Does anyone have any feedback on an Italian restaurant called Becco?
Much appreciated...

Becco on 46th Street in New York?

If so, it's very mediocre, at best.

There are over 1,000 Italian restaurants in NYC, and I don't know one New Yorker who would have Becco on a top 100 list.

Do a search for Becco on the Manhattan board on Chowhound.com. It gets pretty mixed reviews. I think it's more about quantity than quality. There are certainly better Italian restaurants, even in the Theatre District.

I'm glad you posted this. Friends of mine go here ALL THE TIME when they visit NYC. I mean, to the exclusion of many other restaurants. They always rave about it, and, based on their reviews, I have suggested that other go. Sounds like i might have to rethink that!

They have a very decent nightly chef special for $21.95 that is all you can eat three pastas and either anti pasta or salad before hand.

The pasta is served by waiters out of pans. It isn't a buffet.

It is probably one of the better dinner deals for pre theater Times Square.

It's handy to theaters and they serve a large amount of decent food at a very low price (unlimited simple pastas and salads for only $23 or something). But - the food is very basic (pastas typically don;t have chicken or shrimp or whatever) and the cooking is acceptable.

There are much better choices nearby - but not at that price - which is VERY low for NYC.

The divide is usually between visitors and Ny'ers.

We have only eaten there once and it was mediocre. But if I was feeding a football team it would be an excellent choice.

As would Olive Garden.

I just got back from NY and ate at Becco. Frankly, I had never heard of it - we were heading someplace else and peaked in, liked the look of it and went inside.

It was midweek and we were seated in the front room in about 5 minutes. We liked our waiter - he was enthusiastic and fun. I noticed all the Lidia books but unitl then had no idea it was connected with her.

We both had the pasta special. Our opinion: Loved the thin salty breadsticks and the white bean spread. Salad was crisp, simple and good. Of the three pastas, the ravioli w/ chard was tender and yummy, the spaghetti with tomato & basil nothing unusual but actually quite good and the orchiette w/ pancetta and cauliflower not bad; the cauliflower was hard to find.

Our service was very good; it was busy but not crazy, only one big party. It was cold outside & cozy inside. The manager bought us an after dinner drink, which we appreciated.

And, the price was reasonable - the closest place to me for really good Italian food is San Francisco; this reminded me of some North Beach places with fun atmosphere and tasty but not unique food.

We tried to go to Hell's Kitchen our last night (a Friday) but couldn't get in. We had been working most of the day, had just done the free Friday at MOMA and had early plans for our Saturday morning.We were tired and wanted food. Since Becco was near our hotel, we called and got a reservation.

Visit two: We opted to wait at the bar to be seated in our 'old' waiter's section. Bartender did a good job of discussing the wines w/us (I used to work in the wine business, but I don't know Italian wines in depth). He gave us tastes of a couple and topped off both of our glasses.

Becco was a lot more crowded that night - 3-4 birthday celebrations. The pastas did not appeal; I had the roasted chicken w/ sweet potato and chard. This is not something I usually order since I make a pretty good roast chicken, but it sounded tasty and simple.

It was - tasty and simple! The chicken was juicy and the skin crisp. Vegetables were prepared, again, simply, but nothing wrong.

We had fun there, and for a flavorful meal in a fun atmosphere with good service (for us, both nights) & decent prices, it was a good choice.

For inventive delicious food - maybe not.

By the way, from what we could tell by talking with people at the bar and a little eavesdropping and observing, the other diners on the nights we were there were a combination of locals and tourists.

I'd agree that if you like unlimited portions of three usually very bland mediocre pastas, yes it's a good deal. I personally don't care for it at all.

But the idea that the opinions are a divide between locals and tourists is laughable. Why do some people think all tourists have lousy taste but all locals have wonderful taste? If I'm not mistaken most of the negative opinions here are coming from tourists, no? The fact is that when we went some time back (NOT for pre-theatre), the place was filled with locals who loved getting all that pasta for a low price. There were a number of what were clearly "local" groups meeting for various celebrations including a big bridal shower and a large family gathering. The idea that only (or all) tourists like it is like saying that Tavern on the Green is for tourists. I recently read that Tavern on the Green is the number 1 spot selected by "locals" for special occasion. That doesn't mean that there aren't thousands of locals who hate it, just as there are thousands of tourists who hate it. It just shows that there is no given ratio regarding quality and whether it appeals to tourists or locals. Heck, I'd even be willing to bet there are Olive Gardens or Applebees in neighborhoods of NYC that are strictly visited by locals.

I'd agree that if you like unlimited portions of three usually very bland mediocre pastas, yes it's a good deal. I personally don't care for it at all.

But the idea that the opinions are a divide between locals and tourists is laughable.

Laugh away. As always there is a contradiction in your responses. Thus you can never be wrong.

The people who seem to dislike Becco are those who I beleive hold themselves out as Ny'ers or have visited extensively. It is prima facie evidence. Your argument is just that-an argument.

Where in NYC do you see Appleby's, Denny's, Cracker Barrel, Lubey's, etc.

You can count on your hand the number of Olive Garden's and Macaroni Grills in NYC. There are limited number of Domino's, Papa John's, etc.

The food chains that are numerous in NYC are Starbuck's,the three big hamburger chains, Dunkin, and Subway. A number of those are run by the Reise Brothers who are alchemist, the turn food into ....

