Coltivare

A wonderful place for a date night. Smooth atmosphere and taste bud tantalizing food. Easy parking, comfortable seating and tasty cocktails.

The new opening of Coltivare does not disappoint! The food, service, atmosphere were all amazing. Casual yet upscale. We sat at the bar for food and drinks on a Friday evening and enjoyed every minute. The staff are so friendly and attentive. The food was fresh and delicious. And we were amazed how open and big the inside was! Highly recommend.

The food was really good! The staff were very nice. The portion sizes are in consistent though, with the desert being humongous. The veggie burger was really good. The salmon came with cranberry sauce. Overall a nice venue. Hope this helps!

The staff were very attentive and kept pace with the meal, very appropriate for the occasion. I ordered both the Apple Fest macaroni and a cheeseburger. The Apple Fest macaroni is definitely a must-try when you're in Ithaca, and you can try it here if you're not in town for Apple Fest itself. The burger itself was cooked to perfection, nice and tender! Very pleasant experience all around!

What an incredible restaurant - we loved every minute of our experience at Cultivare. Four of us went for a "parent's night" happy hour to enjoy some drinks and food and we had a blast. The space is just gorgeous. The lighting is beautiful, the restaurant is sparkling clean, and it just feels like an elevated, upscale (but relaxed) space that's perfect for enjoying some drinks and food after a long week. We ordered 2 pizzas, the tartare, sweet tarts, and a few other nibbles and enjoyed every bite. The space is comfortable, beautiful, and we loved the food.

Had a lively time here. The vegetarian pizza was not an after thought. Milo was very engaging, attentive, gave a spot on wine recommendation and even followed me out of the restaurant with my forgotten credit card. I would come back here in a heartbeat.

Locally sourced ingredients. Great concept, but poorly executed. Meat Flatbread ($15) sounds great but it's actually just a small pizza similar in taste to Papa John's. In comparison the pizza at Cornell University North Star dining hall was much better. Creole Crusted Lamb Chops ($36) was overcooked and it certainly was not creole in the least bit. We had high hopes but decided to skip trying anything else due to disappoinment of the first few dishes. Dining hall ambiance. $80 for one entree, a small pizza and one mixed drink. The reason it's not 1 stars is because the service was excellent.

Great overall experience service/setting. NOLA shrimp and meatballs were good appetizers and my short rib was perfectly cooked. Mom found the bbq burger sauce a bit heavy, but my sister loved it! Cocktails good as well!

Gorgeous gorgeous interior. Perfect date night spot, or with a one-on-one with a friend, etc because it's a warm atmosphere. The food is locally sourced. Many of the dishes are plant based but you can add meat as a side if you need to. The entrées can be underwhelming/blandish depending on what you pick, but the food quality is there. Also get a dessert when you come here, they're not to be missed.

Everything about this restaurant is top notch. The food and drinks are the best in Ithaca. Can't recommend it highly enough!! So glad they reopened.

Truthfully, I had high expectations for this place- the ambience is absolutely gorgeous, and it would seem absolutely perfect for a date night, or to celebrate a special occasion. However, most of the dishes I tried missed the mark for me: Salmon: I wasn't a fan of the overly sweet sauce, which completed overwhelmed the natural, subtle flavors of the salmon and assortment of a rice trio. The only saving grace of the dish was the grilled purple onions, but this dish was definitely disappointing in both the execution and taste, and I don't think many people would be a fan of eating a sweet-tasting dinner. Smoked tomato bisque: heavy emphasis on the SMOKED, because my soup tasted very burnt and swamped the sweet fragrances of tomatoes. I really had higher expectations for the dishes here, and this soup definitely disappointed me. Filet mignon: tried a bit of my friend's dish, and this is cooked and seasoned just perfectly, especially if you get it in medium. It's incredible how the color and texture was consistent throughout the entire steak, and would highly recommend this! The potatoes and asparagus paired with this steak were overseasoned and a bit lacking, but I didn't mind this as much since the filet mignon was definitely the star of the show. Season cheesecake + chocolate stout torte: big fan of the desserts, and I can definitely understand the hype about them. The season cheesecake was an apple crumble the night I visited, and I loved how you could taste the natural sweetness and fragrances of the apples used. They also didn't go too heavy on the caramel sauce or cream topping, which I appreciated! As for the chocolate stout torte, I loved how the dark chocolate used wasn't too sweet and how the cake was served chilled, which made it a lot more refreshing and light compared to most other chocolate desserts. Overall, a rather disappointing experience but there's definitely a bit of room for improvement, especially when it comes to the execution of the food and service. If you're looking for ambience and a nicer bar experience in Ithaca, definitely check them out, but there are definitely better (and less expensive) fine dining options available in the Commons.

