Bistango

I adore this place. As a gluten intolerant gal who LOVES italian food, this place is heaven sent. Not only is the food always supremely fresh and delicious, the staff makes you feel as if you've just come home after being away for a very long time..every time. It's one of the few places I can go with absolutely anyone, and never feel like my dietary restrictions get in the way.

Recently I brought my visiting parents here for a nice dinner before they left town. They were so incredibly impressed. Anthony (the owner) came to our table and treated them like kings and queens. They really enjoyed the food, down to the last bite! (As did I!)

Do not pass up this place if you are interested in having a wonderful meal, with a caring staff, in a romantic/relaxed/cozy environment. I always feel a million miles away from the city once I've stepped through the front doors! Thank you Bistango!

Pros: atmosphere, service..everything really

Cons: none

Posted 12/03/09

They had an excellent selection of wines and the food was to die for! The staff was so friendly and attentive, but I mean I'm a regular there anyways so they really do go out of their way!

Pros: Food & Service

Posted 11/16/09

We live nearby so we often gather friends here or love to introduce Gluten-Free folks to Bistango. From the moment we walk in, owner Anthony or one of his gorgeous daughters welcomes you like family, and Bistango feels like home. Dipping our fresh bread into the olive oil heaped with garlic, we can always find something new on the menu to try or a delicious fave like lemon scallops fettuccini or jumbo prawns in fiery tomato sauce. The house wines by the glass are so good that we rarely order a bottle from the extensive wine list. Sometimes Anthony will also surprise us with a little taste of Sambuca to go with desert. But really, it's the warm personal service from all the staff that keeps us coming back time and time again.

Pros: Warm atmosphere, fresh & tasty food, caring personal service

Cons: Bit small so sometimes noisy if parties

Posted 11/21/08

We stumbled upon this place on a cold and snowy night about a year ago when we did not want to venture too far from our apartment for dinner. Ever since we have been going a couple of times a month.
Tony, the Manager/co-owner always greets you with a warm friendly welcome and if you bring first time guests he always makes them feel welcome. Recently they remodeled and have created an even warmer more cozy setting for a delicious dinner at reasonable prices. The service is impecable and most of the staff have been there for a long time and they always remember you by name. That says a lot about an establishment, I belive Tony keeps his staff very happy. As a regular customer, I love going to Bistango. I am treated like family, the warm and friendly staff always accomodates me and my guests and more times than not, something special, like an after dinner cordial is on the house courtesy of Tony the manager. I highly recomend this place, it truly is a special place.

Pros: Food is great!

Cons: tables are close together

Posted 10/15/08

My wife (a celiac) and I went there last Friday and had a wonderful meal. You can always tell how good a place will be by the sauce. Wait staff and bus staff were really well trained. Started with GF and regular little bruscettas that were bursting with flavor. Started with calamari braised in tomato sauce and it was like butter. Tender and flavorful. Grilled baby artichokes with roasted garlic was heavenly. Tomato and Mozzarella was fresh. Table bread was artisinal rustic country italian with hard crust and tender middle. Soaked everything up. Pasta Fagioli soup was really simple and delicious. Some places go too far with ingredients and spoil it. Finished with House Pasta dish made with GF pasta. Chicken, sun dried tomatoes, broccoli. It was great, too. Very deep flavors. I am looking forward to going back and trying some of the other dishes, too. Nice wine list but only a few in the under $40 range. Not unusual for the city but didn't match the food prices which are very reasonable. Lastly - for the GF folks, the staff was very accomodating and concerned.

Pros: Calamari in sauce, Gluten Free stuff

Cons: None at all

Posted 10/01/07

Great casual Italian restaurant. Very cozy and manager makes you feel at home. Food was delicious - could eat here every week.

Pros: Cozy, romantic, great Italian food

Cons: Small

Posted 03/04/07

Stayed in Murray Hill for a week and ended up at Bistango three times. Walking about we perused the menus at each restaurant. Bistango's menu was appealing and reasonable so we gave it a short. Lunch was delish and we felt we had a first class meal at a great price. A couple of nights later we couldn't decide what we were in the mood for and decided to go for a sure thing and went back. Again, we were extremely pleased. The owner was there and made a point to stop by and struck up a conversation...not a mandatory appearance, but a geniune interest in what brought us to his restaurant and desire to ensure we were pleased with our meal. Our plans changed the last night in town and we ended up taking a local to Bistango with us. She'd never been there and was thrilled with the find. The owner recognized us the minute we walked in the door. Food fantastic. Service attentive. The calamari is perfection! This place would be a gold mine in our hometown. Do not hesitate to dine at Bistango!!

Pros: Great food. Reasonable prices.

Posted 10/05/06

Went to NYC for the weekend and looked up GF menus online - found Bistango and I am so glad we did. Went there for supper and loved it. The GF pasta is GREAT and it's so nice to be able to order and feel comfortable that you are getting GF food and not have to go through the "speech". :) The ambience was so romantic and my husband really enjoyed his non-GF entree as well. The prices were very very reasonable for the location, ambience, taste, and service! I only wish they were located in my hometown! :) Our only negative comment is that my husband would have liked to been able to order a beer on tap, but there weren't any, and I would have loved to order a glass of Riesling wine instead of only by the bottle.

Pros: Ambience, Taste, Price

Cons: No beers on tap, Need wines by glass

Posted 04/24/06

Nothing special here. The food was very salty, the menu was very predicatable, and we even had to wait 30 minutes for a table for 4 on a Wednesday night.

Pros: inexpensive, good service, friendly manager

Cons: average food, long wait

Posted 09/15/05

Been there a couple of times and the service and food were almost always fantastic. It is more stylish than your regular neighborhood restaurant but the service and atmosphere are still very much an old world style -- relaxing and unrushed. The owner is extremely pleasant and attentive. The food was above average, although the one dinner special I ordered was not very good. But the other items I have eaten there before were all very delicious. Great for dates and special occasions.

Posted 02/23/05

I love eating at this restaurant. It seems that the people who go are all friendly with the staff and owner. Once you go they remember your face. Everyone always asks for the owner, and he often hooks them up with free things. He topped off our glasses of wine the last time we were there. On Valentine's Day they brought us chocolate liquor as a surprise. The staff is very friendly...the food is fantastic...the ambience is cozy for family or for a date ... and the value is terrific.

Posted 02/22/05

I went to Bistango with friends to celebrate a birthday, and we had the best time. The food was great, but not too pricey, and the atmosphere was perfect. All the amenities of upscale dining without the price. The staff was fantastic... attentive and friendly, but not overbearing. Definitely a place to try if you like italian food. :)

Pros: atmosphere, price, service

Posted 01/29/04

very romantic with white tablecloths and candelight.. also has music playing in the background.. excellent start to the meal with thick and hearty homemade bread to dip into a small bowl of fresh garlic and olive oil.. the linguini with seafood is very filling and tasty.. the coup de grace is when the owner sometimes gives a complimentary drink at the end of the meal, which for my girlfriend and I was grand marnier.. the apple crisp for dessert with chocolate and black raspberry ice cream was scrumptious.. the service was excellent.. definitely will go back again.

Pros: romantic, service

Posted 01/15/03

In one word: Inconsistent. Service has ranged from adequate to extremely helpful. Sometimes the food is a crapshoot. I've been knocked off my chair by an appetizer, yet at the same meal spent 45 minutes trying to chew though the toughest steak I've ever encountered. Stick with the pastas and pizzas and you shouldn't be disappointed. But then again, you never know...

Posted 08/29/02