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Trattoria Zero Otto Nove
Categories: Restaurants Italian Restaurants Pizza Italian, Pizza [Edit]
2357 Arthur AveBronx, NY 10458
Neighborhood: Belmont
(718) 220-1027
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
About This Business:
Northern Italian cuisine
115 reviews for Trattoria Zero Otto Nove
Review Highlights
"Nice char in the brick oven, and toppings are fresh."
(in 26 reviews)
"Butternut squash puree on pizza."
(in 7 reviews)
"perfect crust and smoked mozzarella."
(in 9 reviews)
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115 reviews in English
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Review from Malcolm G.
Manhattan, NY
1/17/2012
A really beautiful restaurant on historic Arthur Ave. in the Bronx. High ceilings skylights, exposed brick very romantic despite the family environment. I have gone there for pizza and to eat from their extensive menu. The bar is in the front of the restaurant and has a television but a narrow corridor separates the cavernous looking main dining room.(The ceilings make it look bigger than it is)
Actually the service is above average from what you would expect at the price points you pay here, fast friendly and attentive. There was a temperature issue with an item that was handled expertly handled.
The pizza should be renowned if it isn't already and judging by the crowds it is. Please try " La Riccardo " a butternut squash puree, spicy pancetta and smoked mozzarella masterpiece and tell me it isn't worthy of a spot on your top 5 tastiest ever.
You can share 3 or 4 courses with a partner as I did or go at it alone but I am a big guy and even sharing I was stuffed.
The breads delicious light and fresh great texture and great olive oil ( many places don't serve good EVOO)
Polipetti Affogati- is baby octopus stew in tomato sauce is aromatic , tender and wonderfully flavored.
Polpettine,Polenta & Caprino-This small meat ball ragout over fried polenta and goat cheese rumble is really one of the better dishes in the borough.
Mafalde Porini e Prevola- fresh pasta that is creamy with porcini mushrooms cherry tomatoes and smoked mozzarella......this dish is special I have spent many nights trying to mimic that sauce.
Our final course was the most perfectly braised beef short rib in sauce that if not for the 28.95 price point I would have ordered one to go.
It is on the pricier side for casual but the wine and cocktails are good, the ambiance is excellent, the food is first rate... It isn't a cheap night out however If you want to impress your date and take them to a really great restaurant in the Bronx then this is your destination. -
Review from Jenny L.
La Palma, CA
12/29/2011
A Bronx Tale was filmed in this neighborhood. This restaurant is amazing and the neighborhood speaks and feels of old Italian culture. Please don't hurt me by ever eating in little Italy; it's a fictitious neighborhood made to cater to tourist.
Arthur avenue is the real heart and soul of Italian cuisine and Italian food has not been the same for me after eating here.
Bon Appetit...winning the hearts of food lovers one tummy at a time! -
Review from Maeve C.
12/15/2011
Since I went to Fordham for undergrad, I was always eager to take visiting family and friends out to Arthur Ave, and Zero Otto Nove is one of its gems. As you walk in, the restaurant has a kind of tunnel that leads to the main dining room, which has a high ceiling and is painted to look like an Italian courtyard, complete with some skylights.
The food is outstanding and it worth the higher price; in particular, I would recommend the bistecca alla salernitana, the steak served with vegetables and arugula, both because it's delicious and also it's unique, and the Cotoletta alla Pugliese, the veal with mushrooms in a sauce that made me want to lick the plate. Also, the polipette affogato, the baby octopus, is absolutely amazing and is a must-have (if you're not squeamish about eating tentacles, that is...). In addition to their other dishes, this place is also great for pizza, and the one with butternut squash sauce is great, even cold!Listed in: The Boogie Down
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Review from Pinky and the B.
New York, NY
Updated - 12/5/2011 7 photos
The meat balls were meaty the sauce was rich, chunky and savory.
We had a Cornish Hen with vegetables and crispy potatoes. The Cornish Hen was crispy and delicious.
Dessert was a stand out I hate to use words like epic or divine they are so over used but really the dessert was epic and divine! We had Fragole la Romana, strawberries and fresh cream layered with Pavesini biscuits. I forgot about my pain during our meal there!
And the ambiance is so wonderful and romantic! By far some of the best Italian food I have had in NY in years!
If any tourists are reading this, skip the little facade known to tourists as Little Italy and head to Arthur Avenue for some real Italian food!Listed in: Only in New York, I have a NY…">pizza…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/3/2011
It has been a while since I have been to Arthur Avenue, which is where real Italians and the real… Read more »
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Review from K C.
Northampton, MA
12/22/2011
Pork Osso Bucco....flatbreads made right in front of your nose......service that will make your head flip....gotta go......
We had an amazing lunch...Chicken parmagiana, meatballs and gorganzola....eggplant. parm.... -
Review from Kassy M.
Brooklyn, NY
11/17/2011
Picked up a pie here called La San Matteo (fresh mozzarella, sausage & broccoli). The broccoli was perfectly cooked (soft but had some texture), and made me feel less guilty about eating pizza. The mozzarella was pretty tasty and you can tell it's of good quality. I wasn't a big fan of the sausage but I understand the need for meat on this certain pizza.