What an incredible restaurant - we loved every minute of our experience at Cultivare. Four of us went for a "parent's night" happy hour to enjoy some drinks and food and we had a blast. The space is just gorgeous. The lighting is beautiful, the restaurant is sparkling clean, and it just feels like an elevated, upscale (but relaxed) space that's perfect for enjoying some drinks and food after a long week. We ordered 2 pizzas, the tartare, sweet tarts, and a few other nibbles and enjoyed every bite. The space is comfortable, beautiful, and we loved the food.

I made a reservation to celebrate my child's graduation in May 2023 for a group of 8 which included both sets of grandparents. I was really happy to have gotten this reservation several months earlier because all restaurants were booked up for Cornell's graduation. However, I received a message early on graduation day that they were canceling ALL reservations due to staffing issues. WHAT!? Cancel graduation dinner the day of graduation? Total incompetence to strand families like that on such an important day. I am in Ithaca frequently. Will never eat at Coltavare.

Very, very sad. My daughter chose Coltivare for graduation dinner. We received a text a few days ago that the menu would be prix fixe. No problem. Less than 4 hours before everyone was to arrive, they completely cancelled our reservation. This is on Cornell's 2023 graduation weekend. At this point, finding another reservation for our party is impossible.

This restaurant was closed permanently in May 2023. No reason given other than "staffing problems". I had hear that the chef abruptly quite and left graduation reservations hanging. Very sad as this was quite a beautiful restaurant run by the local community college food service school.

The service was great. We went there for graduation and cannot express the disappointment . Somehow my review in open table ended up at 3 stars, maybe because the service was good and we were seated in the wine cellar which had decent ambiance. This was a price gouging money grab. 4 of the 5 entree's had no flavor. The meatballs were awful and ice cold , returned to be heated and received soggy pasta and room temp meatballs. The steak was tough, no flavor. Fish dry, no flavor Short rib , flavor , but dry. Each enter was 65-$75 . Insulting . I should be reimbursed my $550 , wait I'll pay for the $40 wine and 1 mixed drink.

Seven of us sat down for dinner the other night before the Joe Jackson concert at the trendy, upscale Coltivar. You are greeted at the door with smiling faces and helpful staff to take you to your table. There is a very nice bar, large areas for dinner along with some partitioned rooms for private parties. You also get a good feel that the place is kept very clean. Overall everyone enjoyed their dinners. From flat breads to salads, pastas to burgers we covered off a good portion of the menu. I can speak directly to the Creole Stout and jalapeño burger. For $16 you get a decent size burger that's a bit on the spicy side. It comes on a large bun with pickled jalapeños and melted smoked gouda cheese. I requested it on the medium side but it came closer to well-done. It' made the burger a bit less tasty but something I would not consider returning to the chef. The french fries were quite good. And, plentiful. Our waitress and the staff came by frequently to make sure the waters were filled and our dining experience was going well. I also ordered a Manhattan. I didn't care for the martini glass that it was served in. My preference would have been a rock type glass. There's purposes for certain drinks to be served in certain glasses and a martini glass is not a good home for a Manhattan. But, it was good. Definitely a place to return to on the next trip to Ithaca.

Well...I feel bad for the waitress and hostess. This situation was not their fault... Now the problem... Saturday night of Ithaca college graduation weekend. Reservations made 6 months out and had to be secured by a credit card. Arrive for a 6:30 reservation a few minutes early and get seated right away. Obviously busy as expected. Waitress and hostess seem stressed... prixe fixed menu which we were not expecting and limited selections ( only 2 appetizers to choose from. Buffalo cauliflower and mac & cheese). Waitress comes back for our order and the buffalo califlower is no longer available (really?) guess I'll make due with mac & cheese. Place our order and start the wait After A LONG TIME, we start to notice other tables that were seated before were getting take out boxes... but their main course hadn't shown up. Another table got up and left with nothing on their table....hmmm. Now it's 7:45 and we some drinks, BUT NO FOOD OF ANY KIND! Time to go find out what's going on.... go and speak to the hostess. Apparently they are down several cooks, a manager quit a week before, and other call outs. It's now 8:00 and we have ZERO food and nobody can give us any idea when we might get a salad or mac and cheese. Give up and leave after paying our drink bill....along with a lot of other patrons. It would have been nice if the establishment had reached to us ahead of time to give us an option to cancel our credit card required reservation before wasting an entire evening of a special weekend. Wound up ordering Dominoes pizza and ate at our hotel. Thanks Coltivare! I come to Ithaca occasionally but will NEVER dine with you again! I would highly recommend anybody coming for Cornell's graduation next weekend to be very wary if they are coming here! You have been warned.

