Best Italian Restaurants in the West Village: Five Picks
Dana Whitfield · October 22, 2026 · 8 min
The best Italian restaurant in the West Village depends on the constraint: Rosemary’s has the lowest posted bill, Via Carota’s Questions page says it offers no reservations, and L’Artusi is the only one of the five whose site publishes when tables are released. Osteria Nonnino runs a 4:00 to 6:00 happy hour and Don Angie lists a lasagna for two; on posted menus, an antipasto plus the two cheapest pastas comes to 59 dollars at Rosemary’s and 77 at Don Angie. Hours, prices and policies below were read from each restaurant’s own site in October 2026.
The five picks side by side
| Restaurant | Address | Best for | What the site publishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosemary’s | 18 Greenwich Avenue, at West 10th Street | The lowest bill | Pastas $19 to $28; three-plate floor 59 dollars |
| Via Carota | 51 Grove Street | Arriving with no booking | No reservations offered, per its Questions page; full menu from open to close; floor 69 dollars |
| L’Artusi | 228 West 10th Street | Booking two weeks out | Tables release daily at 9 AM, two weeks ahead; floor 71 dollars |
| Osteria Nonnino | 637 Hudson Street | A cheap early start | Happy hour 4:00 to 6:00 daily, bar and outdoor area only; floor 73 dollars |
| Don Angie | 103 Greenwich Avenue | A shared lasagna | Lasagna for Two $72; bar opens before the dining room; floor 77 dollars |
Why these five, and how the three-plate floor is counted
Each restaurant here publishes a priced menu on its own site, which leaves out I Sodi, at 314 Bleecker Street: it prints “Walk-ins always welcome” but its site links no menu to price. The three-plate floor is the cheapest dish under each menu’s antipasti or appetizers heading plus the two cheapest under its pasta heading, before drinks, tax and tip. The five floors span 18 dollars. This is arithmetic on October 2026 menus, not a quality ranking, and nobody from this publication visited or phoned these restaurants.
Rosemary’s: best for the lowest bill
Rosemary’s West Village, at 18 Greenwich Avenue on the corner of West 10th Street, posts the cheapest pasta of the five: eight handmade pastas, from $19 for Spaghetti Aglio E Olio to $28 for the Tagliatelle and the Pappardelle.
What to order: the Chitarra Alla Carbonara ($25) or the Pappardelle with ragù alla bolognese ($28). The lunch menu adds a two-course prix fixe at $32, insalate plus pasta, pizza or panino.
Cost for two: 59 dollars for Arancini ($16), Spaghetti Aglio E Olio ($19) and Rigatoni Alla Arrabbiata ($24).
Booking: parties of 1 to 7 reserve regular tables online, 8 to 16 request the communal table with a seasonal prix-fixe menu, and 17 or more go through the event-space inquiry. Dinner runs 4pm to 10pm Sunday to Wednesday and 4pm to 11pm Thursday to Saturday as of October 2026. The weekday happy hour, 4pm to 6pm and indoors only, lists four wines at $7 each and a draft lager at $6.
Via Carota: best for a table with no booking
Via Carota, at 51 Grove Street, lists five pastas at $25 to $28 and six antipasti at $18 to $28 on its plain-text menu, and gives the plainest access answer of the five.
What to order: the tonnarelli with cacio pepe ($27) or the pappardelle with wild boar ragu ($28).
Cost for two: 69 dollars for ribollita ($18), tortelli with butternut squash ($25) and risotto with meyer lemon ($26), which the menu files under its Pasta heading.
Booking: none offered. The Questions page calls the restaurant “senza prenotazione, ‘without reservations,’” and, asked about special occasions, answers “We do not offer reservations at this time.” The home page adds “Walk-ins always welcome.” Names go on the waitlist in person only, and only if there is a wait on arrival; the largest table seats 12, and the site recommends eight or fewer. The full menu “is served from open to close each day without pause,” so an off-peak arrival is the obvious lever, though the site publishes no wait times. Hours are 11am to 11pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 11pm on Saturday and Sunday. The site’s Friday hours conflict, 10am in the Italian-language line and 11am in the footer table, so confirm.
L’Artusi: best for planning two weeks ahead
L’Artusi, at 228 West 10th Street, has the widest pasta spread of the five: nine dinner pastas from $24 to $38, plus antipasti from $20 to $32. The room has 110 seats and a chef’s counter.
What to order: the Pici ‘Cacio e Pepe’ ($24) or the Bucatini with pancetta, tomato, chilies and pecorino ($28).
Cost for two: 71 dollars for kale salad ($20), Pici ‘Cacio e Pepe’ ($24) and Spaghetti with garlic, chilies, parmigiano and sourdough breadcrumbs ($27).
