True, Italian not drenched in sauce food. What can I say five stars for everything! Food delicious, service impeccable, ambience, oh ambience.... you think that you are in a petite Italian restaurant somewhere far away. People come and sit down to starched table, cloth covered tables, spotless glasses and neat folded napkins that are not made of paper. Old school I can say. For lunch, my aunt had grilled salmon on a bed of mix, lettuce perfectly paired with a delicious tangy cheesy sauce. What I had was grilled seafood salad. First time I tried it and I will have it again and again . I recommend it to people that love seafood. For dessert we had coffee and out of this world tiramisu made on the premises. People do not leave without trying the tiramisu! Bon appétit! read more

Very nice atmosphere and the service was excellent, but the cost. OMG too much for two little. $50 for pizza and a salad. Really? That's why 3 stars. Sorry the food was delicious and all but we didn't even have wine. Just overpriced. read more

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Great restaurant! Great atmosphere. Extremely friendly staff. All food seems freshly cooked. True Italian food, and imho, fairly priced. read more

Finestra Restaurant - Salmon Piccata with whole wheat fettuccine. - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

Just had lunch there with a friend was craving pizza and mussels every thing was absolutely delicious this is a family owned restaurant highly recommended food service is always excellent every time I go the staff treats you like family the pizza was absolutely delicious if you like thin crust pizza you must order it me and my friend shared pizza with shrimp olives roasted peppers absolutely delicious also salmon capers ricotta cheese so delicious the mussels were excellent Thank you Finestra for my favorite lunch Jonathan read more

Stopped by for the first time and loved it. The food was fantastic, the ambiance was warm and inviting, and the staff was genuinely welcoming and attentive. It made for a really great dining experience. Looking forward to coming back again. read more

Awesome place! Great food! And excellent service! Went there while taking care of my wife at Weill Cornell! read more

Delicious food. Very attentive staff. They make you feel like home. Good vibes. You feel like you are in Tuscany. Finestra is great option for lunch also. read more

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Was in town for a surgery and this was by hotel. Great quality and super tasty dishes. App:Lentil soup Meal: Lemon Salmon with spaghetti read more

Finestra Restaurant - Salmon - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

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It is a nice Italian restaurant on york avenue. Met some friends for dinner and each of us had a dinner entree and dessert. As a hungry vegetarian I had the eggplant parmigiana with vegetables and I was very pleased. read more

Finestra Restaurant - Orange sorbet - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

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Dined here while visiting for a medical visit for our son . The food is nothing like where we live . Homemade gnocchi was worthy of ordering another to take home if I could . Delicious large shrimp ordered as an add on and our son ordered himself a beautiful large personal pepperoni pizza . The service was excellent - we weren't rushed but definitely attended to. Felt a fondness like this was a very comforting place to be . The atmosphere had nice lighting & decor. It was busy with nice background music. Casual . Want to go back so bad for the experience of classic & simple chefs kiss Italian food so indulgent & delicious . Btw the desserts (sundaes and a chocolate bombe) were really gorgeous and delish too! read more

Finestra Restaurant - Dessert ice cream bombe - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

A friend and I stopped in by chance to Finestra for a late lunch. The atmosphere of this place is enchanting. We had no idea that we would have one of the best meals that we have experienced in years! It's fresh authentic Italian food. The staff are welcoming and attentive. Food was so delicious we decided to re-visit the next day. The Chicken Marsala was exceptional and melted like butter in my mouth. If you want an excellent meal in a cozy romantic atmosphere you will not be disappointed. read more

Classic American Italian restaurant, vintage vibes, and delicious, richly flavored food. Dimly lit and not too full past 8pm. Portions were large and filling. Very standard dishes you'd expect at this kind of restaurant. read more

Finestra Restaurant - Antipasto Della Casa and mussels appetizers - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

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Food was ok We told the server that we were sharing- she did not split the dishes The music was lovely!! Your comment shows me that you had no clue as to our experience at your restaurant. We did not ask to share the soup it was main course dishes Yes som tiny bread sized plates were put on the table But in a restaurant of your stature and the fact that it was not busy- asking us or just splitting the courses would have been appropriate and appreciated. Additionally I don't believe serving utensils were provided. I think you could take these comments and learn from them! read more

Went to an early dinner a little under a week ago. The setting was nice. The staff was nice. Unfortunately, the food left a lot to be desired. I ordered a pasta dish with fresh chunks of chicken. I literally had to spit the chicken out in my napkin. It was so tough and inedible. My child had a meatball and spaghetti dish, and the meatballs felt days old. For what they charged us for three dishes and one glass of wine, one would expect much better food. Here's hoping they get their act together. read more

Service was wonderful, food was delicious, & the home made tiramisu was next level! Will definitely be coming back.