Disaster Ithaca Graduation weekend. We made a reservation months ago and the only time available was 8:15pm. We arrived to be told that it was 1.5 hour wait! They had sent emails, texts and called to confirm the reservation and never bothered to mention that their cook left 2 weeks ago and 3 other kitchen staff followed. Nor did they warn us of the wait before we showed up. They did "graciously" waive the cancellation fee when we said we did not want to eat at 9:45pm. The only positive was that Coltivare had chosen a price fixed menu that no one in our party of 7 was interested in eating. We were not told there would be a price fixed, pre-determined menu when we made the reservation. Once we saw that, we were actually happy to move on despite the fact that we were left searching for a restaurant at 8:15pm. The staffing issue was not their fault, but the lack of communication was. They tried to cover up kitchen issues by changing to a price fix and still couldn't handle the night. I hope they get their act together for Cornell graduation next weekend!

Came in to celebrate our son's promotion to high school. It's a nice restaurant and event space. The charcuterie board is amazing! We also enjoyed the shrimp and grits, pasta with meatballs and bbq burger. It was fairly pricey, but I could also tell the quality of ingredients so I think it was worth it.

We were happy with our meal at Coltivare. Made a reservation for 10am Sunday brunch. Originally planning on sitting outside, the hostess was really accommodating with seating us inside once we got there and realized the restaurant was pretty empty and tables were extremely spread apart (it was 40F outside). They seem to be following covid guidelines well. It's a beautifully decorated farmhouse chic style restaurant and definitely more grand on the inside than expected. Food was delicious and fresh, portioned and priced well. Wouldn't say it warrants 3 dollar signs on Yelp, but maybe the dinner menu is pricier. We had regular black coffees as well as the hot pumpkin coffee brunch cocktail (basically coffee with pumpkin baileys I think?) Was nothing to write home about but was a nice treat. I'd dine here again to check out their dinner menu.

Very good ambience. Probably one of the best dine out spots in Ithaca for a special occasion. We came here for our date night. Our server Lily was wonderful and overall a very cheerful atmosphere for drinks & dinner, in what can be very long / cold & depressing winters in Ithaca. We had the meat flatbread (which was more like a pizza) and had the veggie and original burger. Nice selection of drinks as well. Burger was done well, but I'd say to come here for the service and ambience alone - if you have company you'll have a great time.

We made reservations three months ago for a special graduation weekend. We received a text that they have cancelled our reservation, three hours before our arrival time. This put us in a tough spot as the entire town is booked for graduation. So unreliable and disappointing on a big weekend.

tl;dr: service 5/5, atmosphere 5/5, interior 5/5, food 4/5 Visited Coltivare with a few friends and tried a variety of items from their appetizers, to small plates and pasta. All in all Coltivare was a great experience, especially in Ithaca. The service was great. We made a reservation two days in advance and were seated right away. Without a reservation, there can be a wait because it tends to be quite buys. The waiter took our orders very quickly as well, within five minutes, and was very friendly with us throughout the entire night. The atmosphere of Coltivare was also fantastic. It is a beautiful restaurant that can seat many people. I think this restaurant can be perfect for a date night or a night out with friends. We got a variety of items but none of the food was particularly impressive, all the more so when considering the cost. The Applefest Mac' N Cheese was great but everything else was just average. The flatbreads we got reminded me of slightly upgraded school lunch pizza (cheese was a bit rubbery and bread a bit stale). The portions also did not justify the cost. Overall we had a great time and I'd be interested to come back to try some other dishes but the food we did get tonight warranted 4 stars only.

My wife and I got married in September 2021. We had a lot of guests traveling in for the Saturday wedding so we held our 'Welcome Night' at Coltivare the Friday night before. I cannot tell you what a PHENOMENAL NIGHT our guest had. It was truly a night to remember. Working with Jason was extremely pleasant and satisfying. He was very accommodating to us. He offered us a great food/ beverage package, offered ideas of seating arrangement, gave us access to the music playlist of the restaurant, and let us decorate. Jason and his staff were extremely helpful and really made the night what it was. The food and service was great! We cannot thank them enough. Jason - thanks for being the man and awesome to work with. When we look back at our magical wedding weekend - we always start off by remembering the beautiful welcome night we had at Coltivare. We cannot wait to visit.