I'm really not a big pizza eater but I did enjoy my lunch. I would like to dine here next time because the place was very welcoming! -
Review from Jackie S.
10/26/2011
Delicious Italian food. I was starving after visiting the Bronx Zoo, so I was willing to eat anything! We received complimentary bread with our own olive oil bottle. My hubby ordered La Vincenzo Pizza ($13.95) which came with tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, porcini, and spinach. The oven brick pizza was good and the restaurant used high quality cheese. Loved all of the flavors.
I orrdered linguine al nero with spicy black squid ink and lot of calamari ($18.95). There were 3-4 calamari for every bite of linguine. Calamari was not overcooked either. Beware. Your teeth and lips will turn black.
The restaurant had a cute dining area where there was a sunroom, and walls were painted like being in Italy.
This must be a popular place for celebrating birthdays. There were two birthdays during our dining experience. I love how a song played on the PA system and the birthday person receives a free tiramisu. -
Review from N M.
Montclair, NJ
10/23/2011 4 photos
It's rare I would give any place the exceptional 5 star rating. And it's even more rare that I come across such exceptionally good food that it changes how I view the world and deserves the exceptional 5 star rating. Zero Otto Nove has outdone itself.
I was brought here to enjoy a celebratory 30th birthday meal with my boyfriend, and it was a meal any girl could have dreamed.
The scene:
There is no where else I would rather find myself eating than a warm, rustic dining room. From their high ceilings with sky lights that let in so much natural lighting during the day you don't need to turn the lights on, brick oven, and farm tables, I immediately felt at home.
The foods:
And at home, is exactly where I felt with this cooking. We decided to share a pizza, pasta, and entree dish.
The Pizza:
"La San Matteo" - Broccoli rabe, sausage, and the finest homemade mozzarella this side of the Atlantic. - this is a white pizza that makes you forget to even look for the tomatoes. Every bite was perfect flavored to make my taste buds dance. Some white pizzas come out so dry. Zero Otto Nove comes out with just enough succulence that even the crust can hold up. I initially questioned the cheese and toppings ratio to dough, but the dough is so light and air, with just the right amount of crisp to it, that those fears were long gone.
The pasta:
All their pastas are handmade.We went for their pasta special which was these thick half spaghetti styled pasta, in a basil and tomato sauce, topped with burrata cheese which was heavenly. The presentation was amazing, as the waiter came out with the pasta wrapped in tin foil and a le cruesette. He unwrapped the pasta and spooned it into the red le cruesette. Wow. Even more exceptional was the way it tasted. Every bite of that pasta was truly a birthday gift to remember.
The entree:
We had the pork special, which was the pork on the bone, slow cooked that just pulled right off the bone and came apart without the need for a knife, topped with a tomato sauce and a side of risotto and beans. I could sing praises of this dish forever.
Our service:
We had a waiter that knew his stuff. He was initially standoffish, but once we got his flow, we were ok with it. We would order a dish, and he would listen to our order and then say "no, you have to try something better, let me tell you what our specials are." But he got us. We went with the two specials recommendations and were completely blown away. Everything was timed right, the staff was attentive enough to clear our dishes as soon as we were done with them and bring out the next dish. It was great.
I would definitely recommend Zero Otto Nove, especially at the prices you can afford. I would have to admit that this might be the next restaurant of greatness that I will have to bring everyone that's here for a visit, to really get exceptional Italian food when visiting the Metropolitan area. Don't change a thing, Zero Otto Nove, especially your pizza. -
Review from Stephen H.
Wayne, NJ
1/5/2012
First time on Arthur Avenue and was pleasantly surprised.
With so many choices we had no idea what restaurant to try so my daughter asked a friend who has been visting the "Little Italy" of the Bronx for years. She recommended either Roberto's or "zero eight nine" and I chose this one.
Since we were here for lunch my daughter and my wife got a pizza and each had salads. They loved it. However, when I heard the litany of specials I knew I was definitely going to make this my main meal of the day. I had the Osso Bucco special with some good Italian house wine. It was fantastic. My father had the short rib special and it was delicious. The only problem was that I could have one of everything on the specials list. -
Review from Justin L.
11/28/2011 ROTD 12/15/2011
I'd been waiting to try this place out for literally over a year the first time I went. I go to Arthur Ave every once in awhile, but I kept putting off coming here. Its owned by Roberto Paciullo, the man behind Roberto's and arguably the best Italian restauranteur in New York. He's opening another 089 location in Manhattan eventually, but I believe in always trying the original. Finally I got to try 089, and it definitely lived up to the billing!