Laugh away, Oh great defender of the bad restaurants but you seem to not like them either.


And as far as Tavern having events, it is because they specialize in events. Is the food at wedding halls better than restaurants, rarely. But the specialize in it.

Sorry I answered. Will refrain from arguing this point.

No Auduchamp, the survey I was referring to on Tavern on the Green was NOT about events. It was about family special occasions or dining. There are tons and tons of local residents who think it is the "end all" of special restaurants. Probably the vast majority of them have never eaten at Grammercy Tavern or Picholine or Le Bernardin or Bouley and probably never will. There are all kinds of "locals" in NYC and they don't all have the same taste as you or I. Period.

But there IS an Olive Garden in Bronx, one in Brooklyn, and one in Queens. None of those are there for "the tourists". I never said there was one on every corner. My point is that I consider Olive Garden a "not very great" restaurant, yet I have little doubt that those off the tourist track in NYC are still packed with locals every night.

My point remains. There is NO reason to assume that all tourists flock to bad restaurants, but all locals have good taste and don't. Not all tourists have the same taste. Not all locals have the same taste. That was my only real point. Argue it if you want.

And calling me "defender of bad restaurants" is absurd. As you say, I don't like them either and wasn't defending bad restaurants in any conceivable way (although I'd be hard pressed for anyone to establish a finite definition on what is a bad restaurant and what is a good restaurant -- again, tastes vary. I'm only a defender of "logic" and "honesty". Those are the points I was defending -- not restaurant quality.

And by the way, I see NO "contradiction" in my post. If anything, because I'm a tourist, the idea that I dislike Becco seems to support the statement that not all tourists love it while all locals don't. But where do you get the idea that people who don't like Becco are only or even mostly those who are New Yorkers or who have visited extensively? What possible theory would support that idea?

New York is an extraordinary dining city. Yes restaurant for restaurant in France the food is better and tastes different. The same is true for Italy. Is there a place in NYC that makes New Orleans style cooking well, not that I have found. How many good Mexican restaurants are there, very few. The Chinese food in Flushing which is moving back into the City is almost as good as the LA suburb of Monterry Park.

All that said, NYC is the restaurant capital of the world for variety, ethnic varierty and high quality. So when a visitor comes to NYC would should they settle for 2nd rate food. Particularly when you get excellent food at reasonable prices.

You noted that there is one Olive Garden each in Brooklyn, Queens, and Bronx.
There are:
1.3 million people in the Bronx
2.5 in Brooklyn
2.3 in Queens

Clearly there is greater threat from terrorists than from the Olive Grdens.

Auduchamp, sorry my post was so long that it confused you into thinking I was saying Olive Gardens are a threat to civilization as we know it. You totally misinterpret my comments.

I do not believe that all tourists pick and/or like "bad" restaurants. And I do not believe that all locals avoid and/or dislike those same "bad" restaurants. Tourists and locals both have varying tastes. Go ahead and disagree with that if you want. It really was my ONLY point.

On the other hand, I agree 100% with your statement: "All that said, NYC is the restaurant capital of the world for variety, ethnic varierty and high quality. So when a visitor comes to NYC ((why)) should they settle for 2nd rate food. Particularly when you get excellent food at reasonable prices." But to that, I'd simply add "yes, but why should locals settle for them either? Why are you singling out tourists as the only ones who would go to 2nd rate restaurants, when many, many locals do as well?

I just get tired of the "we New Yorkers all have GREAT taste. Tourists have NO taste." Sorry, that's what your first post clearly seemed to say to me. Not surprising, since you say it so often.

You are right Neo, you are always right.

Actually I like when people go to Carmine's, Ellen's, Serendipity, Tavern, Becco's and Carnegie. It means there are empty tables at other spots.

I agree.

And funny you mention Carmines. I have a good friend who was the manager there for a number of years (the Times Square one). He will tell you that at 8 (when all the pre-theatre people left) the vast majority of their customers were locals -- many of them regulars. So thanks for reaffirming my point. But while we're at it, there is another Carmine's (UWS) that relies almost totally on locals. So again, I'm not sure what your point was in bringing it up if your argument is still that those are strictly tourist places. Restaurants you may refer to as "mediocre" are regarding by some locals, as well as tourists, as "great".

I am sure I eat in restaurants in my neighborhood people turn their backs on.

Curious obsertvation. In the Zagat's for restaurants NYC, there are many places rated less than 20 for food. In the Zagat's Markets NYC (food, candy, bakeries,butchers, florists) there are few places rated under 20 for quality.

I am not exalting or criticizing Zagat's but using it as a point of reference.

What would you draw from that reference?

Our family of 5 ate at Becco pre theatre and enjoyed it. If memory serves me, if you get the three pastas, you get your choice of ceasar salad or antipasti. From reading rants on this board, I have gathered that they bring out the exact same amount of antipasti whether you have a party of 2 eating it or a party of 6....generous for 2, exceedingly skimpy for 6.

I have been to Becco twice - once for dinner and once for lunch. I thought it was good, not great. It was very busy pre-theatre dinner and I thought the service was spotty. Food was good. Some in my party got the 3 course pasta, some ordered off the menu. It's not amazing but it is also not terrible.

(Aduchamp - I do not always agree with NeoPatrick but why are you trying to pick a fight with him in this instance?)