Overpriced for the quality and portion size relative to other established Italian spots in manhattan
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
john helmer
I know there are a ton of great restaurants in NYC, and this is right at at the top. Awesome food (still craving the parm creme) and Stephano was a gracious host. Brooke at the bar was spectacular (as was the other bartender and staff as a whole). Excellent food, nice and cool people and great atmosphere. If you don't eat here that's on you for missing out on a fantastic meal and experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric Chang
I love Rezdora. It's been a consistent recommendation since it opened. I had no reason to expect Massara would be different, and brought visiting family there to try it out.
From the moment we entered, the front of house was patronizing and hostile about the fact that we'd brought one extra person to lunch. Massara is not uniquely small for a Manhattan restaurant, but it was made to feel as if I was being done an extraordinary favor by adding one more chair to our table, which took more than ten minutes to accommodate, with no explanation (they didn't seat us while they were figuring this out). This weird energy persisted through the rest of the meal.
To their credit, our server and the sommelier were helpful and pleasant. If I was rating them alone, service is 4/5 easy, but front-of-house torpedoed that (more later). The appetizer course was bright and had a lot of nice moments (=2/5 with the food). Then, each successive course followed the same routine: no one would come to replace our plates. Servers would flit in from the kitchen, visibly holding our orders, see that the plates were not replaced, and disappear back into the kitchen, at which point we'd wait an indeterminate amount of time for other staff to show up, clear the table, and then those same servers from before would reenter, now with cold food. This was true of the pasta course and the entrees. We were there for almost 2 hours, of which ~10 minutes were spent eating anything. Maybe, fresh off the line and hot, some of this would have made for a nice time. As it was, nothing was more exceptional than any neighborhood spot you could pick out at random in the city.
I'm loath to write these kinds of reviews, but this place is all fine-dining haughtiness, with none of the attention to detail to support it. It wasn't worth the cost, time, or hassle. To our server/the sommelier, hope the rest of the team figures out how to operate as well as you did. To the front-of-house guy, it's an odd choice to make customers suffer for your own incompetence. To prospective diners, hope you have better luck than we did (or make the smart choice and stick to Rezdora).
Cherry on top: When we were on our way out, we stopped to pick up our coats (it was a snowy day), and my wife's hat's gone missing. The same smug front-of-house guy from the start of this misadventure tells me, dripping with confidence, that he'd stuffed it into "one of our coats," and if we looked around we'd find it. Sure enough, it was in another relative's coat pocket, which seemed to satisfy him immensely. This is lunatic behavior. The hat wasn't a beanie or anything meant to be chucked around – it was a visibly old-school winter hat, handed down and not something you can just order a replacement for. The interior seams were completely torn open. Such a tedious man, and such a tedious experience.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
C J
Valentine's Day tasting menu at Massara. The food was all delicious, especially the pizza and pastas (pizza dough was perfectly chewy and the flavors were amazing). Our server and sum were great but the check in process and coat check were a mess. Also, the chairs were quite comfortable. Overall, food was excellent but we felt a little hungry still at the end (portions weren't big but the dessert was overly large) and the wines were so good but the pours seemed rather stingy. Because the food was good, I would consider returning to taste more of their food.
N.B. The last pic of the 2 pizzas were at Tappo NYC Thin Crust Pizza because we were still hungry. These hit the spot!!
