Via Carota
Italian restaurant · West Village
51 Grove St, New York, NY 10014
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71481039/003a_Will_9780525658573_all_art_r2.0.jpg "Via Carota by Gentl & Hyers/Alfred A. Knopf")
Highlights
Rustic Italian trattoria known for its famed green salad
Rustic Italian trattoria known for its famed green salad
"It's extremely hard to secure a reservation at Via Carota (one of the best restaurants in NYC), and there's pretty much always a wait for walk-ins of two or more hours. Obviously, that's kind of annoying, but it doesn't deter us from eating here. This place manages to stick out among thousands of Italian restaurants in NYC by making food that’s unfussy and uniformly delicious. A meal here should involve some of the dozen-plus vegetable dishes, the steak tartare-like svizzerina, and the cacio e pepe (which is non-optional)." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, molly fitzpatrick, tiffany yannetta
"Via Carota is always busy, and there are several reasons why. First, the Italian food is exceptional—especially the pasta, fried rabbit, and svizzerina. This restaurant also has an attractive space decorated like an Italian farmhouse, and you might see someone who’s due for their first (or next) Oscar win. Limited reservations are available 30 days out, but if you don’t snag one, you might be told to come back in several hours, so put your name on the list and get some drinks at one of the many bars within walking distance." - bryan kim, will hartman, sonal shah, molly fitzpatrick
"One of the top Italian spots in NYC, Via Carota is mostly walk-in-only, and you need to line up outside around 4:30pm if you want to eat dinner there. Spare yourself the inevitable four-hour wait, and stop by for lunch, when the place is much less busy. The ideal order is a tall green salad, the cacio e pepe tonarelli, and a chopped steak for the table." - willa moore, bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, will hartman, sonal shah
"Partners Rita Sodi and Jody Williams are behind what might be the most popular Italian restaurant in the city. And their other spots (Buvette, I Sodi, and Bar Pisellino) aren’t exactly struggling to fill seats either. To merely call Via Carota busy would be an understatement. This restaurant—decorated like an Italian farmhouse—serves uniformly exceptional dishes like cacio e pepe, fried rabbit, and svizzerina. If you don’t snag one of the limited reservations available 30 days out, it might be several hours until you’re seated—quite possibly next to someone who won an Oscar last year." - kenny yang, carina finn koeppicus, bryan kim, neha talreja, nikko duren, hannah albertine
"Sometimes, we’re wrong. It’s rare, but it happens. Our initial review of Via Carota, for example, was pretty lukewarm. But that was back in 2015, a confusing time when bone broth was the beverage du jour and electric hoverboards were catching on fire. With its perfect mix of casual, buzzy atmosphere and impressive, unfussy food, this West Village restaurant has grown on us immensely over the years. It’s one of our favorite Italian spots in Manhattan, slightly edging out the latest iteration of sister restaurant I Sodi, so swing by for some world-class cacio e pepe and a crisp, towering salad. Just be sure to arrive before 6pm. Via Carota is essentially walk-in only, with limited reservations, and we aren’t the only ones who love this place." - bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah
