<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Restaurant review****

We live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.  We wanted to give business to
restaurants that cater to our needs and decided to try The Risotteria - NYC,
NY

The people were very nice.  The service was great.  It is a very small
place - seats maybe 25 people with table along a single wall.  In typical
tiny NYC restaurant fashion, the bathroom was down and open flight of steps
that didn't have a full railing.  So while the entrance is wheelchair
accessible the scarcity of space and non-accessible bathroom make it a poor
choice for older or mobility impaired patrons.  The webpage's photograph is
a true study in prospective - the picture makes the place seem much more
than it is.  It is clean and the food was good.  The food was a bargain!!
2Salads, 5 cokes, 1 wine, 2 specialty coffees, 4 entrees and 1 dessert for $
80.00.  The meal size was too large for any of us to finish but not so large
as to feel guilty at leaving something behind.

They don't take reservations and we were told the wait would be 15 minutes.
We arrived and was told about 20 min wait.  That turned into about an hour
wait before we got a table.  They gave us menus to look at and when I asked
for the gluten free menu, promptly gave me one and checked to see if I have
any other dietary needs - doubling checking that I couldn't have any wheat -
he asked if it was okay to give the kids some pizza appetizers on the house
due to the long wait and did I mind if I couldn't have it.  It was fine with
me as the kids can eat anything and were very hungry.

The place specializes in rice.  The menu is not extensive if you don't like
rice - my husband who hates rice thought the dish he had was very good -
that is a rave fro him.  The kids were upset that it wasn't what they
expected from an "Italian" restaurant, but once the food arrived they both
thought it fine.  The kids raved over the cookie that came with the coffee
and the Tiramisu  - they don't have gluten free desserts.  Be sure if you
get coffee to ask that the cookie not be placed across your cup.  The guy
who made the coffee was not our server and I'm guessing didn't know I was
eating from the Gluten free menu.

It would be easy for them to add rice pudding to the menu - so that dessert
could be ordered or to use gluten free lady fingers but I don't hold that
against them.

The crowd was young - I felt like the oldies crowd being the only ones with
kids, not dating and close to 40.  I can't hold that against them either,
but if you don't like today's music and are with young kids, this might not
be the best choice.  We would eat there again but not till after we try
Gus's.

Stacy
NYC

* Send administrative questions to [log in to unmask] *