Trattoria L’incontro
“Obviously a little expensive BUT it's the best restaurant in Astoria and possibly Queens.”
“My favorites are the Osso Bucco, Short Ribs, Veal Ravioli, Mushroom Ravioli, Arugula Salad, Rack of Lamb…”
“This place is great for occasions, a romantic Italian date night, etc. Highly recommended, they never disappoint.”
Trattoria L’incontro
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Boy was I glad I learned my lesson about making a reservation "Blend on the Water" ago -peep my review for that one!-
I did a little bit of waiting but more due to how early I was then anything else however I heard the wait to be an hour for those with no reservation and this place doesn't really have a bar to hang out at or a real waiting area. I made my reservation a day in advance so worry not just call ahead and you'll most likely find your time slot available.
I have to note that although the food was pretty great and the wine was really good the service was AMAZING!
The one thing about dining at a good restaurant (beyond esthetics) is the quality of service and this place doesn't fall short. You truly feel taken care of and welcomed. This really made the difference for me! I'm glad I yelped this spot it was a pleasant change for my birthday dinner.
I highly recommend the joint!
I went here because it was reviewed as one of the best italian restaurants in New York City area. I felt it meet my expectations. I had the chicken parmagian. It was very tasty. It was juicy and not dry. I like the atmosphere. It was very intimate.
Forget looking at the menu because the list of specials that's coming your way is way more exciting than what you're gonna see on that menu. It was unbelievable how Fabian (think that was his name) actually remembered ALL of last's nights specials, and described every dish in detail. We listened quietly making sure we didn't disrupt him. When he was finally done, we literally applauded him, ha ha.
Best Italian I have ever had! I don't normally go out of my way to Queens, especially Astoria, but this was definitely worth the trip. The girls and I had reservations made for 8:30pm, to my surprise, the place was still jam packed at this time on a Wednesday night. The owner (or manager) came around a few times making sure things were going well for us tonight, nice guy.
Firstly, the bread at the table is not to be missed. Warm, soft pita that came with this amazing sun dried tomato spread which was to dive for. For starters, we shared perfectly fried Fried Calamari, a simple, yet tasty bowl of Spinach Chicken Meatball Soup (soup of the day), and the best Burratina I've ever had. I looked through pictures on Yelp and had already committed to ordering the Osso Buco a couple days before, so that's exactly what I got even though the list of specials sounded so attractive. Fork tender, fall off the bone! Incredible. Rich sauce made with vegetables, the gnocchi was so delicate, yet soft. You can definitely taste the freshness of homemade made on the house. Did I mention how big this thing was? It was certainly for 2, or maybe I just overdid it with the pita bread.
Wait, almost forgot to save room for dessert! The Pistachio Creme Brulee. Where do I even start? UGH, spoon licking goodness. The custard was just decadent, oh, and that sound of that crunch cracking of the sugar? So satisfying. The Tiramisu was outstanding, as well.
I wish I can go through everything we had on our table, but it's pointless. You guys just have to go and see it for yourself. Splendid place, and should be on the top of your list of Italian as well.
3.5 stars
I was so excited to come here because of the raving reviews and pictures! I did not this place was this far either from Manhattan so it's a little journey to get here.
We came during super bowl so it wasn't packed at all. This place is very cute and inviting! I really liked the bread basket they gave with the sundried tomatoe spread.
We ordered beef carpaccio, yellowfin tuna carpaccio, prosciutto wrapped mozzarella, and two pastas off the special.
The beef carpaccio was amazing! The arugula salad on top tasted great. The tuna was honestly okay. There was too much avocados and was little overwhelming. The prosciutto wrapped mozzarella was delicious. The cheese was creamy!
The pastas we ordered were not my favorite. We ordered a mushroom one and a white sauce seafood one. Both were just okay. I prefer the seafood one more!
The dessert was only disappointing too because we found green dye in our pistachio cream brûlée.
The service was top notch and served everything to us to share. They also made sure waters were always filled and if we were always okay.
We've been meaning to try Trattoria L'incontro for years – pretty much ever since I've lived in Astoria as I kept reading about how amazing the food is!
We finally took the time to come here on this past Wednesday night, and I'm so glad we did!