Booking: Resy is the channel the site names, and L’Artusi is the one room of the five that prints a release rule: reservations “release on a two-week rolling basis, each day at 9 AM,” while “a selection of walk-ins” is held for the bar and counter, first come, first served. Dinner runs 5pm to 11pm Sunday to Thursday and 5pm to midnight Friday and Saturday; lunch is noon to 2:30pm Monday to Friday, and weekend brunch runs 11am to 2:30pm. Corkage is $55 per the menu page, against $50 at Via Carota, and this site’s guide to NYC corkage fees at Italian restaurants lists who else posts one.
Osteria Nonnino: best for a cheap early start
Osteria Nonnino, at 637 Hudson Street, describes itself as sitting where the West Village meets the Meatpacking District. Pastas run from $25 for Spaghetti al Pomodoro to $36 for Fettuccine di Emma. The access detail is the happy hour: every day from 4:00 to 6:00, at the bar and outdoor area only, with red or white wine at $8 a glass or $25 a carafe, beer at $5, well cocktails at $10 and five snacks at $10 each.
What to order: the Cacio e Pepe ($29), which the site says is prepared tableside with a pecorino cheese wheel.
Cost for two: 73 dollars for Arancine ($19), Spaghetti al Pomodoro ($25) and the Cacio e Pepe ($29).
Booking: use the site’s Reservations link or call 212-625-3333. The brunch page lists weekend service from noon to 3:00 and says the main menu is available all day. The site’s visible text gives no weekly dinner schedule, so confirm hours by phone.
Don Angie: best for a shared lasagna
Don Angie, at 103 Greenwich Avenue, keeps its pastas in the narrowest band of the five, $27 to $29, and lists two mains for a pair: “Our Lasagna for Two,” with Italian sausage bolognese and whipped robiolina, at $72, against $135 for the whole roasted lobster for two.
What to order: the lasagna for two, or the Garganelli Giganti ($29) with broken meatball ragu, guanciale and pecorino.
Cost for two: 77 dollars for BBQ Calamari ($22), Sorpresine & Smoked Mussels ($27) and Buffalo Milk Caramelle ($28). The calamari plus the lasagna for two comes to 94 dollars.
Booking: the site has a Reserve button and publishes no walk-in policy or release window, but its hours show the bar opening half an hour before the dining room: 4:30pm against 5pm Monday to Thursday, 3:30pm against 4pm Friday to Sunday. Lunch runs 11:30am to 2pm Friday to Sunday, and last seating is 10:30pm nightly. Whether the bar takes walk-ins is not stated; this site’s look at who publishes a bar-seating policy found that silence common.
What is the best pasta in the West Village?
No menu settles it, but three of the five list a cacio e pepe, which allows a like-for-like price check: L’Artusi’s Pici at $24, Via Carota’s tonnarelli at $27 and Osteria Nonnino’s bucatini at $29, a 5-dollar spread across three shapes. The sister site’s guide to cacio e pepe by pasta shape covers the Via Carota and L’Artusi bowls. Rosemary’s Chitarra Alla Carbonara ($25), with guanciale and egg yolk, is the nearest alternative.
How far ahead do West Village Italian restaurants release reservations?
Only L’Artusi says, and it says two weeks, every day at 9 AM. Rosemary’s sorts by party size instead of date, and Via Carota has no window because it offers no reservations. Don Angie and Osteria Nonnino publish no release window, so the reservation link on each site is the only calendar to read. The full walk-in wording for Via Carota, I Sodi and L’Artusi is in where to eat Italian in Manhattan without a reservation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Italian restaurant in the West Village?
It depends on what the evening needs. On posted menus Rosemary’s at 18 Greenwich Avenue is the cheapest of the five, at 59 dollars for an antipasto and two pastas; Via Carota at 51 Grove Street is the one that offers no reservations, per its Questions page; and L’Artusi at 228 West 10th Street is the one with a published release window, two weeks ahead at 9 AM.
How much does dinner for two cost at a West Village Italian restaurant?
On menus read in October 2026, an antipasto and the two cheapest pastas cost 59 dollars at Rosemary’s, 69 at Via Carota, 71 at L’Artusi, 73 at Osteria Nonnino and 77 at Don Angie, before drinks, tax and tip. Don Angie’s Lasagna for Two is $72 alone.
Which West Village Italian restaurants take walk-ins?
Via Carota’s Questions page says it offers no reservations, its home page prints “Walk-ins always welcome,” and I Sodi at 314 Bleecker Street prints the same line. L’Artusi holds a selection of bar and counter seats for walk-ins, first come, first served. The pages checked for Rosemary’s, Don Angie and Osteria Nonnino state no walk-in policy, so call first.