Pre Theatre Italian
 

Looking for a good italian restaurant within walking distance to Richard Rodgers (46th btwn 8th & Broadway). Something that won't break the bank.
Last year we ate at Cascina and it was just ok. Hoping for something a little better this time around.

check out neopatricks trip report for lots of theatre district dining - a new place at 9th and 45th called Nizza is getting nice reviews.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/dining/26brief.html

Two Italian restaurants in the theatre disrict where I've eaten well more than once are Osteria Doge on W. 44th near B'way and Osteria Gelsi at 38th and Ninth.

If you like big meals, go to Osteria Doge. If you dislike large portions, go to Osteria Gelsi.

While we enjoyed Nizza for lunch, it's nothing special atmosphere wise and seems more "lunch like" than a real restaurant. Roberto Passon still remains my favorite in the area (50th and 9th) both for the quality of the food, and for the value and prices.

www.robertopasson.com

We love Pietrasanta, at 47th and 9th.
http://www.pietrasantarestaurant.com/web.asp?cont=home

Thank you all. Even though it's a little further Roberto Passon may be what I'm looking for since I don't want pizza to be a choice for my dinner guests. They are from out of state and I'm worried they will order pizza just so the check won't be so high. Also it seems to be more northern than southern Italian which I would definitely prefer.

Definitely Roberto Passon. Infinitely better than Cascina.

The only other place I can think of is ViceVersa, but that's more modern Italian rather than traditional. They have a prix-fixe that's $35 per person.

The owners have another restaurant that's closer to your theater called Etcetera Etcetera, and the prix-fixe there is the same price. If you order a la carte, it's a little cheaper than ViceVersa. I'm eating at Etcetera Etcetera for the first time tomorrow night, but Vice Versa is one of my favorite restaurants in the theater district, as is Roberto Passon.

Nobody mentioned Becco. I haven't been there in a couple of years, but it used to be a standard.

I used to love Becco, but with Lidia Bastianich's popularity it's grown ever more crowded, annoying, and mediocre, especially since the expansion. The last couple of times I've been, I ended up not getting the pasta special and just ordered a main course. Wines are still well priced by the bottle, though, and they offer a nice range of choices, though glasses are way way overpriced.

I was looking at the menu for Roberto Passon but I don't see a prix-fixe, do they have one?

Also, just to have a back up, how is Scarlatto?

they have a prix-fixe at lunch

http://www.robertopasson.com/media/lunch.html

We were going to try Becco but they get such mixed reviews. The pasta special sounds like my out of state (Florida) guests would like.

Maybe I should make this my backup in case I can't get a reservation at Roberto Passon since I'm trying for a Friday night.

That fixed price at Roberto Passon is one of the best deals I've seen anywhere in NYC -- not just because it's only $13 for three courses with plenty of choices, but because my first course of beef carpaccio is better than most $13 or higher beef carpaccios in NYC all alone!

And while they don't have a fixed price at dinner, you can choose any three courses ala carte and still not top most fixed prices at "similar" but not as good restaurants.

If you really want to eat at Becco, make that your first choice because it's a much harder ticket. You won't have a problem getting a reservation at Roberto Passon for a pre-theater meal.

We just ate at Becco for lunch a couple of weeks ago - it was certainly very good, but not spectacular. It certainly didn't dissapiont, but on the other side of the coin it didn't wow us. The antipasta and the casear salad was the best we had in NY for the trip. While the pasta tasting was excellent, it was nowhere near the match to more high end places like Scarpetta or Babbo in the wow factor. Simple and very good - really better than most Italian food in any city besides NYC...

Ok, I reserved Becco since it's right down the block from the theatre.

We'll hold off on Roberto Passon till December when we go with just our family.

We have our first-hand doubts about Passon and, especially, Becco which we found to be horrible. Many local foodies are not fond of these 2 places because of the relatively low quality dishes.

While I'm not very excited about the restaurants in the Times Square area vicinity, a pretty good one is Trattoria Trecolori.

Insieme, owned by Marco Canora and Paul Grieco is an exception. But this restaurant does not serve pre-theater and the cost is relatively higher, but very much worthy of the dishes and service, BTW, Marco and Paul own and operate Hearth and Terroir, but very good and respected establisments in the East Village.

http://www.trattoriatrecolori.com/

http://www.restaurantinsieme.com/

b_b

I recommend Scarlatto. http://www.scarlattonyc.com/

sort of "modern" italian, very yummy, and I believe they do have a pre-theater menu. We've taken out of town guests there multiple times and all have enjoyed.

No one has mentioned three outstanding Italian restaurants in that area: Lattanzi and Orso on West 46th and Remi on West 53rd.

So I just had a truly excellent meal at Etcetera Etcetera, the sister restaurant of ViceVersa. I had a regular appetizer (baby octopus salad), and appetizer size portion of risotto, and dessert (cherry ice cream). All absolutely great. And decent-priced wines by the glass. Over all, entree prices are a tad under ViceVersa, but with the option of smaller pasta portions, it's a really great deal. Plus there's a prix-fixe. All main courses were under $25, but we didn't order one this time.

Oh ... and I saw The Marriage of Bette and Boo ... one of the most perfect productions (and enjoyable plays) I've seen over the past year.