All was good except the TVs really didn’t belong in the place. Too large and distracting. No one was consciously watching.
Even though we told the waiter when we were seated that we needed to leave in an hour for a show, our main course didn't arrive until 5 minutes before we had to leave. The first course mussels were served cold and rubbery. Not a great experience.
Great appetizers, happy hour champagne, zucchini fritti!
Very pleasant and enjoyable and good food. Definitely going back again.
The portions at Cafe Arte are far too large! Each course is far too large.
Neither the waiter or bartender knew anything about wine.
When we asked for help the waiter never came back and gave our table to another server.
The service has always been sub par but tonight was beyond awful. Been a neighborhood go to restaurant for years but I’m done with it now.
They overbooked on sat nite & only one chef in the kitchen. dinner a TOTAL disaster . I eat at Arte frequently so this was a one off but so disappointing . Mussels appetizer cold & without bread . Pasta over cooked cold & awful . No manager in sight to complain to . They sat us between 2 parties of 10+ and the noise level was intolerable. Wait staff tried their best but not able to control the chaos . Not one apology, offer of a courtesy drink desert etc. it will be a long time until I return and I would definitely call 1st to find out if fully staffed .
My best friend and I had a great time. We got the $29 brunch deal and were very satisfied with the pitcher of drinks. We did not feel rushed. The eggs benedict (we had the avocado & salmon) were amazing. The eggs were poached to perfection. Will definitely be back. Can’t wait to try the lunch/dinner.
Disappointing. We went for brunch. The meal started well, with a fresh fruit salad and a good sangria. Then, after 40 minutes, we hadn’t gotten our main course. People who arrived after us had been served. We asked and the server claimed it would be “right out “ After another 15 minutes and two trips to the front of house to talk to the manager, three of the four of us received our meals. It was clear they had been under a warming lamp, as the hollandaise was congealed and the food only tepid. When I sent mine back, they took it off the bill along with the sangria, which was the right thing to do. But I felt the service was poor and they made excuses, rather than telling the truth (likely the server forgot to put in our order) and apologizing. They should have comped the entire meal. I won’t be back.
Food was mediocre and service was atrocious, waited an hour for pasta and they brought me the wrong thing. Still charged us for the whole meal, won’t be going back.
Lovely back patio with multigenerational diners, great ambience, and quiet enough for good conversation.
Food and drink were delicious. Service was quick - food brought quickly so we could enjoy without rushing to make it to the theatre in time.
Good prix fixe for lunch , but wanted coffee instead of included dessert and was told it could not be done. Nothing on menu about no substitutions. Annoying , especially since it would have been cheaper for them to give me coffee.
Lovely ambiance. Great food and service.
Excellent cappuccino.
Excellent value especially the lunch specials which are unique in the neighborhood.
We had a wonderful meal and time for our granddaughter's 2nd birthday Thanks to all!
Although lunch was busy there, the staff was attentive and easy to find. And the noise level of lots of people was not really noticeable, so somehow they have the structure absorb sound. The prix fixe lunch had great selections. Have only been there for brunch and lunch, but like going there.
We visited Arte Cafe for the first time last Saturday night, pre show. We were there at 6pm and the place filled up very quickly. There were quite a few tables with five or more and a separate room in the back that had an event going on. That being said, the space between tables was good, although the noise level was high. My husband and I shared a caprese salad with avocado that was plenty for two (the red tomatoes were not ripe but the yellow tomatoes were very good). We had linguini with white clam sauce (his) that contained many more clams than is usual, and branzino (mine). Both dishes highly recommended. We did not have dessert but we said that we will definitely come back again.
Great brunch deal, solid food, tasty champagne and good vibes. Definitely go back.
I was told to go to this restaurant because the calamari was the best anywhere! SO I booked a bday dinner for my friend. The calamari was incredible but the noise level, prevents it from being a romantic or intimate place. That's unfortunate, as it really is a pretty restaurant. Food was really good, but because of noise level, I would not go there on a regular basis. Maybe for lunch. I saw that they put acoustical squares on the ceiling, so there must have been complaints before, but they need more softness to absorb sound. I would suggest putting velvet draping on some of the brick walls. It would be pretty, and sound absorbing.
Arte is our local restaurant.
