Upscale italian, for saturday lunch, with a ten month old?

[davehov]

Is this possible? Am coming to New York with my wife and our ten month old daughter to celebrate my wife's 30th. My wife loves Italian - so can anyone suggest an excellent restaurant for lunch, where we would be comfortable with our baby?

Budget - up to $200 with wine.

Thanks!

[Simon]

i think Maialino is the best choice here...

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Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[FattyDumplin]

Throwing another name in the ring, although might not be upscale enough. Love locanda verde brunch. And it's very kid friendly.

[gutsofsteel]

Also Maialino would work well.

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Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[kathryn]

Their brunch menu is pretty light on proteins and pastas, if that's what they seek, though.

http://maialinonyc.com/CMS/files/glob...

[gutsofsteel]

5 pastas on the brunch menu...and plenty of protein.

[kathryn]

To clarify: I was speaking more of the secondi on the dinner menu, including the fabulous maialino al forno. Though I guess you could order the Malfatti al Maialino during brunch to get a little taste of it.

Don't get me wrong, I do like brunch there a lot but I'm not sure it's the upscale birthday lunch experience they are looking for. Super kid friendly, though.

[gutsofsteel]

Upscale birthday lunch and 10 month old kid are sorta incompatible...Maialino is a good compromise for the situation, I think.

[ESNY]

Had brunch at Maialino a few weeks ago, and they offered the maialino al forno as a special

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Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[Rmis32]

A Voce Columbus is nice. See NY Magazine review.
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/...

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A Voce
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

[RCC]

Lupa for a nice weekend lunch.

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Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

[FoodExpression]

Tony Di Napoli's in Times Square...yummy real authentic italian experience.

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Tony's Di Napoli
147 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036

[gutsofsteel]

Tony DiNapoli is a red sauce Italian-American place, nothing authentic Italian about it, and food is not very good either.

[kathryn]

Hard query! A lot of the upscale Italian places don't serve weekend lunch. And those that do (I think Ai Fiori does?) aren't really appropriate for a ten month old.

I can think of two that are open on the weekends but they serve a brunch menu (Locanda Verde, Maialino) and they're light on the sort of pasta and cooked protein dishes I guess you are looking for.

Maybe Osteria Morini or Po? I've only been for dinner, though, and never seen any young ones there.

Is it possible to try to get a sitter or do an early dinner? When the weather is nice, I've definitely seen a stroller or two around 5:30pm at Scarpetta's outside tables.

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Po
31 Cornelia St, New York, NY 10014

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013

Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

Ai Fiori
400 5th Ave, New York, NY 10018

[davehov]

Yep! I've been struggling to find somewhere that would be appropriate. I don't think she's too keen on the sitter idea, as that would kind of solve the whole issue. An early dinner may well be the way forward -I'll check out Scarpetta's as well.

Thanks for your help!

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Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

[peter j]

Try Lincoln. I see kids at weekend lunches all the time, so I don't think that bringing your 10 month old daughter would be a problem. The staff is very accommodating, in my experience.

During a recent Easter lunch at Ai Fiori, I saw several children as well. But check the menu, which to me seems more Continental than Italian, except for a few pasta dishes.

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Lincoln
142 W 65th St, New York, NY 10023

[RGR]

I don't think it's a very good idea to do the outdoors at Scarpetta thing since it's weather dependent and if it rains....

Lincoln is a good suggestion. ABT's spring/summer ballet season has just started, and it always attracts families with young children. So, there are bound to be many having pre-performance lunch at Lincoln.

Lincoln photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11863391@N03/sets/72157626241178854/

http://thewizardofroz.wordpress.com

[jinglejangle]

Wow did that meal taste as good as it looked?

[unionsquareyes]

John's on East 11th Street. Cash only. Go hungry. You won't be disappointed.

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John's of 12th Street
302 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003

[Simon]

haven't been there in ages, so can't comment on specific dishes, but John's is not "upscale Italian" and not really a 30th bday kind of place, imo (at least not in the upscale sense that i think the OP wants)...

but i'd be curious what dishes you like there, since i haven't been in years...

[unionsquareyes]

The thing is, "upscale italian" is really an inaccurate concept. Good italian food is peasant food, with fresh ingredients served with confidence. John's hits it right on the head. Although their wine list is just so-so, the food is formidable, honest food from a thoughtful, tried-and-true kitchen.

[gutsofsteel]

But it is not upscale, and upscale is what the OP wants.

[unionsquareyes]

A 45 minute wait with linens on the tables, candle light and formal table settings isn't exactly eating at a diner.

[RGR]

When it comes to determining which restaurants are "upscale," it is prices that are the ultimate deciding factor. John's does not have even one dish that costs more than $19.95. So, irrespective of how "formidable" *you* may think the food is, how long one has to wait for a table, or that there are white tablecloths and candlelight, John's is definitely NOT upscale.

http://thewizardofroz.wordpress.com

[erica]

I am sorry but I vehemently disagree that all good Italian is "peasant" food! I think that there would be a consensus, for example, if we want to speak of local eateries, that Michael White has a sure hand with pasta, but I doubt if one would characterize his signature pastas as fare from a peasant kitchen, just as one would not call his Italian alma mater a "peasant" restaurant.

I also fail to see how one can judge a kitchen by the time one must wait for a table.

[gutsofsteel]

Lupa

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Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012