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Home > Restaurants > 'Cesca

All Reader Reviews of...

'Cesca

164 W. 75th St., New York, NY, 10023
nr. Amsterdam Ave.
212-787-6300

6.2 "Mixed Reviews"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
64% Would you go back?
50% Would you take a date?
14% Would you take kids?
64% Would you go on business?
50% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 6.3
Service: 5.8
Décor: 5.7
Value: 5.5
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  • Showing reviews 1 through 10 of 14

Eh

miumiu22 from 11206 | Posted on 11/14/09

Overall Rating: 5 (Mixed Reviews)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 5
Service: 5
Décor: 5
Value: 5

Just okay.

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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Eh

miumiu22 from 11206 | Posted on 11/14/09

Overall Rating: 5 (Mixed Reviews)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 5
Service: 5
Décor: 5
Value: 5

It was okay.

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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good As Ever

bettygirl from 10001 | Posted on 10/27/08

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? Yes
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 9
Service: 8
Décor: 8
Value: 9

I went to 'Cesca last week and I have been going there for years. I love the warm inviting atmosphere and the food is the best it has ever been. I am thrilled that 'Cesca is consistently busy especially in this economy. I just discovered that they are offering ALL of the wine from their extensive wine list at half price on Mondays and they have a great deal on their pre-theatre menu before 6:30.

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13 out of 25 people found this review helpful.

Bad Policy

augenbraum from 10463 | Posted on 4/2/07

Overall Rating: 5 (Mixed Reviews)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 5
Service: 4
Décor: 4
Value: 3

For a restaurant with these prices it is shocking that when I arrived a few minutes before my early evening reservation and before the other two members of my party had arrived they would not seat me, even though only two or three tables were full in the entire restaurant and I politely asked to be seated. The food is very good, but not for those prices when you are treated as if you had just entered a trattoria.

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263 out of 536 people found this review helpful.

rip off

kaka | Posted on 6/15/05

Overall Rating: 2 (Not Recommended)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 3
Service: 1
Décor: 2
Value: 1

avoid at all cost bad mannered service 10 minutes with only bread at the table a $12 mini mimosa with tropicana and cheap cava a 1 hour wait for entrees a mediocre meal a $130 bill an aftertaste of bread an olive oil, which was the high point a ruined 40th birthdate

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352 out of 744 people found this review helpful.

incredible arrogance and rudeness

alexisjon | Posted on 3/23/05

Overall Rating: 1 (Not Recommended)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 1
Service: 1
Décor: 1
Value: 1

We had finally gotten a reservation at the highly touted Cesca. Our reservation was for 7:30 and 3 of the 4 were there at 7:25. We told the hostess the 4th person would be delayed (he was at meeting that was scheduled to end at any minute). They refused to seat us even though we offered to order the 4th persons meal, and said we would be put on "a rolling list" since we were not all present at the appointed hour. We were treated with disdain, rudeness and arrogance. We decided to leave after being treated like pariahs. As we left (quietly, no raised voices)the manager said "we'll remember you". There were dozens of people on the waiting list so they were not going to have any trouble filling our table. The place is dripping with the worst of NYC snobbish attitude. Who needs it?? There are too many other wonderful NYC restaurants that are user friendly.

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313 out of 696 people found this review helpful.

Worth the Extra Effort

martin_chamois from West 50's | Posted on 1/14/05

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 9
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 9

'Cesca is an outstanding restaurant. Unfortunately many people know that fact, and therefore it is a difficult reservation to obtain. But either with advanced planning or willingness to sit in the open front section, it is worth the extra effort. The food captures Italy without trying to exactly duplicate what you would eat in Italy. The service at all levels is outstanding. The decor is comforting and promotes a relaxed and friendly dinning experience. If 'Cesca was in any city other than New York, it would be the best in town.

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300 out of 648 people found this review helpful.

Terribly Overrated

Potsandpans | Posted on 1/11/05

Overall Rating: 2 (Not Recommended)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 2
Service: 2
Décor: 2
Value: 2

I have great respect for Tom Valenti as a person and as a restaurateur, and I think his Ouest is the best restaurant on the Upper West Side. But 'Cesca, though not the worst, falls so far short of its promise. I went three times just to be certain that I was not catching them on an off-night. The problem is this: There is a huge difference between using Italian ingredients and serving Italian cooking. For anyone who has experienced genuine Italian food in Italy, it is obvious that 'Cesca is interpretive, and unsuccessful. The food is too heavy, greasy, salty, aggressive. Real Italian food (not Italian-American) is much more subtle. The servers are a combination of arrogant and clueless, and treat customers as if they did not know anything about Italian food -- including a guest I brought from Milano! Back to the drawing board Tom....you may be filling tables, but it is damaging your reputation.

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327 out of 729 people found this review helpful.

Please Don't Go

fadasan | Posted on 12/7/04

Overall Rating: 3 (Not Recommended)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 4
Service: 1
Décor: 3
Value: 1

This was like an Italian Restaurant in a midwest city: awful decor, TV on at the bar and mediocre, uninspired food. Although, come to think of it, in the Midwest, you would at least get some attentive service and pay 1/2 the price (the service was terrible). The food was really boring with cloying sauces and "cooking school" technique. WORST OF ALL, you would pay no less at Babbo. I'm not kidding. I do not get the hype at all. I have even been twice, thinking I might have had a bad first time, and both times it was perfectly consistent: uninspired, unattentive and overpriced. This shoud not be a "Recommended" New York Restaurant.

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264 out of 586 people found this review helpful.

gnocchi-tastic!

newyorkbrit | Posted on 6/29/04

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 9
Service: 8
Décor: 4
Value: 7

Wow! This rivals LUPA for possibly the best Gnocchi in New York. Valenti wisely steers clear of Batali's "simplicity rules" mentality providing a mouth-watering shitake-mushroom gnocchi primi. Other excellent choices from the pasta include the shrimp raviolini with baby tomatoes.

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308 out of 663 people found this review helpful.

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