SMALL TASTE Tartellecta “Rossa Rossa Rossa” winter beets in three ways Murgo Terre Siciliane Brut Rosé 2021 APPETIZERS Winter pizzas with bacon charred greens, “San Marzano tomato.” bacon & caciocavallo Bonavita Faro 2019 FIRST ONE Truffled ravioli ricotta, parmesan & black truffle Aldo Viola 'Shiva' Terre Siciliane Catarratco 2017 FIRST TWO Salernitani cannelloni lobster, porcini mushrooms & stracciatella Passo delle Tortore 'Bacio delle Tortore' Fiano di Avellino 2022 SECONDS choice of Braised Veal-Modo Trifolati braised veal with mushrooms in two ways, roasted garlie & parsley Ciro Picariello 'O Pilota' Taurasi 2019 Grilled Arctic Char bell sauces Perillo Coda di Volpe 2020 SWEETS Setteveli cake chocolate & roasted hazelnut Arnaldo-Caprai Montefalco Sagrantino Passito 2018
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Straticella Pizzette
Georgina Bermudez
Amazing experience and good opportunity to experience the Michelin famous Rezdora chef. This is one of the best 2024 openings in NYC, you cannot miss it.
Pastas and pizzettes are the thing to order. Amazing service. Not about large portions, but instead of a dish quality and small batch cooking. Beautiful wine menu. Tangibly proud Italian heritage.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crudo Pizzette
Claire
Food was fabulous, great drinks, fabulous staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Holt
The service and atmosphere was great. The pastas are creative but it’s the pizzette that stole the show, it’s a MUST order!
i loved the touch of complementary seltzer or still water. food was DELICIOUS just very small portions and a little on the salty side. service was excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baby Gem Salad, Octopus
Martin Kohan
The food was delicious. The pizza was amazing, and the pastas were perfect. The only downside were the portions. The pastas were tiny. Another thing that failed was the restaurant itself. It is missing some vibe. And the dessert was very mid. Also loved the Italian lessons in the bathroom 😂
The atmosphere is really nice, and the food is delicious. However, I have to mention that the portion sizes were surprisingly SMALL for the price. While everything was tasty, I left still a hungry!
Nic Garcia
Such a great restaurant, the pizza is out of this world, such light fluffy dough, perfectly cooked. Sweet sauce. The pastas are all very delicious. Very friendly staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Broccoli Rabe and Sausage, Crudo Pizzette
Josh Rubin
There’s a reason this place only has four stars and the small portions don’t begin to explain. A cold welcome in the too cool for school dark entry. Provided name for reservation, and a blank stare later, asked if my entire party of four was present like I was in a lunchroom in middle school being scolded for cutting the line. After a terse exchange explaining one of the four was delayed, and another party behind us overhearing the awkwardness volunteered that they were with us, they agreed to sit us. Climbing a dimly lit steep staircase to the second floor without being asked if that was acceptable we were seated in the back of a loud room with our bags and coats still intact. I had to ask the young man who couldn’t be bothered whether they had a coat check. He offered “well yeah, it’s downstairs!” I said “well can you take this stuff for us?” He then took my coat and bag but my guests felt awkward so held onto their things. Menus on what seemed to be mini-clipboards placed in front of us, we were given a leather bound wine list without explanation. The friendly waitress came over and was clearly speed dating tables in an attempt to turn them as quickly as possible. Knowledgable about the menu, her favorite line was “The chef suggests…” as in “The chef suggests everything be shared.” or “The chef suggests you put your entire order in at once.” I come from the generation of Billy Joel’s “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” where you’re warmly greeted for a lovely meal, the staff is accommodating, and made to feel at home. This wasn’t that place. Trying to make sense of the wine list which opens with pages of paragraphs, the server suggested they have a sommelier who would stop by. Asked what type of wine o liked she directed me to a $125 bottle and I noticed a $95 vino nobile which I ordered. Her disappointment was palpable. We enjoyed it so much we ordered a second later in the meal. Excellent choice. ;-) When we attempted to put in our order of a bunch of apps including the little gem and a few others the server reminded us “The chef suggests…” We then reminded her that this is what we want for now and would be putting in our mains once we decided what we wanted. She was visibly frustrated and said the pastas could take up to forty minutes. Why dishes that take ten minutes took cook could take forty minutes to plate is still baffling. The manager came over and reiterated what the server said and offered to make an exception as though we were being chastised for breaking the rules. Our table decided to enter the entrees ten minutes later. Four pastas and a fish later we were back in the good graces of the staff. Our appetizers came out which we enjoyed. Pastas were served and the server left one of four off the ordered. Ten minutes later she finally came back to see how everything was and we reminded her of the missing plate. Five minutes later it arrived. Ten minutes after that the fish was served. While we enjoyed the dishes there were no standouts each of the pastas provided 3 to 4 bites to each of us. The rationing of portions was tangible and my guests had to make sure we each got some of each dish. The room was so loud we couldn’t hear each other or the server. The temperature was so hot it was uncomfortable. Havent been to a place where I consciously reflected how I felt about the experience in a tip in nyc in sometime. I then nearly faceplanted as I tripped on the two hidden steps next to the elevated host stand hidden near the dark entryway on my exit as I handed the host the claim ticket for my coat. He then coldly pointed to the hidden coat check toward the bar. I was so pissed from having nearly fallen and twisting my ankle in the process I placed the claim ticket on his desk in silence and waited. They say the devil is in the details. Well the devil will surely see the lifespan of this establishment be abbreviated.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Marco Druzetich
I typically stick to writing positive reviews but I’m still digesting my recent dinner here. Pun intended.
