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Spina
Categories: Restaurants Italian Restaurants Tapas/Small Plates Italian, Tapas/Small Plates [Edit]
175 Ave BNew York, NY 10009
Neighbourhoods: East Village, Alphabet City
(212) 253-2250
- Nearest Transit:
-
1 Av (L)
- Hours:
Mon-Wed 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Thu 5:30 pm - 11 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 12 am
Sun 5:30 pm - 10 pm
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Classy
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
137 reviews for Spina
Review Highlights
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"The wine list offers an incredible selection." In 18 reviews -
"I had the squid ink tagliolini." In 12 reviews -
"Amazing homemade pasta." In 6 reviews
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137 reviews in English
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Review from Ed W.
Manhattan, NY
4/29/2012
I live on the same block as Spina, and I really like this place. It is a bit pricy, but they take their time and make things fresh -- including the pasta. The result is an excellent meal.
They have a great happy hour when you can get a nice plate of meatballs for $5. They are terrific.
The service has always been friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable.
My one complaint is that the portions tend to be small for the price, but this is New York. -
Review from Lauren L.
3/20/2012 6 photos
To kick off my birthday eats, my parents and I dined at Spina in the East Village Friday evening. The deciding factor here may or may not have been the fact that they had pumpkin gelato on their menu. But I should have known better. I also enjoyed the fact that they made their pasta fresh and in house. If I'm going to indulge in pasta, it might as well be good.
Luckily we had made it just in time to squeeze in one more drink under their happy hour special. And by just in time I mean by like 2 minutes. Not only did get we get drinks, we also got mussels in a tomato broth and a my dad tried the meatball sampler. A bowl of mussels and 6 meatballs each for five bucks, you can't really go wrong. My dad was a little hesitant about the meatballs because one pairing was lamb, but our waiter Kyle highly recommended them. The mussels were your standard dish, in a nice light tomato broth with chunks of tomato and a nice hand of garlic. Also to start was some bread with sundried tomato dip and whipped ricotta and truffle oil! Uhhh enough said. And the bread was warm!
Now since it was my special weekend, I of course wanted to split. I wanted some fish and fresh pasta in my life! It was just a matter of who I was going to get to split with me and WHAT I was going to split! Once I conned my mom into it, which didn't take much we had to make big decisions here. I picked for us, the halibut and the butternut squash gnocchis. When I asked which veggie based pasta and both Kyle and another Spina worker both suggested the sun dried tomato Fettuccine. With that being said I then asked if they would be willing to do half portions of each. That was a big no. But hey, you never know until you ask! The plates here are a smaller portion but don't fret. The gnocchi dish was made up of ricotta di bufala, brown butter, sage, cherry tomatoes and parmigiano reggiano. Precious little nuggets of love were in an over sized bowl just waiting to dance around on my palate. The ricotta was extremely fresh and creamy. The sauce the pasta was in was amazing, you can't go wrong with brown butter and sage!
The halibut really caught my eye because it was paired with quinoa. The dish was quinoa, hen of the woods mushroom puree, crispy shallots. Basically all of my favorite things. When the dish first came out it went to my mom ... I was eager to switch. But at first bite, I wasn't impressed in the least. It was flavorless. It wasn't until you got a bit of the quinoa, the mushroom puree and fish that the flavors were more present.
My dad got the highly recommended meat based pasta dish the Saffron Gnochetti. These little babies were made up of veal, beef and pork tomato ragú. He thoroughly enjoyed them and did not regret his decision. Again a smaller plate but still filling nonetheless.
When it came time for dessert, my heart broke a little bit. The pumpkin was off the menu. However, when we were walking in my mom and I eyed the tiramisu and they made it the way she likes --- no ladyfingers. So we had an order of that along with the three scoops of gelato. The gelato was not gelato. It was definitely ice cream which was a let down but I still ate it. The tiramisu was award winning, light, fluffy and full of espresso flavor!
