It's OK, Greenpoint has much better options for the price. The pastas we ordered felt flat, not bad or good exactly, but lacking in the attentive, layered flavors and rich textures that great Italian is meant to have. And it's far too reliant on lots of salt -- I've never had plain olive oil dip that's too salty before, c'mon.
While the servers were mostly accommodating, our party witnessed the floor manager, presumably the owner, berate both servers in the middle of the dining room over the course of an hour meal. Judging from the other reviews here, that behavior is par for the course for him.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
JJ S
I cannot say it's bad, but it's not good! Not worth it. You can find much better price/quality in the neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Jennifer SIEGEL-LAAS
Given the quality/quantity/price ratio and the offer on both sides of the restaurant, go to both sides. You will be better received, better served and satisfied. $20 for a plate of ravioli, $25 for a plate of carbonara: not only is it excessively expensive, but it was also not good. Have we ever seen onions in carbos? In short, move on.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Almasaurus Rex
We recently had the opportunity to reunite with family and friends whom we hadn’t seen in a while. Initially, we had reservations at another location, but we decided to move our party of 10 adults 2 toddlers to Scalinos, knowing it would provide a delightful experience with delicious food.
While we were enjoying our time catching up, our two toddlers, who are cousins, were being their playful selves. They found joy in playing with the laminated menus, enjoying their time together as only little ones can. Unfortunately, the owner of the restaurant, who had initially been friendly, abruptly snatched the menus from their hands and scolded us— they weren’t being bad, just being kid sitting and laughing playing with the menus. This unexpected behavior deeply affected our evening and left us feeling unwelcome.
At this point, our big party, felt trapped, as we had already settled in. Despite our disappointment, we chose to stay, hoping to salvage the evening.
On a positive note, our female server was wonderful. She understood the challenges of dining with children and provided excellent service, which we appreciated.
It’s disheartening to share this experience, especially since Scalinos was once a place we loved. The owner’s actions left us shocked and saddened, and I hope he reflects on how his behavior impacts families looking for a warm and enjoyable dining experience. After all, I’m sure their cheap menus are nothing compared to the $600 check we paid, which sadly supports an owner that doesn't value its patrons.
Kid-friendliness: OWNER NOT KID FRIENDLY - also violent with out 2 year olds
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Dianne Conjeaud
The owner was incredibly rude!!! My husband and I walked in and asked for a table; we did not have a reservation. The place was pretty busy but there were two or three empty tables. We were told they had to hold them for larger parties (two tables were small fourtops). No problem. The owner said you can sit at the bar, we said sure, thanks. There was a large table opposite the bar with families. They left shortly after we sat and the owner said we could have a table once they cleaned up that area. There were two fourtops and a deuce, the deuce farther from the center of the restaurant (and ambiance) and nearer to the kitchen and just down a hall, the bathroom. We were directed to the deuce. In the meantime other tables in the main part of the dining room opened up. I said to my husband, in French, I hear the dryer from the bathroom. The bartender apparently understood as he asked if we wanted to move to one of the other tables - we said yes thank you, and he started to separate two tables. The owner came over and LOST it!! In response, we said, politely, we prefer to be closer to the action and not near the bathroom. He said: You're lucky to have a table! In Paris you eat in this much space, indicating a tight space. I said, Yes when there are no other options... and then he went on about his bathroom being the cleanest in Brooklyn. My husband was about to sit down where the bartender had made room, and I said no, I don't want to frequent a restaurant where I'm being YELLED at... and, bizarrely. the owner kept at it. He was saying how the restaurant was going to fill up in no time. No sense of service, or civility for that matter. It made no sense. We eat out often and have NEVER experienced someone so unhinged... completely irrational; we were perfectly normal, polite, happy to sit at the bar (not relegated to the last table as if being punished). I thanked the bartender for trying to accommodate us. We've eaten there a few other times and the food was decent, but I will NEVER go back, and I will be sure to let everyone in the neighborhood know. And they said the French are rude. Also, Italian restaurant but nobody who works there is Italian. Just saying...