I love the idea of this place! It's essentially a school for chefs. We were able to get a spot before a show at the theater and we're in and out at a reasonable time. Everything was perfect. I had the short rib entree. It was cooked and seasoned perfectly! My partner had the shrimp dish, that was great! We were able to get some desserts to go to enjoy later! It was a great experience, I'd definitely go back!

My friends and I came for a birthday brunch celebration and left with smiles. The interior is an elegant meets modern and the live musicians added an extra touch (along with a special Happy birthday song) to the whole ambiance of the place. The food presentation was beautiful - and maybe it was the dish I ordered - French Toast - but I was not very pleased with the portion size and taste considering that the venue was amazing and the seemingly high price. My friends enjoyed their dishes and they were indeed picture worthy. Considering Ithaca has cute foodie spots, this is one elegant place that stands out but perhaps not an ideal brunch spot.

Went to Coltivare when visiting Ithaca this past weekend and I really enjoyed my experience here overall. I thought the food was awesome and loved the amount of vegetarian options. To drink I ordered a simple sparkling Riesling however it tasted like it had been opened a while and wasn't quite sparkling anymore. Appetizers were great! My vegetarian partner enjoyed the vegetarian plate with me which was just a mix of all different veggies prepared differently and it was super well composed and I really enjoyed it. I don't really care much for beets but loved them on this plate. The NOLA BBQ shrimp was the other appetizer and I loved the seasoning and the shrimp was cooked perfectly...if you like shrimp this appetizer is a must order. Entrees: I ordered the short rib and my partner ordered the vegan corbins cauliflower. I loved the short rib, it was seasoned well and really tender. I'm a huge mashed potatoes person and these mashed potatoes didn't disappoint. My partner said his cauliflower dish was good but not anything special that he would come back for. All in all it was a great meal! I loved the short rib the best and the shrimp was a close second ! The dishes were really well composed. The atmosphere was cute and modern. A little industrial and cool. This place wasn't overly expensive but still good for a nice date night out. I would rate it : $$ not $$$

I purchased tickets to a cooking class for my Mother-in-Law for Mother's Day and a week before randomly received a refund. I called over and over again, leaving multiple messages and sending emails as my mother in law was going to drive to attend from a different town. They never informed me of any cancellations or returned any of my inquires. Super poor communication and care for customers.

Definitely a higher end restaurant in the are, from the vibe to the food it is a higher class feel. For 5 of us the bill was well over 300$ with tip. But we did order some apps drinks and some food so it really leveled out. What I highly recommend is the past with meatballs and burrata. I can't remember the name of it lol. The burrata was fresh and the meatballs was fantastic beef and prosciutto mix. Recommend this place for sure, but know it's a little pricey.

Our experience at this establishment was beyond disappointing. Our party was seated in EMPTY banquet room despite the fact that our reservation was made months in advance. We were assured that we were not the only ones to be seated in that banquet room but it was not the case. We watched diners filter through the entrance and get seated in the main dining room. We were also surprised at the menu offering, which was extremely limited, not on the website, and when we asked we were told it was due to "graduation" weekend. Not once was this information shared with me when they confirmed the reservation although they did insist on obtaining my credit card information in the event we did not keep the reservation. The food was beyond abysmal. Soup was under seasoned and served cold, no bread for the table - we were told that they were rationing it because of graduation weekend - a charcuterie board with negligible cheese which our server could not identify or name (she called the goat cheese manchengo), sad, cold sausage and tons of salad and a whole raw carrot. The BBQ shrimp was rubbery, overcooked and bitter. I struggled to eat the cold, roasted chicken entree - chicken was tough, overly seasoned super sweet rice and the uncooked kale made it difficult to enjoy. There was not one dish that was finished amongst our party. None of it was boxed to bring home and with very good reason. Finally they brought out a boxed cake that we brought to celebrate a birthday and college graduation along with a knife and plates. The server dropped the box in the center of the table said that there would a fee if we "expected" it to cut and served. It was very evident they did not want to serve our cake. At that point I'd seen enough. By the way, the cake was from Ithaca Bakery, delicious and the most edible thing on our table that evening. If you are looking for a great dining experience in Ithaca - look elsewhere. We dined at the Mahogany Grill last night and the food was solid, service impeccable and bread was plentiful... lol. No limited menu! Coltivare is nothing more than a pretty space pretending to be a restaurant. I truly wish there were an option for no stars.