This was clearly a case of the staff and chef riding a michelin star from Rezdora and missing their exit.
After an incredibly long week working in bitterly cold weather I was looking forward to having a special meal with loved ones. From the moment we stepped in chaos ensued. The inability to handle coat check, properly take an order without interrupting abruptly, or even seat us was astounding.
The sheer amount of rules, inflexibility and blatant disregard for the client experience leads me to believe humility should be on their menu.
On a positive note, the wine was delicious, food was flavorful and room temperature, and I learned a little Italian when visiting the bathroom.
Delicious food! The corteccia was amazing. Felt like the second pasta dish I had was a letdown, I expected more lobster and lobster taste, ended up with more of a pasta with chickpeas. The easy on the eyes cocktail was delicious, dessert delicious as well.
Overpriced for the quality and portion size relative to other established Italian spots in manhattan
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
I know there are a ton of great restaurants in NYC, and this is right at at the top. Awesome food (still craving the parm creme) and Stephano was a gracious host. Brooke at the bar was spectacular (as was the other bartender and staff as a whole). Excellent food, nice and cool people and great atmosphere. If you don't eat here that's on you for missing out on a fantastic meal and experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I love Rezdora. It's been a consistent recommendation since it opened. I had no reason to expect Massara would be different, and brought visiting family there to try it out.
From the moment we entered, the front of house was patronizing and hostile about the fact that we'd brought one extra person to lunch. Massara is not uniquely small for a Manhattan restaurant, but it was made to feel as if I was being done an extraordinary favor by adding one more chair to our table, which took more than ten minutes to accommodate, with no explanation (they didn't seat us while they were figuring this out). This weird energy persisted through the rest of the meal.
To their credit, our server and the sommelier were helpful and pleasant. If I was rating them alone, service is 4/5 easy, but front-of-house torpedoed that (more later). The appetizer course was bright and had a lot of nice moments (=2/5 with the food). Then, each successive course followed the same routine: no one would come to replace our plates. Servers would flit in from the kitchen, visibly holding our orders, see that the plates were not replaced, and disappear back into the kitchen, at which point we'd wait an indeterminate amount of time for other staff to show up, clear the table, and then those same servers from before would reenter, now with cold food. This was true of the pasta course and the entrees. We were there for almost 2 hours, of which ~10 minutes were spent eating anything. Maybe, fresh off the line and hot, some of this would have made for a nice time. As it was, nothing was more exceptional than any neighborhood spot you could pick out at random in the city.
I'm loath to write these kinds of reviews, but this place is all fine-dining haughtiness, with none of the attention to detail to support it. It wasn't worth the cost, time, or hassle. To our server/the sommelier, hope the rest of the team figures out how to operate as well as you did. To the front-of-house guy, it's an odd choice to make customers suffer for your own incompetence. To prospective diners, hope you have better luck than we did (or make the smart choice and stick to Rezdora).
