Il Mulino
“For dessert we split flourless chocolate cake and a tiramisu (accompanied by the complimentary grappa).”
“Old school italian done up in a place that reminds me of my aunt's house in North Jersey.”
“I've had then tuna carpaccio in a delicious creamy sauce and langoustines with spinach – all to die for!”
Il Mulino
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
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This is the best Il Mulino I have been at (have been to the other NY location and Tokyo) but I would say can be a bit overrated for the experience and price. The dining room is small, and even though I had a reservation we ended up waiting 30 minutes for a table. The arrabiatta is my favorite dish but also the only entree we enjoyed.
Meh don't get the hype of why ppl would pay high prices for this restaurant that's $$$$ (i barely thought the RW price was worth it)
food is more rustic italian instead of fine dining but nothing was amazing and presentation was lacking
servers were very attentive but we almost felt rushed and had to tell them to calm down! as soon as we sat down they were throwing complimentary appetizers to our table and clearing those plates before we were even done and ready to move on!
–complimentary: salame, fried zucchini, bruschetta, and parmesan cheese… nothing stood out although i liked the bruschetta the best
–bread basket: they've got a variety of breads in here including a crouton that is REALLY OILY & salty but if you get the right piece I guess it can be good
–caprese salad: i've had better mozzarella but not bad
–porcini ravioli: the sauce was already forming a film as it sat in front of me.. nothing special.. paid an extra $10 supplement to try their pasta too
–chicken parm: their version is very thin.. again not particularly noteworthy
–flourless chocolate cake: although i loved the rich chocolate taste & texture, it literally looked like they just cut the thinnest sliver possible and slapped it onto the plate
don't think it was the fact that we went for RW, although the regular menu wasn't offered during this lunch
NOTE: free coat check, just tip of course; proper attire required
Small cozy and classic – this traditional upscale Italian spot is an absolute gem. You know that you're in for a great night when the staff is all Italian and within seconds you have free food on the table. Il Mulino is the type of spot where you are shelling out a bit of cash, but you end up feeling like such a VIP that it is worth it.
Not only does Il Mulino start your night with typical bread and olive oil – they also brought out delicious parmesan cheese, garlic zucchini and a few other bites.
Our server was so much fun and took great care of us – his presentation of the specials had us all laughing because he was so enthusiastic and playful. He ultimately took the wheel for the appetizers and just brought out a spread of his favorites.
Out of the starters the burrata with prosciutto and sun-dried tomato was a must try.
I get a bit nervous at Italian restaurants trying to find gluten free options, but they were able to substitute GF pasta with any sauce that I liked. I ultimately got a delicious gluten free spaghetti with alfredo sauce, grilled chicken and sweet peas – yum.
The portions were huuuuge so I had lunch for the next day – although it definitely was more delicious before reheating. Next time I'd maybe lay off the starters to leave more room for pasta!
Plus the after dinner drink was a great touch as well.
Not cheap, so mostly a great place to check out when my parents are covering the bill, but the quality is top notch – and the extra special treatment is worth it.
This restaurant is great. It is small and intimate. I had a thin pounded veal sautéed with arugula, tomatoes and onion. It was so tasty. I felt I could still taste it after I left. The restaurant is a bit pricey but worth the experience.
There is nothing more wonderful then returning to a restaurant after a twenty year absence and one, finding it open and two, enjoying a meal that is just as delicious as the last. To our great relief, Il Mulino continues to shine at this downtown location.
We were not here for Restaurant Week. Rather, we came to celebrate our twenty fourth anniversary with our sixteen year old son. Long ago, Il Mulino used to be known for not immediately honoring reservations leading to legendary waits. Not so this evening. We were immediately taken to our table by the friendly captain.
The meal got off to a great start with a wonderful assortment of nibbles. Fried zucchini, garlic bread, bruschetta, mussels. Delicious.
We selected a nice red wine-2013 Ca' Marcanda (Gaja) Promis Toscana. Although delicious, it was obscenely priced. This bottle retails for between thirty eight and forty five dollars. Here it was marked up to 150 bucks. I understand the need to mark up bottles at restaurants. But this just seemed excessive.
Back to the food. Our appetizers were fabulous. My son and I both had the shrimp in a spicy garlic(arrabiata style) sauce. Glad we had bread available to sop up the sauce. My wife had artichoke hearts in a butter sauce with bacon. Although superb, one of the hearts was not trimmed appropriately. When paying a fortune for food, it should be. Some of the white fluff lodged in my wife's throat causing a transient irritation that thankfully cleared and was forgotten by the time the entrees arrived.
The enteees. My son ordered a special, a full rack of lamb with roasted potatoes. I ordered the famous veal chop with fried sage and garlic and my wife had Orecchiette with broccoli rabb and sausage. Our meals were epic. The meats were grilled to order. I wish I could have captured the look on my son's face when he was presented with the rack. My wife's pasta dish, her go to order in any Italian restaurant was splendid. I'll dream of my veal chop for many moons to come.
Desserts were good. Chocolate cake, tiramisu. Nothing extraordainary but tasty. My wife's coconut sorbet was excellent, served in a coconut. nice touch. Complimentary grappa was appreciated and enjoyed.
It was a wonderful evening and we hope to get back soon. Looking forward to having Lobster Mulino next time that I enjoyed back in 1989. I can't wait.
