Bettola
- Nearest Transit:
79th St (1)
81st St (B, C)
72nd St (1, 2, 3)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
14 Reviews for Bettola
This is a good little place to enjoy decent food and have a nice view of Amsterdam. The exposed brick walls, brick oven and small space make for a cozy setting. But tables are packed close and on the Sunday evening I was there the wait staff was clearly harried. Food is basic Italian, nicely prepared but nothing exciting...except for the fruit plate I had for dessert. All fruit, even the orange slices, was warm and soaked in a wonderfully light Grand Marnier sauce. It was the highlight of the evening. Overall a nice place for an unpretentious meal on the UWS, although a bit expensive for what you get.
Love this place. Go there every time I'm in town. I order the "skinny pizza" - baked right in front of you in the brick oven. Nice wines by the glass. When the weather is nice it's a great place to sit outside.
Just a review on the pizza.
I was quite excited to try it since it's near my apartment and read good reviews. But it didn't work for me. I got a Proscuitto de Parma Pizza for $14. The prosciutto was fine and plentiful but the rest was subpar. I like thin crispy crust but Bettola's borders on bulemic. It tasted more like a cracker or matzoh than a pizza crust. The mozzarella and tomato tasted ok but there wasn't nearly enough of either. Between the barely there crust/cheese/tomato and the price tag, their pizzas must be super profitable!
The place itself is rather warm and inviting. Would definitely considering trying another dish there but can't recommend the pizza...
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i had the insalata romana which was amazing. they were quite generous with how much pecorino they put on.
i had the integrale which by description is a very simple dish. the vegetables were cooked to my liking(somewhere al dente-ish) but the garlic flavor, however subtle, wasn't quite there. i liked the whole wheat fettuccine.
i tried some of my friend's pizza and it was phenomenal. next time i'll definitely be ordering that instead.
the only reason for the rating being below 4-5 stars was the service. i couldn't get our waitresses attention for 10-15 minutes towards the end of our meal when we would have been ordering desserts, wine, or espresso in my case.
I went here for a late dinner 10pm dinner on a Tuesday. It was actually quite nice since we missed the main crowd so it was quiet and intimate. My date had the prosciutto di parma pizza and I had one their specials which was the squash ravioli. My dish did not come with much food which was fine with me since I was not too hungry anyway, but if I had been, I would have been frustrated. It was good. I had a bite of the pizza which was really good. I would def order pizza if I came back here. We had the warm chocolate cake which was really good! A nice ending to a nice meal.
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As my boyfriend says "It didn't blow my skirt up." We were wandering around uptown and I really wanted Italian, so we went here. We sat outside, which was nice. The menu is small but the food is not a simple "chicken parmigiana". The dishes, for the most part, are quite complex. We started off with the calamari, which was grilled and served on a bed of greens. The calamari didn't have much flavor except for the grill, charcoal-ish flavor, so I wouldn't order this again. But the quality of the calarmi was good.
For our meals, I ordered the stuff chicken (spinach, garlic and mushrooms) and I loved it. I didn't think this was heavy at all. The white wine sauce was light and offered a great flavor for the mashed potatoes it was served on. My boyfriend ordered the fettuccine with sausage crumbles, he said it was "different" but good. This is not your typical heavy, marinara-covered Italian place so it was a nice change.
The service on the other hand.. not so good. The waitresses all seemed miserable to be working July 4th (understandable, but still.) and like Sarah T said - our water glasses were empty and all the sudden after we get the check, they are continuously filled. Dinner for 2 was about $45. Definitely not a place to drop all your things and run to, but not bad if you're in the area and don't know where to go.
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I was a little underwhelmed, but I think it was my own fault. I live around the corner and this place is always packed, so I was expecting the best and was a little disappointed. The food was good tho - and the wines by the glass were as well.
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We only had two days in Manhattan and this was our fancy dinner out; we were staying right around the corner from Bettola.
My husband had the grilled lamb chops, which were divine, while my sliced NY strip steak was almost as good. We loved every drop of our bottle of what happened to be the least expensive wine on the menu. The service was excellent and the summery, late night, outdoor seating provided fun views of locals walking by. We had a great time.
Personally, I was not impressed. My meal was extremely buttery and heavy (I had the stuffed chicken). It felt so heavy I could barely eat half of it. My friend had their Verdi Lasagna and loved it, so I might have had a poor pick.
I was also not impressed with the support staff service. e.g. My water glass was empty the entire dinner (and mind you - I did ask for a refill 3 times to no avail).
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The atmosphere is cozy and relaxing, and the light from the brick oven adds a warm glow to the dining room. It's the kind of place where you can get a nice meal without feeling the need to get too dressed up. I had the cornish game hen cooked under a brick. The skin was beautifully crisp, while the meat remained moist, and nicely flavored with rosemary. My friend had the gnocci, which she said had a nice, light sauce that had a distinct basil flavor. All of the pizzas we saw ordered around us looked and smelled really good. If we weren't so full, we would have ordered one of those too!
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we like it here a lot, and have gone now about 8 times. the pizza is fantastic. the margarita is great, the veg whole wheat as well, but the mushroom with truffle oil is really good. also big fan of the ravioli app (i believe it's lamb, but not certain). great outside space. and always get the small bottle of prosecco.
You must have the white pizza! Delicious! A real nice place.
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Delightful looking menu on the UWS...will have to stop & try...this is an aesthetics only review at the moment!
Consistently good preparations, great pizzas, well rounded menu & good wines by the glass (when they don't run out)... service is attentive - always leave satisfied and relaxed. A bit loud inside but definitely a neighborhood favorite.
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