First thing you notice here is the amount of work they did to make this place look like its smack dab in the middle of some Campanian village. From the texture on the walls, to the skylight, to the oven, if this place doesn't transport you to Italy nothing will. The service is very professional, and as hard as I am on servers I found absolutely no fault with them. Thats a festivus miracle in itself. And smack dab in the middle of the restaurant was the most important thing: Roberto Paciullo. He wasn't barking out orders or anything, just sitting and having lunch with a friend. His presence alone was enough to ensure that everyone was on their game. Thats great leadership, and exactly what it takes to make a great restaurant one of the best in the city.
Since the first time was only lunch, I just got pizza although the rest of the menu made me think twice. The bread they brought out as well was a great variety, and looked to be from Madonia but could've been from a few different places as there were several kinds. The pizza I got was the Riccardo, which had buttersquash puree along with smoked mozzarella, spicy pancetta, and basil. The crust could've used more char, but was pillowy soft and had a nicely risen lip all around. I was actually expecting something more crisp and with less of a lip as this is Salerno-style pizza, but this worked just fined. While the crust was great, it was outshined by everything else. Simply put, this combo WORKED. The pancetta was the fatty kind they serve in Italy, broken into bits and with a subtle little bit of heat as promised. This contrasted with the smoked mozzarella from Casa della Mozzarella around the block, which was bursting with milky smokiness. Combined with the sweetness of the squash, every bite was bursting with flavor. The only change I would make would be to add a bit more basil, as it acted as a wonderful balancing agent that brought all the different flavors together. All in all, one of the best pizzas I've had, and thats saying something at this point.
The next time I came back for the normal menu with a group of 6. For starters we had the zuppa di vongole and the calamari alla peperonata. Both were pefectly executed, with the sweet, tiny clams being the standout for me; the calamari was also perfectly cooked, with the flavor of the peppers standing out in particular. We decided to get a bottle of wine, and our server was extremely helpful in selecting one that worked with all of our dishes (a reasonably priced Super Tuscan). For my main, I got the Linguini al Nero di Seppia e Calamari, which is their homemade linguini in a black squid ink sauce with calamari and cuttlefish thrown in the mix. It was awesome. The flavor of the tomatoes wasn't lost and the squid ink wasn't overpowering--two common issues with this dish. The homemade linguini was a perfect al dente as well. Once again, the calamari here was perfectly cooked, and the cuttlefish--which feels halfway between octopi and calamari--was too. This was food exactly as it is in the south of Italy. Fresh, simple and straight forward. Also, when we were leaving one of my friends left something behind and the waiter ran out after us to make sure the schmuck didn't forget it. From the appetizers to the service to the espresso we had at the end, this place was remarkably consistent in how great it was.
At this point, if you're interested in Italian food, you've probably heard of Arthur Ave already. If you haven't gone already, you're probably looking for an excuse. The restaurants around here can be a mixed bag, but you'd be hard pressed to go wrong with this place. One weekend, go to the Bronx Zoo for a few hours, use the Southern Blvd exit, walk north a bit and turn onto 187th, and walk over to the neighborhood. Retail Market, bread bakery, meat market, cheese shop, pasta shop, eat some clams on the side walk at a seafood market, and this place. If that isn't a good day, then what the hell is?Listed in: Best Pizza in NYC
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Review from Capt S.
Manhattan, NY
1/18/2012
This place is great
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Review from jeremy f.
Bronx, NY
10/2/2011
Look for the lil Blue Car!!
Now, this isn't my first time on Arthur Ave. Yet, Somehow this place flew under my radar.
The are generous with the wine pours and everything is very fresh.
I had the white bean soup with prosciutto and the arugula salad. I can definitely tell that they use fresh ingredients here.
I highly recommend the soup. Trust me, you'll thank me later
I opted to eat at the bar since the dining room was apparently crowded.
I know that there are several restaurants in the area that have been around for much longer, but I strongly encourage you to give this place a shot.
Apparently, they are well known for their pizzas! I guess I know what I am having next time! -
Review from Steven E.
Manhattan, NY
9/15/2011
Best restaurant on Arthur Ave! Owner / Chef Roberto really out did himself with this place and did so well with it he recently just opened a second Zero Otto Nove in Flatiron.
First of all, when you walk in there is a very contempory bar. A mix of upscale, classy, sophisticated, and yet still not stuffy at all. Once seated in the back you will feel like you are in a foreign oasis. The decor really makes you think that you are in Italy or somwhere outside of the Bronx. Really authentic looking wooden tables, nice paintings / sculptures on the walls, fancy chandeliers, and a wood burning pizza oven on the side of the dining room.
Food is delicious. I recommend one of thier pizzas to start, chicken capricosa for an entree, and then their unique nutella pizza for dessert. You will leave this place very satisifed. Just to note it get veryyy crowded so from Thursday night on make sure you have a reseravtion or get there very early! -
Review from Chris C.
Manhattan, NY
9/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
Their ingredients were fresh and the food was good. We had a super-late lunch here and shared a Riccardo pizza and the lamb special which was lamb leg stewed in a pea sauce.
The lamb was well done, but I've had better. The pizza was one of the better no-tomato sauce pizzas I've had in a while. If we come by here, will stop by again for pizza. -
Review from Joe G.
