Cucina E Vino Petrarca

Sitting on their patio enjoying a beautiful afternoon & sangria when they place a lady with 2 crying, temper tantrum toddlers at the table next to us. We waited patiently for several minutes for the crying to stop or for the restaurant to re-​seat them. Inside of restaurant was completely empty & would’ve been able to accommodate them since mother was not polite enough to remove her children. No action taken. Waitstaff said, «it’s not my restaurant. I can do nothing.» Asked for a manager; none on duty. Lovely afternoon ruined.

Had dinner and with so many great Italian restaurants this is not one of them. Ordered a cheese plate and it tasted like the cheeses had sat out for days. They give you grape jam with it that tastes like Welches. Pastas were both just ok… lacked salt and flavor. Service very nice but food needs major work.

Walking through Tribeca, looking for a nice place to enjoy an early dinner, we met a nice lady who recommended this place. Sylvia was right! Thanks to Sylvia for recommending and Beko’s, the bartender, recommendations, we tried the octopus salad which was delicious. Then we had the lasagne and the bolognese, both tasted light, creamy, and homemade. The wine was good too. Such a a great way to wrap up a beautiful day.

Nothing terrible, but not good enough for the price. The menu is the usual dated Italian fare found in most of the nyc Italian restaurants; having said that the $ 10 ¼ lt (roughly two glasses) house red was a refreshing change from $ 15 a glass :-)

Ok. So we went in here at 5:15, with a reservation. Barely a soul in the place. We waited a solid 20 mins for anyone to come over to order wine. When we did the wine took another 15 mins to come out.
I then had to ask the busboy to send over the waiter to take our order. That took another 15 mins. He takes the order. A few folks ordered apps and I order some apps for the Table for those who didn’t.
A solid 39 mins goes by. Half of the food comes out and half we are still waiting on. The apps and salads come out at the same time as the mains, except anyone that ordered an app doesn’t get the main until after the they had there app and everyone was done their mains.
Worst damn service I have ever had in New York. Waited was a dope. Never again.
Food, was pretty good. Not going to lie.
Won’t be back.

I thought the food was very good. Ordered the Tuna tartar, Mozzarella and tomato salad for starters
I had the fish special, and friend had the bolognese.
Spilt a banana split which was delightful!
Would recommend if you want good food with good prices.

I liked this place. Good wine selection though bartender could have been a bit more knowledgeable. Accommodating and let me try a few wine samples. Restaurant is intimate and comfortable. It wasn’t terribly busy on this Friday winter night but we were seated next to another 4 top. As it turns out, the acoustics are such in this high-​ceilinged restaurant that noise was never a problem. The menu does not have a lot of vegetarian options and more than likely, you’ll be eating pasta. That said, they had 2 or 3 appetizer specials that were vegetarian including both a butternut squash and a mushroom soup. The mushroom soup was delicious and rich in flavor. I wondered if they use dried porcini to flavor the broth. Recommended. The fennel, grapefruit and parmigiana salad was fresh and vibrant. My butternut squash ravioli had too much shaved nutmeg on top but the pasta was made fresh and the sage butter sauce was excellent. At $ 22, however, I expect to be sated and I was still hungry after eating my 8 ravioli. I asked for bread to sop up the sauce and fill me up. It’s not going to blow you away, but this restaurant is consistently good and would be a good neighborhood go-​to place or a place to meet up with friends.

Stopped in here on a whim before an interview, as I was hungry and it was on the way. So glad I did. The mushroom soup was DIVINE. Warm, delicate balance of rustic and hearty, also very flavorful. The chicken caesar salad was the best I’ve ever had. The grilled chicken was seasoned well and the romaine lettuce was perfectly dressed with a delicious caesar dressing, tossed with a few croutons. It was really good. I would definitely return here and try out other menu items. The gnocchi was sold out, which kinda indicates its probably delicious. The waiters were also attentive and nice. Good lunch spot.

The food was fresh and excellent. I had the cannelloni and my husband had the lasagna. The noodles were very light and excellent not doughy at all. It’s worth the trip. The only thing everything is ala carte so no salad came with the meal.