We were spending four days in NYC. Of course we had to find a place to eat and we love Italian food. we came upon Finestra Restaurant where Augustine, our waiter greeted us at the front door. He escorted us to a a nice quiet table with a cloth cover and began immediately pouring cold water, brining a dish of sliced home made Italian bread and a couple of menus. We found the service to be efficient, very prompt and friendly. The food was spectacular and right on the mark with a large portion on each plate. Dessert was delicious, along with a perfectly brewed cappuccino. It was so good, we came back the next night for more of this delicious food. This time Simone seated us. She shared her story of her restaurant and warmly welcomed us. Again we had a meal that was out of this world. If you're ever in the area of York & 73th St it's worth stopping by for a bite to eat. You will not be disappointed. read more

Last Saturday our family and our nieces boyfriends family celebrated the first great grand child for both families at a baby shower's eve dinner at Finestra. Small, cozy Italian restaurant in upper Manhattan, the service was warm and the food was fantastic. Such a nice night despite over 20 in our party...just perfect! read more

Old school, nice pasta, convenient, quick. Met a fellow named Tom who was waiting take out- he was a chef and this is his go to for pasta in the neighborhood too. read more

Below average product and above average price. It is a nice looking restaurant with white table service and an sidewalk patio for dining during pleasant weather. Full bar inside. I ordered takeout, it was disappointing. Spaghetti Carbonara (Spaghetti pasta with pancetta, egg and cream parmesan sauce). The sauce was not creamy, more milky. If there was parmesan in the sauce it was indiscernible. The egg was barely noticeable and the same with the pancetta, unless you had a magnifying glass. Don't get it if you have ever eaten real Carbonara Pasta. Our second dish was Vitello Paillard (Pounded grilled veal scallopine). The veal was tender and the breading was well attached to the meat but entirely tasteless. It came with spaghetti with marinara sauce. Rao's has nothing to fear from this sauce. In addition, I could see some red coloring with sprinkles of herbs on the spaghetti which had a slight tomato taste, but where was the sauce? One good note, the Calamari Fritti (Fried calamari with spicy tomato sauce) was tender and well fried. Unfortunately, they did not include the spicy tomato sauce, which was a disappointment. No liquor, no tip, no thanks, the price was over $100. read more

Came here on a Friday evening and it was not packed. really small and cozy place with great service. A guitarist was here playing some beautiful music which really made the ambience. Onto the food, I ordered the pappardelle pasta with a fresh pink meat sauce and it was delicious. The waitress topped it off with some Parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper. The noodles taste so fresh, had a great consistency (not too soggy or too hard to chew), the meat sauce was divine. Not too wet and not too clumpy. Will definitely come back again to try their other dishes. read more

Finestra Restaurant - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

This hole in the wall gives you authentic Italian vibes. Ordered the chicken parm lunch special and penne vodka. Paul was my server and he definitely knows what he is doing. Attentiveness is superb but not overbearing. He came at the right time when I needed another glass of wine, and was check ready (ready to drop check without having to ask) I'll be back! read more

Finestra Restaurant - Chicken Parmigiana Penne Alla Vodka Malbec Gingerale - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

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Dined in once, ordered in twice. Top marks every time! Fresh ingredients, talented chefs everything cooked properly, perfect amount of garlic, service top notch, comfortable and clean dining experience. New favorite spot! read more

Get the Chicken Francese (chicken francaise) omggggggg get it with the sauce on the pasta. Like literally 12/10.

