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Home > Restaurants > Il Nido

Il Nido

251 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022
nr. Second Ave.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-753-8450 Send to Phone

Photo by Shanna Ravindra

Hours

Mon-Sat, noon-3pm and 5pm-11pm; Sun, closed

Nearby Subway Stops

E, V at Lexington Ave.-53rd St.

Prices

$28-$48

Payment Methods

American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

  • Business Lunch
  • Lunch
  • Notable Wine List
  • Private Dining/Party Space
  • Family Style

Alcohol

  • Full Bar

Reservations

Recommended

Profile

On the surface, there isn't much that makes Il Nido stand out from the throng of Italian restaurants in New York. One difference is the entertainment of watching waiters finish hot dishes tableside, using gas-fueled carts and lots of copper pans. The menu—heavy on classics like risotto, spaghetti Bolognese, saltimbocca, and whole roasted fish—is complemented by an extensive, predominantly Italian wine list. Tapered candles add a delicate touch to the wood-beamed, brown banquette-lined room teeming with arrangements of Stargazer lilies. The Insalata di Campo, with sottocenere cheese and truffle oil dressing, turns out to be a beautiful plate of mache. And the verdant basil pesto coating the house made trenette is well-balanced, thanks in part to the server grating just the right amount of parmesan as he readies it for plating. Although the kitchen can be inconsistent with other less carefully conceived dishes, you won't leave hungry.

Recommended Dishes

Insalata di campo, $16; trenette al pesto, $28; pappardelle con funghi, $30; scaloppine de vitello "Il Nido", $37

1.0 "Not Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10
Write Your Own Review

Average food at extortionist prices

PhilfromNYC from Fort Greene, Brooklyn | Posted on 12/18/05

Overall Reader Rating: 1 (Not Recommended)
Food: 2
Service: 2
Décor: 2
Value: 1

If you want to leave a restaurant feeling like you've been robbed, then here's your place. Never, ever have I felt so outraged by a restaurant's audacity to serve up barely adequate food to unsuspecting victims and then...Read More