Bono Trattoria

"Everything at this laidback Italian spot tastes homemade, because it is. Bono serves especially great pastas like strozzapreti and strangozzi, plus grilled octopus and bubbling wood-fired pizzas topped with prosciutto, eggplant, and spicy Calabrese sausage. Add to the mix a sunny corner location and a rare-for-Broadway calm, and you’ve got yourself a new weekly habit made better by proper espresso." - the curious uptowner, sonal shah

"If you suspect that your in-laws only put up with you because you’re technically related, take them to Bono Trattoria. It’s our favorite Italian spot in Harlem, and it’s a good place to feed a few people wine and pizza until they decide to like you. The pizzas here all come out of a big wood-fired oven (that you can see at the back of the dining room), and none of them are over $15. They also have pasta, small plates, and bigger proteins - so you can just order a bunch for the table and hang out for a while. This place is also casual and spacious, and it’s especially nice when they open all their big windows in the summer." - bryan kim

"This place specializes in pizza, which is why there’s a big oven directly in the middle of the restaurant, but they also have a bunch of homemade pasta options that range from farfalle with salmon to linguini with ’nduja. Plus, the setting is laid-back enough for you to sit at the bar and finally commit to reading that think piece about shoelaces that everyone posted on Facebook last week." - hannah albertine