Celeste

The food is amazing in Celeste. The owner is very friendly. The staff are attentive. We loved how the steak was cooked perfectly and with a good portion size. The fish was delicious. The pizza was unique, unlike other pizzas that we could have in other places. My husband liked the tiramisu (I am a picky tiramisu critic :P ). Make sure to bring cash because it’s Cash only.

Easily the best Italian food on the UWS. Pasta is freshly made and the specials are constantly changing, so there's always something new to enjoy. The owner makes sure to greet everyone and check up on the customers. Cash only.

The food here was incredible, I really loved the Sea Bass Filet, and the sides it came with really filled me up. The staff were very attentive and friendly, and the owner walked around greeting people. We also got an appetizer of fried artichoke, and the bread starter was delicious, I'm going to remember that bread until my death bed. Also, I loved that the online menu has a picture of almost every dish, and that really helped me decide on what to order as an indecisive person.

This restaurant experience was very memorable. I went with my daughter for Mother’s Day, dinner and the food was definitely a highlight. I got the salmon and my daughter got the bolognese and both were absolutely delightful. They were all very flavorful. The service was also fabulous and Stefano, Our server gave us all the tips on the right thing to order and the right deserts and had a great attitude. we loved him. But it is definitely very cozy. And a real New York experience because you make friends with your neighboring diners.

Incredible meal at Celeste. I ordered the tagliatelle and it was amazing. The panna cotta was very good as well. Amazing service as well. Anastasia took very good care of us - including on-point recommendations and a friendly energy. Looking forward to coming back on a future visit to NYC!

We love Celeste! We always come back for the clam pasta and desserts ♥️ Steffano was our waiter. He was charming and attentive!

Amazing food in a beautiful restaurant. We had the truffle spinach raviolis and a pizza with zucchini and red pepper—I highly recommend both!

This place is really lovely !! To start the bread was airy and I loved the hint of rosemary. Fried artichokes with parsley was amazing, I was a bit thrown off with fried parsley but it tastes really good , especially with a squeeze of lemon. Eggplant lasagna has so much flavor and is not soggy !! I had the margarita pizza with prosciutto which was great as well. Crispy crust! Service was great & attentive as well :) Will be coming back here and surely recommending to others. Cash only but they do have an atm

Grazie Carmine . Celeste is always great. One of the best spot in the UWS The taste and the quality of the food are real And the wine even better

If you're craving a side of strict dining rules with your meal, look no further than here. From the moment you step through the door, you're hit with a barrage of regulations faster than you can say "reservation." Cash only? Check. Immediate seating? Double check. And don't even think about bringing a cookie to this establishment - it's a cardinal sin. But wait, there's more! As you settle into your seat, be prepared for the owner to make the rounds, not to welcome you warmly, but to flaunt the culinary creations and reiterate the house rules. It's like dining with a drill sergeant, minus the motivational speeches. Sure, the food is fantastic - if you can wolf it down between glances at your watch and furtive checks of your wallet. But for those seeking a leisurely dining experience, this is about as inviting as a tax audit. Proceed with caution, and preferably with exact change in hand.

We stopped by for lunch on a Sunday and sat outside in the covered street seating area. Service was quick and friendly, which was great! The plates felt a bit dirty / had some dust on them but just wiped it off. Really enjoyed the bread and ricotta we started with! The margherita pizza was quite good with the thin crust. The lasagna was decent but a bit overcooked and the white sauce was just too heavy and thick for me. Did not particularly enjoy the spaghetti and clams because it didn't feel super fresh and the noodles were way too heavy with the sauce coating - just felt super oily. Overall, don't think I will be back unfortunately because everything felt pretty mediocre. Good to try though!

If you want fast and decent Italian meal this is it. We couldn't wait for Jacob's Pickle so we decided to eat here. It was busy so we dined outside. The cleanliness of this restaurant was okay. Not the cleanest but alright. They give you clear colored plastic resusable cups all scratched up, but it's fine. The water tastes clean and the cups are not dirty. This goes for the plates and utensils too. The old gentleman here seems to be the owner or manager who greets you first. We ordered MASCARPONE CON PROSCIUTTO pizza and Tagliatelle Bolognese. The food was fast and delicious. We enjoyed it.

This spot started out strong but the ending was so terrible it completely ruined the meal. The highlights - easy to get into, great atmosphere, friendly staff and owner personally greeting tables, and very delicious appetizers (we had the special watermelon salad and Burrata). The negatives - the entrees. Absolutely horrific. My husband had the pene mo mo, which was box pasta over a store brand marinara. Zero seasoning, we had to ask for pepper and Parmesan (which came store bought as well). I had the special tagliatelle pesto over bruschetta, which was OK. It lacked seasoning again and the paired ricotta cheese was not the best to complement the other flavors.

