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in Italian, Breakfast & Brunch

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- Kellee H.NoHo, Manhattan, NY191 friends5 reviews
6/5/2016Loved this place! We had great service, wonderful authentic food and good wine. The wait staff was really fun and personable and offered us "after dinner drinks", which turned into the group taking comped tequila shots together.
Not only was the staff great, we walked out stuffed since the food was so delicious. - Joseph M.New York, NY28 friends40 reviews
11/12/2018Visited to try the meatballs featured on TV. $12 for three -1" balls with not enough red sauce to cover the small dish they came in. I think sugar was added because they were very sweet. Balls were soft but the sweetness dominated.
Every thing else was very ordinary. Expensive and certainly not like our mothers ever made. - Jando S.Queens, NY
4/17/2014To enjoy Italian food in a city that has so much of it is a god send. Lanza might not be recognized as one of the most mind blowing spots but it does churn out some solid dishes worth ordering.
Small all around with some tight seating, it might serve as a solid date spot for most. Ambiance on the weekends is somewhat intimate, which is an important mood setter before diving in on any food.
On the food front, the fettuccine con salmone is creamy and wonderfully textured. I love a classic chicken parm and they did a spot on job. Spaghetti marinara is a good kiddie dish, in case the party includes youngins. There is more to try, but I haven't eaten enough to make a true dent
Where they could use some improvement is the service. Delivery is a tad slow but the attitudes of some of the staff is off putting enough to question being a regular here. Keep your expectations light, the experience will almost always be better. - David J.New York, NY
11/22/2015When a visitor from Europe said she wanted to go to a real "New York-y" Italian restaurant, we took her here. Over a century old, with the old tin ceiling and pictures painted right on the wallpaper. We've always had good food there.
We like their tomato sauce, and my in-laws raved about the trout. I'd like to know what's up with their background music, though. While we were there, we heard the same 3 songs, 3 times each! I'd rather have no music at all.
One more thing: if you pay with a credit card, they give an iPad to sign. They included a service charge, but if you don't put something in the "tips" field, you can't close it! We added a dollar. I assume they will fix that glitch. - Jahan L.Bukit Timah, Singapore, Singapore169 friends89 reviews241 photos
6/27/20151 check-in
This is a perfect 5 star italian Restaurant serving a classic taste of old East Village New York. This place is an institution with over a hundred years of history, and their standard has not changed since I have visited it 15 years ago...even though it got bought out by a restaurant mogul.
The new owners did a hood job of preserving not only the taste but the look and feel of the place. The old kitschy old school stained glass with Trompe L'Oeil murals are kept. Their food is a cut above the usual red sauce italian fare. Their tomato stock is easonably priced with huge portions. I ordered the seafood pasta which was huge and really tasty. The pasta was cooked perfectly.
Will definitely be back. - Peter K.New York, NY
7/14/2016This place is awesome! It has been around since 1904! Lots of old restaurants rely mostly on their age and character, and hopefully their food is still on par with what has kept them open for so long, but this place goes way above and beyond that trend. This place has reached my top favorite Italian places in NYC. It surpasses many places on Mulberry St and Arthur Ave, and even might make my top 10. Their marinara red sauce is fantastic and they have lots of great items on the menu including one of my favorites, braciole.
- Cass S.Freehold, NJ189 friends10 reviews1 photo
12/18/2015Purchased a Yelp Deal
Really poor service and owner is rude. $20 for a tiny chicken parm entree that comes with potatoes and broccoli - didn't know this was a thing.
I bought the Yelp deal and he was not going to recognize it at first, and then I was overcharged for a Caesar salad. When I mentioned that the price on the bill did not reflect the menu, the owner denied that, but then realized I was correct and gave me the correct pricing. Since we used the deal (after hesitation from the owner), there was a few dollars on the remaining balance and he wouldn't accept my credit card even though I said I didn't have cash. So I had to leave to get cash.
Definitely not worth it, even with the Yelp deal. Explore other restaurants in the area. - Shannon C.New York, NY
5/14/2016I like this place. So far I've only had the spaghetti and meatballs and eggplant parmesan. But both were extremely good. Very satisfying. The service is ok. The two-person table is rather small, so beware of that, that's the only really bad thing that I have to say. I will definitely go back.
- Tonya R.Inglewood, CA280 friends149 reviews47 photos
10/11/20131 check-in
Thank God this place isn't large. I can't imagine service getting any worse. I think just about each and every member of the waitstaff touched our table including the bartender. I think we were actually given less than stellar treatment because we used a Travelzoo voucher. But the thing is if you don't want to take Travelzoo vouchers don't sign up to do them! The food was just okay. Would've overlooked bad service for great food but unfortunately that didn't happen. Had to ask for refills of water twice, hunt down someone to take our dessert order and was unable to use the restroom because apparently the hostess ate something that did not agree with her (poor thing)
Will not be returning. - Solopirate R.Elizabeth, NJ6 friends20 reviews25 photos
10/11/2014Attended tonight - definitely a place worth dining. Food is Italian. Place clean, decors warm.
The soup of the day (bean pasta) was excellent. Loved the black bean taste. The seafood pasta abundance was good, filling, and light which I enjoyed. Definitely would eat the same again. My date ordered the vodka pasta and I tries it and it was good rich in flavor.
Service was excellent.
Sangria is rate it a 8 out of 10.