The serve staff comes and goes. Some times we have good ones and other times we have not so good. We tend to overlook. One of the serve staff yesterday really needed to be trained some more before working on the floor. Instead of taking one more step to pick on the menu on the empty table next to us, he put his hand on my daughter's jacket, which was on the chair, to get leverage while he leaned over . Later, he asked if we finished our appetizer. We said no. He still put his hand on the plate ready to take it away while I was still picking up the food. My daughter had to look up at him to get him to stop. And then he asked us if we finished our main course with his hand pointing over our food. We said we had asked for some boxes to pack the food ourselves. He did not listen and continued his act. I finally put my arm between him and the plates and firmly said no before he moved away.
Well we would still go back as it is local and offers good value for personal meals. I have stopped taking clients there though, because of the service.
We went for the $15 lunch special which is amazing however by the time you add a glass of wine coffee and a generous tip it’s way more money than that. This is a great upper West side find for lunch excellent service and a really nice atmosphere we will be back
Best fried zucchini in town. Great linguine with clam sauce. Perfect Cosmopolitan.
Understaffed at beginning of 5pm reservation. Think there were 2 servers at the beginning.
Love the place.
such a pleasure for lunch where you can have a relatively quiet conversation except when there are unruly children and unknowing parents with them. the prix fixe is delightful with many choices and there are plenty of a la carte choices if you wish.
Very good food, decent value, service friendly but somewhat slow, could use some sound insulation
This was the second time I’ve been there. Was visiting the city with a friend and told her it was a great place to go. She loved it too.
It was a Sunday brunch with friends several of whom had completed the NYC half marathon. The restaurant was busy with a lot of pre-bookings and the ensuing staffing shortage could clearly have been avoided. It took over an hour for our food to arrive which was very disappointing. The brunch deal is good but the waiting time was unacceptable. We were placed in the very back room which is very much lacking in the cozy ambience of the front. It also meant that any request we had, for coffee, a bread basket, our drinks, took at least 15 mins to turnaround. Very disappointing from a place that I have eaten in regularly.
Arte Cafe has good food and is always a bargain on the UWS. I come here frequently after seeing a rehearsal at the NY Phil. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to come back!
arte cafe has had some growing pains recently, but we had a great evening there this past weekend. their main room is looking great, our server was wonderful, and the food was really excellent. i'm sure that they will get the new room sorted out soon :)
Prices have gone up, but still pretty reasonable. Menu and wine selections have increased, but retain some of the old go-to's. Still a good neighborhood Italian that I will continue to recomend.
Waiter wasn’t attentive because he had too many other tables
Maybe they were short staff and food took long time to come
We go to Arte Cafe about twice a month. It is, in fact, a neighborhood gem. Usually we go around 8:30. This past week we went with friends before a concert at the Beacon, which started at 8. We arrived at 6 for our reservation, were seated, waiter came over, ordered drinks, apps and entrees, and all was fine. Drinks came, appetizers came 10 minutes later, fine. Plates were taken away 15 minutes after, fine. Then we got served dinner at 7:20, and the food was fair at best.
Chicken Pailliard, dry. Tuna, way overcooked. A shame.
This place is good, but I would not recommend it at 6:00.
Went here before a concert at the Beacon. We ordered off the menu but the prix fixe menu looked like a great value for the price. Food was delicious. We would definitely go back.
Disappointed in the fixed price menu. It used to be better with more better choices. It seemed rather limited and not that great of a choice. Have been going there for many years and never had this menu.
Excellent Pizza Parma, Lamb shank rather small for the price... Get the short ribs or steak instead. Good neighborhood Italian restaurant. Great bar scene. A favorite
A wonderful place for dinner. The staff is extremely polite and helpful - made us feel "special." The food is extraordinary - we have been here quite a few times and samples many of their dishes - all are fantastic. Can't go wrong here.
It is always a pleasure to be there I am a regular and a big fan
First time in this UWS neighborhood institution and it didn't disappoint. We ordered old-school favorites like calamari and fried zucchini (haven't had that in ages!), lasagna, eggplant parm, and other pastas. Fairly reasonable wine list. Our server was very attentive - the city was coated in the leftover snow from the n'oreaster and the place was not crowded. We will be back.
Excellent meal, service and ambiance.
We've been relying on this neighborhood gem for our monthly get-togethers for some years now. The food is always good and so reasonably priced, and the service ever gracious. May Arte be a neighborhood mainstay for years to come.