go back.

The best Italian food in NYC.
The pasta here is amazing and the whole atmosphere takes it to another level!

Came here for my friends birthday. They were able to accommodate our 7 person group with a last minute table on a Friday night.
The appetizers were awesome, we split a lot of them of which arancini, Cavolfiore, tomato mozzarella.
I got the special fresh pasta with mushrooms and it just wasn’t that flavorful despite the waiter recommending it as the best pasta dish on the menu. My husband got the pasta w guancale and he loved it, he said it was one of his favorite pasta dishes in a while. Everyone else seemed pleased. They brought out a yummy slice of cheesecake with a candle for my friend! Overall good spot!

Best Italian food in town!
Great coffee
Delicious bread
Pasta to die for
Wonderful service
Pleasant ambiance
I had to consider if I should write a review. Because I want Rafele to be available to me whenever I want to go.
So… Please read this but don’t go there :-)

WOW!!! had one of the best Italian dinners ever. They serve bread with this eggplant sauce that is absolutely amazing. When dinner came out we were all excited, they did not disappoint. Their main courses are to die for and you cannot forget dessert, crème brulee was the one for me… yummy.
Treat yourself to an amazing dining experience, you will not regret it!

Rafael’s is by far one of the best restaurants in the West Village. It’s low key and unassuming but has EXCELLENT food. You can literally order anything off the menu and be impressed. What a great place. Ambiance. Music. Professionalism. The bartender, Gabriel, is amazing and the owner Rafael is a classy, friendly gentleman. I will continue to frequent this restaurant. I absolutely love it.

The polpo alla griglia was one of the best grilled octopus I have had in the city. Though I wish it came in a larger portion cause it was so nicely charred and juicy! The taglioloni al fungi was rich with truffle flavor and made al dente. It was perfection and definitely a dish I will order on my return visit. Zuppa di pesce was another winner, with chunks of seafood soaked in a huge bowl of strew with tomatoes, garlic and pepperocino. Equally unforgettable was the dish of crispy Brussels sprouts with parmigiano; it was very crispy!
We ended with a ricotta cheese cake, which was not too heavy without compromising on flavor. What a glorious meal.

We visited for a birthday dinner and couldn’t have had a better experience.
Venue is surprisingly large as there is a basement as well. Wine list is decent and with an affordable selection.
Waiter was kind, even giving my friend (birthday girl) free champagne and cheesecake — which was delicious and not overly sweet.
We tried the risotto balls to start along with the bread which was nice and crispy on the outside.
For mains I tried the bucatini all’ amatriciana (pasta with guanciale, pecorino cheese and tomato). Nicely cooked and freshly seasoned, it was a great comfort dinner.
Given this terribly cold spring, I’d recommend coming back for another bowl soon.

Great place to check out if you’re craving some homemade pasta!

This is a very cute place in West Village. I never really like veggie dishes but they have very tasty amazing veggie dishes. So to all the vegetarian Unilocalers, this is a great choice for you!
Arancini: AMAZING! It’s great for sharing and for some reason we had 6 instead of 4 dumplings. Winning!
Salsiccia E Broccoli Rabe: I don’t normally like cheese but the cheese on this pizze was AMAZING! Great portion as well
Cavolfiore: This dish was my favorite! And it’s my most-​hated cauliflower! It’s magical that it’s so tasty!
Tagliolini Al Funghi: It’s as good as it gets. The Tagliolini was in perfect softness
Zuppa di pesce: This is my least favorite dish (and it’s the most expensive!). The presentation is great and they were very generous with the seafood. However, the seafood itself is kind of bland. But the soup with the tomato is really good.
And I love their service. They are quick, nice but not overly «all-​over-​you»!

Had a fantastic dinner at Rafele for my friend’s birthday this past weekend. A group of 6 of us had reserved a table which was ready for us right at 8pm (the time of our reservation).
First of all, the eggplant based sauce that comes with the bread is TO DIE FOR. My friends and I easily spent 15 minutes dissecting the recipe to see if we could try and recreate it. The rest of the food followed suit. For our appetizers, we got a fritto misto platter and a margherita pizza to share. Everything was wonderful, with the exception of the fried lemons in the fritto misto platter, which was strange to eat.
For our main courses we all got various pasta dishes. I personally had the seafood spaghetti and was blown away. The mushroom pasta and gnocchi also got rave reviews.
Finally, we ended with a pistachio crème brûlée which was TO DIE FOR! Overall, fantastic dinner (with lots of glasses of wine sprinkled throughout), and we split the bill 5 ways (to cover our friends dinner) and it came out to $ 50 a person, even.
Will go back again and again and again!