One of the best italian spots in the city. Great service, perfectly crafted dishes, never a wait. Beats going to any crowded downtown spot that gets attention - the food is even better here. Cant recommend enough read more

Just left Finestra on a 21 degrees ("feels like 7 degrees") night in NYC and didn't even feel cold while in one of their heated tents! I had my coat off, enjoyed my warm delicious meals (fried calamari, antipasto, homemade pasta with salmon, and tiramisu), and yummy wine while listening to authentic Italian music at the perfect volume level. It almost felt like pre-covid based on the quality of food, service, and enjoyment. Each table has their own heated tent so you can see there are others there but no one except your party are in the tent with you. I would highly recommend this gem of a restaurant for the food, service, and comfort. They were so friendly and welcoming. Give them a try; I'm sure you will be happy you did. read more

Finestra Restaurant - Antipasto Della Casa - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

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This restaurant was very expensive and not good. A glass of cheap California wine was $17. Eggplant parmesan $29.95. Eggplant was not fresh and marinara sauce from a jar. Gelato was ice cream not gelato. Only thing good was the service. read more

Total incompetency. We are visiting patients at Weil Cornell and were looking for a decent meal. We placed at $55 order and were told to wait outside the hospital for the delivery person. After the first 40 minutes, we called and were told he's on his way. Called after another 10 minutes and mentioned that the food must not arrive cold. Called back again and the girl was indignant that were were not happy to have waited that long and said you cancelled the order. Unbelievably poor customer service ... indifferent to the customer needs. This is after the night before when we order penne arribiata, which was inedible. We gave them a second chance ... not again. Buyer beware ... not even in desperate hunger will we go back there again. Dissatisfaction in every category ... not to mention the HUGE NYC food prices they charge. We encourage you to go elsewhere. read more

I ordered delivery from here and ordered the chicken Parmesan with spaghetti and red sauce as well as the chicken francese with capellini pasta and the lemon butter sauce. We liked the chicken Parmesan much better than the chicken francese. The chicken for the Parmesan dish was thin and crispy with the perfect amount of sauce and cheese. The chicken francese was a little too thick and the sauce was just ok. I would probably try something different the next time. read more

Finestra Restaurant - Chicken Parmigiana delivery - very good - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

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Staying NYC for surgery and wanted to find somewhere close and gave Finestra a try. Glad we did! Had the Calamari appetizer, seafood risotto and chicken parmigiana. All were excellent! Service was also outstanding! read more

Lovely little out of the way (Far East side) place that I'd never noticed before. Very welcoming, smallish. Excellent service. We both had the special: lobster ravioli and it was delicious. My partner thought her glass of white wine was too acidic and they replaced it immediately. I like that they still have the transparent table separators. Not claustrophobic and its early fall so, since we don't know if COVID won't be back soon, they made me feel more secure. Will definitely be back soon. read more

Traditional Italian dishes like Penne with Vodka Sauce, Linguini with Clam sauce & calamari were great.

Came here on a Sunday night around 7. Wasn't busy so we were sat immediately. Great service. Clean. Food was delicious: soup of the day was pasta fagioli (perfectly spicy and balanced between beans and pasta); pasta special with shrimp and veggies was perfectly cooked; chicken special with sun dried tomatoes and porta bella mushrooms was tasty. And it's not overpriced. Don't miss this gem on the upper east side. read more

the food was nothing to write home about and extremely expensive when taking into consideration ingredients/location/options. the service was impeccable, 5 stars, nothing but good things about the personnel. i'd define the ambiance as closer to classic italian restaurant than anything else. a friend of mine who lives relatively close to the restaurant booked a reservation because he wanted something italian and close to home because he can't move too much after surgery. otherwise, it's unlikely i'll reserve a table here myself. it's also unlikely i'll come back here in the future. definitely a neighborhood restaurant, no major flaws, except being a bit too expensive for what it has to offer. overall, nothing that makes me go out of my way to eat here. read more

$25 for spaghetti with tomato source Give me a break Throw in tax and tip I'll buy a can in supermarket read more

This was a seriously poor restaurant. Cold antipasto tasted store bought. Linguine w clams had only 6 clams and was totally over cooked and lacked any flavor. Veal Parm was fair at best, but the veggies underneath were so overcooked they were inedible. Obviously we're never coming back. NOT RECOMMENDED read more

