The City Tavern

Borgo antico sits in a charming two-level south of union square townhouse. The room is invitingly decorated with warm yellow walls, glowing sconces, heavy mirrors and tan table top--all making for a spare, modern elegance. A nice and festive bar sits near the entrance, along with a handful of tables set aside for patrons who want to chat with Giovanni... Pros: food,decor,value. more

I found the food here to be quite average in taste and presentation. The menu is unusually overpriced for what they offer and the decor is a hodgepodge of styles that didn't appeal to me. Not impressed. Cons: Overpriced, average food more

Met a friend here for dinner, and it was amazing! The restaurant itself is perfectly decorated and the tables are well spaced between each other. service is very propmt and attentive and the food is delicious. My friend who is italian gave it high praise. It would be a perfect date spot as it's romantic and very pretty inside. Definetly go. Pros: great food, great decor, good location, fantastic staff more

This is my first citysearch post. I felt compelled to review Borgo Antico after the wonderful experience I had with my friends. For the prices, I have yet to eat at a comparable Italian restaurant in nyc. It was obvious that the staff took pride in their service from start to finish. They focused on details long forgotten by trendy ny spots. Pros: experienced staff, knowledgeable about each dish Cons: they were out of my favorite grappa...but they recommended a fantastic substitute more

After reading the reviews on Borgo Antico, I knew to order any of their entrees all sounded good. Pros: food, service,music more

Dining at Borgo Antico was the best choice my group and I had .li was lucky to found this restaurant . what we found was amazing. Nice, cozy, and romantic place with very friendly vibe.Great table spacing. Pros: food, people,music more

This used to be a place we enjoyed for years. We have decided that we will no longer be a customer of theirs. The food has really gone down and is not consistent. The worst thing is with the decline of food quality the service also took a huge dive. Waiters clearly do not want to be there which rubs off on to the customer. Why spend money here when you are not made to feel welcome?? more

We went for dinner at borgo antico.The food is fresh and delicious , the service was fantastic.My braised lamb shank in a barolo sauce was delicious.Big plus: our waiter helped us choose a bottle of wine from their large selection.I'm sure we''ll going back here many more times. Pros: great food ,great service,reasonable price more

for the best pasta ever you have to go to borgo, you will find original pasta from napoli, their ""ragu"" sauce is outstanding.... more

I've been here once a couple of years ago and decided to try it again because everywhere else was packed. The food was so so a couple of years ago and it has gotten worse! Not only was the service terrible, the food was horrible. People at the next table were complaining how horrible their house wine was. I would NEVER go back. more

Last friday i had my birthday party at Borgo Antico, from start to finish everything was amazing, and even if it was the first time we ate at Borgo the host and the waiters gave us the attention that only moviestar usually get. The menu that we chose from the website was a bargain for what we've got. Pros: party menu,food,service more

We've never been at Borgo Antico before, but after several friends suggested the place for the atmosphere, i decided to bring my fiancee' for an anniversary dinner. more

hello, im a regular at borgo antico for the past 12 years, i dine there since 1995. Pros: food,service.groups more

We had a large party of 17 and our service was horrible. Reservation at 8:00 seated at 8:45 no menus or water until 9:30, we had to beg for bread, we had to beg AGAIN to order. Reservations made well in advance and we were not discouraged from bringing a large party. Our waiter left mid- dinner and we had a new one. Apparently he was the day guy who needed to go home. People had to leave the table to go to bar to get drinks. Really dissapointing for the 25th anniversary party we were celebrating. I wouldn't recommend this place at all. Our second waiter tried to save the party by giving us a round of sambucca, but it was too late. We negotiated his tip to 15% from 20% the service was really that poor. Food was ok, nothing special, certainly not up to the other reviewers snuff. I can get better Italian fine dining cuisine in Queens and better service too! Pros: location Cons: service, value vs. price, not for large parties, quality of food overated more

One block south of Union Square you will find Borgo Antico, a charming Village Italian that offers authentic dishes, artfully prepared by Chef Ivan Beacco and graciously served by owner Giovanni Iovine and his staff. My table started with the mussels, scallops and Insalata del Borgo (organic greens, artichokes and parmesan), and then finished with the Pappardelle Porcini (wide ribbons, porcini mushroom & truffle oil), the salmon and the orata filet. Pros: food.service.music. more

I know valentine day can be a tragedy for many, bad winter storm, traffic, delays, late arrival of the love one. Pros: love, romance,thats amore more

We used to be loyal customers of Borgo Antico. We made a reservation for Valentine's day because we thought we would have a delicious, no fuss meal. Opentable advertised their Prix Fixe menu for $39.95. We got there to disover it was $49.95. That would have been fine, had any course been enjoyable. The frise salad was awful. There was not a vegetarian option for the entree and I was told they could only do pasta with tomato sauce. I was floored that they could charge the full price for noodles and marinara sauce. Dessert was a choice between a fruit mousse and a chocolate cake that tasted like a chunk of baking chocolate. It was a very disappointing experience. We were hearing similar comments from the tables next to us, and one group left immediately after looking at the menu. more

The Italian and worldly -heavy wine list features few bottles under $30, but by-the-glass options include a flowery sauvignon blanc (Argentina) and a mellow Syrah (Italy). Pros: SERVICE,GIOVANNI, FOOD Cons: ??? more

I live in Union Square and am used to the many wonderful restaurants in the area, so I was looking forward to a good Italian meal at Borgo Antico. We show up for our 2:30 reservations, for my mother's bday lunch, and find that we are the only people in the restaurant, other than a couple that was just paying their bill. We end up sitting for about 15 minutes before we get any water, utensils or bread plates while our rude waiter talked away with the other couple and despite my efforts to get his attention. We were at the point of almost walking out but decided to give the restaurant another chance. We finally get our menus and find only a brunch menu (it was 2:45). Because I was looking forward to ordering some of the items off of the regular menu, I had asked the waiter if we could order from it and he had said that they do not offer it during that time and we could only eat off of the brunch menu. My parents and I picked whatever we could from the limited options and although the meal was ok, as we are paying our bill, another gentleman walks into the restaurant, is seated and immediately handed the regular menu. I was totally in shock as I heard the waiter reviewing all of the options on the menu! I went over to ask what time the menu changed and he looks at me blankly and said 3. I could not believe that after we were waiting for so long for the menus, asked specifically if we could order from the regular menu, and were the only people in the restaurant at the time, the waiter did not offer it to us as an option. Needless to say, this was a horrible way for my mother to celebrate her birthday and I will most definitely warn all of my friends about the miserable service. To think I gave up the reservations I had at Spice Market for this place! Please take heed and dine at your own risk at Borgo Antico! Cons: rude, unattentive service, horrible experience! more

My very wonderful friends planned a surprise birthday dinner for me here. The staff at Borgo Antico went out of their way to make it perfect--they added my favorite wine to their wine list, and even made a dessert with that wine for the night. They printed up a dated birthday menu with all the specials on it--we all really felt like they gave us everything we wanted and more. Pros: service, food, music Cons: ? more