The service here was well versed in the menu especially for a newbie and for all my questions. We were well taken care of throughout the entire meal. I wasn't in love with our seating arrangements but at least the food picked up the ball for that. I guess my expectations were a little higher, I wasn't overly impressed and certainly won't be running back. -
Review from Kelley C.
Manhattan, NY
3/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Spina is kind off the beaten path, but I am so glad we found this spot.
Atmosphere is a bit loud, very very cute.
Service is very attentive, we had three different people helping us during the meal - and it was crowded while we were there.
Food was excellent. The wine list is very extensive, not so much by the glass, but a lot of bottle options. We started with the mussels which were very good. To die for pasta! Made fresh from a pasta bar, but the dishes are thoughtful and very delicious!
I will definitely come back! -
Review from John B.
Mentor, OH
5/22/2012
It was love at first sight. I was walking from the West Village feeling disappointed at how gentrified it has become. The East Village was a welcome oasis from the rampant commercialism of the West Village. Spin has the perfect balance of being upscale, while down to earth. The happy hour is very affordable, the food is amazingly fresh and the servers are angelic. I look forward to many return visits.
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Review from Heidi B.
Manhattan, NY
5/21/2012
Excellent food and service! My husband and I stumbled upon this place for a cozy Sunday night dinner and the tiramisu is incredible!
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Review from Ben L.
New York, NY
5/17/2012
A little expensive, but wonderful wine list and great pasta dishes! Definitely recommended
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Review from Louis P.
New York, NY
5/15/2012
The food is just great! Homemade pasta with seafood that was prepared to perfection. The meatball appetizer was one of the best that I have ever had. The chocolate souffle was the perfect ending to a great meal. I would say that this is one of the best Italian restaurants in NYC. The staff was also really friendly and the place itself has a relaxed atmosphere. I will be back again!
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Review from Debbie d.
New York, NY
5/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
Ordered Orrecchiette Pasta ($19) and Squid Ink Fettuccine ($21). Pasta is good, but I probably won't come back because $20 for a small portion of pasta is a tad pricy. Chocolate souffle was very good for $8. Service is good, two thumbs up for the yummy bread w/ truffle dip!
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Review from Matt H.
Brooklyn, NY
5/5/2012
What a true "neighborhood gem!" We simply discovered this place on a stroll around Alphabet City, and we are sure glad we did - Spina is home to some of the most fresh and perfectly cooked pasta in the entire city - on par with Lupa, honestly - and as you sit in the dining room, you can see it being cut right before your eyes. the service was friendly and knowledgable about the extensive wine list, and the truffle-buttery spread for the bread was to die for! the ingredients were top quality and fresh as can be - from salad to dessert - each dish was clean, rich, and delicious. A great place for a date, friends night out, or any time the pasta craving kicks in!
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Review from Luarnie B.
New York, NY
2/13/2012
Went here for dinner yesterday with a friend. We were the only one's in the entire restaurant, I'm assuming everyone was at home watching the Grammy's.
The place has a great atmosphere--intimate and warm. The service was great, and the food was superb. However, the portions were quite tiny. I agree with the other reviews, it's literally a handful of pasta on a huge plate. So please, if you're hungry, order a few appetizers before your main entree.
They start you off with their bread and whipped ricotta (i'm assuming they also add butter) w/ truffle oil and an infused olive oil. Both were quite tasty. For appetizers we tried the grilled cauliflower and polenta--no complaints. Next time, I'd want to try out their tour of meatballs. For entree's I got their ink pasta with lump crab meat. The dish was good, but again, the portion was quite ssssmedium. My friend ordered their special for the night--tortellini stuffed with 3 different types of mushroom. I didn't try it, so not sure how it tasted.
Regardless of portion size, I still would come back again, but I probably would have a burger at Bad Burger down the street before hand... -
Review from Gillian K.