Had an amazing dinner. The restaurant fit the bill. ChicKen Francese delicious. Service excellent. Location excellent. Parking on the street excellent. Covid protection and plastic booths pretty cool, excellent! read more

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I wanted to *love* this restaurant, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Everything about this restaurant is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT except for one thing: the food! Decor and ambiance? Perfect! It's upscale Italian, and I don't mean a plastic-over-the-furniture kind of way. I mean in a super-quaint / cute Billy Joel kind of way. I love walking in. It's festive, cheery and upscale. Service? It couldn't get any better. The waitstaff is precisely what you want in an upscale place: attentive without hovering. I haven't been to a restaurant with this good service in many months! Food? Awful. Now here's the thing. Most people are easily fooled. I once read "Donald Trump is a poor person's vision of what rich people are like." If you look great, and act great, obviously the food is going to be great, right? Most people would _say_ no, and then go ahead and trick themselves into believing substandard food is the cat's meow. They know better in their head, but when it comes time to eat, they lose sight of what's intellectually "obvious": Sadly, this is the state of affairs at Finestra. Let me just say this. If Finestra ever got its act together, food-wise, it might become one of my favorite places to eat. However, as it stands, the restaurant charges exorbitant prices for very low quality ingredients that are cooked poorly. I'm more than happy to pay $25 for a plate of pasta, as long as it's good pasta. The prices at Finestra are commensurate with its ambiance and service, but NOT its food. Table bread: A The crust was very hard and sour; the bread interior was soft and delicious. The only way this bread could've been better is if it had been warm from being freshly baked. Hot Antipasto for Two: B- Mussels weren't fresh; they were slightly fishy. The bread stuffing on the baked clams was slightly dry (you should drizzle olive oil on them to prevent the bread crumbs from drying out). Additionally, I felt that the bread crumb stuffing could've been seasoned a little bit more aggressively. It lacked flavor. the eggplant was pretty good. Overall the dish needed to be wetter: it could've used a drizzle of olive oil and / or more red sauce. When people order this kind of food, what they're really after is dipping bread into the sauce afterwards. There wasn't enough wetness for that sort of thing. Fettuccine Meatballs: C+ For starters, the fettuccine was under-cooked. Yes, it's a fine line between under-cooked and al dente, however, for $20+ I expect an Italian cuisine chef to have mastered that nuance!!! I would like to comment on the sauce, however, unfortunately, there simply wasn't enough of it for me to really taste it. There was enough sauce to color the dish, but not enough to make an impact on the dish. I couldn't even tell you if it were sweet or savory. There simply wasn't enough of it. I know, I know... my fault for not asking for more. It's true. But we were in a rush. However, the saddest part was the meatballs. Every bite of the meatballs had gristle -- every single bite! I expect this from a pizzeria, not from a $20+/plate Italian restaurant! In fact, I offer a challenge to the manager who will undoubtedly respond to this review. Instead of thanking me for my feedback, why don't you sit down with a meatball -- just one meatball -- and chew it? I mean, really evaluate what you're eating. If your meatball is anything like mine, each bite will contain a bit of chew-resistant gristle. read more

Finestra Restaurant - Hot Antipasto for Two [B-]: Stuffed clams were dry. Mussels were a bit fishy. Not enough sauce. Eggplant was great. - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

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We hosted a private event here last week. The owner went above and beyond to ensure all our needs were met. The food was delicious and plentiful and the space was set up really well. Thank you to Simona and the rest of your team for helping us create such amazing memories. We hope to be back again soon. read more

Service was great and the food was outstanding. It's an easy walk from the Hemsley Medical Tower

I found the place by chance, after a visit to the doctor on York Ave. I was attracted by the nice look and the possibility to dine outside. The next thing that enchanted me was the courtesy of the staff, just to be topped by the food. I had Insalata Di Caprese (fresh mozzarella, arugula leaves, cherry tomatoes, roasted red pepper), Pollo Cacciatore (chicken, peppers, mushrooms, tomato sauce) paired with spaghetti al dente, and their Tiramisu (made in the house). Delicious! Will definitely go back! read more