I didn't give it anymore aura because at an Italian restaurant I expected the bread at the beginning would be toasty, some oil, ect. It was bland and something I could get at home. The coke was bland, and my meal's (while I enjoyed it very much) was a bit too runny / liquidly. Need to be a bit thicker I thought. - Arielle C.Manhattan, NY89 friends59 reviews3 photos
3/29/2016If I could give this place less than one star, I would. I ordered food from them at 6:50 and the order didn't arrive until 9:30 because:
a) the delivery guy gave my order to the wrong person or
b) decided he didn't care and marked my order as delivered without ever ringing my bell
I called several times and the guy on the phone just laughed about how the delivery guy was so new. Not my problem. - Emma F.Manhattan, NY2 friends39 reviews7 photos
9/17/20151 check-in
Had date night here last week. We liked everything about our experience at Lanzas! Fresh baked bread and the pitcher of sangria was really good. We had Frutta Di Mare for an appetizer and we loved it. I had eggplant parmesan with spaghetti for my dinner and not once did I wish it was chicken (I'm a relatively new pescatarian, so that was huge for me!). Definitely the best eggplant parm I've ever had! Service was friendly and a great experience overall.
- Lisa A.Brooklyn, NY0 friends4 reviews1 photo
4/1/2015This restaurant is amazing. Great food. Great staff. They will cook any dish you wish even if it is not on the menu. The owner Eddie is amazing. This is the closest to Being with an Italian Family that you will get in NYC
- Wayne S.Manhattan, NY160 friends4 reviews
9/11/2016I recently learned (from a sign in the window) that Lanza's has closed, although I have no idea why. If anyone can tell me why they are closed and if they plan to reopen at any point, I would very much like to know.
- Cyndi D.East Village, Manhattan, NY66 friends101 reviews117 photos
1/4/20131 check-in
Ordered a vegetarian meal here the lanza ala pasta.....which on their menu specifically has a vegetarian symbol next to it......came out to me.....looked and smelled wonderful....BUT.....first bite.....big chunk of meat....ok....fine spit it in my napkin.....second bite......bigger chunk of meat.....i did not even go for a third bite.....I went to tell my waiter.....he went home mid meal and the bartender did not give a hoot......so i left there and got a great slice of pizza after....
Do not go there if you are a vegetarian......!!!!!
If your a meat eater.....your gonna love the huge chunks of meat on your plate - Nicholas M.New York, NY229 friends71 reviews1 photo
11/3/20151. Awesome Italian bread.
2. Caesar salad had a hint of anchovies which isn't great but other than that the salad was good, fresh pepper
3. Entrees: both were great. Chix park & lasagna were delightful.
Would go back! - Denise M.Poughkeepsie, NY0 friends32 reviews
7/25/2014Food was OK - nothing to write home about but the service was bizarre.
The place was pretty empty and service was attentive but after the water had been topped off 3 times we had enough. Maybe we were very thirsty and were drinking unusual amounts of water but multiple waiters were aggressively filling our glasses. It got to the point that we all decided to stop drinking ours lest they think we needed more. At one point one waiter literally reached under my arm from behind as I lifted my hand to took a bite so he could fill my glass. It was one of those times you start looking around for the candid cameras.
I've already forgotten about the food but will never forget the spastic dances performed to keep out water glasses as full as humanly possible. - Sara B.Washington, DC36 friends184 reviews32 photos
1/7/20141 check-in
No, just no.
We tried to go to Momofuku across the street, sadly, with the parents in tow and a 1.5 hour wait for a table it was just not happening that day.
Our hunger led us here.
We had chickpea soup and caprese salad, grilled chicken salad, and a steak.
Besides the steak, which was terrible in both taste and texture, the soup was okay and the salads were mediocre.
Worse was the physical restaurant itself which is run down (not always a bad thing, I'll gladly eat at a hole in the wall if it's good) but also appeared to be really dirty from our perspective sitting in the back close to the kitchen. Another strike was the one waiter that we had was kind of obnoxious, he really rubbed us the wrong way.
Further, we came late afternoon and there were only a few other tables with patrons, and our very simple orders took forever. Before we had finished and left this place I got a text from Momofuku that a table was available for us. As you might imagine, that was a sad moment. - Michaelle Y.Brooklyn, NY0 friends4 reviews
8/4/2016I absolutely loved this place. Food was incredible, service was super friendly.
Went to go back only to find it closed :( Will definitely be keeping an eye out for any updates on this place. - Trevor S.Manhattan, NY23 friends41 reviews14 photos
8/26/2013This is my first review. And it finally took a night like tonight to get me reviewing.
Tonight was great company, a great night, HORRIBLE food, HORRIBLE service, but, a great laugh. Our waiter may, or may have not, been a drug dealer. Leaving the restaurant out the front door every 12 minutes, to an un-marked black car sitting outside.
The amount of wait staff out numbered my girlfriend and I by about 12. And you may say, that should mean quick service. Well, if our waiter was not so busy outside, it may have been. There was NO ONE ELSE in the place. Yes, it was a Monday night, but in the LES, to have no one around... should of been our first red flag.
The food- disgusting. We could have gone to get street food, and it would have been better. My stomach hates me right now. And who could have thought chicken pam could do that to you.
We had a TravelZoo deal, 2 meals for 40, each included apps, meal, desert and a glass of wine.... I am pissed I paid $40. You'll have better luck going to Iggy's across the street.
How have they been open since 1904? I'm sure the saltines and bologna from McSorley's is better, and cheaper.
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