Cherry on top: When we were on our way out, we stopped to pick up our coats (it was a snowy day), and my wife's hat's gone missing. The same smug front-of-house guy from the start of this misadventure tells me, dripping with confidence, that he'd stuffed it into "one of our coats," and if we looked around we'd find it. Sure enough, it was in another relative's coat pocket, which seemed to satisfy him immensely. This is lunatic behavior. The hat wasn't a beanie or anything meant to be chucked around – it was a visibly old-school winter hat, handed down and not something you can just order a replacement for. The interior seams were completely torn open. Such a tedious man, and such a tedious experience.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Valentine's Day tasting menu at Massara. The food was all delicious, especially the pizza and pastas (pizza dough was perfectly chewy and the flavors were amazing). Our server and sum were great but the check in process and coat check were a mess. Also, the chairs were quite comfortable. Overall, food was excellent but we felt a little hungry still at the end (portions weren't big but the dessert was overly large) and the wines were so good but the pours seemed rather stingy. Because the food was good, I would consider returning to taste more of their food.
N.B. The last pic of the 2 pizzas were at Tappo NYC Thin Crust Pizza because we were still hungry. These hit the spot!!
SMALL TASTE
Tartellecta “Rossa Rossa Rossa” winter beets in three ways
Murgo Terre Siciliane Brut Rosé 2021
APPETIZERS
Winter pizzas with bacon
charred greens, “San Marzano tomato.” bacon & caciocavallo
Bonavita Faro 2019
FIRST ONE
Truffled ravioli
ricotta, parmesan & black truffle
Aldo Viola 'Shiva' Terre Siciliane Catarratco 2017
FIRST TWO
Salernitani cannelloni
lobster, porcini mushrooms & stracciatella
Passo delle Tortore 'Bacio delle Tortore' Fiano di Avellino 2022
SECONDS
choice of
Braised Veal-Modo Trifolati
braised veal with mushrooms in two ways, roasted garlie & parsley
Ciro Picariello 'O Pilota' Taurasi 2019
Grilled Arctic Char
bell sauces
Perillo Coda di Volpe 2020
SWEETS
Setteveli cake
chocolate & roasted hazelnut
Arnaldo-Caprai Montefalco Sagrantino Passito 2018
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Straticella Pizzette
Amazing experience and good opportunity to experience the Michelin famous Rezdora chef. This is one of the best 2024 openings in NYC, you cannot miss it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raviolini, Octopus, Crudo Pizzette
Pastas and pizzettes are the thing to order. Amazing service. Not about large portions, but instead of a dish quality and small batch cooking. Beautiful wine menu. Tangibly proud Italian heritage.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crudo Pizzette
Food was fabulous, great drinks, fabulous staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The service and atmosphere was great. The pastas are creative but it’s the pizzette that stole the show, it’s a MUST order!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raviolini, Straticella Pizzette
i loved the touch of complementary seltzer or still water. food was DELICIOUS just very small portions and a little on the salty side. service was excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baby Gem Salad, Octopus
The food was delicious. The pizza was amazing, and the pastas were perfect. The only downside were the portions. The pastas were tiny.
Another thing that failed was the restaurant itself. It is missing some vibe. And the dessert was very mid.
Also loved the Italian lessons in the bathroom 😂
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The atmosphere is really nice, and the food is delicious. However, I have to mention that the portion sizes were surprisingly SMALL for the price. While everything was tasty, I left still a hungry!