New York, NY
3/27/2012
Fantastic Happy Hour deal. $5 bowl of mussels and $3 craft beers. I went with my friend who is an experienced Spina HH-goer. She knew about the complimentary foccacia bread and truffle-riccotta spread so when our waiter didn't bring any to the table she asked for it. Maybe it was because the waiter was new, but had we not received the bread or truffle ricotta, I might have given Spina 3 rather than 4 stars. But let me tell you, that truffle ricotta is TO DIE FOR. Service was nice and the atmosphere was laid back. The mussels were great and I'd definitely come back for this special!
Listed in: Best Happy Hour
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Review from Anthony C.
San Diego, CA
1/2/2012
I have been to Spina before and really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. For this most recent trip, I had friends visiting for new year's and wanted to take them to a nice Italian restaurant with great food.
I bought a Savored deal for $10 that would give our party of four 30% off our entire tab, great deal right? Before we showed up, we had another friend who wanted to come, so we added a fifth person to our reservation. To add the fifth person, we agreed to drop the Savored discount from 30% to 20%, which was a little annoying but understandable.
Here's where our experience went bad. Monday's are half off bottles of wine over $60. We decided to order a bottle of wine for $65 expecting the final price to be $32.50 (half off). We would have definitely ordered a cheaper bottle if we were going to have to pay full price, but because of the "Monday Night Special" we ordered the more expensive bottle. When the bill came, we were charged $65 for the bottle of wine. When we asked the waiter why it wasn't 50% off for the "Monday Night Special", he said, "it doesn't work when you are using a Savored deal". He continued..."I never said you guys would get 50% off the bottle and you heard me saying it to other tables".
First, we are not listening to our waiters conversations at other tables and, the 50% off wine deal was advertised all over the restaurant and outside before you walk in. Long story short, our conversation led us to believe the waiter fully expected us to bring up the issue after he gave us the bill. Additionally, he clearly saw us order off the "Monday Night Special" menu and knew that the fact that we wouldn't get the deal was not disclosed anywhere.
The difference was only about $30, but it left a bad taste in our mouth, especially because the manger didn't even try to work with us and was very combative when we brought the issue to his attention.
All and all the food was great and, besides the issue mentioned above, the service was great as well. Spina, I expect a higher level of professionalism from such a great restaurant. -
Review from Michael F.
Manhattan, NY
1/24/2012 Seated via OpenTable
The food is good, but the prices are highway robbery. Be prepared to spend $20.00 - $25.00 for a handful of pasta served in an ENORMOUS plate which makes you feel like you are getting screwed big time (and you are).
I went here last weekend and the manager was very gentlemen like when we entered. He pulled out all of the stops - took our coats, scarves, and personally led us to our table. When the bill came he turned into a different person. Very stern, stubborn, and borderline rude.
They serve free bread, but one slice at a time. The bread itself tastes more like a KFC biscuit than authentic Italian bread. There are much better places in more convenient areas in the city that serve decent portions at decent prices. Keep looking!! -
Review from Saara H.
12/10/2011
Oh my God I love this place. Absolutely my new favorite restaurant in New York. Outstanding service, very reasonable prices, incredible food, perfect portions, and an awesome playlist.
I love the staff at this restaurant. Everyone I interacted with was overwhelmingly gracious, accommodating, and attentive. And thank goodness for Spina's size - I called in on Saturday morning and was able to grab a reservation for 9 people for the same night.
Every single person at our table, vegetarians included, loved the food. Everything from the dipping sauces for the bread to the malloreddus was perfect.
I have to comment on the song selection in the background - I never thought I would hear Tupac's "Hit 'em up" or the "Watch the Throne" album while lingering over my tagliolini in an intimate Italian restaurant. The music isn't played loudly so I don't think those people who don't like hip hop would find it obnoxious, but for those who recognize the songs or at least can appreciate a good beat, such a welcome surprise. -
Review from Judi D.
Manhattan, NY
12/17/2011
This is one of my favorite places in the city to go for special nights.
BUT the service has really slipped lately and I am concerned.
