Best Italian Restaurants on the Upper West Side
Dana Whitfield · October 27, 2026 · 8 min
The best Italian restaurants on the Upper West Side cluster on two avenues: Lucciola (621 Amsterdam Avenue) and Gennaro (665 Amsterdam Avenue), then Pappardella, La Pecora Bianca and Tarallucci e Vino on Columbus Avenue, with La Perla Nascosta on West 79th Street. Lucciola serves tasting menus only, Gennaro posts the lowest pasta prices, from $19.50, and Tarallucci e Vino opens at 8am. Hours, prices and policies below come from each restaurant’s own website, checked in October 2026.
The six picks side by side
| Restaurant | Address | Best for | Posted prices, and the catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucciola | 621 Amsterdam Avenue | A tasting-menu night | Tasting menus only, no currency sign (confirm); closed Monday |
| Gennaro | 665 Amsterdam Avenue | The lowest pasta prices | Pastas $19.50 to $26.50 (confirm); no credit cards; closed Tuesdays |
| La Perla Nascosta | 206 West 79th Street | A weekend daytime table | Menu page prints 23 to 32 with no dollar sign (confirm) |
| Pappardella | 316 Columbus Avenue | Lunch at noon, any day | Dinner pastas $26 to $36; some dishes cost less at lunch |
| La Pecora Bianca | 359 Columbus Avenue | A set-price lunch | Pastas $25 to $29; lunch prix fixe $30, days not stated |
| Tarallucci e Vino | 475 Columbus Avenue | A table from 8am | Prices print with no currency sign (confirm); prix fixe required for 6 or more |
How these were chosen
Each restaurant’s official site supplied current hours and a priced menu or tasting-menu figures; sites that blocked the checks were left out. Cost for two sums one shared starter and two pastas, before drinks, tax and tip. Numbers printed without a dollar sign are marked “confirm.” Nobody from this publication visited or phoned these restaurants.
Lucciola: tasting menus on Amsterdam Avenue
Lucciola gives its cuisine as “Italian fine dining, tasting menus, wine pairings.” It is also the Upper West Side pick in this site’s guide to one Italian pick per Manhattan area. As of October 2026 it is closed Monday, open 6pm to 10pm Tuesday to Friday and 5pm to 10pm Saturday and Sunday. The dinner menu page prints bare figures with no currency sign, from 189 for the three-item Lucciola Icons to 249 for nine courses, each beside a higher wine-pairing figure. Confirm what each covers.
What to order: the Lucciola Icons option, with three items picked from the menu’s list.
Booking: a card is required to hold a table. The policy is to cancel 24 hours ahead “to avoid an $185 per person fee,” and only complete parties are seated.
Cost for two: not calculated; its menu page lists tasting menus only, with no currency sign.
Gennaro: the lowest pasta prices of the six
Gennaro, at 665 Amsterdam Avenue, opened in 1996. As of October 2026 it posts hours of 4:45 until 9:30pm, six nights a week, “CLOSED TUESDAYS.” Its menu page lists eleven pastas from $19.50 for penne al pomodoro piccante to $26.50 for veal ravioli. A link to an image of its “classic menù” is marked “prices not yet up to date,” so confirm prices by phone. The story page adds “NO CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED.”
What to order: the bucatini cacio e pepe ($25.50).
Cost for two: 63.50 dollars for kale salad ($17.50), spaghetti alla chitarra ($20.50) and the bucatini.
Booking: by phone on 212-665-5348; the pages read show no online booking link.
La Perla Nascosta: the 2025 arrival on West 79th Street
La Perla Nascosta, at 206 West 79th Street, lists “Established in 2025.” As of October 2026 it opens at 4pm Monday to Friday and 11am Saturday and Sunday, closing at 10pm except 11pm on Friday and Saturday. The home page prints dollar prices for ten dishes; the full menu page prints the same figures without dollar signs, its primi running 23 to 32, so confirm.
What to order: the Penne alla Vodka ($23); the About page cites its “famous house-made Vodka Sauce.”
Cost for two: 68 dollars for Meatball Parmigana ($18), Penne alla Vodka ($23) and Lasagna ($27), all priced on the home page.
Booking: a Find a Table button, or (212) 224-9667. The contact form “should not be used to make reservations.”
Pappardella: the Columbus Avenue regular since 1983
Pappardella, at 316 Columbus Avenue, has operated since 1983. As of October 2026, lunch runs noon to 3pm daily, brunch 11am to 3pm Saturday and Sunday, and dinner 3pm to 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 3pm to 10:30pm Friday and Saturday. Its lunch and dinner tabs price some dishes differently (orecchiette baresi is $27 at lunch, $29 at dinner), so these are dinner-tab prices. A separate gluten-free menu exists, but the kitchen “cooks both gluten and gluten-free food,” so confirm for celiac needs; this site’s note on gluten-free pasta at Italian restaurants lists what to ask.
What to order: the Pinwheel Lasagna ($32), which the site calls a signature dish.
Cost for two: 76 dollars for panfried burrata ($18), tonnarelli cacio e pepe ($26) and the lasagna.