Such a great restaurant, the pizza is out of this world, such light fluffy dough, perfectly cooked. Sweet sauce. The pastas are all very delicious. Very friendly staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Broccoli Rabe and Sausage, Crudo Pizzette
There’s a reason this place only has four stars and the small portions don’t begin to explain. A cold welcome in the too cool for school dark entry. Provided name for reservation, and a blank stare later, asked if my entire party of four was present like I was in a lunchroom in middle school being scolded for cutting the line. After a terse exchange explaining one of the four was delayed, and another party behind us overhearing the awkwardness volunteered that they were with us, they agreed to sit us. Climbing a dimly lit steep staircase to the second floor without being asked if that was acceptable we were seated in the back of a loud room with our bags and coats still intact. I had to ask the young man who couldn’t be bothered whether they had a coat check. He offered “well yeah, it’s downstairs!” I said “well can you take this stuff for us?” He then took my coat and bag but my guests felt awkward so held onto their things. Menus on what seemed to be mini-clipboards placed in front of us, we were given a leather bound wine list without explanation. The friendly waitress came over and was clearly speed dating tables in an attempt to turn them as quickly as possible. Knowledgable about the menu, her favorite line was “The chef suggests…” as in “The chef suggests everything be shared.” or “The chef suggests you put your entire order in at once.” I come from the generation of Billy Joel’s “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” where you’re warmly greeted for a lovely meal, the staff is accommodating, and made to feel at home. This wasn’t that place. Trying to make sense of the wine list which opens with pages of paragraphs, the server suggested they have a sommelier who would stop by. Asked what type of wine o liked she directed me to a $125 bottle and I noticed a $95 vino nobile which I ordered. Her disappointment was palpable. We enjoyed it so much we ordered a second later in the meal. Excellent choice. ;-) When we attempted to put in our order of a bunch of apps including the little gem and a few others the server reminded us “The chef suggests…” We then reminded her that this is what we want for now and would be putting in our mains once we decided what we wanted. She was visibly frustrated and said the pastas could take up to forty minutes. Why dishes that take ten minutes took cook could take forty minutes to plate is still baffling. The manager came over and reiterated what the server said and offered to make an exception as though we were being chastised for breaking the rules. Our table decided to enter the entrees ten minutes later. Four pastas and a fish later we were back in the good graces of the staff. Our appetizers came out which we enjoyed. Pastas were served and the server left one of four off the ordered. Ten minutes later she finally came back to see how everything was and we reminded her of the missing plate. Five minutes later it arrived. Ten minutes after that the fish was served. While we enjoyed the dishes there were no standouts each of the pastas provided 3 to 4 bites to each of us. The rationing of portions was tangible and my guests had to make sure we each got some of each dish. The room was so loud we couldn’t hear each other or the server. The temperature was so hot it was uncomfortable. Havent been to a place where I consciously reflected how I felt about the experience in a tip in nyc in sometime. I then nearly faceplanted as I tripped on the two hidden steps next to the elevated host stand hidden near the dark entryway on my exit as I handed the host the claim ticket for my coat. He then coldly pointed to the hidden coat check toward the bar. I was so pissed from having nearly fallen and twisting my ankle in the process I placed the claim ticket on his desk in silence and waited. They say the devil is in the details. Well the devil will surely see the lifespan of this establishment be abbreviated.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
I typically stick to writing positive reviews but I’m still digesting my recent dinner here. Pun intended.
This was clearly a case of the staff and chef riding a michelin star from Rezdora and missing their exit.
After an incredibly long week working in bitterly cold weather I was looking forward to having a special meal with loved ones. From the moment we stepped in chaos ensued. The inability to handle coat check, properly take an order without interrupting abruptly, or even seat us was astounding.
The sheer amount of rules, inflexibility and blatant disregard for the client experience leads me to believe humility should be on their menu.
On a positive note, the wine was delicious, food was flavorful and room temperature, and I learned a little Italian when visiting the bathroom.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Baby Gem Salad, Crudo Pizzette
Delicious food! The corteccia was amazing. Felt like the second pasta dish I had was a letdown, I expected more lobster and lobster taste, ended up with more of a pasta with chickpeas. The easy on the eyes cocktail was delicious, dessert delicious as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
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