The same server I have had a handful of times who used to be helpful and has become a little cranky.....
I'm concerned.
The food is still the BEST, but something is definitely up.
I can see by the other reviews that the service has really gone down.
He's still very attentive, just seem super unhappy.
Not so fun for the patrons!!
But still go here on sunday or monday to try some fancy whine half off, and eat some of the best fresh pasta in the east village! -
Review from Caise B.
Manhattan, NY
4/3/2012 Seated via OpenTable
Best Italian in the city. Seriously.
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Review from Helen Y.
New York, NY
11/16/2011
I have to agree with Hana Y about service here. The waiters need to take a chill pill. I had arrrived early for my reservation, the place had empty tables, and my friend was running a bit late. The host first seem hesitant to seat me without my friend, but did upon my insistence. Once seated, they kept coming over to check if we were ready to order. At one point, I became a little impatient and just asked told them we were not ready.. Once the food arrived, they seemed in a rush for us to finish and several times tried to clear the plates before we were finished, though the restaurant still had empty tables. I was waiting for them to pull the tablecloth out from under us. Tbey did leave a note for us to do reviews. I put down all my comments about the rushed service. I wonder if the waiters threw the comment card out because obviously other Yelpers had the same problem.
The food itself, tasty and would merit 4 stars if I were just reviewing food.We had the prawn appetizer, Gameroni, and the prawns were huge and came in a tasty wine sauce. My friend had the buffalo mozzarella salad. For entrees, I had the fettucine with the hen in the woods mushrooms...delicious and light, and my friend had the orecchiette pasta with the lamb sauce. She said her pasta was chock full of flavor but the lamb was too rich, a bit too greasy. My pasta was exquisite.Just a gripe. Pasta is relatively inexpensive so I don't know why these nouvelle pasta places love to give you a huge plate with a dollop of pasta in the middle. With the appetizer, wine and dessert we were full. But if we had ordered just the pasta, the meal would have seemed skimpy. All in all, it was a nice meal. -
Review from Hana Y.
Long Island City, NY
11/11/2011
I don't know, guys, about all these great reviews.
When I first walked in, I was a bit early for the reservation. I told the host so, and he asked me if I would like to sit at the bar to wait for my companion or if I would like to sit at a table. It was empty but for one table at this point. I asked if it was okay to wait at the table. Then the host with an attitude goes, "Well usually we don't let people sit down before all the parties are here," but proceeded to seat me at a table. Was that really necessary? Why say that if you're going to seat me anyway? What's the big deal?
Later, after my companion arrived, we ordered a bottle of wine. Then, the waitress asked for my ID.
I found this rude. I UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY that restaurants have a duty to ask for ID, and that I look young. I get carded at bars all the time. But, I've never been carded at a nicer establishment like this one. Especially since my companion is quite a bit older than me. I dunno, I understand I'm not being completely fair with my reaction, but when I'm paying a decent amount for dinner, I like to be treated like the adult that I am.
The food was fine. The portions aren't great. I would say this would be a great place for a date, but I don't think so, since I hate feeling unpleasant due to bad service on a date. -
Review from Vivian X.
Franklin Square, NY
2/20/2012
I really wish I could give this place 4.5 stars instead of just four, but alas. I was tempted to rate it a 5 star experience, but something is holding me back; I think five stars should be reserved for a truly magical and life changing (or palate enlightening) experience and while Spina definitely shines, I don't think it has quite reached that level yet!
(AKA, imagine Remy from Ratatouille - 5 stars is only when food makes me experience color and sound and every ingredient in a new and exciting light.)
My dining companion and I went to Spina sometime last year (in August, I think) and we walked in right as they were opening for dinner. There was some crazy and inexplicably cheap offer of the Polpettine di Carne for a mere $5!
Needless to say we promptly said yes to a plateful of that. They were all good, but I think the Turkey & Lamb ones were my favorite, since traditional meatballs are easier to come by (and there are tons of places renown for having really outstanding meatballs).