Bergen County, NJ
12/4/2011
Arthur Ave has great places to eat abd this spot is one of them. It has a dining room that mimics sitting in an outdoor villa in Italy.
The menus is classic Italian, with daily specials based on seasonal fare. The brick over, thin crusted pizza is to die for.
The service is professional, but could be better. That said, this is a good spot to dine in when in this neighborhood. -
Review from Dan C.
5/18/2011
What a great find in the Bronx! Well, I guess it is not really a "find" as it seems that everyone knows about the place and when we got there early into dinner service on a Saturday evening, it was packed.
The decor was upscale, but still casual. Unlike many of the restaurants on this street, 0-8-9 has not been there for 50 years. The interior is sleek and fairly modern, with a nice marble bar up front, a long hall, with a spacious dining room in the back. The crowd was also different than the other "establishment" restaurants on Arthur Ave - it was a young, well dressed crowd.
Not to fear, as the friendly hostesses took our name and suggested we have a drink at the bar. The bar was jamming, lots of people having pre-dinner drinks. When a large group got up from the bar for dinner, we swooped in and grabbed some seats, deciding to eat at the bar.
The bartender was great - knowledgeable and attentive - without being overbearing. We started of with drinks - a glass of wine (a nice heavy pour, BTW) and a Plymouth gin & tonic. The fact they have Plymouth is unbelievable and wonderful at the same time.
We started off with an appetizer of broccoli rabe, which was amazing. My wife got a trio of meat in a dish with a rich tomato sauce. The 3 meats were meatballs, beef braciole, and pork skin braciole. She made short work of that dish, she absolutely loved it. I had one of their amazing Neapolitan pizzas. I ordered the margarita and added sausage. It was absolutely fantastic!! The sauce and cheese were delicious, but the crust...ohhhh the crust! Chewy and crusty all at the same time. People like to drone on and on about how good (average at best, IMO) NYC pizza is, etc. The pizza at 0-8-9 is way ahead of almost any other pizza in NYC. No questions asked.
Our dining experience was incredible from start to finish. I can't wait to go back. -
Review from Hetty W.
11/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
Great Italian! Their table bread is delicious, esp the herby roasted tomato-topped one. I think it was focaccia, but I may be blaspheming some poor Italian baker's pride and joy. Nevertheless, it was good.
We had their appetizer special, some sort of dry-grilled sausage served with broccoli rabe and mushrooms--super delicious! The saltiness of the sausage was well-balanced with the broccoli.
Dinner portions are pretty good sized--I tried the linguine with seafood and squid ink sauce, and loved it. Pasta was chewy, sauce wasn't overpowering, and it was too dark in the restaurant to watch my mouth turn black from the ink. My friends enjoyed their rabbit stew, risotto with seafood, and eggplant parm. Everyone was super full afterwards, but still made room for some dessert! Which was delicious. Not sure if I'd spend $8 for a cannoli when I can walk outside to a legit pastry shop and get one for $2.50, though.
Service was great, they took time to explain everything to us and were very accomodating to our requests. Lots of families here on a Saturday night, so plan date night out well! They don't take reservations either.
Minus one star for the darkness of the restaurant. I'm used to dimly-lit restaurants, but here I felt like my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head I was squinting so hard to see the menu. -
Review from Michael L.
New York, NY
11/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Located on Arthur Ave., this Italian eatery serves up some pretty delicious and fresh food ranging from pizzas and pastas to salads. The place is pretty nice once you walk inside with a rustic decor. The main bar area also houses their brick oven for their pizza making. The food was all good, and anywhere that serves home made pasta gets good reviews from me since Im a pasta/noodle whore. Prices were reasonable, staff was friendly. Will definitely be back.
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Review from Zed A.
Brooklyn, NY
10/17/2011
Perfectly adequate. But if you're coming up to Arthur Ave. to get something special, don't bother coming here. The pizza is too doughy; everything else is just average.
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Review from Taylor J.
Tarrytown, NY
Updated - 10/14/2011
Another amazing lunch. We ordered a bottle of Caposaldo (pinot grigio) to kick off the meal and ended up ordering an appetizer, pizza and pasta to split between 3 people. Pizza crust lived up to high expectations and the Rigatoni e Zucca (butternut squash puree, peas and porcini mushrooms) was excellent. The pasta itself was fresh and sauced perfectly. I could (and probably will) happily eat my way through their extensive menu
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/12/2011
DELICIOUS pizza, easily among the best I've ever had. The crust was a revelation and the toppings… Read more »
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Review from Miranda C.
New York, NY
6/2/2011
Mmmmmmmmmmm, from their specialty bread with extra virgin olive oil to their entrees could not be anymore delicious than any other place that I tried. Came here for dinner with 2 friends. Ambience was perfect, a homey feel, excellent service, waiters are cute and attentive, good for groups or a romantic dinner for two. We had the antipasti freddo as an appetizer first. Then, savored the specialty pizza, a second pizza with butternut squash puree, which I forgot the name of, but was just as scrumptious, and an entree of short ribs. The fresh mozarella with basil and olive oil were the key ingredients in the pizzas. Not to mention, the crust was soft, warm and chewy, it was hard to resist...would definitely come back again, but will try for lunch next time so I could try Madonia Brothers Bakery for their well-known proscuitto bread, olive bread and cherry and chocolate bread!!