Old school, old world, steady, consistent, tried and true IL Molino is a benchmark classic Italian restaurant much like The Old Homestead is a classic steak house.
The minute you walk into (this downtown) Il Molino you can pretty much guess what's going to be on the menu – traditional Italian food with no frou frou pretense or celebrity chef flare. This is a welcomed relief in this time of flavor of the month signature chefs who try and reinvent the wheel. IL Molino gets the fact that chicken parmigiana is simply that – chicken parmigiana.
Our large party of eight was treated to so many appetizers and pastas I couldn't possibly name them all but all were fantastic.
My main which was veal piccata was huge and fantastic. The wines were great and the service was better.
With soooooooo many really good restaurants in New York, it's always nice to come to an "Steady Eddie" place that just reeks of the "New York" thing, i.e. tuxedo'd waiters and white table cloths and red sauce pouring out if every dish imaginable.
I loved this place!
We went to Il Mulino on a Monday during restaurant week. We ran in to the restaurant at 1:19 for a 1:15 reservation and the waiting area was packed. We checked our jackets (you want to do this on busy days – the dining area is tiny) and waited.
We were seated at 1:45. After being showed to our table, little appetizers started showing up. They gave us a basket of soft and garlic breads, fresh Parmesan cheese bits, bruschetta, and zucchini chips – all absolutely fantastic and a welcomed surprise. Everything was very garlicky but quite flavorful and well constructed.
For our meal, we ordered two apps, two entrees, and two desserts, per the restaurant week menu (I am attaching a screenshot of the full menu):
CAPRESE SALAD – One slice of mozzarella, two slices of tomato. The mozzarella is extremely fresh and creamy. Excellent dish.
PENNE ALLA ARRABBIATA – Al dente pasta in a spicy, chunky red sauce. Another excellent dish and a reasonable portion for an appetizer.
SALMON – The salmon entree came with capers, olives, and tomatoes in a red sauce. The portion was also quite big, being that RW lunch is $25 for 3 courses.
CHICKEN – Similar fixings to the salmon, with zucchini as well. Didn't love this as much as it was a slightly fatty cut of chicken, but still had great flavors.
FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE – Very chocolatey/heavy (essentially fudge); comes with some sort of whipped cream and some fresh blueberries and raspberries.
TIRAMISU – Also a hit. Same fixings as the chocolate cake. Very light and airy.
The food was extremely good and I was very happy with it. The only issues that we had were being seated a little late, generally being rushed (although, with the restaurant week crowd, this is what we expected), and how the servers treated each other.
Let me explain myself on that part. It was a little uncomfortable to sit back and enjoy lunch with the head server speaking rudely to the other servers and the bussers. Being in a hurry and being direct are one thing, but the way they were being spoken to was uncomfortable to watch.
Additionally, the check had both a line for the servers tip and the captains tip. During restaurant week, a lot of young people come out to try restaurants that they otherwise may not be able to afford every day. No one made an effort to explain to us who was who or how the breakdown worked. While we would have been happy to compensate someone, we were unsure who the captain even was. It made us feel a little awkward because we had no clue how much to leave each person.
All in all, it was a good experience. I think that if there had been a little more teamwork on the staff, this could have been a five star review. The $25 lunch special for restaurant week is an absolute steal for this place. Highly recommend.
Short version: service was too rushed, meat quality was mediocre, sauces and desserts were great, but the ambiance could use decor updates.
I made a 12pm lunch reservation during restaurant week, arrived on time with my full party and was seated immediately.
We were given wine menus and asked if we were ordering wine- it was lunch so we declined wine and asked for water. There was something odd about having to ask for water and not having water served to us before asking about wine.
Then a flurry of hands laid down restaurant week menus, a basket of breads, a plate of fried zucchini slices, two slices of salami, and some diced tomato salad with crouton on our plates. Unfortunately one of the cheese breads served was so hard I thought it would pull my teeth out by biting into it- but all the other amuse bouche were great.
Before we could even comprehend what had just happened, we were asked if we were ready to order, which we weren't. We were literally only 3 minutes into sitting down and saying hello to each other. About every 2 minutes after that we were asked if we were ready to order until we decided to give up having a conversation and just order in the hopes that would help us have an interrupted conversation.
We both ordered a penne arrabiatta starter and chicken entree. The food came out quickly, the sauces were very delicious with plenty of flavor and spice, and the pasta was great. The only problem was that we barely had time to enjoy it because 3 different servers tried to take our plates before we were even finished! After the third attempt we just gave up and let them take it.
The chicken cuts and meatballs that were part of this special entree were merely edible- not the highest quality cuts of meat with many fatty or chewy parts. The sauce was good- but I'll never order that chicken dish again and I was tempted to send it back because it was so undesirable. Instead I just let the over-eager servers take that before it was finished as well.
The only time I felt like we got to relax and enjoy our meal was during dessert- when they had no more reason to rush us along. The flourless chocolate cake was amazing and the tiramisu was like a tasty cloud of air.
I really wanted to enjoy my meal here- but the pressure to keep moving forward during our meal really ruined that for me and overshadowed any of the experience that was desirable.
Honestly- I don't know if I'll come back to give it a second chance. I'm curious to see if it's any better for the evening service- but the entree didn't make me thrilled to come back either. I'm a very high rater- so it pains me to give a low rating but I think there are a lot of improvements that could be made here, especially considering how many other amazing Italian dinner options there are in a few blocks walk.