My friend ordered Gnocchi I believe and the few bites I snuck off her plate were fluffy and soft and nearly made me regret my own order. That I didn't have utter and irrevocable food envy is a wonder since I tend to immediately develop cases of green-eyed jealousy once everything arrives. My Orecchiette was just too beautiful. I don't even like kale generally, but there wasn't a single thing I did not love on my plate.
Despite all these great bites, what really makes me think longingly of Spina late at night is their whipped ricotta. More specifically, the absolutely delicious truffled version that came with the complimentary house carbs - I seriously wish they would sell it by the pint. My kitchen would never be without! -
Review from A. M.
Chicago, IL
3/26/2012
Had a great experience at Spina. Went with a few girlfriends and we were really obnoxious to our waiter but he was awesome and dealt with us in a very humorous way. Service was excellent.
Food was delicious...extremely fresh and tasty. Everything is really great, so you can't go wrong, except some of the portions are smaller for the price (hence 4 stars). But what you do get is really quality food in a cute atmosphere. Music was good, crowd was 20s/30s, and the place was perfect if you want a smaller, non-mass produced trendy place. Definitely will return and recommend! -
Review from james c.
Manhattan, NY
12/1/2011
Its a great neighborhood restaurant. I would come here for the happy hours, they have great half off apps and the wine and beer is also discounted. I typically fill up on those half off apps of meat balls and mussels, They've included a new spicy one which i think is better than the old version. Soak your bread in the buttery sauce and its all good.
Their pasta is very good, i've tried most of them. I think my favorite is the one with the snap peas and lamb. The pasta portions are small so stock up on relatively discounted beer, wine and apps! -
Review from Akira O.
Updated - 1/31/2012
I recently returned to Spina and it was not the Spina I enjoyed the last time. Something changed. I ordered a few dishes I liked last time, but they were not nearly as good, it was as if the old chefs had left without proper transition. Sadly I do not think i will return.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/17/2011
I would call Spina a local gem. The decor and menu have no frills but they serve solid dishes,… Read more »
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Review from Ana G.
Manhattan, NY
3/14/2012 Seated via OpenTable
Fresh pasta was really good and innovative!!
Good Lambrusco, but unfotunately they didn' have Grappa!!! -
Review from Elie C.
New York, NY
4/10/2012
Decor is rustic, beautiful and romantic. Our food was very delicious. We had the seared scallops for apps, lobster with squid ink papperdelle, lamb ragu pasta and chocolate souffle. They didn't rush you out. recommend.
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Review from Jacqueline Y.
New York, NY
3/20/2012
i was pretty excited about this place from reading the reviews, but seriously not impressed. you had to give it to the owners, they tried; with the tentative service and cleaning of the tables after each course, the truffle whipped butter and sun dried tomato pesto that accompanied their not so good bread, the long but pricey wine list. (although they do offer 50% off on any bottle over $60 on Mondays and Sundays) and having the homemade pasta being rolled out for all to view. but the meatball trio (turkey, lamb, and pork) were room temperature when they arrived and was not tasty, our entree was decent, squid ink pasta with crab meat, and you can't really go that wrong with a side of spinach, although it could have used less oil. whoever put $$ for this place is wrong and should be $$$.
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Review from Sergio M.
Manhattan, NY
8/28/2011
I recently had dinner at Spina. The restaurant was semi-empty but we were told that we had a choice of eating outside or nothing. I asked if we could sit at the bar for dinner and they seamed hesitant.
When we sat at the empty bar and began to look at the menu my date put her purse on an empty chair but was immediately asked to remove it from the chair to place it on the floor or on a hook.
The owner was rude and we felt they did not want us there. We will never go back and I don't advise anyone to eat there. There are so many other places in the city with nice and polite service.
As far as food we have eaten there before and it is just ok, it is not worth it! -
Review from Katy D.
