Ristorante Grifone
“This cozy little Italian restaurant is about as old school as you can get.”
“I miss Mario, his great staff and of course most of all the great, great meals that enjoyed last year.”
“Grifone is an intimate Italian Restaurant with veteran, professional staff.”
Ristorante Grifone
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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What an excellent dining experience. This is a little old-school Italian joint on a side street that you would probably walk past if you weren't specifically going there. It's a cozy restaurant with a decent amount of tables and a small bar with a few seats. It's a comfortable place to enjoy a quiet meal.
I was alone on business so I opted to eat at the bar. Mario (who I presume to be the owner or GM) promptly greeted me and set me up at the bar. All of the waitstaff are nicely dressed and are extremely knowledgeable and professional. They had some great specials but I was craving gnocchi. It was absolutely delicious and a hearty portion. That's in addition of the complimentary antipasto plate and bread basket.
The prices are much more reasonable than the Italian places nearby and the quality is just as good or better. I'll definitely be back to try some of the other fresh pasta options.
Veal Osco Busco, need I say more! Great Manhattan Italian place, great menu, bronzini, lamb chops, gnocchi, veal marsala, you name it, but I never met an Osco Busco I did not love! Simple but food, if done right, fall off the bone braising technique. Small and simple place, selected it based on Yelp reviews. Classic New York Italian service, love it!
Nice midtown Italian. Not too expensive, with a good selection of specials. Wine list is not bad and nicely priced. Menu is typical for an Italian, not much missing not much more you would add. All in all good meal and would welcome a return.
You're treated right at Grifone. You're cordially welcomed, seated promptly and granted attention continuously thereafter, being experienced enough to strike that balance of just the right touch of service without being overbearing.
Wonderful staff!
The lunch specials announced were well balanced in their selections across appetizers, pastas and main courses. The grilled baby octopus – melted in my mouth! The fried calamari – also super tender and not greasy in the least bit. The Caprese salad w/ Mozzarella di Burrata was heavenly. Four of us split the apps so the waiter went ahead and split up the Caprese salad into four dishes for us to enjoy an equal portion while we passed around the other two apps. Nice touch. The pappardelle with chunks of veal was delicious as was the lobster ravioli and chicken martini dish. Fresh layered crepe cake dessert was light and delicious and the tartufo – well, how can you ever go wrong with tartufo?!
Excellent chefs!
Geez, I have to go back to work after this? I dreamed for a moment that upon leaving I'd throw open the front door and be instantly transported to Tuscany where I could walk alongside the sunflower fields and work off lunch with a wonderful stroll into Siena to witness the townsfolk preparing for the annual Palio race and district celebrations. Instead, sadly, I was dumped back out onto 46th street, with the bustle, noise and smells all too familiar with what I've come to love and hate about NYC.
Escape for lunch one of these days and try Grifone for yourself. Ciao!
This restaurant was an interesting experience. Very intimate on the inside, which to me made it seem very personable. We had a reservation and were seated right away. It took some time to receive menus, this is definitely a place you come to visit your company and not swoop in and swoop out (which is the Italian way).
We ordered two things not on the menu, lasagna and seafood ravioli. And a bottle of wine at usual Italian restaurant prices (~$40 for what you can get for $10 at the grocery store).
An appetizer was brought out on the house, as was bread. A couple of other large groups were there (4+) that had some loud conversations that detracted from the evening. We had a nice table on a corner in which we could sit next to each other and see the room, which was nice. Another couple was seated near us that liked to complain (about life in general) and it was probably more annoying to hear their complaining about the louder groups in the restaurant, than the louder groups themselves.
The food was really really good, probably approaching 4 starts but it just didn't wow me like it could. Very generous portion on the lasagna, not as much on the seafood ravioli, but it there was plenty to eat with the bread and wine for sure. The seafood ravioli had an interesting texture (for the filling), very fine which I liked and distinguishes it from other times I've ordered similar.
The service was quick between ordering and receiving food. We probably sat there for 15 or more minutes after completing our meal (and communicating we didn't want dessert) before a bill was brought. I could have asked for it, but thought it would be more fun to see how long it took (we were in no hurry).
Overall a very classy restaurant, great for small groups, not as much for kids. Easy to find location and great service if you're not in a hurry. If you are in a hurry and want more assembly line Italian, this place might not be for you. Locals seem to come here, so that speaks positively about the repeat experience.
I'd give it more stars but I reserve 4 or more for places I'd revisit in a heartbeat, this was good, but if back in town, might want to just try something else.
I love Italian food and I was excited to try this place based on the reviews. I went with my father and we have very different tastes, but we both agreed the food was average and somewhat bland. I had the pasta primavera and it had very little flavor. I hate saying negative things, but for the price I expected more flavor! The service, on the other hand, was amazing. The staff were very polite, and courteous. He did say he found it somewhat odd that you have to leave a separate captain'a tip.
Expensive, but this little place has the best gnocchi and tomato sauce I've ever had. Nothing else I had from here (except maybe those complementary biscotti cookies for dessert) truly stood out, but I'd be ordering those amazing, fluffy gnocci on seamless pretty often if they were listed.
Had dinner here with a large group, and it was a great experience. Waiter was the consummate professional – perfectly dressed, nice heavy Italian accent, reeled off about 8 specials perfectly, from memory.. excellent service by all. I had lasagne, and it was probably the best I've had in my life. A really great overall experience, would love to return if I have the chance.