Service: 1
Fangzi Luo
Waited for 40mins and had a horrible pasta that’s not worth $20+ by any chance. We ordered black truffle pasta and the first try had no flavor but oily cheese. They then changed it with a different one and it’s only average level. The salad we ordered is only in poor size with plenty of oil.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
User R
Went for another spot, which was packed so we came here instead. Very pretty spot. Overall enjoyed the food. The menu doesn’t have a lot of non-meat options (for those of us who eat halal/kosher/no pork) and we were told the manager doesn’t like to swap proteins in means, I supposed to protect the integrity of the meals?
Either way the food was good, service was good. We left happy and full.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Annmarie Rubman
Romantic spot with wonderful service. We had a nice date night here. My only note is that the food was almost perfect: for each dish it felt like it needed some salt or acidity to make the flavor complete and not flat. But, everything was fresh and well presented.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Claire Sommer
Walked in for a table of 4 on a Sunday on a long weekend. Literally taking the time to write this review over our last glass of wine and dessert. I can’t say enough good things. It’s uncrowded, no frills, incredibly attentive staff, makes you feel right at home or better yet at the local trattoria in Italy. Ordering 6 different dishes and everything was perfectly flavorful, cooked well, not a bad thing. Simple but lovely wine list. We’ll be back. Thank you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Annmarie Rousseaux
Romantic spot with wonderful service. We had a nice date night here. My only note is that the food was almost perfect: for each dish it felt like it needed some salt or acidity to make the flavor complete and not flat. But, everything was fresh and well presented.
I love this restaurant! The food is always consistently excellent. Prompt service. Best tiramisu (homemade) Reasonably priced. ?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jason Silverstein
I give it 5 stars for the quality of the pasta. Apps and sauces were okay but the pasta itself was excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Lucyna Zarkowska
Great people
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Liliana Piotrowska
The food is absolutely delicious, I was genuinely shocked in the most positive way. Both the waiters and the owner are very sociable and the atmosphere screams "warmth". Would come again definitely <3
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jessica Faith
Food was not as dynamic as we’d hoped. Pasta itself was delicious but sauces were a little unflavored.
It's OK, Greenpoint has much better options for the price. The pastas we ordered felt flat, not bad or good exactly, but lacking in the attentive, layered flavors and rich textures that great Italian is meant to have. And it's far too reliant on lots of salt -- I've never had plain olive oil dip that's too salty before, c'mon.
While the servers were mostly accommodating, our party witnessed the floor manager, presumably the owner, berate both servers in the middle of the dining room over the course of an hour meal. Judging from the other reviews here, that behavior is par for the course for him.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
I cannot say it's bad, but it's not good!
Not worth it.
You can find much better price/quality in the neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Given the quality/quantity/price ratio and the offer on both sides of the restaurant, go to both sides. You will be better received, better served and satisfied.
$20 for a plate of ravioli, $25 for a plate of carbonara: not only is it excessively expensive, but it was also not good. Have we ever seen onions in carbos?
In short, move on.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
We recently had the opportunity to reunite with family and friends whom we hadn’t seen in a while. Initially, we had reservations at another location, but we decided to move our party of 10 adults 2 toddlers to Scalinos, knowing it would provide a delightful experience with delicious food.
While we were enjoying our time catching up, our two toddlers, who are cousins, were being their playful selves. They found joy in playing with the laminated menus, enjoying their time together as only little ones can. Unfortunately, the owner of the restaurant, who had initially been friendly, abruptly snatched the menus from their hands and scolded us— they weren’t being bad, just being kid sitting and laughing playing with the menus. This unexpected behavior deeply affected our evening and left us feeling unwelcome.
At this point, our big party, felt trapped, as we had already settled in. Despite our disappointment, we chose to stay, hoping to salvage the evening.
On a positive note, our female server was wonderful. She understood the challenges of dining with children and provided excellent service, which we appreciated.