7/24/2011
Visit #1 - A great Saturday night with a friend's parents. She knew the owner of the restaurant so we indulged: the mussels are fresh and succulent and the Fagottinno was melt-in- your mouth divine. For the entrees, the old adage applies: it's not the size that matters...these puppies fill you up! I'm quite a fan of the Malloredus..delic. We had reservations, were seated promptly, and opted for the Finger Lakes (GO LOCAL!) bottle of vino
Visit #2- Another Saturday night..Fantastic, friendly service that was helpful with wine and dish pairing. We opted for the Privitivo bottle, and at only $40 was a terrific purchase. This paired VERY well with the Gnocchi and my dish, the Tagliolini. Unfortunately, the Tagliolini was not as flavorful as I would've liked, and the pasta got cold pretty quickly..bummer..but a great pairing with the wine. But the Branzino?! Wow. Wow. Wow..wow. What a great flavor. And this visit included three desserts. Let me premise this that I'm NOT a dessert eater, but I had a moment after indulging in the cheesecake with blueberries, the tirimisu and the chocolate lava with ice cream...
Only reason I would not count this as a date spot- Great, low lighting but noise level is a little above average for a romantic date spot. -
Review from Kate F.
1/6/2012 Seated via OpenTable 1 Check-in Here
LOVED Spina. Really nice waitstaff, great food (though the pasta courses are true pasta courses ... ie not giant)....I cant believe how many good Italian places are in this area!
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Review from Jaime H.
6/7/2011
EXCELLENT happy hour. Spina really sets the standard high for an affordable and enjoyable happy hour in Manhattan. It goes until 8pm Tuesday through Friday.
$5 bowls of mussels - the portion is large and enough to easily split with a friend or two. The mussels are simmered in a yummy white wine sauce that is delicious when soaked up by the compimentary focaccia they serve.
$5 plates of meatballs - three meats with three sauces, two of each.
$3 draft beers - excellent choices like Peroni, Heferweizen, etc. and served in large quality glasses
FREE unlimited focaccia with truffled ricotta cheese and a sundried tomato spread. The truffled ricotta spread is worth the trip alone!! SO good.
The service is attentive, the outdoor seating is in a quiet section of town, and they don't hurry you out or pressure you to order dinner. It's one of the best happy hours I've seen, I'll definitely be telling everyone I know. -
Review from T M.
San Francisco, CA
7/9/2011
The food was good but not great. The highlight for me was probably the truffle (oil) infused ricotta. The pasta was decent - nothing to write home about and nothing I couldn't make in my own kitchen.
The service sucked. Period. We waited for everything during the meal, and once it was done, waited another thirty minutes for the bill. And then waited another fifteen minutes to get our credit card back. Awful.
The food wasn't bad though, and they do have outdoor seating. -
Review from meghan j.
Hoboken, NJ
12/19/2011
came here with a large group for my boyfriend's birthday- it wasn't bad but i expected more.
first off, the manager, Salvatore, was extremely accommodating with my group considering we were late to our sat night reservation. We were total pains in the ass and he was very gracious towards us, and i appreciate that! the rest of the staff were meh, not rude but not very friendly. the overall attitude and ambiance here was very good for such a tiny place!
our wine was blah, and the appetizers weren't very impressive. the meatballs were unnecessarily tiny- we had to get 3 orders for 7 people. the mussels fell short of my expectations as well, a few people in my group got a bad mussel here and there, ew! but, the broth was soooo good with some bread!
the entrees were delicious and fresh but i don't know what to think of the portions. yelp is calling this "tapas" or sharing plates, but they really aren't. you don't typically share a pasta dish plus, the prices are not in line with tapas at all. although i was totally satisfied with my portion of malloredus, the men in our group complained about the servings being too small.
dessert was hit and miss. my sis and i shared the chocolate souffle and loved it and a friend got the pumpkin cheesecake- it was not good. tiramisu was a nice portion and tasty as well.
overall, i would come back but it did not exactly meet my expectations in terms of the food. -
Review from Jammy P.
