Celeste

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:
6.1 out of 10
|
25 Reviews | Write a Review
Cuisine: Italian, Pizza

Photo by Shanna Ravindra

Map Rate & Review

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

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.

and to think we waited in line for this abuse ...

hofame from 60047 | Posted on 11/7/09

Overall Rating: 1 (Not Recommended)


Food:	2
Service:	1

Décor:	3

Value:	1

yes, the owner was insufferably obnoxious and overly attitudinal. Unpleasant. Worse than that though were the simple pizzas. Having lived in Italy I know Italian wood-fired pizzas. They were a friend of mine. And let me tell you, Celeste's pizzas are not authentic. Not at all bone-fide, especially put up along side, say, Da Ivo's in Rome. Something more on the order of the ubiquitous mall-centric California Pizza Kitchen pizza. My Nepoliatana was overly salty (yes, I know capers and anchovies are, by nature, salty) and the sauce was pedestrian and skimped on. They were utterly unremarkable pizzas. Worse yet, though, was the sewage smell emanating from along side the right-hand wall (as you enter) where we sat. What was that? Two words; don't go.

Read All 25 Reviews >>

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