Note: American Express not accepted, but visa or mastercard are, so be prepared. -
Review from Paul V.
Hopewell Junction, NY
7/10/2011
We ate here Saturday night. We got there late and thought we were in the middle of the dinner rush but we didn't even finish our first drink at the bar and our table was ready. Great different Italian food, no usual plates here. Awesome look - the main dining area is like a private courtyard, but its inside with skylights. You pay a little extra but braised short ribs in beer sauce and a first course of farfale with chic peas and pancetta was well worth it. Jen had the risotto pescatore and it was delicious!
Happy Anniversary Jen! -
Review from Bruce W.
ASTORIA, NY
12/4/2010
This used to be our go-to place for friends visiting from Manhattan. With great decor and outstanding pizza, we could overlook the bad accoustics that make conversation difficult and the terrible waiters who try every trick in the book to upsell you. Granted, the cheesy pushes for bottled water tended to make us uncomfortable, but when the pizza is this creative, who cares?
That ended a few months ago. My wife and I took some of our closest friends to Zero Otto Nove for pizzas, appetizers and conversation. My wife picked out a bottle of mid-priced wine ($36), and we ordered the food. A few minutes later, the waiter came back, pointed at a wine and asked my wife if that was what she had ordered.
At the time, my 3-year old daughter was acting up, so my wife glanced at the menu, noted the vineyard, and the fact that the wine name started with a B and nodded her head.
The meal was great, although the wine was watery and unable to stand up to the spicy food. Still, at $36, we weren't about to complain. When the $407 check came, we thought they were joking. On closer investigation, we discovered that they had given us their most expensive bottle of wine, a Bruno Giacosa Falletto Barolo 2001, priced at $315. We had ordered a Bruno Giacosa Barbera d'Alba.
We called over the Maitre d and waiter, both of whom were perched nearby (waiting for this to happen, perhaps?). We talked over the problem with them. We asked them to call the boss, but they claimed that that was impossible. We asked them to let us pay the wholesale price, but that was impossible. We asked them to let us go next door to the wine store that they owned, so we could buy a bottle of the wine and replace the one we had drank. That, apparently, was impossible, too.
We pointed out that we were regulars, and probably spent $100+ per month at the restaurant. We noted that, if they didn't give us a break, we wouldn't be back. They didn't, and we haven't. -
Review from Steven S.
12/19/2010
I'm writing this review slightly drunk. Sorry. But I've been on a mission to visit all these supposed best pizzerias in New York for awhile now, so my word counts, man, even if I'm drunk. Slightly drunk. On my way to more than slightly. OK.
So, you have to go to The Bronx to visit this place. And boy, if you've lived in New York for awhile, people are eventually going to start asking you if you've been up to Arthur Ave., the "real" Little Italy. I grew up among Italians, so I wasn't impressed, but I never liked those dense cookies that taste like cardboard growing up, so whether it's downtown Manhattan, Belmont, or Lodi, NJ, I don't think Italian-American "culture" is anything to drive out to shitty neighborhoods for. But pizza is another story.
I just heard on NPR that "pork butt" means the shoulder. Isn't that weird? Wait, did I hear that right? Or am I drunk?
Anyway, is it worth it to visit 089 up in The Broncks? I don't know... it's fucking crowded and the service is shitty and the pizza is good but not better than a dozen places in Manhattan. I guess if you live there it's better than fried chicken and overripe mangoes.
Warning, this place is touristy, so don't be a fool and order bottles of water. Free bread, though. Super yum. Ten extra stars for free bread with olive oil to dip it into. Nice space. High ceilings. Much light. Balcony seating area. Too bad it's in the Bronx.
I ordered the soprasetta with tomato sauce, fresh mozz, etc. I spelled the name of the spicy ham wrong I think, but it was spicy ham. My dining partners ordered the one with potatoes. I like pizza with sauce. The sauce was bland but not abnormally so. The ham was good. The crust was VERY GOOD, but brick oven style, which means, I guess, a little soggy, but not too soggy, like that fucking waste of time Grimaldi's place in Brooklyn. So this is definitely a decent place to get Neapolitan style fancy overpriced pizza, and it works that formula better than most places. So four stars. Generous for me, really. But I reward good crust. And the crust at 089 is almost ideal: chewy without being tough and crispy without being hard, crunchy, or burnt (like Otto and Co.).
CRUST.
That's how I feel about crust. I'm going to get more drunk now. Thanks.Listed in: In Search of Pizza, Day Trip from Manhattan
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Review from kim s.