Brooklyn, NY
6/29/2011
This restaurant has almost become the only place I eat Italian anymore! I've been here for both dinner and brunch and the service, food and prices are always great.
They do an incredible special on Sunday and Monday nights where all bottles of wine costing $60 or more are 1/2 off! This has afforded my friends and I to have some amazing wines that we normally never would have been able to otherwise.
The staff is outstanding too. Joe is especially attentive, good humored and accommodating. I am a vegetarian and he always recommends the best dishes.
I'm excited to come here again for brunch soon and take advantage of their outdoor seating. The polenta pancakes with ricotta and fresh berries are killer, plus they do a special on bottles of Prosecco. You get an entire bottle for just $10 and we order a carafe of OJ and voila! -- DIY mimosas! -
Review from Sara N.
Philadelphia, PA
5/1/2011
Tourist Trap
Pretentious atmosphere and some of the rudest staff including the RUDEST general manager.
Overpriced menu, small portions, very rude staff.. whats to like?!!
Also, you better review your check carefully they charge you for items not ordered and add tip.. (I guess hoping you wouldn't notice)
There are too many places that are way better so don't waste your time or money.
I really wanted to like this place based on the reviews but it was an EXTREMELY disappointing experience. -
Review from Megan C.
7/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
I came to Spina armed a Gilt City voucher and a serious appetite. So many of the places that offer deals on Gilt or Groupon or Living Social are total and complete crap (at least according to the yelp reviews, and what else matters, really?), but Spina's reviews convinced me to give the fabulous deal a try. Two appetizers, two pasta entrees, two desserts, and a bottle of wine?! YES!!!
The man and I were instantly impressed with the cute space and the fabulous, personable service. Making a reservation was a breeze and there was none of the stank face in regards to our voucher. (We all know it happens.) There were only two choice for wine - a red and a white - but, lucky for me, the red was a malbec. It wasn't the best I've ever had, but it's hard to mess up a malbec.
We both went with the polpettine di carne appetizer. Our server was a little dismayed that we didn't choose two different ones, but neither of us could refuse the promise of meatballs. Turkey meatballs in a cream sauce, lamb meatballs stuffed with kalamata olives in a tomato sauce and pork meatballs in a balsamic reduction. Two of each and they were deeeelish. I was particularly fond of the pork because I'm am ALL over balsamic.
I went with the garganelli for my entree and I was way into the texture of the housemade pasta. It was cooked perfectly al dente and the sauce was yum. I thought the fava beans were slightly undercooked, but everything else was awesome. My man was equally pleased with his orrechiette with braised lamb.
We finished off the meal with an order of tiramisu (WAY better than most I've had) and some sorbetto - peach, grapefruit, and blackberry cabernet. Each flavor seemed to have a slightly different texture and I was in heaven. We capped it all off with one of the best cappuccinos I've ever had. Seriously. I don't know what it was, but I didn't want it to ever end.
Deal or no deal, go to Spina! You won't regret it! -
Review from Kiwii Q.
Manhattan, NY
7/8/2011
Every dish that we order was AS GOOD AS IT GET!!
The staffs were very friendly and helpful while we were trying to figure out what to order (since we're not familiar with that type of cuisine).
The wait for the food was not long, about 15-25 mins max.
I went there a while back ago actually, last November, but the experience there was as clear as if I just went there a few days ago!
Ok, I do not have much more to say, but YES, STRONGLY RECOMMENDED! -
Review from Holly F.
Jersey City, NJ
1/20/2012
I don't believe in such thing as a perfect restaurant so I'm trying really hard to find something wrong with Spina but I just can't! The mussels were delightful in their generous bed of creamy sauce. The food was exquisite as you would expect from fresh, handmade pasta. The waiter was so attentive he was borderline stalkerish, but in a good way, like Big Brother with an Eastern European accent whose life depended on you having an excellent dining experience. The wine glasses were gigantic and lightweight which accentuated the taste of the wine. I guess the only downside is... seriously can't think of any right now... I'll get back to you.