We should have stopped at the appetizers! But there’s no «6 Star» rating so I’ll continue with the review. That «6^th» star would have definitely been gained by the Zuppa di Pesce, a flavorful fish stew served with an oven baked bread dome. It was unbelievably good and still stirs my taste buds as I write this. Yes you’ve read about it in all the reviews but do yourself a favor and try it!
We were able to make a 6:30pm reservation for four on a busy convention crowd night and were accommodated when we had to change our reservation to 8:00 pm. The turnover in the place is quite quick and perhaps that’s the magic in having one (less than highly intimate) big room for the entire restaurant. Visiting Rafele is all about the food and while the bar and chef’s tables are nice alternatives to the main dining room, you will be best entertained when there is food at your table.
The Appetizers are incredible to say the least. Yes the Meatballs are heavenly and are the first real challenger to my Mother’s recipe. Rafele’s meatballs are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with the proper balance of pork and veal and a nice tomato dipping sauce. The Arancini were excellent and the Pizza Rafele with Prosciutto and Arugula disappeared within minutes of being delivered! And after devouring the 3 appetizers, we could have had maybe one more and dessert and we would have been happy.
The Zuppa di Pesce, one of my favorite dishes anywhere (also known as Cioppino and Bouillabaisse), was presented with a crusty bread dome made of pizza dough that was perfect for dipping and keepin the flavors locked inside. The presentation and taste were definitely incredible and one of the best preparations anywhere… extra points for creativity. And again, we should have stopped there. The Tagliata for Two and the Pacceri All’ Amatrician pasta could have been better with the beef being more on the rare side than the requested Medium Rare and the pasta being too «al dente» for a pasta tube the size of roll of dollars. However these are things that are easily corrected after a first visit. If there is some consistency, which I imagine there has to be, I would order the beef ‘medium’ and go for the pastas with smaller noodles.
The Italian style cheesecake and the tiramisu were also awesome as was the espresso. We were served by Piero, one of the partners… an authentic Roman with little emotion to spare. It was all business while the meal was being served and a lot lighter once we were done. Raffaele, Piero and the staff have a truly good thing going!

Went here for a 30^th birthday, and the service and food were great. I had the Brussels sprouts and burrata as an appetizer and both were fantastic!
The spaghetti was very good, but the gnocchi was definitely one of the best dishes of the night.
Finally, the Italian style cheesecake is a real treat. I hope to get back there soon!

I was watching Chopped on Food Network a couple of weeks ago and caught Raffaele Ronca squeak out the victory. At that same time a group of eight friends were trying to organize a dinner, so I booked Rafele. It did not disappoint.
The restaurant is one big open room including a bar and open kitchen. It isn’t the most intimate restaurant, but it makes up for it with an equally desirable liveliness. We got wedged into the very far corner, which was probably good given our size and drinking habits. We ended up sharing a bunch of items to kick off the meal and everything was better than good. The fried artichoke was my favorite, but really you can’t go wrong with much on this menu. Most of us opted for pasta for the main course; I had the spinach ravioli and it was solid. My only complaint is that they offer pre-​grated Parmesan when freshly grated would be more in-​line with the overall experience.
What made the meal most special was the hospitality of our waitress and the chef. Raffaele came out and was touching tables during the evening and spent a good ten minutes chatting with our group. He is a genuine guy and it made the experience feel more authentic. He also sent some desserts and dessert wine our way on the house, which was unnecessary but appreciated.
I definitely will be back to Rafele and I think all eight of us agreed it was a great experience.

Arranco mi review diciendo que Yo por mi parte pedí unos alcauciles fritos que fueron una de las mejores cosas que pedí en mi vida. Solo por eso vale la visita.
Hay cientos de lugares buenos para comer en west village en NY.
Este es uno mas de esos.
Es un lugar amplio y bien ambientado, con una carta italiana bastante clasica.
La comida es realmente buena, pero la mejor caracteristica que sobresale a otros lugares italianos de la zona es que TODAS LAS PASTAS pueden ser gluten-​free. Se que esto le importa a pocos, pero para mi es totalmente definitorio si puedo o no comer en ese lugar.
Y lo genial es que las pastas gluten free son perfectas, quiza de las mejores que comimos en NY.
El servicio es muy bueno tambien, nos atendieron todos muy atentos a nuestras necesidades, nos mostraron que pastas GF usan, todo genial (hablan español italianizado para quien le interese).