Danville, CA
4/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
After touring Fordham University with my daughter's and their grandmother, we decided we wanted to try a really delicious Italian restaurant in Little Italy. We happened to come upon some firemen and asked them what's the best. They said you have to try Zero Otto Nove. They were right!! It was delicious. The pizza was the best I've had in a long, long time - YUM!!! One of the girls split the arugula salad and the eggplant Parmesan with grandma and they absolutely devoured it. We ordered the plate of cookies and the limon gelato and were in heaven with both desserts. We wished we had more days in NYC to go back again and again. This is a place we will dream of now that we have returned to California
Thank you Trattoria Zero Otto Nove for a memorable meal. -
Review from Bobby D.
Bronx, NY
11/22/2011
My girlfriend and I love this restaurant. Deliciousssss Pizza... La ricardo is to die for.. The margherita is good too, but lately they have been stingy with the amount of fresh mozzarella they put on it, so we dont order it anymore. The pear and goat cheese salad is delicious as well as their cheesecak!!! Wow.. So silky and so perfect... juniors and s&s dont have anything on this. The specials also sound delicious everytime we go, but there is only so much you can eat. Tonight I had the oso bucco with risotto... Amazing... Licked the plate. The bread is great and the olive oil at the table is great quality. And lastly, the servers and whole front of the house staff is on point all night. Love this place. Our favorite go to spot.
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Review from Mark H.
New York, NY
3/13/2011
This is my new favorite Italian restaurant in NYC.
The brick-oven pizza is amazing - on par with any of the first-rate places in the city like Totonno's, Grimaldi's and Lombardi's, but at Zero Otto Nove they also have a full menu of pasta, salads and other authentic fare, much of it sourced right in the Arthur Ave. neighborhood.
Priced like a mid-scale casual Italian restaurant would be in Manhattan, this bustling trattoria in the Bronx's Little Italy offers a five-star experience in terms of service, quality of food and presentation.
The decor in the cavernous dining room is a little off-putting at first -- meant to mimic an Italian street scene -- but it won me over in the end. -
Review from Gianluca C.
Stanhope, NJ
9/1/2011
This place is outstanding...The decor inside is beautiful and it's like you are in Italy...So just stepping in, you feel good about the place. Then you meet the waiter. It's like someone from Italy greeting you, then you look at the menu...There is not one thing on there that doesn't look good. But if you are an american looking for chicken parm please don't waste this places time. The food comes out and you can smell the aroma. I been here 3 times and each time it was better then before. The pizza's are amazing. I love the Nutella pizza for dessert. When the check comes you really don't care how much it is because you know that you just experienced one of the best restaurants in the Bronx right after Roberto's
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Review from Claire M.
Long Beach, NY
3/23/2011
My whole family loves this place - including my mother and uncles, who are Sicilians from Brooklyn. I've been a few times, and have never been disappointed.
Today I took my friend, and I had the following:
Meatballs/Polenta appetizer: DO IT. Tiny meatballs packed with flavor in a delicious and perfectly complementary sauce. Polenta decked with heavenly cheese. YUM.
Brick oven pizza - Tomato sauce, mozz, sopressata (Diavola): The sopressata really made it. This pizza is great, but my friend and I thought there were other things that were more special and unique on the menu. Great for a less adventurous eater or a huge pizza lover.
Pasta al Forno: One of my favorites. I've had it twice, and it was more "special" than the pizza. It has meatballs in there too if you didn't get the appetizer!! The pasta is obviously fresh and the sauce is divine. Love it!
The service was great as well. Our water was never empty and they let us eat for just the right amount of time before coming over.
For two of us and no drinks, the bill was $42 (without tip). We have almost half the pizza and a little pasta leftover (granted, we ate gelato BEFORE lunch, but still... a normal person would probably have leftovers). Good prices for the quality and good portions. -
Review from James B.
San Francisco, CA
9/17/2010
Forget NY style pizza. This place has the best Napolitana style pizza I have had outside of Napoli. Lovely brick oven. Da Michele anybody?
The delicate hand-made pasta and anti-pasta are top notch. Anything you order will be amazing.
Do not be fooled from the street. Part of this restaurants charm is that it opens up into a cavernous room that you cannot see from the street. Walking in is like being let into a secret or some mafia lair.
To add to the appeal the waiters are all straight FOB
Arthur Ave. is the best street in the Bronx and the true 'little italy' of New York. What an awesome few blocks for eating!
You will not find more legit Italian food in the whole U.S. than Arthur Ave. -
Review from Tracy M.
Coatesville, PA
7/21/2011
Service was horrible except for the guy filling water glasses. I ordered the Ricardo pizza- butternut puree, mozz, panchetta. So tasteless and bland I barely was able to get one slice down. Horribly overpriced for getting the quality of a poor chain restaurant. My stepfather had the Diablo, which was the only meal on the table that had some flavor. 2 of us had gin and tonics, which was 95% ice, and seemed to be lacking any gin, and each was about $9. Brought the great mood of the day down to leaving the place on a miserable note.
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Review from Tan N.
12/19/2010
Yea. 5 stars because I can't imagine Italian food tasting any better than this.
