Falai

Went here for a friend's birthday and everything was exquisite. The homemade bread that they serve is really a treat. I had the black pasta calamari dish and I wiped the plate clean. The best part was when we ordered desert drinks and the server gave us the rest of the bottles to finish! We had a great time. more

I went on a Sat night with my wife and we had a great time. We sat outdoors in a nice little alcove that they have. My wife had the seafood special combination and the scallops. The food had some unexpected flavors which was unique. I had the venisen special which was very good. The service was fantastic with constant attention. If I had any negative comments, it would have to be that the food portions are relatively small and they didn't serve warm bread. But I highly recommend them. Pros: service, unique flavors Cons: food portions more

Reading the user reviews of Falai is a lesson in the ignorance of others. Thankfull Frank Bruni and Eric Asimov visit restaurants NUMEROUS times before attempting reviews. \r \r Sure, I'll admit that the space is loud, hot and often crowded. However, it is also sleek, modern and elegant. It feels like an old restaurant in Rome that has undergone a modern minimalist upgrade. It would be much better if you could actually sit comfortably at the bar.\r \r Criticisms of the sommelier rest solely on the critics. Yes, he's a little abrupt, usually to those he doesn't know or who are clearly clueless. He gave us a little 'tude the first time but when we told him what we were looking for he was spot on with an excellent choice. He even acknowledged that the white we ordered would not go with one of our entrees and volunteered a free glass of appropriate red. He remained true to his word when the entree's were delivered. \r \r As for the food the menu is truly inspired. Simple, refined modern interpretations of typical italian dishes and techniques. A panzanella with scallops added an upgrade to this peasant dish. The signature chocolate tagliatelle with venison ragu is a smash. The gnudi were light, fluffy and perhaps a bit under salted. Other's have complained about the portion size which is much smaller than the average East Village Italian. However, this is not average Italian - it is much more refined, meant to inspire not to fill. An appetizer, entree, cheese course and dessert is the way to go here and will more than satisfy.\r \r And lets not forget the desserts. Chef/owner Iacopo Falai was the pastry chef at Le Cirque. He understands his desserts. More important is the cheese courses. An excellent selection of a half dozen italian cheeses, served indivudally with 3 matching condiments for each. A sweet gorgonzola with white chocolate, fig and fig compote was truly inspired. I want to return to try each of them. \r \r Overall my experience at Falai is one I want to repeat. Pros: Innovative Italian, Eclectic Italian Wine List, Sceany Cons: Loud, Hot, Small more

I'll admit it...I spend way too much on food in NYC, but listen...if you are going to do it, do it here. Yeah Yeah, so the location is a bit tired, but they make up for it 1000 times over. I love the service, and I love the food. It's just all around terrific, and I will continue to go as much as I can afford! Thanks for a great new spot to be a regular! Pros: The Interior, The Service, The Wine Selection Cons: The Lower East : ) Jk Jk-- no cons! Get there now~~~ more

The food is absolutely amazing. All the pastas are made fresh daily, and everything I had was fantastic. Warning, you are supposed to order multiple dishes, so if you order just an entree per person you probably won't have enough. Just order a few of the excellent pastas to split among everyone, and you'll be just fine. It did take a while to get seated, but it's a small restaurant and the staff were all extremely friendly. The white decor was great, like being in some mod Italian film. Overall, a very hip restaurant with great food and friendly servers. Pros: Food, decor Cons: no a/c, long wait to get seated more

Falai is great. So it is small, hot and loud. But that is a part of the ambiance. As a matter of fact, i read this review from ""the real deal"" and pondered why there would only be one meat dish on the menu. It turns out this reviewer was full of ****. The menu has 3 meat dishes to offer as well as a number of fish dishes and many homemade pastas. I highly recommend Falai. This website is for reviews, not complaints. The servers were all very friendly, and i highly doubt they would say something like ""you people."" Hell if you came to a restaurant i worked at mr. ""real deal"" i would say ""you people"" too. \r \r Falai: great service. delicious beautiful dishes. Too hot, too loud, but worth it!\r Pros: food, service, presentation Cons: hear, size, noise level more