I take no issue with the service, which was quite good, or the ambiance. It is the food. The steak of the day was top sirloin. My rare steak arrived raw, which they recooked properly. But it turned out to be the absolute worst cut of beef I have ever had. Fatty, grisly, impossible to chew or even cut with the steak knife, which I had to use like a saw. Finally, the dessert was tiny. Granted, they only charged five dollars for the dessert (as opposed to $70 for the awful steak), but they ought to charge more for a decent size dessert. The wines and drinks were fine, and a good value. But I can't give more than two stars for an entree that was just terrible.

Summary: The decor & vibe is contemporary upscale casual. The food is very fresh, as expected from a farm to table restaurant. Food is tasty, food presentation is nice, some of the serving staff is still learning which is fine since it's a teaching restaurant for the Thompson's County Community College (TC3) hospitality program. They also have other seasoned servers. All-in-all an overall pleasant dining experience. My rating is 3.5, but no half scores so a 3. Appetizers: The complementary warm bread & balsamic dip is a highlight as a starter. The Caesar salad was fresh & dressing was flavorful. Entrees: The menu is fairly limited but the items they have are done well. We were there on a Sunday, they don't have specials on Sunday. The three of us had chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto, salmon, & strip steak. Everyone enjoyed their meal. Cocktails: The craft cocktail menu has drinks with a unique flair. I got their sangria which was good for my taste but if you like sangria sweet this is not the drink for you.

Very dry meatballs that weren't seasoned well. Pasta was too saucy and came almost like soup. Sauce was also very unseasoned and lacked flavor. Only good thing was pasta was cooked well. Wouldn't recommend this dish. 2/10

First time trying a locally-source restaurant. Let's say that I liked the concept but I think it can be improved. I went on a Friday night. Since we forgot to make reservations our options were to wait close to 3hr or eat at the bar. Went for the later. (Note that reservations are encouraged) We got a cheese plater and it was delicious. I had the house made fettuccine and it was okay. The seasoning was missing and it was a little bit cold. Saying that, it was probably bc there was limited personal at the bar and it took over an hour to serve our meal. The our waiter/bartender was attending several guests. While he was doing a great job multitasking it was a lot for one person. You could tell he was overwhelmed bc he broke some glassware, cut himself and made a mess with some drinks. He's not to blame for it, but if I were the owner I'll put more pple tending guests on probably the busiest night of the week. Pros: 1) supporting local products Cons: 1) Street parking is limited. Instead there is a nearby garage. 2) The dinner menu is somewhat limited. I went with a person who has food restrictions and if was difficult to order. 3) Took forever to get our meal and it was cold when it arrived. They offer us complementary bread and it was burned.

We really enjoyed our dinner. We had a late seating because it was Valentine's Day, and the place was still very busy at 8:30pm. The chocolate raspberry cosmo was delicious! The starter and "small plate" portions were super generous - plenty for sharing if you like. Knowing that this is a training restaurant for a local culinary school and that everyone is learning as they go - very impressive!

Nice ambiance and very friendly, attentive and fast service. We made a reservation for Friday 7pm and we were seated right away. I cannot confirm any of the bad reviews about waiting time, not getting water or bread or having to wait for ever for the food. Almost opposite - all was very fast, service very attentive - absolutely no issues to complain about.We started with the Buffalo Cauliflower to share which was just huge in size. We have ordered some pasta and the fish special (Pecan) as main courses. Because the appetizer was so huge we asked if we could cancel the pasta main course and just share the Pecan. The server did this for us which was very nice. Also the Pecan Fish was rather big - so we really had plenty of food sharing those two dishes! I know you US guys like to have bigger portions - I do not like to leave the table hungry too but sometimes "less is more" and we say "the eyes eat as well". So really my only complain would be the portion size - they were definitely to big. Because I also dislike to send a lot of food back to the kitchen or box it. We finished the meal with the Semifreddo- by the way served two easily! ! This was really fantastic. Overall plenty of food - still too much and for what it was you really not overpriced. I also like the concept with local food and the culinary training possibilities. I definitely would come back - just be really careful in the food orders.

I really wanted to give this place a higher review. The ambiance is awesome. The salmon dish was amazing. But we got basil pesto pasta and short rib and were disappointed. The basil pesto pasta was too dry and the short rib was undercooked. The dessert was chai creme brûlée which was really good, the chocolate cake was good too but I liked the crime brûlée better. For appetizer the burata cheese was good but the amount of cheese was small.