The service was spectacular. That alone deserves 5 stars. I had the butternut squash soup for an appetizer and the pesto with homemade pasta as my entreé. Defrigginlicious. My friend ordered the butternut squash ravioli and that dish solidified another visit to the restaurant in my future. My husband had the black linguini. It just didn’t compare to the black linguini at Angelo’s in little Italy on Mulberry or at Babbo Ristorante. I finished my meal with a cappuccino and tiramisu. If you’ve reached this far of my review, pass on giving the tiramisu a try. However, I was undeterred in giving this lovely restaurant another visit.

I’m here right now eating the greatest salmon I’ve ever tasted. The food and service are so good I had to immediately leave this review. We had the cheese plate as a starter and everything was perfect. Absolutely recommend.

Such a comfortable, warm vibe. Came here on a Saturday afternoon for lunch and sat outside. Service was good and food quality was amazing. I highly recommend the chicken stuffed with spinach and ricotta. (I originally teased my fiancé for that because I thought it was a random thing to order at a wine bar, but I stood corrected.)

Huge fan. I was introduced to this restaurant by the concierge at TriBeCa Grande and I’m eternally grateful since I’m in the area fairly often for work.
The food is tremendous and consistently solid. The menu, in a good way, doesn’t change from week to week so that meal you thought was amazing will no doubt be there for your next visit.
My most recent visit is what prompted me to write a review. I went there with my wife the evening after we went to the white hot Maialino in Gramercy Park. Had a good meal at Maialino… For $ 250 for the two of us. Ok, fine.
But then we went to Petrarca and a) the food was equally good, but the menu that much more accessible (think more traditional northern Italian), b) there wasn’t nearly the pomp and «scene» of Maialino, and c) the service was stellar. It was also half the price, but that’s a side note because the experience and food is what I’m most interested in.
I could go on, but if you want an outstanding meal without all the glitz of Locanda Verde or Maialino, this is your spot.

I just eat here the most expensive ceasar salad, with a glass of wine, of my life! And, honestly, it was not the best. I’ll try to forget this place.
2 salads, a glass of wine: $ 83,11.
See by yourself.

I had about 30 minutes for lunch, and Baked was closed.
Naturally, I decided to go to a spot that was nearby. I crossed the street and decided on Petrarca.
They have plenty of outdoor seating. They have enough tables of four to seat about 20 people outside.
We ordered a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich, a pear and gorgonzola salad, and a glass of red sangria. It took a while, considering there were a total of 2 – 3 other tables. We were seated at 12:30, we ordered and did not get the food till approximately 1. I had to be back at work at this time, so we quickly inhaled our food and left behind most of the sangria.
The grilled chicken was passable, to be honest. It wasn’t much better than a Subway sandwich.
The salad was delicious, but it was too small of a serving. I asked them to replace the gorgonzola with mozzarella, since my moldy cheese tolerance is nonexistent. The Boston lettuce pieces had to have been soaked in honey water for preparation because it was so sweet. The pear was perfectly poached to go with the rest of the salad. However, like I said, it is too small of a portion.
How many bites does it take to get to the bottom of this salad? Apparently, three.
The sangria was more wine than fruit, which made it to be a bit too heavy to finish at 1PM on a workday. Before ordering, we asked our very Italian waiter if the sangria was any good, and his response was, ‘I’m Italian. I do not know.” I just laughed.