The SERVICE – our water glasses did not get a chance to get empty, and the care and precision that was shown to us almost rivaled the service levels at Per Se and Eleven Madison! We heeded other Yelpers advice and decided to choose our dinner from the insane amount of specials that were rattled off to us. I wish they had those specials printed as I'm more of a visual person and prefer to read than try to listen, but I was able to retain a lot of what was said!
I had just gotten home from a business trip away, and was STARVING when we got there, and that was quickly remedied by a basket of fresh bread (pretty much a plain pizza that was just fired from the pizza oven in the back, came to us toasty and amazingly good) with a tomato chutney/jam that I polished off in 5-10 minutes. Helped me to keep from getting too hangry while waiting for our meal.
We ordered:
Burrata wrapped in Prosciutto – amazing. The server actually cut it in half and served it to us which was a great touch. One of the best burratas we've ever had, it was SO delicious
Red snapper carpaccio – on radicchio with caramelized onions, I kept wishing there was more of it
Spaghetti with Shrimp (spicy) – my husband ordered this, and I ate half of what was on his plate. The spaghetti was cooked perfectly, and I wished I knew how to make that sauce! It was perfection. My husband kept asking me to stop eating it so that he could enjoy it more!
Osso Bucco with Gnocchi in a tomato sauce – I ordered this, and I have half of it in my fridge waiting for lunch today. It was the epitome of comfort food, with pillowy soft gnocchi and fork tender osso bucco!
Dessert:
Pistachio creme brulee – I was worried it would have chunks of pistachio nuts, but this was creamy and delicious! I had to leave about half of it behind because at this point I could've been rolled out of there
Napoleon – freshly made per order, with banana custard and fresh strawberries – my husband said it was the best napoleon he's had, which will unfortunately ruin all other napoleons we will have in the future.
I can see why Jando said this was one of the best meals you can get in Queens! We can't wait for our next visit. We watched a platter of chicken parm walk by our table, and though we couldn't fit another bite in, we were salivating watching it go by. It was PACKED on a Wednesday night, so can't imagine what the crowd would look like on the weekends! Definitely make reservations (we were thankfully able to just walk in off the street).
Mangia! You won't regret it!
OMG AMAZING food!!! Everything is so good and fresh. I have no idea how the waiters remember ALL THOSE SPECIALS!!! They have a menu, but they have what seems like 40 specials!
The place is packed, so reservations are a must.
For Apps we had beef carpacio, calamari and bean salad, zucchini flowers, one of the best stuffed artichokes I've ever eaten in my entire life! For dinner: rabbit ragu (tastes like chicken), osso bucco over gnocchi, some special zucchini pasta dish and amazing apple/ricotta raviolis in a mascarpone/truffle sauce. We each tasted off each other's plates and everything was delicious.
For dessert we had the chocolate pizza—-amazing.
The flat bread they give you—-I couldn't stop eating it.
I cannot wait to come back here again!!!
Just Absolutely stellar service and food every single minute out of the gate.
My fifth or sixth visit and just can't be let down here.
The goto dishes for me are the burratta (get one each) and the pillows.
Ask for the pillows.
Wine selection is superb with all the right classics and surprisingly fair prices.
This place came highly recommended by anyone who ever has eaten there and it lived up to all expectations. We were greeted by friendly and welcoming hosts.
My friend called for a reservation in advance (which was wise being every seat in the house was full within half hour of being there.)
For a starter I had the soup of the day which was a stracciatellia, an Italian version of an egg drop soup. It was absolutely delicious, light with just the right amount of spinich, and the meatballs were very tasty. One of my favorites. He ordered the baked clams and they were also very good.
As an entrée I tried one of the 50 specials, (seriously, you need to take notes, it was a script). I opted for a chicken seared with nuts and a salad on top of it.
Again, I was not disappointed, the salad on top consisted of avcado, tomatoes and fennel all finely chopped. Fennel was a nice touch. I was pleased with this choice even though the pasta specials all sounded wonderful, but it was late and I was trying to behave.
My friend ordered the veal chop with salad on top and again, no disappointment.
On every point this was a five star experience from start to finish. I would definately come back to try the remaining 48 specials.