If I could get more of my rigatoni a La Norma and eat it every day I would. Everything was delicious. The wine selections are good, every meal on the table, including the specials better than the next, and the desserts? Oh my.

Vibe: 5/10 - cute Italian vibe, but our table was really wobbly + some tables were being used for storage (things were stacked on them) Service: 6/10 Value: 6/10 - mainly bc we felt we could have made this meal at home Bread (complimentary): 5/10 Gnocchi: 6/10 - light on the sauce and the sauce wasn't flavorful + gnocchi didn't seem to be freshly made Pizza w/ mushrooms: 6.5/10 Tiramisu: 8/10 - the best part of the meal honestly Overall: 6.07/10 (3/5)

Celeste was a WOW - I'm shocked by some of the lukewarm reviews on Yelp. My friends highly recommended we come here and I was sincerely wowed by all the dishes we had. Make sure to order a pizza. That thin crust margherita pizza was perfectly seasoned with salt and tomato paste and cheesy - might be one of my favorite pizzas in the city. The real star of the show for me, though, was the clam vermicelli... I dream about that buttery, garlic-y pasta to this day. Also loved the lasagna and tiramisu was a must-try! Great service as well. This is definitely an Italian spot I'll be returning to.

Anastasia was the best waitress ever! She was attentive, polite, hilarious - and made great suggestions. Such a privilege being served by her at such a lovely restaurant. 10/10 recommend :)

Came here for brunch, which is a separate menu from other meals. Prices are extraordinary for this part of Manhattan, but it's cash only. Owner and servers were very nice. Loved the bread they served with olive oil, I saw them freshly toast it in their pizza oven. For the actual meal I got the farro meal, which was creamy farro with a lot of butter, and bits of dried fruit topped in honey. Delicious, creamy, but a little too heavy. Space was cozy and the staff rearranged the tables for our very large group. I would love to return to try out some of their other items.

Celeste is a neighborhood favorite. Friendly staff, delicious food, efficient service, casual ambience. Definitely worth the visit if you're in the area and in the mood for Italian

First time visiting Celeste, and I was absolutely blown away. The food was fresh, the food was served very quickly (delivered to our table less than 10 minutes after ordering), and the service was attentive. I was also impressed with the amount of options on the menu--pastas, pizzas, seafood dishes, salads, appetizers, and desserts will leave you wanting to try a lot of different things, but I don't think you can go wrong. I'll definitely be back!

Anastasia at Celeste is a gem!! She made great recommendations for the wine and was fun to chat with. Best server of all time

We had an absolutely wonderful time at Celeste! The food was delicious, the ambiance is lovely, and we really appreciated Anastasia's warm service. Highly recommend!!!!

Two out of three of us had arrived one with a broken foot and a knee scooter yet they refused to seat us even though the restaurant was empty.. They made me stand there and after 10 minutes we left. We will never come back..

This food was delicious. The service was impeccable and Anastasia really made me feel like I was back in Italy! I highly recommend this restaurant for authentic and delicious Italian food and cocktails and the warmth of Napoli.

It was forever between visits, but this place is still so great. We came with our kids for the first time and got the cheese plate, spaghetti with clams, gnocchi sorrentina, and a butter pasta (tomato sauce on the side) for the kids, and we loved everything. That spaghetti with clams is really outstanding, and it should go without saying that the cheeses were as well. We'd probably skip the gelato we got for dessert next time, but there are other desserts that also look great.

Scores are higher because they give you a free desert if you complete a review. Truth is food was ok. Tables were too close together, the wait staff was awful. It was so tight the table behind us knocked into us and spilled my wine all over my friend. Then we had to ask 3 times for another glass of wine which never came. We also asked for additional sauce for the Calamari which also never came. It felt chaotic, unprofessional and poorly run. Alice for the owner- raise the prices a bit, have less tables and a better trained staff. We won't be returning.

This is my newfound Italian spot!! I had a gift certificate I received last Christmas and decided to use it for brunch today(my birthday weekend). The lovely person Carmine, who was seating everyone, was gracious enough to accept it even though it was only good for 6 months. That started our experience wonderfully. I bought my daughter and a good friend with me. We had the margarita pizza with chili oil. The lasagna and their version of chicken milanese. Everything was amazing!! The lasagna was made with a bechamel sauce. My friend was in heaven. It was the best food we all have had in a while! The waitstaff..lovely!Efficient and all around amazing!! Thank you, guys, for ending my weekend with such a nice experience. Definitely will be going back!!!

