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With its generically romantic blonde wood, black and white decorating scheme, and recessed lighting, this Carnegie Hill trattoria, perhaps once a destination, can only be categorized as a neighborhood fallback for well-heeled Upper East Siders. The food is predictable, the prices are high, and the clientele doesn't seem to mind dropping a wad of cash on an unremarkable meal. Alas, among pastas, housemade spinach ravioli stands out, light and tender under a tomato sauce made rich with cream. Chicken dishes are simple preparations with fairly proportionate prices but salads and veal, steak, and seafood dishes don't justify their price tags. Zuppa di pesce is a platter of chewy calamari, overcooked scallops, and dry shrimp (their texture sacrificed for the fish, one might assume, which is cooked just right) in a mercifully tasty tomato broth. An octopus salad is Vico's salvation, served at room temperature with chunks of Yukon Gold potato, white beans, Kalamata olives, and a subtle tomato puree. Julio Iglesias and The Three Tenors set at a low volume make either for easy eavesdropping about your neighbor's latest facelift or multi-million dollar sale or for an awkwardly quiet and lonely restaurant, particularly during summer months when most of this neighborhood is on vacation. — Colleen McKinney

Insalata di polipo, $18.50