Circo

Circo is the perfect place to eat the best Italian food in the city in a fun environment. Ask for the fried zucchini appetizer and my favorite, the tagliatelle bolognese. If you want to share an amazing piece of meet, ask for the bone-in rib eye. The desserts are to die for, specially the bomboloncini.

Our last of 4 days in Manhattan, we accidentally found this great dining restaurant on 55th near 6th. It was Restaurant Week so prix fix lunch was $29 and so delicious and well executed we were amazed at our luck in stumbling upon it. All told 5 different serving staff came to our outside, white table-clothed table. Each was very adept at taking care of us. We received fresh plates and silverware for each of 3 courses. The food was way beyond our expectations. Go to their website and you may see the Restaurant Week special. One feature we both noticed is hidden surprises in the appetizers and main courses. For example, in my pasta with pesto sauce were rectangular pieces of roasted potato and short cut green beans. In my pressed roasted chicken main course there were marinated pearl onions under the cooked spinach. Everything was delicious. Needless to say, we were delighted and still had little grins of satisfaction on our faces even as we boarded the plane at LaGuardia late that afternoon. I hope your experience at Circo will be as rewarding as ours.

My favorite NYC restaurant! We've eaten here at least a dozen times in as many years. The food and wines are always wonderful and the service is impeccable. Sitting outside last Sunday was perfect. My husband's Branzino, which he shared, and my pasta, was perfect, as well as our beautiful bottle of Sicilian wine. Even though we always try a new hot spot on every trip, we also make a reservation at Circo and we are never disappointed. Circo is often the better place.

Many NYC restaurants are like comets: they shine brightly for a short time and than disappear. Maybe it's a new chef of maybe, once established, they try to cut corners. Circo is a bright star. In the many years I have eaten there I never had a bad dish and, unlike establishments with narcissistic chefs who won't alter a grain of salt on any entree they offer, the wishes of the diner are always satisfied. In addition to the excellent food, the atmosphere is also wonderful. Merit of room manager Bruno Dussin who must have multiple sets of eyes. He scrutinizes every dish that leaves the kitchen and makes certain that the waiters are alert and impeccable. Circo never disappoints and I prefer it to Le Cirque, where the food is a bit too worked for my taste.

Excellent food nicely presented. We thoroughly enjoyed salmon, chicken calamari, authentic soup, tiramusi, gelati. The cocktails were nicely mixed. The somelier's recommendation was perfect. This place is a gem. Sparse Decor is classy. Service couldn't have been better. Not true if you aren't a celebrity you are treated shabbily. For a special event or any time. At the end the Maitre'd asked if everything was to our satisfaction. Yes