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Home > Restaurants > Celeste

Celeste

Critic's Pick Critics' Pick

502 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10024
nr. 84th St.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-874-4559 Send to Phone

  • Price Range: $$

    Key to Prices and ratings

    Upscale
    • Almost Perfect
    • Exceptional
    • Generally Excellent
    • Very Good
    • Good
    Cheap Eats
    • Best in Category
    • Excellent
    • Delicious
    • Very Good
    • Noteworthy
    • Very Expensive
    • Expensive
    • Moderate
    • Cheap
  • Reader Rating:

    6.2 out of 10

      |  

    26 Reviews | Write a Review

  • Cuisine: Italian, Pizza
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Photo by Shanna Ravindra

Hours

Mon-Thu, 5pm-11pm; Fri, 5pm-11:30pm; Sat, noon-3pm and 5pm-11:30pm; Sun, noon-3pm and 5pm-10:30pm

Nearby Subway Stops

1 at 86th St.

Prices

$14-$16

Payment Methods

Cash Only

Special Features

  • Brunch - Weekend

Alcohol

  • Beer and Wine Only

Reservations

Not Accepted

Profile

Proudly Neapolitan in heritage are all sorts of impeccable fritti, as well as classic free-form pizzas out of the wood-fired oven, at Celeste. A flower-decked terrace leads into country-cottage quaint with sky-blue plates and exactly what you'd eat in Naples: deep-fried buffalo-ricotta balls (soft and creamy). Savory seafood fritto misto. And the day's riff on zucchini blossoms. Quite a trick for Teodora's Giancarlo Quadalti, staunch partisan of Emilia-Romagna and chef-partner here. He's mastered the mantra of Upper West Side eats, too: big portions, small prices—antipasti and salads (anchovy crostini, sautéed mussels, stuffed eggplant rolls, thin-sliced artichokes with pecorino), artisanal pastas and their gelato dessert. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Recommended Dishes

Gelato, $5.50-$8.50

Related Stories

Featured In

6.2 "Mixed Reviews"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
65% Would you go back?
61% Would you take a date?
30% Would you take kids?
15% Would you go on business?
30% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 7.3
Service: 5.3
Décor: 5.8
Value: 6.8

Fantastic place

ingridras from 10024 | Posted on 12/3/09

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Food: 9
Service: 9
Décor: 9
Value: 9

I normally don't write reviews but after reading the bad reviews here I had to say something. I live around the corner from Celeste and go there quite often (most recently last night), and I have NEVER had a bad experience. Sure, the place is small and cramped, but the food is simple and fantastic, and the staff is always pleasant and often entertaining. Yes, your whole party has to be there before they will seat you. I can never understand why people have to get into arguments over this very simple policy. I grew up in Italy, and I think the food at Celeste is great. They keep their menu simple but always have great specials, their pasta is al dente and the pizza is delicious. Celeste's crowded wooden tables are my favorite place to enjoy a simple, casual, and delicious meal.

Terrible service - arrogant owner and personality-less waiters

epicuriousnat from 10023 | Posted on 11/17/09

Overall Rating: 3 (Not Recommended)
Food: 6
Service: 1
Décor: 8
Value: 5

It is very sad that such a cozy restaurant has such TERRIBLE service. The owner/manager is a very arrogant person who thinks he can mistreat people. Today we went and we were two people, but a friend called and said she´d join us so when the waiter came we told him we were not ready to order. His immediate reaction was to tell the manager, who came back to us and told us we had two minutes for our friend to arrive or else we should leave (notice that there were 4 empty tables in the place). After that we order bread and they just said no. DO NOT GO THERE if you think you deserve respect.

Read All 26 Reviews >>

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