I'm sure opening a restaurant is tough and all. I'd be awful at it, so I have never tried. Beyond the white decor, small portions & bratty staff (yes, bratty is the word here), Falai is so LOUD. When full, the place sounds like the inside of a jet engine: bare walls + bare floor + open kitchen = LOUD. The food was OK, very expensive. \r \r Now for the bad story, because I promised my table of 6 I would tell it here: For parties of 6 or more there is a limited menu, check, no problem. The only meat on this menu was a Short Rib which seemed a little rich for 96 degree weather. When one person at the table mentioned he'd rather have another meat dish (a substitution yes, but a single one) the manager cried ""you people"" and turned on his heels to storm away. Our poor waitress was shocked and I almost got up an left. My friends assured me it was worth the tude and we continued to an extremely small, extremely rich Short Rib while sweating bullets in a crowded cafeteria. \r \r Never will be back, and would actually persuade those planning on going to go to another place. Pros: Room for food elsewhere after meal Cons: Attitude, LOUD more

Or is there anything more annoying than 2 people next to you staring at you every second of the meal, listening to your every word and not talking amongst themselves? I guess we were just interesting to listen to, but they weren't, and we wish we had more than 6 inches of space. They laughed when we asked for the Sommalier who recommended the first bottle on the menu which was absolutely mediocre, Try Again. The starters were fine, but nothing exciting (Scallops for her and Liver for me) The liver had a dash of brilliance but the polenta cube it was sitting on was detracting from the meat. The wine perfectly crushed any flavors that were in the mood. Main courses were equally lackluster. Why are people raving about Gnudi? It tastes like a clump of uncooked dough. My date left two on her plate and they weren't exciting enough for me to snatch them up--and I eat anything. My Short Rib was actually very good as were the presentations of all dishes, but after a few bites, we were over Falai. The atmosphere is nice for about 5 seconds and then you want to be out--enough white already. There is no intimacy or even a hint of romantic ambience--unless you get the table outside perhaps--it was empty the whole night? I wish we could have given dessert a chance but I have a feeling we were going from bad to worse. In summary, Falai is not horrible, it's actually fine, for what it is--almost upscale. Warning--The people next to us might be sitting next to you--they are regulars--Beware :) Pros: Presentation Cons: Taste, Ambience, Sommalier has no clue more

Good authentic Italian food and portions and good choice of wine. Unfortunately, the service is far behind. Even with reservation, it might take up to one hour to get a table and the staff might not even say a word about it. The staff is not very attentive; our waitress did even not know basic Italian drinks nor did she know how to pronounce it. There is a lot of room for improvement. Unfortunately, the food is the only outstanding quality of this place. Pros: Food and wine Cons: Service and attitude more

After visiting Falai several times over the last year, I must say that this is one of my favorite restaurants in New York. The food is always full of flavor, artfully presented and just generally outstanding! Although the space is small, and can be quite crowded, it remains charming and very fitting for the neighborhood. The staff can get overwhelmed, but they manage to make up for it with friendly attitudes and helpful suggestions. All in all, I highly recommend Falai to anyone thats looking for something special on the Lower East Side. Pros: The Food!!! Cons: Crowded Space more

The biggest problem I have with this resteraunt is the portions are tiny. I mean seriously I shouldn't have to go out for dinner after dinner. It was really that small. Entrees were the size of small appetizers. If your super rich and have the wallet to order several appetizers and several entrees then knock yourself out you may have found a winner. The atmosphere was alright, relatively warm for a stark white room. No waiting during the week and the flavors of the food was pretty tasty. But we left there with light wallets and even lighter stomaches. Cons: expensive, tiny portions, I'm hungry! more