My hubby is a musician and the band did a gig last Sunday at Coltivare. They served us Brunch and coffee. The food was very good. The restaurant was the cleanest I've ever seen. The ambiance was excellent and the staff was so nice and very gracious. I highly recommend this place if you want a fine dining experience.

Sooooooo if this is a "teaching" venue then YELP folks let's give constructive criticism and not tear them to pieces, shame on some of you...... Flat bread of the day pear, Gorgonzola, bacon Pumpkin french toast, I heard was good but it had local mini kiwi on it and I'm allergic to kiwi so I didn't partake Biscuits and gravy had a good consistency and flavor, the biscuits were like drop biscuits and oddly came sitting in mashed potatoes Benedict also oddly had mashed potatoes. Croque Madame, reportedly good Apple burger, cooked as ordered, big enough to share BLT, delicious Lamb meatballs tender and flavorful Finger lakes chicken sandwich, thought it would be fried but it was well grilled and juicy. Apricot butter, buttermilk scones w currents, pumpkin bread, carrot bread

Holy moly macaroni! Except this wasn't macaroni. Best short rib EVER! And great drinks!

Amazing. The best meal I had during my trip to Ithaca. We got the chef special of the day which tasted like something they would have made on top chef, hopefully this gets added to the regular menu. It was a salad like dish with sweet corn, basil, cheese, lettuce, and kielbasa. We also had amazing burrata and ended the meal with a cheesecake flight. I was expecting classic/boring cheesecake flavors and was shocked when they brought out lavender, orange, and fancy chocolate ones. Such a nice meal with amazing service

Tastiness: Tasty meals and easy to choose from a variety of options depending on your nutritional preferences. You can add meat to any meal, but I like that they kept some options meat-free from the main menu. Cleanliness/COVID prevention: We observed mask wearing and distancing of tables for indoor dining (we went for take-out), and the venue is spacious and can easily accommodate patrons while following CDC guidance. The restaurant appeared clean. Price: Average for a decent (non-pasta, non-fast food/deli) restaurant in Ithaca. Delivery/pick-up turnaround: 5/5 Placed an order for pick-up and it was ready within 30 mins. Great time for prepping several former dishes. Packaging: All plastic so it's easy to microwave if your food gets cold by the time you get home/to a hotel (if the dishes lend themselves to it). Presentation: Nothing special - but when food dances around plastic containers, I don't know that it would make a difference if it was plated nicer. Overall: Solid restaurant - would definitely return if I was in town for longer.

Thanks Coltivare for the delicious New Years Eve dinner...I wouldn't want to spend it any where else! Always so full every time I leave this place. The chef really knows what he is doing and the bartender crafts excellent cocktails. Will be back soon!

went here with my girlfriend and we had a great experience! the environment was great, the waitresses were very nice and welcoming, and the food was perfectly made. i wouldn't call this place fine dining but you can definitely tell it's a professional restaurant. the experience was very memorable for me and i'll definitely find time to come again in the future. as my girlfriend said, this is a place with food you can only find in ithaca. :)

Went to Coltivare for dinner for the first time last night and I will most certainly be back. Service was wonderful, and the ambiance was welcoming and modern. I've been meaning to try this place for a while, but had heard mixed review when it first opened and so waited for some of the kinks in the process to be worked out. Since it was Thursday night, dinner options included a small tapas menu - 5 dishes, $5 each. There were suggested wine options for the tapas menu, along with a limited beer menu for the night because of a beer tasting that they had going on as well. If nothing else, I was delighted to hear of the variety of different food/drink-related activities going on within the restaurant, as it demonstrates that they're working to keep up the educational aspect of the restaurant, as well as offering variety to visitors. I'm a fan of tapas, but also wanted to try one of the main dishes. Instead of ordering an appetizer, I ordered the brown butter mushrooms with a porcini meringue to start. My mother, who had come to dinner with me, opted for the spicy butternut squash soup with walnut butter, crème fraîche. I tried the soup and expected a bit more spice, but it was a tasty soup. The brown butter mushrooms with a porcini meringue tapas dish was a nice, inventive little tapas dish that I would certainly order again. My regret is not also ordering the buckwheat pasta ravioli with caramelized cranberry chutney and parsnip squash puree to go WITH my brown butter mushroom dish... but, then again, I had to save room for my main course. For the main course, my mother ordered the rigatoni with sausage, creamy tomato sauce, and peas... a fairly classic pasta dish. Being a fan of white beans, I ordered the duck confit with farro and white bean ragù. I'm not generally a huge fan of duck, but I was sold because of the ragù. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the dish... not greasy (which I usually associate with duck), and the farro/white bean combination was very enjoyable. I'd certainly recommend it. All in all, I'm very happy with my dinner at Coltivare. I'd like to try lunch here at some point, or brunch. The lamb meatballs with roasted red peppers, feta cheese, croutons, and local yogurt sound like something I'd love to try. The Finger Lake Chicken Sandwich also sounds tempting, with cranberry, goat cheese, and apple fennel salad. There are plenty of choices on the various, and evolving, farm to table menus. TL; DR Between the modern atmosphere, delightful/knowledgable staff, and the variety of farm to table options, I'll be back.