Dinner on a rainy day cash only. Food is great if it's recommended by Stefano, great service. Low music for a pleasant talk over drinks. A recommend a bottle.

Excellent small Italian place. We were eating something lite before a graduation. The margarita pizza was delicious, as were the scallops. The salads were also great. They are a cash only business.

The food was delicious but small portions. service was friendly and quick except receiving the food. we were the only customers there, and what we ordered was pre-made, so we couldn't understand the timely fashion of receiving our food. also, they only take cash . I'd try them again. Hopefully, the food will come out a little faster

The food is fantastic, especially the pasta bolognese and the lasagna. Fun setting on the street with awesome heat lamps. The service is great.

I'm disappointed to write this review, but I feel compelled to share my experience. Despite the high number of reviews, which I suspect may be influenced by the offer of a free dessert for reviewing, my visit was far from satisfactory. I ordered the salmon tartare, only to find that the fish had a bad smell. When I brought this to the server's attention, the owner intervened, insisting the fish was fresh, which made me feel uncomfortable and somewhat disrespected. Moreover, the overall service was lacking, and the insistence on cash-only payments added to my feeling of being somewhat ripped off. The combination of the subpar food and service left a lot to be desired.

I enjoy this cash only gem of a restaurant. Homemade pasta. The owner present, helpful, and attentive.

The food and service was great! The owner was super friendly and accommodating for our group of 27. I recommend the burratta, it was excellent.

Barely edible food and an incredibly inattentive manager. Pleasant staff serving the most flavorless food that makes the local pub look like it should have a Michelin star. Mussels appeared in a tasteless oily swamp. Grilled octopus salad was overwhelmed by anchovies. Fried calamari and "shrimps" was not only gramatically incorrect but also factually - as the order contained only 1 shrimp, as opposed to multiple shrimps!

The food was so good , I love that they make omelets and that they have fresh fruit. I attended buffet day and everything is fresh the staff very friendly, experience was 10/10 recommend. Also the girl in the front Dayana is super sweet.

I've gone to this place multiple times with my family in the past but we've always had mixed feelings. Either it was bad service, rude manager, wrong orders or the cash only rule. However, we've always enjoyed the tasty food that would make up for it. BUT I recently went with my friend and I was absolutely shocked by the unwelcoming manager, waiters and customers. Me and my friend felt like we weren't supposed to be there and felt truly judged by the manager especially. We were polite, dressed correctly and didn't dérange anyone, however we were treated like we were doing all of that. Overall, the food was good, a bit pricey for what it is. Service was fast this time even though we went at non busy hours. I don't recommend going if you aren't italian and can't stand a manager with a god complex! This man needs to be humbled

Such a beautiful night. The food was delicious and the pricing was very reasonable. Very intimate space and the owner is walking around talking to everyone and making sure everything is great. The fish and pizza were to die for and so were all the desserts (pistachio cake was unbelievable) and the gelato flown in from Italy. Highly recommend this spot.

We used to go to Celeste quite often before the pandemic, but we haven't been in a couple of years. I wanted to go back, so a couple of days ago, since my family was away, I decided to go back. I do not eat very large meals in the evening, so I ordered the Tagliatelle con Gamberi, Verza e Pecorino, which is egg noodles with shrimps, cabbage and sheep's cheese. I was interested in the homemade pasta and I love shrimp. I was there early in the evening, the restaurant was busy but not crowded and I had a comfortable table. Since there is now outdoor seating, the indoor seating has opened up a bit, and is far less crowded than it was pre-pandemic, when the tables were tightly packed together. This expansion does give the restaurant a much better feel. The food was good, if a bit salty for me, and the staff were all great, attentive and friendly. My server recommended a wine based on what I was looking for, and it was a Vermentino, and I liked it very much. Celeste has always had a cash only policy but I knew this so that was fine. So....why are there not more stars. Well, I quote from another review this restaurant has a terrible reputation for the owners/staff being rude. However, the staff was great and it was just the owner who insults customers. No difference this time either. " And it was the same for me. The manager ignored me though he chatted up a single male customer who came after me and sat at the table across from mine. One woman alone and one man alone, and what a difference gender made ! I really liked Celeste in the past, but I expect to be welcomed courteously and thanked for coming. The staff should be training the manager.

