Lavagna Restaurant
“I opted for their rigatoni entree, which I'd read about in Yelp reviews, and it lived up to expectations, delicious.”
“I've also tried the monkfish and pasta with braised rabbit – both seriously good, EVEN though I don't typically eat either monkfish or bunny.”
“It is located on a quite block in the east village the ambiance is romantic and intimate, mostly lit with candles.”
Lavagna Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Cute cozy Italian place tucked away in the corner of E5th street. Came here around 9pm on a Saturday night with my girlfriends and we were seated right away. The seared scallops with parsnip puree and crispy pancetta was simply divine. Our favorite of the night was the Rigatoni with spicy sausage with a tomato cream sauce was so good! I had the Fedelini Fini which was very simple with toasted garlic and tomato sauce but yet very delicious. My other friend had the fish with risotto. I couldn't remember the exact name of the dish because it was a special. It tasted quite bland. It could've used a little bit more salt or some sort of seasoning. Service was a bit slow, but we didn't mind because we weren't hungry and was busy chatting away.
Lavanga was delicious! A small little authentic Italian gem in the heart of the East Village. I came here with a group of 4 on a Saturday night sans reservation and somehow by the grace of god we got seated right away. It was packed in there but still the service was pretty quick considering how fresh the food tasted. I stuck with the Fedelini Fini, a simple spaghetti with tomato sauce, and isn't that just the mark of a great restaurant? When you can order something so simple and it still blows your taste buds away. It was superb. I also tried my boyfriends Pappardelle with braised rabbit, and on the OTHER end of the simple spectrum, this complicated dish of paper thin papperdelle noodles and soft-as-butter braised rabbit was so phenomenal it had me taking 3,4,5 bites just to "make sure I really liked it". The wine menu is also great and our waiter was more than happy to help us make a selection. And the icing on the cake: when one guest in our party drank a bit too much of said delicious wine and fell out of his chair, the manager came over almost apologetically, and very, very, caring. A+.
I had a friend visiting for July 4th weekend and I wanted to go out for a nice dinner to celebrate. I was able to snag a reservation at Lavagna last minute and decided to give it a try. I'm so glad to have discovered this hidden gem so close to where I live. The atmosphere is cozy and casual and the food was delicious.
Food: I started off with some steamed mussels in a light tomato broth. The mussels were soft and luscious and the tomato broth was very fresh. What a great start to the meal! For my entre I ordered the short rib pasta and my friend ordered a mushroom pizza. My pasta tasted homemade and the short ribs were very flavorful. The dish was very light for a pasta dish and I managed to inhale the entire bowl. My friend's mushroom pizza was also quite good. I would highly recommend the pasta here.
Overall, an affordable, casual Italian gem that I will definitely be back for.
So I actually loved the food here. The rigatoni everyone talks about is worth the price of admission. And my pork chop was also absolutely delicious. It was deeply satisfying in so many ways and the flavor combination was spot on. But I can't go more than 3-stars here.
So we came here with a bunch of folks who really hadn't made the proper reservation for such a large group. Not the restaurant's fault at all, I know. But I can't really excuse the "brusque" service that may or may not have been a result of our colleagues' oversight.
That was the first thing. The second thing was the fact that we were pushed into an uncomfortable corner to wait until the table was ready (the only alternative being going outside in the cold)- bumped and jostled in this really small restaurant.
Finally, I didn't have the seafood, but the folks who did said it wasn't fresh- not the octopus, not the COD, nothing. No excuses- I could detect that "fishy" smell even from where I sat.
The ambiance- the place is small, very red, and very loud. Not a turn-off for me in general, but just be prepared.
Given the seafood issues, can't say we'd go back actually…
Lavagna is a very tiny Italian place Downtown.
Emphasis on TINY.
The food however was great.
We had a pasta dish with sausage and a creamy tomato sauce and it was bliss.
The food was so good that it almost made me forget how terrible the service was.
The host was incredibly rude right from the get-go.
He seemed a bit overwhelmed, so I'll give him some slack…
The food was so good it definitely warrants another visit in the future.
Really enjoyed this cute little Italian place in Alphabet City. Took advantage of their Sunday Supper prix fixe deal (one appetizer, one entree and dessert per person). For appetizers we had the octopus ceviche, which was tender and fresh and had the perfect amount of lemon, and the kale Caesar salad, which was crunchy and immensely satisfying to eat. For entrees I had the rigatoni with sausage, peas and tomato cream sauce, which was definitely too rich and decadent for a hot Sunday afternoon, but completely irresistible. My friend had the pasta special, which was fettucine with fresh ricotta, ramps, and prosciutto. All the food was delicious, service was very friendly and the atmosphere is very neighborhood-y. I would definitely come back!
We went here for Christmas Eve dinner and were absolutely blown away. The owner greeted us by name, and even though we were disappointed by the 25 minute wait (we had a reservation), he was extremely apologetic and gave us the first round of drinks on the house.
The restaurant is TINY but the ambiance is super cozy and perfect for a date or small get-together with friends or family. The waitstaff was really friendly, putting up with our repeated requests to refill the bread basket and our annoying orders to share almost all our dishes.
The appetizers at our table included the mussels, the kale Caesar salad (a play on words that we definitely pointed out), and the insalata mista which I really enjoyed. We shared the rigatoni (a huge serving), and my brother and father both got the steak and said it was out of this world. I had the special veal – wrapped in prosciutto and covered in a creamy lemon sauce with sides of potatoes and spinach. It was the perfect size to follow salad and my share of pasta, and it was delicious. I would definitely only recommend going here if you're ready for some unconventional Italian dishes – they don't have your usual caprese, but they do treat you like family.
Had a nice meal here with the family. Service was attentive and friendly. We had three appetizers to begin with (for six people) – the scallops, octopus carpaccio and prosciutto. My favorite was the scallop dish, but they were definitely tiny and hard to share between 6 people. Oh well – that is to be expected.
For my entree, I had the pappardelle in braised rabbit. I thought this was a really tasty dish with the paper thin pappardelle cooked perfectly, and really great flavors. I also had some of my boyfriends rigatoni which I enjoyed, but we both agreed the pappardelle was the winner here.
We had a birthday in our party and were brought a chocolate cake with a candle which was very nice, free of charge.
Overall, a cute place in the east village to get some good Italian food. I would go back if the situation presented itself.