Wow!! We were excited to try this place based on previous reviews and it honestly exceeded our expectations! Restaurant is beautiful with a great layout. We ate at the bar and the bartender, Matt, was very attentive and well versed on the menu. We decided to share a bunch of small plates so we could try more of their food. Our favorites were the beef & prosciutto meatballs with a dab of burrata and the BBQ Shrimp. The BBQ sauce tasted straight from NOLA. The vanilla bean cheesecake with figs was amazing!! Highly recommend giving this place a try!

The one star is for the worst service and average quality of food. This is the first time I gave a one-star yelp review to a restaurant. We came in today without reservation and were told that we can sit in the bar ( plenty of seats) or we had to wait for a while. We chose to sit in the bar since the seating position doesn't matter to us. We were sitting in the bar for at least 15 minutes and no one ever talked to us. The bartender was 1-2 meters away from us and totally ignored us, even we looked at him a couple of times. So we just left. No water, no talking, no service and we were invisible during the whole process. It was a pretty eye-opening experience for us. So I decided to gave my first one-star review on yelp to "honor" this experience. To be fair, the food is not that bad. We have been here twice. The first time was for dinner. We ordered the steak and salmon, which was okay ( not worthy of the price). But we were really impressed by the complimentary bread served before the entry, which was exactly why we came back today. The second time was for brunch. I think the brunch buritto was pretty good too (one of the best in town). But I remembered the service was slow in the second visit. After the entries were served, no one ever checked on us again. We had to ask another waitress passing by to find our waitress who eventually took the check for us. This restaurant is designed to be one of the high-end ones in town. But the service was the worst among others that fall into a similar price range (Simeon's, Mercato, Pasta Vitto). I think the yelp ratings have already reflected this. Most of the low-rating reviews complaining about the service too. This restaurant apparently needs significant improvement in its service. I won't go back to it again. Good luck!

When they first opened, I dined here three times, and something was always wrong, from issues with the food being overcooked and or half the items were forgotten. I didn't sweat it because I loved the concept of student chefs and figured it was just new restaurant small mistakes and glitches! Nope, I ordered food yesterday on Ithaca to Go. My order was for french fries with aioli, 2 petite salmon filets, and mac and cheese. The aioli was never packed! What! So my expensive $10 french fries sucked! If I wanted tasty, cheap fries with ketchup, I could have gone to McDonald's. At least when McDonald's forgets the ketchup packets, I have some at home. Who has aioli lying around! Additionally, the two pieces of $12 petite salmon filets were soooo overcooked that there was not one ounce of life left. They were also covered in pepper so much that you would have thought it was "blackened" or "peppered crusted." When I called to inform them of everything, I wasn't offered a refund or partial credit for these items. What happened to teaching the students customer service in hospitality! I think Cultivate is way past its initial growing pains, and now it is just poor cooking techniques and lack of quality controls. The chef should have to taste his/her food before sending it out, and someone needs to be appointed to checking that all items are included like aoili when doing to-go meals. So frustrating, and what a waste of money. I'd give the salmon to my dog, but that would just be cruel with all the pepper and burnt areas

Delicious from start to finish with amazing, friendly and efficient servers! So happy made an OpenTable reservation and fine this gem of a place! And it's only been open since December 2014 (8 months now). Farm to Bistro food in a beautiful space and tables nicely spaced apart. Seating indoors and out and an interior wine room and special occasion space too makes this place perfect for all types of celebrations! Started with the Finger Lakes Artisanal Cheese plate and that was some of the freshest and tastiest cheese I ever had. Then had the Rosemary-cognac chicken liver mousse with gherkins and country bread toasts along with my Cabernet Sauvignon. Creamy, beautifully balanced and flavorful, without being overpowering in either herb or cognac mousse -- wish I could take that little Ball Jar of it home! My Sister-in law had the cold BLT soup which was bursting with fresh tomatoes and herb flavor and fresh, crispy bacon bits (yummy)! Then we had the salmon with roasted risotto cakes! I dream about that risotto cake it was perfectly crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside. Our waitstaff were knowledgeable, friendly and good natured (especially after I sent back the first glass of Cabernet I felt had turned). They delivered the next glass after informing me they would open a fresh bottle. It was lush and delish. Happy to return on our next trip up to Ithaca!