Although the food was absolutely incredible, we were disappointed with the sommelier. He was very heavy handed so much so he poured off our first bottle of wine before we were even finished w/our appetizers. Pros: delicious food Cons: expensive, crowded more

Decor - too white, too bright. Food - excellent, especially the short ribs and the chocolate dessert. service - good. I will be back. more

We went last night and what an experience! Relaxing Italian minimalist decor with marble and tile and a friendly staff who re-arranged the schedule to accomodate us. The food was out of this world. We had the octopus app. which was soft, and flavorful. For the main course, I had the short ribs (meal of the night) which melt in your mouth. Wifey had the squid ink pasta which was also excellent. For dessert, we had profiteroles with chocolate sauce. Price wasn't bad. I just wish there was more food as I left a little hungry. Say Yes to the bread they bring! The portions are a little small, even by European standards. Pros: Excellent Food, warm staff, bread Cons: portion size more

I made reservations after reading all the rave reviews, and my boyfriend and I got the little table in the front window - cozy and away from the bustle of the rest of the restaurant. Our waiter was exceptionally attentive and the food was very good - inventive and different from your ""standard"" italian restaurant. I enjoyed the whole experience very much and highly recommend it - only drawback, they have only italian wines available... Pros: location, food, service Cons: short wine list, very small more

one more to get in and enjoy very much, i love it, me and my boyfriend will became regualr ( i wish i didn't have to go away for work so much...nice wines and delicious presentation of this little culinary experrience...bravo!!! more

I love dining at Falai. The food is excellent, the ambiance is nice (there is an outdoor garden in the back), and the service is good. Out of the several entrees I have tried, I would recommend the pork. It was very tender and flavorful- the fennel seeds and cocoa nibs are a nice touch. For an app, I like the gameroni, but make sure to save room for dessert. The prices are reasonable as well. I am looking forward to dining there again soon. Pros: excellent food more

I don't know where the last couple of reviewers went, but I had a great experience at Falai. I consider myself a pretty harsh critic and I can't think of anything bad to say about this restaurant. The decor was spare but tranquil not cold. The food was interesting and well done. I had a heavenly dish of risotto with green pea and sea urchin roe...yum. Also, the prices were extremely reasonable. Go see for yourself. Pros: food, service, price more

Falai was a disappointment. The white interior, location and menu seem to be aiming for a modern, light experience and cuisine. What results however is underflavored, underrealized, and amateurish. The place is too small to accommodate the few waitstaff they can squeeze in and without enough a/c to cool a full house--especially with the open kitchen right in the middle; the hostess was pulling double duty and not doing well at that--dirty dishes left on the table even after the next course was served, water glasses left empty... and this despite plenty of passes by the table. Each plate was missing something. Entrees were the fish/meat with a bland sauce and a small vegetable side. No starch, no second veg. Fish was overcooked. ""Rainbow"" carrots were just baby carrots. Things were either without salt or over salted. And portions were small--when they list pasta as a primi they mean it. Pros: Clean look Cons: Food, Service, $/experience ratio more

Food is consistently under seasoned, and often flavorless. Squid ink ravioli with scallops had no seafood flavor; beef was unimaginative, and served with sauce reminiscent of Worcestershire. Couldnt stand the service long enough to make it to dessert. Crowded waiting area in entrance forced you to sweat out the wait for a table while standing over other diners. Though we waited 30 minutes for a table (on a Wednesday night, in summer, no less), no attempt was made to speed up the service by offering drinks/water. Inept service staff seemed to have crawled out of bed to come to work, and worked at a pace that would make a snail proud. Amendments to the menu werent clarified and communication between servers delayed our meal for nearly another half-hour. All in all, not worth the hype, until this restaurant proves its serious about pleasing its customers. Pros: Heat, Convenient to LES, Across from 71 Clinto Cons: SERVICE, cramped, FOOD more