Cannot speak highly enough of my absolute favorite spot on the UES! Celeste is AUTHENTIC and delicious! Highly recommend calling for a reservation because I have seen people turned away! Every single time we have come, we have had a magical meal. Every pasta dish is absolutely delicious and I have cleaned my plate each time (I usually take leftovers!) make sure to listen to the specials, because my boyfriend has had one each time and loved them! My go to is the Spaghetti Vongole (one of the best I've ever had!) This is your sign to go to Celeste the next chance you get! Can't wait to go back

This place fell off. Not sure if it was the pandemic but I was not impressed. It has been on my "must visit places" for years and I was so excited to be here. Only to say I would've rather some Olive Garden bc at least there they have good bread lol. The caprese was a mess. The ravioli was just oily and the gnocchi was so undercooked and has raw pieces of potatoes on it. Oh, and the beer they served me? Warm at best. Smh. Save your time and money- go elsewhere.

Fantastic food!! Maitre d' is great. Atmosphere is nuts and bolts in a cool cool way. This will be our go-to place for Italian food.

Wow! The service and food is absolutely stellar. Best margherita pizza I have ever had. Bolognese was so good. Wine was recommended to us and delicious. Bread and oil was so freaking good. Great atmosphere and great times. I'm just visiting in LA but will be back anytime I come back to NYC.

Celeste is the restaurant where my partner and I had our first date. It's also the restaurant where, nearly three years later, we held our wedding reception. On both occasions, Celeste proved ideal -- we were treated like we were returning to a dear friend's home and we feasted to our hearts' content. Carmine Mitroni, the owner, is an exceptional host. He is warm and genuine. When it came to our wedding reception, we trusted Carmine with all the details -- from the wine selection to everything that made it onto the final menu. By the end of the night, our 60+ guests were delighted with the food, service, and ambiance at Celeste. Without exception, we were all amazed by the amount of delicious platters that Carmine and Celeste's servers placed in front of us. Our guests with special dietary restrictions were taken care of in precisely the ways we requested. Those who asked for a non-alcoholic beverage, such as a Diet Coke, coffee, cappuccino, or double espresso got exactly what they wanted -- plus a friendly smile from one of the servers. Then, when it came time to paying the bill, the price was right and there were no surprises. All told, my partner and I could not have found a better place for both our first date and our wedding reception. We have every reason to feel grateful. To Carmine and his team at Celeste we say, thank you.

Excellent service and care for us. Great pasta vongola and my friends loved the mussels and veggie lasagne. Will definitely return. The owner greeted us and was very friendly. Ciao, eat here soon!

This place was small but very unique. We talked to who I'm assuming is the owner who told us he wakes up every morning to go get fresh vegetables to use at the restaurant. And you can definitely tell how fresh everything is. They had a ton of specials- I tried the burrata app and the lasagna for my meal- truly delicious! The only thing I didn't like was how rushed we felt. We had just sat down and 2 separate servers immediately asked us if we were ready to order. We said no and not 5 minutes later someone else asked- so other than feeling like they wanted to turn tables quickly, it was a great experience and highly recommend the Italian dishes!

Food was overall delicious -- burrata was delicious; pesto gnocchi could have been a touch saltier but that was easily fixed by the salt on the counter. Service was fabulous -- someone was always stopping by to fill water, check in, or clear plates.

We arrived at the restaurant and sat down, tables squeezed together. Owner came over and was so close he was pushing his groin into my shoulder while pawing through the menu over me, with his giant hand. The menu had a big hair stuck to the second page and was oily so I couldn't even shake it off. Used the QR code for the "Specials" and there were maybe twenty five, clearly not specials which added to the overcrowded menu. I got a prosciutto/ricotta pizza - wood-fired but incredibly soggy and limp. The decor? On one side was a glass cabinet with old spiral bound notebooks and a can of WD-40. On the other side the owner's office, set up in the restaurant. A blue shower curtain-like drape separates the kitchen from the restaurant. It's cash only but when my friend went to get money out from the ATM it took her five tries, giving her five receipts, but no money. I had to use my credit card in the machine to withdraw cash, which is more charge on top of their service fee. And what type of restaurant is cash-only? I'll let you wonder. Lastly used the bathroom and it was a mess. Paper towels everywhere and a stack of wadded up somehow used toilet paper next to the bowl. This place was straight up gross.

Amazing pasta and fresh mozzarella, always recommended to come! Extremely heated and cozy as well especially with recent weather.

This is one of the best Italian spots on the upper west side! You can't go wrong with their pasta or pizza - every dish has an authentic flavor that you really only get at quaint, family-run spots like Celeste. The cheese and sauce on the pizza and pasta were super fresh and delicious! Highly recommend trying their dessert too - the Tiramisu is incredible They are usually quite busy and I'm glad they've started taking reservations as the wait times pre-pandemic used to be long. They also used to be cash only - not sure if that has changed in recent times.