Coltivare is a beautiful restaurant in downtown Ithaca with a great idea of sourcing local foods and partnering with the local community college's culinary program. This restaurant has so much potential but has much to improve. We came on a Tuesday at 6PM and were one of 3 tables. There were at least 3 servers, a bartender, and a hostess however it took an unreasonable amount of time to get water, drinks, and even place an order. We ordered the shrimp and buffalo cauliflower for appetizers which were delicious. The main entrees were fresh fettuccini, which had a very bland and overly buttery sauce and was not served with spring peas as was listed on the menu and came with very dry chicken; pork belly, which was burnt on the outside and raw on the inside; and braised short ribs, which were just OK. Our server never came to check on us nor ask for additional drinks and it took about 15 minutes after we finished eating for us to request a different server bring us our bill. The price point of Coltivare is at the higher end for Ithaca but it does not have higher quality food nor service. We were highly disappointed in this experience.

Good service, but food was lacking. Shrimp and grits had possibilities, but too much balsamic vinegar that made things sweet. The NOLA BBQ shrimp was sticky and sweet, and the salad included a lot of fresh baby radishes, that were zesty but hard to eat. OK, maybe should be 3 stars. However, the wine list was limited and devoid of interest.

Food is delicious, seasonal, fresh and amazing. Service was good- they were very nice pushing my reservation 30min because of a delay my husband had. However, please be warned they do not do gift cards here. My sister called and they told her they would write a gift card for me to use for a birthday dinner- they charged her for it immediately- and then when we dined there was no record of it. (Our waitress was super sweet and apologetic). Just want to spread the word so no one else has that happen. Otherwise, I love the food and it's a prime spot for a special occasion dinner! (Easy parking in garage above restaurant, or walking distance if you live downtown).

Coltivare is great and all but I have a few complaints, first the good. I was seated in a very timely manner and the host and seater were nice to me. The food was delicious (also slightly burnt, I asked for well done..). I was given what I asked for also, which is nice. Now, the bad, and the reason I'm doing 2 stars.. When ordering dinner, they were slightly rude to me even though I was a customer, they acted like I couldn't afford their food. I felt discriminated by not being noticed for at least 10 minutes before I made eye contact with someone. Customers were given a complimentary bread basket and I was refused one and was too afraid to bother them for one. But overall, I wish they would've treated me better.

We started out at the bar, the bartender was great. Then on to our table. Our waiter was apparently new. Need I say more. We ordered more drinks and a bottle of wine. We ordered appetizers, good. Our biggest upset was that our salads were brought to the table with our meal. So we asked to eat them first. Well of course when the meals were re delivered they were cold. Very disappointing. The food was good, but would have been better if it was hot.

Coltivare is another nice fine dining restaurant in Ithaca to try. I would recommend Cornellians try it at least once for the experience but I wouldn't say it's an all-time favorite of mine. The applefest mac and cheese was extremely creamy and fruity but felt very heavy after eating it. It was good but I felt it was a bit bland as well in terms of spices. The short ribs we got were pretty tough and the meat was quite flavorless as well (needed a lot of salt and pepper). The mashed potatoes under the short rib were really creamy and flavorful though. The salmon was nice and soft and had good flavor, but wasn't anything special. I liked the bed of quinoa and vegetables underneath the fish. Finally the buffalo cauliflower I thought was really good. If you like buffalo sauce you would definitely enjoy the dish. The cauliflower was crispy and (likely) double battered with a thick crunchy coating. The decorations in the restaurant were very rustic, cute and well thought out. Our server was also extremely nice and hospitable. Overall, this restaurant is fun to go to as a nice treat but is not amazing in terms of the food you are going to get at a hefty price.

As celiacs, my son and I have to be very careful about being gluten free. Coltivare staff was knowledgeable and had gf pasta and bread on their menu. They are a farm to bistro restaurant and use locally sourced farms and breweries (they have cider and root beer on tap!) The buffalo cauliflower was delicious. This is a wonderful local place!