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Review from Michael E.
Collingswood, NJ
2/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
MOVE ON! GO ELSEWHERE!
This is the worst restaurant I have ever reviewed on YELP! THE WORST! I think I've reviewed around sixty different places, and I'd go back to all of my other 1-star reviews 100x before I'd go back to Spina.
For people who use Yelp a lot, you'll understand, this is one of those Yelp anomalies that, with shocking uncharacteristically good reviews, looks good on paper but sucks something fierce in reality that you unfortunately run into from time to time.
Our server, Salvatore, who is somehow entrusted to 'manage' the restaurant as well - his business card (which he drops on the table) says 'general manager', was about as bright and helpful as a burnt out lightbulb underneath 1000 tons of lead.
He was condescending and rude and half the time he was drinking wine at the bar. He couldn't have cared any less.
I would give this place zero stars if I could. -
Review from Jason G.
4/9/2011
Amazing amazing brunch place. $10 bottles of prossecco.
I got the special, which was $11. It was two eggs done any way I wanted (I got them poached), with french fries, and smoked salmon on baguette with capers and marscapone sauce. It was AWESOME. All of it. Except the eggs, which were just normal poached eggs.
The french fries were basically homemade potato chips. And they were amazing. The smoked salmon with marscapone was genius. Never had something like that before.
The quantity of food was just right. I also noticed that my friends, with different orders, had plates of food that looked similar to my mine. All brunch meals here seem to fit in the same standard form factor. Same amount of fries, area for eggs, and something else. Each area comes in standard size.
We had calzones with nutella for dessert. Amazing. I mean, small little calzones. Not big ones filled with marinara, but small ones with powdered sugar and nutella. Heated up. Delicious -
Review from Christopher O.
Manhattan, NY
8/3/2011
If I could give 4.5 stars, I would. Great pasta and attentive service, though the place definitely gets loud.
I used a Gilt City coupon, and it was definitely worth both the money and the visit. The appetizers were good, though I think a bit too avant-garde. Wonderful presentation however. The main course of pasta were amazing, and it's pretty cool to see it made right there in the kitchen. Though portions looked small, both of us ended up not finishing the entire plate. Both the chocolate souffle and gelatos desserts were very good - I find that I haven't had a bad dessert in quite some time, but nothing has really knocked my socks off either. Again, excellent presentation. Also, fantastic service throughout - attentive without being hovering.
The tables are a bit close together and noise definitely echoes, so this is probably not an ideal first date. However, it's worth the visit for anyone looking for a great pasta dish. -
Review from Isaac L.
Lawrence, KS
2/9/2011
It's been more than a month since I've eaten here--for my girlfriend's birthday-- but this should in no way reflect on Spina; I am just slow. We made reservations and were somewhat late, but they still nicely accomdated us. Small, homey, feel. I had the squid ink tagliolini. Before coming here I didn't even know squid ink was edible. I'd consider myself a relatively adventurous eater, so I had to try it.
It makes the pasta (homemade!) look extremely unique, as it is half dark, and half light, and I believe it adds a slight taste. There was so much seafood in the pasta! Normally when eating pasta I get disappointed in how little seafood there is in there, but I promise, here you will not. The red pepper flakes add a perfect amount of spice.
My girlfriend had the garganelli with duck, which was delicious too, and also had a lot of meat.
Our waiter also kindly recommended us some tasty wines to match our meal, and gave us the happy hour special even though the time had passed by a few minutes.
The souffle with vanilla gelato was a perfect ending, with candle. They had called me to confirm my reservation, and I told them about the birthday event and the candle with desert- and they remembered!
The only complaint was service was a bit slow. By the time I paid the bill, it was taken by another waiter. Oddly enough, as we were leaving the restaurant, and we saw the waiter walking on the sidewalk. Perhaps he needed a break?
I will remember my visit fondly.