It’s disheartening to share this experience, especially since Scalinos was once a place we loved. The owner’s actions left us shocked and saddened, and I hope he reflects on how his behavior impacts families looking for a warm and enjoyable dining experience. After all, I’m sure their cheap menus are nothing compared to the $600 check we paid, which sadly supports an owner that doesn't value its patrons.
Kid-friendliness: OWNER NOT KID FRIENDLY - also violent with out 2 year olds
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
The owner was incredibly rude!!! My husband and I walked in and asked for a table; we did not have a reservation. The place was pretty busy but there were two or three empty tables. We were told they had to hold them for larger parties (two tables were small fourtops). No problem. The owner said you can sit at the bar, we said sure, thanks. There was a large table opposite the bar with families. They left shortly after we sat and the owner said we could have a table once they cleaned up that area. There were two fourtops and a deuce, the deuce farther from the center of the restaurant (and ambiance) and nearer to the kitchen and just down a hall, the bathroom. We were directed to the deuce. In the meantime other tables in the main part of the dining room opened up. I said to my husband, in French, I hear the dryer from the bathroom. The bartender apparently understood as he asked if we wanted to move to one of the other tables - we said yes thank you, and he started to separate two tables. The owner came over and LOST it!! In response, we said, politely, we prefer to be closer to the action and not near the bathroom. He said: You're lucky to have a table! In Paris you eat in this much space, indicating a tight space. I said, Yes when there are no other options... and then he went on about his bathroom being the cleanest in Brooklyn. My husband was about to sit down where the bartender had made room, and I said no, I don't want to frequent a restaurant where I'm being YELLED at... and, bizarrely. the owner kept at it. He was saying how the restaurant was going to fill up in no time. No sense of service, or civility for that matter. It made no sense. We eat out often and have NEVER experienced someone so unhinged... completely irrational; we were perfectly normal, polite, happy to sit at the bar (not relegated to the last table as if being punished). I thanked the bartender for trying to accommodate us. We've eaten there a few other times and the food was decent, but I will NEVER go back, and I will be sure to let
everyone in the neighborhood know. And they said the French are rude. Also, Italian restaurant but nobody who works there is Italian. Just saying...
Service: 1
Waited for 40mins and had a horrible pasta that’s not worth $20+ by any chance. We ordered black truffle pasta and the first try had no flavor but oily cheese. They then changed it with a different one and it’s only average level. The salad we ordered is only in poor size with plenty of oil.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Went for another spot, which was packed so we came here instead. Very pretty spot. Overall enjoyed the food. The menu doesn’t have a lot of non-meat options (for those of us who eat halal/kosher/no pork) and we were told the manager doesn’t like to swap proteins in means, I supposed to protect the integrity of the meals?
Either way the food was good, service was good. We left happy and full.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Romantic spot with wonderful service. We had a nice date night here. My only note is that the food was almost perfect: for each dish it felt like it needed some salt or acidity to make the flavor complete and not flat. But, everything was fresh and well presented.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Walked in for a table of 4 on a Sunday on a long weekend. Literally taking the time to write this review over our last glass of wine and dessert. I can’t say enough good things. It’s uncrowded, no frills, incredibly attentive staff, makes you feel right at home or better yet at the local trattoria in Italy. Ordering 6 different dishes and everything was perfectly flavorful, cooked well, not a bad thing. Simple but lovely wine list. We’ll be back. Thank you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Romantic spot with wonderful service. We had a nice date night here. My only note is that the food was almost perfect: for each dish it felt like it needed some salt or acidity to make the flavor complete and not flat. But, everything was fresh and well presented.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I love this restaurant! The food is always consistently excellent. Prompt service. Best tiramisu (homemade) Reasonably priced. ?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
I give it 5 stars for the quality of the pasta. Apps and sauces were okay but the pasta itself was excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great people
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is absolutely delicious, I was genuinely shocked in the most positive way. Both the waiters and the owner are very sociable and the atmosphere screams "warmth". Would come again definitely <3
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was not as dynamic as we’d hoped. Pasta itself was delicious but sauces were a little unflavored.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
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