Vai Restaurant
“Vai is back in the UWS, on Amsterdam btw 80+81st, with a slightly larger more spacious environment.”
“Made with truffle cream and an 18 month parmiggiano cheese, the Burrata Ravioli was comfort in a bowl.”
“So my advice, get there early, ask for Edward as your waiter and get the Branzino (the butter stuff they put on it is just SO good!)!”
Vai Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This place was really good, staff was good and the maitre d was awesome, I had a very nice wine and prosecco. I believe I had the pork chop which was delicious, and so everthing else. Cute small intimate place, make a rez.
If you want to feel like you are downtown but want to stay on the Upper West Side, Vai could be a good option. The restaurant is small and chic and definitely caters towards the younger crowd.
The service was relatively good. The food was delicious and the restaurant certainly uses high-quality ingredients, however the downfall was the portion sizes. My pasta was more of an appetizer portion, and most other dishes did not come if anything on the side, so some of us left hungry.
Fun spot, great food, good service, but make sure to have a snack beforehand.
Food was very good to excellent. Octopus starter was amazing; perfect texture and just delicious. Pasta dish was ok, a bit too creamy. We probably ordered the wrong one. Main was the stripped bass special of the night – wow, so excellent. Wine by the glass was reasonably priced.
Place is tiny and very loud. It was hard to have a conversation. Service was fine and timely. .
Will definitely return. Nice kitchen.
I came here on a summer Thursday evening and was greeting by a friendly hostess who quickly sat me and my husband. I ordered the pomegranate cocktail, octopus and the sweet pea risotto and for dessert I had the cheesecake.
The cocktail was average, I did not taste pomegranate and would not order again but it was good enough to finish. I ordered the Rose after which was also average.
The octopus appetizer is excellent. I am usually not a fan of tentacles nor exotic seafood (which I consider octopus to be) but due to the reviews I read about it, I thought why not. And I am glad I did! It is, as another yelper stated, crispy on the outside while maintaining a soft consistency on the inside. The pesto accents that the octopus swims in complements it well and the fingerling potatoes are always a welcome addition on my plate.
I ordered the vegetarian risotto just because I thought I had a very fishy appetizer. I am actually not a fan of cheese and I when I first saw the parmesan shreds that had decorated my main meal, I grew a little hesitant. But wow, it was good! Not too cheesy, but a lot of pea flavor with the great texture you expect from risotto.
The cheesecake garnished with blackberries along with my cappuccino ( my favorite beverages is any rendition of coffee) was a delicious end to the meal. I was also impressed with the three sugar types they offer!
The ambience is a nice small restaurant with a home-like atmosphere. It is located in a desirable area on Amsterdam Ave so you can venture out for more drinks after your delectable dinner.
I highly recommend this restaurant, for the food, service, location and ambiance.
This was the best dinner I had on my 5 day trip to NYC. Everything was cooked and seasoned to perfection literally. Usually there is one aspect that is off or that I do not enjoy about a meal but this restaurant exceeded my expectations. I started off with the Charred octopus. jalapeno pesto, local fingerling potato and had the Filet Mignon as the main dish. The sauce was exquisite and the filet mignon was cooked exactly how I like it – medium but still tender. The wine I had was also excellent. Simply superb Italian cuisine thank you!
No signage outside. Reservation is a must or you'll be asked to wait or declined service. I'm not sure why they chose to do it this way in New York. And as with any venue in Manhattan, early is better.
Around 6.30, it started as a very peaceful evening. By around 8pm, we had scream across the table just to have a conversation.
They forgot our octopus appetizer after asking about it twice. It was good and it was comped.
The burata ravioli With truffle sauce is also quite good but very very creamy. For the large $25 plate, you got 6 pieces. We also had the whole branzino which was overly salty for my taste.
Overall, it was a good, but not outstanding, experience and not enough to make me come back cross town.
Tucked in the restaurant pocket along Amsterdam Ave in the 80s, Vai is a small, charming, cozy and intimate exposed brick, large front window NY style restaurant serving a solid four star cuisine via a small menu of deliciously prepared dishes.
Our chared octopus was delicious, as was the snapper. The white chocolate cheesecake, with a blackberry soaked Graham cracker crust, blackberry topping and blackberry sauce base was one of the best I've had in recent memory. Thick and solid enough to be considered New York style it was at the lighter end of the NY cheesecake density spectrum. The white chocolate did not make it too sweet, only too delicious.
Modest wine list which would benefit from being expanded.
The servers were all truly magnificent, friendly, intelligent, professional and took pride in the food and our compliments.
Nice indie and jazz background music and still quiet enough to talk, though not sure that is the case on weekends.
Truly a neighborhood gem.
Reservation on a Monday night so we were taken promptly to our table. We were celebrating an anniversary, so it was a bit of a splurge for us. As an Upper West Sider I have walked by this place tons of times with curiosity about the inside since it is kinda hidden. I started with a Vanilla Martini that isn't really a martini but actually a straight up Manhattan…okay! It was good but I will choose something else next time, my fault. Excellent table bread – a large load served with a little olive oil and garlic. The burrata appetizer was outstanding and I would come back to have it all for myself next time. Served with pistachios and grapes – so different but it was perfectly salted and delicious. Main courses included the Pappardelle and the Spaghettini with Crab. I was very satisfied with the huge pieces of crab and recommend it! Overall, it's a pricey joint that tries very hard to be upscale. We will come back on a special occasion and perhaps sit at the bar between 4-7 for buy 1 get 1 cocktails.