The food was exceptional authentic Italian food. Small but cozy place. servers were attentive. Be prepared to wait, only means that the the dishes are that good.

**I forgot to add a disclaimer to my previous review. I agreed to provide my honest, 5-star review in response to a dessert promotion at the restaurant. I promise I would have given this restaurant 5 stars in any case!!! I'm looking forward to being back soon.

Went here for a family dinner 8 of us. Which usually means a good smattering of food on the table. We started off with appetizers family style - Indy pizza ( really good) muscles marinara excellent, Buratta phenomenal ( loved the heirloom tomatoes) Fried artichokes were a bit small but good. They do make you give your whole order at one time fyi. I had the veal medallions in a lemon caper sauce with roasted potatoes and sautéed spinach. Spinach and potatoes were great, one of the medallion s a bit chewy. We also had Two Momos ( ziti marinara with fresh ricotta chunks).Tasted great ( yea I sample everyone's). Also there were a few linguine Vongoles. Sauce was so very tasty. I'm missing one item just can't recall - oh well, a bit to much wine. They were somewhat busy throughout and service didn't suffer. Also, there cash only. But don't worry there's an ATM by the bathroom

Read the reviews before deciding to spend your money here. You will see that for years the owner of this place has been all types of terrible to hundreds of people. How this place has managed to stay open is a mystery. Here's a few other Italian restaurants to go to instead: -Bella Luna on 88th & Columbus -Pappardella on 75th & Columbus Or... Arte (73rd & Columbus), Cibo e Vino (89th & Broadway), Osteria Cotta (84th & Columbus), Coppola's (79th & Amsterdam)... Or basically any other restaurant. New York has too many amazing, great, good, and even decent restaurants run by incredible, kind, hardworking & dedicated people who love this industry. This place is not worth it.

Celeste is the neighborhood gem that is my gut instinct reply if anyone mentions upper west side and Italian in the same "where should we eat tonight" query. Or just upper west side for that matter as an input. Family run, this place is truly an operation of love for their food and for their customers. The owner is quirky and fun and refuses to put cheese on seafood pasta in an adamant religion to Italian eating do's and donts. Order off their fresh pasta menu and you won't be disappointed, but I've found amazing meals in their specials of the day. Feeling pizza, but indecisive? Not to fear, 4 flavor pizza is here! (See pic for reference). Also... pro tip, if you were eyeing Jacobs pickles across the street and it has a 2 hr wait, this is most definitely a next best option.

BEYOND RUDE STAFF called today and said "hey, hoping to make a reservation" the guy laughed at me and was like "uh well i'm going to need more information than that"... because i have literally hundreds of other options i hung up and they called back which i didn't answer but had a great voicemail of them literally talking crap!??? how is wanting to make a reservation a bad thing. i hope they go out of business. 100% go elsewhere like pappardella, parm, il violino, or cafe fiorella.

Cash Only. Meta (Zuckerberg) ATM in front of bathroom. Pathetic. Food average. Pass this place up. Not worth the hassle.

Solid 3.5 stars for me. Cash only Italian restaurant W. 84th and Amsterdam. There's no sign for the restaurant so it was kind of hard to find it in the dark. Luckily my friend had been before. We arrived on a Tuesday evening around 5:30pm and there was no one there. When we left around 7, the place was filled and people were waiting for tables. The interior was small and cozy; cute decorations for the holidays. Tables are close together (like most restaurants in the city). We ordered 3 glasses of wine. Most were priced between $10-15. They brought us bread with olive oil. Bread was nothing special; didn't seem fresh to me. We ordered the artichoke salad for an app $16. The size was perfect to share for 2-3 people. I enjoyed the flavoring of the salad and liked the pairing of cheese that came with the dish. My friends ordered the rigatoni with meat sauce $17 and I ordered the special $20 which was long thin (not angel hair or spaghetti) pasta with mussels artichokes and sundries tomatoes with red sauce. Our order took about 15 min to arrive which I consider reasonable. My friends enjoyed their meals. I liked the pasta as you could tell it was fresh. It was not heavy like other pastas I've had in the area. My dish was a little salty for my liking but it could have been the mussels. Portion sizes were perfect; left you feeling full but not overly stuffed. I would recommend this place if you're looking for a cute cozy Italian place. It would be perfect for date night. It's one of the better Italian places on the upper west side (although I've had better in Manhattan/Westchester/CT).