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All Reader Reviews of...

Morandi

211 Waverly Pl., New York, NY, 10014
at Charles St.
212-627-7575

Avg. Rating

8
Food: 8
Service: 7
Décor: 8
"Recommended"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

77% would go back.

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too much attitude

By honestfood on 5/13/2008

  • Overall Rating: 1
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 1
  • No, I would not go back!

Why would anyone care to give them any business when there's so much attitude with their staffs? especially their Manager! Please don't eat there. Walk down 7th ave and there's Centro Vinoteca with much better deco and friendlier staffs.

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59 out of 135 people found this review helpful.

Go if you want to wait an hour and a half for mediocre food

By lw41852p on 4/11/2010

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 2
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

I live a few blocks away from Morandi and I went for the first time last night. When I got there, we were told we would be seated in 30-45 minutes. We ended up waiting an hour and a half. My pasta had too much pepper and my cheese appetizer was simply tasteless. On top of all of this, the hosts and hostess were very rude when I asked for the second time when we would be seated. They continued to lie about when we would be seated and clearly were making fun of our party behind our backs when we began to get angry with how long we were waiting. This place is loud and crowded. and the only good thing about our visit was our nice waiter and the bread guy.

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114 out of 234 people found this review helpful.

Avoid at all costs - prices on the menu are not the ones you'll be charged

By piccola13 on 7/28/2010

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 6
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 3
  • No, I would not go back!

Morandi's winelist seems deliberately misleading. Go for cocktails and you'll find a a list with 2 columns, one clearly with glasses priced $7-14, and another column with prices from $16-32. When you receive the bill, surprise! The wine list only included glasses and "carafes" of BOTTLES of WINE. The price of the wine bottles will be $20 or more higher than that indicated on the menu. Nowhere is the price of a bottle indicated on the menu. The server won't ask if you want a carafe or a bottle. In fact, don't try to order one of the "bottiglie" from the menu- bottles in Italian - or you'll may even more. Apparently, "bottiglie" at Morandi means HALF bottles. See http://www.morandiny.com/menus/wine.pdf.

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99 out of 199 people found this review helpful.

a poor dinner choice - not special enough to merit the prices.

By peegeenyc on 8/30/2010

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 4
  • Décor: 4
  • No, I would not go back!

I have had brunch here many times, and occasionally dinner. last night the scales fell from my eyes, and I saw Morandi for what it was - a distinctly average fake Italian bistro, with very high prices. A piece of swordfish on your plate comes as just that - a modest sized piece of swordfish. If you want a single vegetable for your $26 entree, then thats $8 extra. 4 gulf shrimp are $29, and that is what you get: 4 unadorned shrimp on a plate? - add tax, add tip, and thats a $38 plate of 4 shrimp. Well enough cooked, yes, but really... our bill for these 2 plates one vegetable and a small carafe of wine was $112, with tip, $135. no desert, no coffee, no appetizer. Thats too much, plain and simple. I don't begrudge Mr McNally his high prices in the best spots - Minetta Tavern or Balthazar, but this just isn't up to that level, even remotely.

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110 out of 206 people found this review helpful.

Morandi - In line with expectations

By TheelsDS on 4/25/2007

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 7
  • No, I would not go back!

Morandi is exactly the type of restaurant you would expect McNally to create if he were to venture out of the French bistro and into the Italian trattoria. That being said, I think the food here is at least a full notch below the quality of his other restaurants (at least Pastis and Balthazar – I haven’t yet been to Schiller's), however this is difficult to say definitively, given our limited dinner order. But Morandi really isn’t about the food experience – it’s about the celebrity experience, truly a place to see and be seen. At least in its early months, it has more of a club-like ambience, cloaked in restaurant garb. Our mediocre food was intensely spiced-up by two celebrity sightings; Cindy Crawford and Uma Thurman both sat within earshot of our table. And Keith McNally himself was also roaming the restaurant and made a lengthy stop at Uma’s table directly behind us…this confirmed to me the essence of Morandi – you may not eat like gods, but at least you will dine among them.

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199 out of 401 people found this review helpful.

More Than Excellent Brunch

By Greenwhich_and_W_12th on 6/13/2007

  • Overall Rating: 7
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 7
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

The brunch menu is huge, the fruit salad is the second best in the City, there are lots of creative egg dishes and plenty of non-egg meat and fish dishes, the breads are fantastic, and it's a great space to be in the morning. The prices are steep ($6 orange juice, etc), but it is Manhattan and the brunch does not disappoint.

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209 out of 387 people found this review helpful.

SCENE but not heard.

By foodlovingteacher on 6/24/2008

  • Overall Rating: 7
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 8
  • Yes, I would go back!

Though the food and the scene at Morandi remain a constant draw to this Waverly eatery, the average New Yorker may feel slighted. While celebrities, fashionistas and captains of finance hold court at the tables with ample leg room, the "lesser" Manhattanittes may object to tiny amounts of space and an abundance of attitude (and little attention) from the master of the hall. Even still, I will be back.

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69 out of 133 people found this review helpful.

Fun, Authentic Feel

By nyumaven on 11/2/2008

  • Overall Rating: 7
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 6
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

I went there for Sunday Brunch, and was immediately impressed. The decor was great, and i really felt like i was in some other country. The menu was interesting, very 'simple' foods, but done well, although the prices were a bit high. The whole experience was very nice though, i will definitely be back. Great for one of those days you feel like splurging just a little bit, enough to feel like your really having brunch and not just eating the same cheap food at the local diner. The vibe just made it all worth it, the music the lighting, the raw brick walls all just came together with the food and the scene to make it a good Brunch.

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64 out of 137 people found this review helpful.

expectations

By piggle on 8/6/2007

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

hesitant to check out moradi because of the bad press it has received since opening, we were delighted by our recent dinner there... the waiter was attentive yet relaxed... the food was delicious... the prices were reasonable. maybe morandi has had a little bit of time to work out the kinks, but as a frequent patron of mc nally's other restaurants, i think ppl probably just had unreal expectations. give mc nally a break. it's def a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

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183 out of 345 people found this review helpful.

Nice Night...

By Marc01 on 8/3/2009

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 6
  • Yes, I would go back!

Good food, nice ambience. Stay away from the flank steak!

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152 out of 280 people found this review helpful.

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