David Y.
Yelp
My trip to the City was planned months in advance along with my reservation to Amarone Scarlatto. Besides the array of, "must haves," when visiting New York such as bagels and pizza, the traditional Italian dinner entrees should also be on most lists. That said, I was looking forward to dining here given the solid reviews and the great ambience displayed in the pictures. Unfortunately, my experience fell a little short of my expectations.
I arrived a little earlier than my reservation, but the folks there had my table ready available right away. The atmosphere was excellent from the decor, to the spacing of the tables and the care spent maintaining the restaurant. The service was exceptional with bread brought forth quickly and service throughout being very attentive by all.
To start, I had a Caesars Salad. Very generous salad with a dressing that was tossed into the lettuce which was not overwhelming in the least. The service approach with the cheese atop was non-traditional, but it worked well with such a large portion.
My entree was a linguine and lobster special which was equally generous. I had not expected to manually crack the lobster, but the inclusion of the shell added to the taste of the sauce along with the other shellfish that was included. Unfortunately, the sauce could have used additional seasoning as it was otherwise very mild in taste. Red pepper flakes might have helped, but my sense was that the pepper flakes would have been too much. Perhaps other herbs and garlic were a couple of things that were missing. This was the biggest reason for my rating.
The entree was followed with a delightful looking NY cheesecake. When it came to the table, it was presented with additional sauces and a topping, but the appearance did not translate into its taste. The cheesecake was somewhat bland and on the dry side.
Those who have rated Amarone with five stars was a huge enticement to my reservation. I had a great conversation with locals who had nothing but wonderful things to say about why they frequented as often as they do. Their thoughts did not translate to my experience this evening.
I plan to give Amarone another try as I did see entrees around us with the depth of red sauce that I prefer and the service that I had was simply outstanding. If my dining experience is different for the next visit, I'll be sure to share the experience.
Be well.