The menu is the kind where all the items are listed in Italian, so I'm forced to read the description underneath if I want to know what I'm getting myself into. Luckily, I understand what "sausage" and "broccoli" means. We got the San Mateo (?) pizza and some meatballs with goat cheese, and I cannot emphasize how awesome it tasted. The ingredients were so fresh that even the burnt parts of the crust tasted good.
And the service, yes, that's good stuff. I think all servers just might be purebred Italians who cannot stand the thought of having my glass of water less than 51% full. And all the other reviews talking about how you go through this "alleyway" and into an atrium of Italy is an experience you won't find anywhere else in el Bronx. -
Review from Kristine R.
Cambridge, MA
8/18/2010 1 Check-in Here
YUM!
The pizza here is AMAZING!
My friend and I have been planning to hit up Arthur Ave - the home of Little Italy in the Bronx for sometime and finally, we got around to it - last night. There are several restaurants on the block, but majority of them were closed and I'm glad we went with this one.
The space is fairly large with dining tables towards the back. When you first walk in, you think it's just a bar but when you walk further down passed the kitchen, it's the dining area. Right in the dining area is where they make the brick oven pizzas.
Me and my three friends all ordered pizzas and we were all impressed. Very tasty! My two friends ordered a pizza with butternut squash sauce which gave the pizza a very sweet taste. I had the potato and mushroom pizza. The pizzas are a good size as well. There was enough cheese and the sauce wasn't over powering the pizza which is sometimes the case - it was very flavorful.
The deserts looked amazing, they had a nutella pizza, along with sorbets, gelato and tiramisu. Didn't try any though.
The service was good - our server was very attentive and we got our food right away.
If you're around the area, great place for pizza! -
Review from Craig F.
Boulder, CO
9/30/2010 1 Check-in Here
I went here with a group of about 50 people. The group was handled very well and the staff was excellent. We were treated to a variety of dishes and every single one was excellent. The dinner was finished with a nice desert pizza (never had that before).
I absolutely recommend this place! -
Review from Lizzie K.
White Plains, NY
7/30/2011
Crust, crust, CRUST! And you can taste the freshness of the mozzarella in every bite of yummy pizza.... Fabby mcfabulous!!!
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Review from Lawrence C.
New York, NY
4/17/2010
"But I don't want to go to the Bronx today!" I cried plaintively at the rest of my family. They wanted to take a field trip on one of my days off to the Montefiore Medical Center, where I'll be spending a huge chunk of the next four years for my job. Why would I want to spend even *more* time there when I didn't need to?
"I want to see your hospital," my sister said firmly. "Besides," she added, "then we can go to Arthur Avenue."
Arthur Avenue! A mythical land, inordinately difficult to access by public transit... As far from me as Camelot or Numenor. But for years, I've been raring to visit this heir to Manhattan's now irrevocably hokey Little Italy. While NYC has its share of wonderful, high-minded Italian restaurants, truly high-quality old-school Italian-American is a more elusive thing. My sister knew that the mere mention of the neighborhood would inspire me. So we piled in the car and drove over.
For lunch proper, we settled on Zero Otto Nove -- henceforth referred to as 089, the translation for the name. It greets you with a small bar in a gratuitously large atrium, a flaunting of the land available in the Bronx compared to the sardine-can lots of Manhattan. The dining room put a smile on my face as soon as I walked in. It's a simulation of an Italian courtyard, weathered stone and large-scale faux frescos surrounding wooden tables. Structurally superfluous arches add some visual interest, and a distinctly non-superfluous brick oven occupies one corner of the room. All of this might strike one as overly Epcotty, but a large skylight lets the sun in so bewitchingly (at least at lunchtime) that one is likely to forgive a lot. Or at least I am.
Still, it didn't have that same old-world patina that many other eateries on Arthur Avenue clearly have, making it an odd choice for a first foray into the area. I'd picked it because I'd heard good things about their Neapolitan pizza, made in the aforementioned oven. The margherita pie we ordered went in that oven and came out nearly instantly, testament to the oven's operating temperature. I eyed it warily as it arrived steaming at our table: how good could it be compared to a Motorino, a Keste, a Co.?
Pretty damned good, it turns out. Motorino's has better mouth feel, Keste's has more interesting char, Co.'s has a more flavorful crust... But I'd still put 089 in a blind taste test with any of them. The sauce tilts to the sweet side, the crust soft, the mozzarella (sourced from across the street) nicely tangy. I was reminded of Franny's estimable margherita: no single element dominating, each ingredient fuses into a well-conceived whole. That I can even mention 089 in the same breath as these others is quite a compliment from me.
But 089 is from the same man behind the more upscale Roberto's in the area, and so has a more ambitious menu than any of those other places (excepting perhaps Franny's). The margherita was a mere amuse-bouche for our full order of starters. An antipasto plate benefitted from all the Italian markets in the immediate area, with prosciutto that sublimated on the tongue and olives far more subtle that most. Meatballs, loosely packed and surprisingly dainty, were finely paired with triangles of polenta. And a special grilled octopus appetizer actually made me double-take: its deceptively simple appearance on the plate belied the sheer creaminess of the cephalopod. It was the best octopus dish I'd had since 15 East's slow-poached version. (You know I'm being blown away when I'm comparing an Italian-American dish to something at one of the finest Japanese restaurants in NYC.)
