Arte Cafe - Upper West Side

We ended up dining at the bar, since there were seats available, and the bartender was lovely! The food and drinks were exceptional, and we can't wait to go back again soon!

I haven't ever written a review, but our experience at Arte Cafe for Thanksgiving dinner was so terrible that I feel I must. We have eaten at Arte Cafe many times over many years, and we booked dinner there for Thanksgiving because the food is usually reliably good. We had not eaten there since its renovation, and what we found is a menu with fewer choices and higher prices. While fewer options and higher prices would not be disturbing if the food merited the price increase, in this case the food was surprisingly sub-par.

Upon sitting at the table we were served stale bread. We were told that the restaurant would be closing in two hours, and that the stale bread was all they had left. We spoke with the manager, who then at least brought "fresh" bread. Our appetizers were overpriced for what they were. I ordered the mozzarella, tomato, and avocado salad, which consisted of a large blob of mozzarella in the center, surrounded by a handful of tomato and avocado slices. The poor presentation was shocking, and for $18 the dish should have been more pleasing to both taste and eye. The entrees were fine if unremarkable.

On Thanksgiving, most people typically look forward to dessert, and the desserts were enormously disappointing. The apple strudel arrived cold and was tasteless, it seemed as though it came from a grocery store shelf. The caramel sauce alongside was so measly as also to be tasteless, and while the ice cream was good, it was a small scoop. Not enough to redeem the main feature of the dessert. Another person ordered the mousse, which was a chocolate mess.

We all left disappointed, and I doubt we will return.

We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner at Arte Cafe. Although the restaurant was busy, the staff was very friendly and service was excellent. The food was quite good with generous portions. This is a very nice, relaxed neighborhood restaurant that I will be returning to soon.

Always pleasant service and great ambiance and food.

This is our neighborhood “go to.” Great place!

Took 90 minutes to get our food. Service was awful. Never going back!

Good local Italian. Professional service. Inexpensive for the area.

Kid friendly, except all the high chairs had broken buckles—-at least the ones we were provided. Food/cocktails good, big menu, nice atmosphere. Would return and recommend.

Arte Cafe is a trustworthy, UWS Italian spot. While the noise level can be annoying, this restaurant's consistent quality and value make it a solid choice every time.

Nice venue with a decent but not innovative brunch/lunch menu. Service was prompt and friendly. Food was good. Good pre- theater spot. Convenient to 1,2,3 or C trains.

Liked the atmosphere. Food was good. Usual pricing. Service was slow. Timing of the dishes coming out was off also. Otherwise, great room, welcoming and the food was good.

Great food. Wonderful service.

Service and food was outstanding. I would definitely go back.

It is a pretty good value, the venue is lovely, tables are not crowded to gether, service was excellent. But some of the dishes for a party of eight were either way too large, or were just not prepared that well. My veal piccata was so/so (not that tender and the sauce was bland) while my wife's broiled salmon was just right and was my grand nephew's pizza. The lettuce in the mista salad we shared was kind of limp and the salad overall was uninspiring. Our apple strudel was tasty but lacked a filo dough wrapping and instead was wrapped in heavy pastry strips. However, the tiramisu was perfect and the coffee was equally fine.

Really good food.

Great experience with the staff and food was delicious. Would frequent again. Loved the apps and the kale salad! Yum

Always a pleasant time and food always great. Many return visits

This was a great place to stop before a concert at The Beacon Theater. Also noticed a large after work crowd & neighborhood folks all enjoying a great happy hour as well as a large dinner crowd. Very extensive menu as well as very good cocktails. Will definitely go back & also plan to recommend to friends. Such a beautiful area in NYC with plenty of subway options & parking facilities.

Delicious food, brownstone with warm, welcoming setting.

Food exceptional, service professional, total experience ideal.

Food was good but the delay between salad and our entre was close to an hour. - for pasta. Very disappointing. We were rushed to make the theatre in time

We held a birthday celebration there 11/08/19. The food and service were outstanding and I can't say enough about the maitre'd. He always welcomes us with a smile and LOVES to see out grand-daughter enjoying herself. Neighborhood gem, great cocktails and the staff is top notch.

The food was EXCELLENT. We were all surprised at how good everything was. The service was great, as was dessert and the birthday celebration. Excellent value for the prix fixe price. Thanks to the great wait staff and host.

Very nice place. Better then average food. Decent service. Great place for a loud, large group to eat.

Great neighborhood location - reliable, yummy and welcoming!

I dined here with a party of 6 right after the NYC marathon. We were able to grab a last minute reservation before the dinner rush started. The hostess and wait staff were wonderfully accommodating to our marathon finisher and made great food and wine selections.

We had one of the worst dining experiences we've had during our 20+ years of living in NYC, at Arte. The service was beyond terrible. We had a party of 13 people, including 5 children between the ages of 2 and 7 and one marathon runner, as this was Marathon Sunday. While the restaurant was busy, it was not bursting with customers. We placed our order and waited well over an hour for our food. Every time we asked for an update, our waitress told us, "It's really busy. You need to wait," or "Your ordered appetizers, so your food will only be placed once you receive those." There was no apologizing, no sympathy, just a roll of the eyes and the same blanket response. Once we decided to speak to a manager, it took a while to find one. Once we did, we were told, "I'll check on it," but never received an update. We would have walked out without paying and without our food, had we only been adults and not parents/grandparents of 5 hungry children. Service was rude, patronizing, and obnoxious. We will never have another meal at Arte.

We celebrated our son’s finish of the NYC Marathon. We showed up an hour before our reservation (our son’s finish time was faster than predicted!) as a party of 4. Within a few minutes, friends showed up and were able to join us (we moved twice) since the hostess and waiter were so patient. We ended up as a party of 12. Everyone had a great time! The food is wonderful and the service and ambience are second to none! Thanks, Arte Cafe! We will be back!!

It took a loooong time to get our food but the servers were very nice.

The service was poor, the noise horrific, and the room overcrowded. They raised prices by at least 30% in the past month so the place is no longer a good value. There was no fish special tonight and there were only 2 choices for fish, down from 4-5 in the past. At least the food that they threw down was good.

Very nice, comfortable neighborhood Italian restaurant on the upper West side.

I have never eaten a bad meal at this restaurant....and I have been going here for over 20 years.

A gem on the UWS! Great for happy hour with friends or dinner with the family or a date night! Make your reservation today and enjoy!!!

Great prix fixe lunch! Excellent neighborhood find.

Our overall experience was very pleasant. We reserved a table for four, did not have to wait to be seated.
The service was friendly and prompt.
The food was excellent, all of us loved our chosen meals.
The only small complaint is probably a common one for the NYC restaurant: it is a little noisy when all the tables are occupied.

Perfect for pre-Beacon Theater dinner!

Everything was lovely except I had to ask 3 times to get butter for my friend's bread. I was celebrating his birthday so I wanted everything to be superb. That was my only complaint.

Great fixed price early dinner of $18. Perfect for a seven o’clock curtain at Lincoln Center.

The food is top-notch! I highly recommend Arte Cafe if you are looking for a delicious meal on the upper west side. We enjoyed the pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, and special halibut dish, in addition to the zucchini fries and some salads. Everything was wonderful. Wait service attentive, and they honored our reservation quickly.

This is no a place that can cope with a Friday night crowd. It’s probably great during the week but completely out of its depth when busy.