I walk past Petrarca a few times a week on my way to the courthouse but I had never even stopped to look at the menu until a beautiful lazy Friday afternoon when the words ‘fresh made pasta’ caught me in the right mood.
I pulled up a seat on the sidewalk café and was quickly greeted by Emilio, server extraordinaire. How many times have you been to a restaurant and asked the server for a recommendation only to be told that he doesn’t eat fish or she doesn’t eat meat or worst of all, «Everything is good.» Emilio told me that during his five year tenure, he had actually eaten every single item on the menu. With that, he recommended the Lamb Ragut over fresh fettuccine but unfortunately, it came with mushrooms. Notice to all restaurants in LA, NYC and Dallas — I don’t like mushrooms. Remove them from all menu items at once. Thank you.
I asked about the Chicken Parmesan but Emilio told me it came with boxed spaghetti and not fresh fettuccine. I was in a total funk — I really wanted fresh pasta but I also needed some meat. I asked for more time to mull things over and briefly considered the meat lasagna but just couldn’t get excited enough about it. Finally, Emilio returned and saw me sulking. Fine, he said. We’ll special order the chicken Parmesan with the fresh fettuccine.
I can be difficult. Sometimes I push my luck.
«Can I have the pink sauce from the Pasta Petrarca instead of the red sauce?»
Emilio tilted his head like a confused dog and then reached into his waiter jacket, pulled out a large cake knife and began stabbing me repeatedly in the face.
«You come to an Italian restaurant and don’t like red sauce?!! I kill you!!»
Ok, that’s not quite exactly how it went down. He said something more like, ‘Sure, no problem.‘
The chicken was served slightly crispy covered in fresh mozzarella and the perfect amount of sauce. Tasty beyond belief. The fresh fettuccine was amaze-​a-​balls.
Within a few minutes, I became a member of the Petrarca Clean Plate Club. More than satisfied, I asked about dessert and Emilio recommended the Ricotta Cheesecake. I wasn’t even hungry but at that point, he could’ve offered me shares of JuniperNetwork stock and I would’ve bit. The cheesecake didn’t let me down.
I left Petrarca the same way I arrived — fat and happy.
Ok, maybe slightly fatter.
And more than slightly happier.

Food is outstanding. Best tuna tartar I’ve had in the city. They have the best bread too.

Petrarca is one of those rare places I keep going back too.
Scrumptious homemade pastas, interesting but reasonable wine list and a bright environment that makes me feel cozy on a cold day and springlike on a summer’s day.
And the staff is always at your service.
Simply can’t disappoint.
All I can say is… GO!

Perhaps if my experience was only somewhat disappointing I may have not written a review. However, I had the distinct displeasure of dining here last Saturday. My girlfriend and I approached the nearly empty restaurant with reservations at 4:45pm. HUGE disappointment this place turned out to be. Indifferent service, overpriced, and average food at best.
A classic example of a pretentious restaurant or so Mr. Emilio the manager so well represented it, giving you 5 stars prices for a dreadful experience. The people who work here are truly awful; especially the manager and can’t stress it enough. I myself work in the service industry and so I have little sympathy for the rudeness, sneakiness, and utter lack of grace displayed at this establishment.
Perhaps what makes me least inclined to forgive Petrarca Cucina e Vino is its conceited manager and his snobbish unapologetic justification for his 2oz $ 18 patron silver and a supplementary of $ 2 to make it a margarita… «You’re paying for the location and the neighborhood and nothing else.» I could not believe my ears… I’m sorry; Patron silver is not premium tequila to be valued as high as it is when the bottle was purchased for $ 40 if not less.
Needless to say that I will not be returning when there are many far better options out there as I will advise my friends and family of the same.

Our party of eleven had a very enjoyable dinner here last night.
The décor is amazing, with hundeds of wine bottles in every size imagineable shelved on the walls everywhere you look. The service was friendly and attentive, water glasses and bread baskets were filled constantly.
And the food? Well, it was stellar. My first course was a Finnochio Salad ($ 12) — advertised as «shaved fennel with grapefruit». It consisted of thinly sliced fennel, thin shavings of parmesan cheese and what seemed to me to be orange wedges instead of the advertised grapefruit. It was excellent– crisp and refreshing!
My entrée was Linguine Di Sepia ($ 20) — a black linguini with mussels, clams, shrimp, and calimari in a tomato sauce. It was a very good dish that fell short of being great by a teense. The pasta was excellent– slightly north of al dente with an excellent taste. The tomato sauce was very good– rich tomato flavor and gently spiced. The mussels were perfect, the calimari was simply sauteed, and the shrimp were magnificent. To me, the baby clams were the weak link. The were so small (about the size of a corn kernel) they ended up as a tasteless non-​descript piece of mush.
I finished iff with a cappuccino ($ 3) and shared a plate of biscottis ($ 7).
By the way, did you get a load of those prices? The very creative salads are $ 12, appetizers are $ 10-​$ 20, pastas are $ 20 or less, and fish or meat dishes are $ 20 to $ 30.
These would be on the high side in Hartford, but these are super reasonable for NYC.
The neighborhood was nice, but we did have trouble getting the needed 3 cabs to get back to the hotel or Grand Central.
Want to bitch about something? The bathrooms were weird. One unisex bathroom down the stairs from the dining room, and one unisex bathroom in the back left corner of the dining room.