Booking: a reservation form on the site, or (212) 595-7996. The site mentions prix fixe menus and a happy hour; confirm the terms.
La Pecora Bianca: the group’s Columbus Avenue room
La Pecora Bianca’s Upper West Side restaurant is at 359 Columbus Avenue. The group also lists a Midtown location, covered in this site’s guide to Italian restaurants in Midtown Manhattan. Here the menu says “All of Our Pasta Are Made in House” and prices six pastas from $25 for spaghetti to $29 for tagliatelle, gramigna and campanelle. As of October 2026 the room opens at 11:30am on weekdays and 10am on weekends and closes between 9:30pm and 10:30pm. The menu lists a “2-Course Prix Fixe Lunch $30” without naming days.
What to order: the gramigna ($29), a curly pasta with house-made sausage, broccolini and chili flakes.
Cost for two: 70 dollars for whipped ricotta ($17), spaghetti ($25) and rigatoni ($28).
Booking: the site’s Reservations form, or (212) 300-9870.
Tarallucci e Vino: the all-day table
As of October 2026, Tarallucci e Vino, at 475 Columbus Avenue, is “open all day”: 8am to 10:30pm Sunday to Thursday and 8am to 11pm Friday and Saturday, on its location page and home page footer. It sits near the American Museum of Natural History. The à la carte menu prints bare numbers, so confirm them: dinner pastas run from 23 for spaghetti to 36 for linguine alle vongole.
What to order: the cacio e pepe (26), made with tonnarelli and pecorino romano.
Cost for two: 69 by the printed figures, for polpettine (19), spaghetti al limone (24) and the cacio e pepe; the page shows no currency sign.
Booking: a Reserve link on the site, or (212) 362 5454.
What are some good Italian restaurants on Amsterdam Avenue?
Two of the six picks sit on Amsterdam Avenue, Lucciola at 621 and Gennaro at 665. Lucciola closes on Monday and Gennaro on Tuesday, so one of the two is open every night. Monday dinner elsewhere in the city is covered in where to eat Italian in Manhattan on a Monday.
Which Upper West Side Italian restaurants are good for a quiet dinner?
On the pages read, none of the six publishes a noise level, so none can be called quiet on its own evidence. The nearest statement is Lucciola’s home page, which lists “thoughtful acoustics” in its description of fine dining: an intention, not a measurement.
Which Upper West Side Italian restaurant costs least for two?
A shared starter and two pastas add up to 63.50 dollars at Gennaro, 68 at La Perla Nascosta, 70 at La Pecora Bianca and 76 at Pappardella, a 12.50-dollar spread, before drinks, tax and tip. Confirm Gennaro, whose classic menu is marked “prices not yet up to date,” La Perla Nascosta (home page prices) and Tarallucci e Vino, whose printed figures add to 69 with no currency sign. Lucciola’s menu page lists tasting menus only. For the other side of the park, the Upper East Side guide sums its own picks the same way.
What changes for a party of six?
Three of the six attach a rule at six guests:
- Lucciola: a 24% service charge applies to parties of 6 or more, and Resy bookings stop at six. Seven to ten guests email, and the private dining page lists large-party pricing from $300 per person++ Sunday to Thursday and from $375 Friday and Saturday.
- Tarallucci e Vino: a prix fixe is required, $30pp for brunch, $42pp for lunch and $65pp for dinner, so six dinners come to 390 dollars before drinks, tax and tip. A card goes on file, with a $35 per person fee for no-shows and cancellations inside 24 hours.
- Pappardella: the lunch tab prints “20% gratuity will be added to parties of 6 and more”; the dinner tab does not repeat it, so confirm.
La Pecora Bianca lists large parties of up to 16 guests, and its private events page gives its Mezzanine as seating up to 38. Gennaro and La Perla Nascosta publish no group rule on the pages read.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side?
It depends on the evening, and none of the six sites publishes a rating. Lucciola at 621 Amsterdam Avenue suits a tasting menu, Gennaro at 665 Amsterdam Avenue posts the lowest pasta prices, from $19.50, and Pappardella at 316 Columbus Avenue has operated since 1983. La Pecora Bianca and Tarallucci e Vino suit a set-price lunch and an all-day table.
Which Upper West Side Italian restaurants serve lunch?
Pappardella serves lunch from noon to 3pm daily, and Tarallucci e Vino opens at 8am. La Pecora Bianca opens at 11:30am on weekdays and 10am on weekends, and La Perla Nascosta at 11am on weekends. Lucciola and Gennaro post dinner hours only.
How much does dinner for two cost at an Upper West Side Italian restaurant?
A shared starter and two pastas cost 63.50 dollars at Gennaro, 68 at La Perla Nascosta (home page prices), 70 at La Pecora Bianca and 76 at Pappardella as of October 2026, before drinks, tax and tip. Confirm Tarallucci e Vino’s 69, which prints with no currency sign, and Gennaro’s, whose classic menu is marked “prices not yet up to date.”
Which Upper West Side Italian restaurants take walk-ins?
Lucciola says it accepts walk-ins during the week “for the whole dining experience only.” The pages read for the other five state no walk-in policy, so call first.