But we weren't done! We got pastas, too. A squid ink linguini had just the right amount of ink and a nice undertone of spice, but the calamari itself was a touch rubbery. No complaints whatsover about a "pasta al forno", though: a madhouse baked ziti of dreams with meatballs, soppressata, and hard-boiled egg. And a mafalde pasta with porcini dish was a riot of flavor, the ruffled noodles taking up the mushroom bomb of a sauce as it all happily melded with smoked mozzarella. The al dente school might have failed these dishes -- in Italian-American fashion, they were all on the more cooked side -- but I found them all hearty and delicious.
Of course 089 doesn't have the ambitions of a Scarpetta, a Marea, even a Motorino. But that's not what Arthur Avenue is for, what the Bronx is for, what Italian-American cuisine is for. 089 delivers a crazy amount of hits in a setting that manages to be charming almost despite itself. I can hardly imagine being more compelled by an eatery in this genre, and though I have not previously given 5 stars to any establishment I've only been to once, I do so now without qualms.
Did I mention the pizza was damned good?
Probability of return within 1 year: 20%, but only this low because Arthur Ave is so out of the way; if I'm actually there again, then 80% -
Review from Tina B.
Bronx, NY
10/7/2011
Yay! I'm a fan....but the pretentious waiter who was serving in our section I could have lived without....asked him for a cup a coffee...not expresso and he was more than a bit condescending about the fact that they "don't serve that here...only expresso." That's nice. I've been to plenty of Italian restaurants here in NY and all of them have offered both expresso and "American" coffee. Really, don't be a coffee snob...
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Review from John M.
Port Chester, NY
4/3/2011 2 Check-ins Here
One of my favorite restaurants anywhere! All the food is amazing, you can not go wrong. Expect to wait on the weekends because the don't take reservations but it's well worth it. Grilled Octopus is always a favorite of mine. It's cooked to perfection which doesn't happen in most restaurants. The mafalde porcini is a cant' miss pasta dish with mushrooms and smoked mozzarella. Anything you get in this restaurant that includes butternut squash or smoked mozzarella you'll be sure to love. The riccardo, Diavola and Margherita Pizzas are all amazing and for dessert you must have the Nutella Pizza. Soooooo good! Also a side note is you can't help but to love when they celebrate someones birthday. they blast Paul Anka's Did you have a happy birthday.
Listed in: Best Italian
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Review from Laura C.
Brooklyn, NY
7/25/2010
I brought a few out of town guests here. It was our first time to the neighborhood. I used Yelp to pick out the restaurant and I thought the place was great! We ate here ridiculously early on a Saturday (5pm) and the place was moderately busy. The service was excellent and we were never with an empty glass (especially important since it was 8,000 degrees that day).
The only "con" would be that the staff is all so friendly, attractive, and attentive it was difficult for me to focus and pretend to be a classy lady while I devoured my entire pizza.
Also, I'd like to echo Denise D's recommendation with the La Riccardo = WTF. Butternut squash puree on pizza? Yes please! My guests also enjoyed their dishes, they both had Pollo Scarpaiello.
I appreciate when fellow Yelper's recommendations make me look good! I look forward to coming back, once I figure out how to get here without my guest's rental car! -
Review from Chris L.
Manhattan, NY
3/29/2011
This is undeniably one of the top Italian restaurants in New York City. I don't want to set anyone's expectations too high because nobody likes a let down but I promise that if you make your way to the REAL Little Italy on Arthur Ave (and not that Mulberry nonsense) your tummy will be aroused.
The brick oven is totally legit (it was hand built in Naples hence 089, the owner's area code and flown in to "da Bronx.") and makes some of the most amazing Neapolitan style pizza I've ever had in the 5 boroughs. I've eaten here about 6 times and it gets better each time. The entrees are especially fresh, tasty and interesting.
They do not take reservations, which I love, making it a true meritocracy of food. The waiters are always knowledgeable and rest assured there will always be some very tempting specials on the menu given the restaurant's proximity to the meat and fish shops e.g. Cosenza's, Biancardi, Teitel Brothers, etc. on Arthur Avenue.
The atmosphere is totally chill too. There is a bar up front which is cut off from the restaurant in the back. The restaurant is two tiered, both floors are equally as pleasing and the brick oven is downstairs next to the steps. The room is illuminated by a lovely looking skylight and at one point I felt like I was lost in some little back alley in Italy.
Go befriend a Fordham Student, sniff some flowers in the Botanical Gardens, then waltz down Arthur Ave and plop your rear in a seat here.
I'm a former resident of the neighborhood so if any fellow Yelpers need a nice itinerary for a day trip feel free to inquire within.
