Azalea

Chose this restaurant as it was close to the theatre we were going to on Broadway and wanted my nieces to experience a bit of an upscale Italian restaurant. Let's not forget, there were items on the menu they would eat. Tis' the season to make those reservations if you want to eat in prime locations in NYC! Service was exquisite. Atmosphere was pleasant to dine in. Could be romantic if you chose it for a date night. Dimmed lights, cozy atmosphere. We had the charcuterie as an appetizer which was rather large for the price. 3 meats, 5 cheeses, tomato, olives, fig spread, almonds and toast. Delicious! Everything complimented itself. My niece had the fried mozzarella as an appetizer which were 3 large slices. Very tasty. We also got the bruschetta & Burrata appetizer. Diced tomatoes marinated in oil and garlic with balsamic pearls and Burrata cheese. Absolutely to die for! I could have eaten several of these. It came with 3 slices of toast loaded. For the price of $18, I did feel it could have had at least another or 2 pieces of toast. It definitely left you wanting more. The balsamic was so tasteful and enjoyable to eat. My niece ordered the chicken parmigiana . The chicken was nice and flat. She was not crazy about the plain tomato sauce on it but the chicken was "yummy"! The spaghetti was al dente and she would have liked it cooked a bit more. My other niece had the gnocci. Perfect portion size. She said it was rather scrumptious! I had the spaghetti bolognese which was delicious! The spaghetti, again Al dente and I would have liked it cooked a bit more, but that bolognese sauce...YUMMO! Great portion size, but I still couldn't finish it after having the appetizers as well. Desert was a great ending to our meal. I had the ricotta & pistachio cake that definitely did not disappoint. Flavors just melted together in your mouth. Sweetness was just perfect after an Italian dinner. Crème brûlée and mango ice cream didn't disappoint. Everything was so delicious! Just wished the spaghetti was cooked a little bit more. They also offer a 3 course Prix Fixe meal for $55 per person, but the portions are smaller and it was a $1 difference (cheaper) doing ala carte instead, which the server was nice enough to tell us. Great place for pre show dinner or a special occasion!

If you decided to come here, mostly because of convenience in location to Broadway shows, you will pay up for it. Service is exceptionally friendly, but the portions are extremely tiny. We have been here twice because we wanted Italian close to the theatres, but we decided we will not return for a third time. We knew the portions were small so we decided on the prefix 3 course menu. Even with 3 courses, we left a little hungry. Italian food is supposed to be filling so it was a little disappointing and you add drinks to the mix, making our meal around $170 for 2 people. It's unacceptable to leave feeling hungry. If they increase portion size I would come back for the ambiance and convenience.

Solid midtown spot, but you can do better. I came with a group and tried the Burrata, Calamari, Chicken Parmesan, Rigatoni, Artichoke ravioli (special), Gnocchi, Key lime cheesecake and Tiramisu. The best dish was the rigatoni, and the worst was the ravioli (filling was dry). Overall nothing special, but it got the job done. Service was great.3.5 stars.

First of all, service was terrific. Attentive to everything. We enjoyed the beef carpacio to start. Was very good. For the main course I loved the linguine with shrimp and clams (not the name of the dish but you get it). Delicious. Get extra bread for the sauce. My wife said her chicken azalea was very good. We were stunned at the bill. Great food for a great price. You should check it out. Also, great location for going to a play.

Azalea is a wonderful gem smack dab in the Theater District - complete with a lunch prix fix and dinner prix fix (if you like). They offer very nice personable service in a warm setting that has a nice ambiance whether dining with friends, family or a date. They have a diverse clientele, and treat everyone well. My dining companion and I both agreed we'd be back!I started with the fried cheese mozzarella over some delicious tomato sauce, that with 2 generous blocks of cheese could have been a meal in itself! The sauce was so tasty that you wanted to dip the yummy bread in it over and over again!!The chicken parm was also very tasty, and so good, I was regretting eating lunch before because this was so hearty, I could barely eat half -- leftovers for dinner either the fresh pasta!!For dessert I had the blueberry cheesecake which was nice with the fresh berries stuffed into the slice with graham cracker crust but too full to fully enjoy with the fresh strawberries and whipped topping!! Go with hungry friends who like to share!!!

A great Italian bistro for pre-theater dinner. It's right at 51st street level in the building next door to the Gershwin Theater currently showing Wicked. Look for the red awning under the bright marquee lights. Inside, the restaurant is quite intimate. Reservations are a good idea and we had ours at 5:30 so that we could make it to our 7:30 curtain for Back to the Future. Of course, my sisters and wife are all late, but our server knew the schedule and kept everything rolling.Starting with antipasto, the crispy Fried Calamari was on point with 2 types of dipping sauce, aioli and marinara. We also had the zuppe del giorno, which was a creamy butternut squash soup and it was kicked up with lobster meat. The 4 of us decided to split 2 bowls, but they served them in 4 bowls anyway, pouring the soup from a carafe in each bowl. That was cool!For our entrees, my two sisters split Linguine Vongole with a good amount of clams and the Chicken Milanese, a crunchy scaloppine of chicken breast. My wife went with Lasagna Bolognese, a special of the day and I went with Pappardelle with an Osso Bucco Ragu. The pasta was awesome as fresh made pasta always is, with a perfect al dente texture that cannot be beat.I really wish that we had time for dessert but we'll have to wait until next time, because the curtain calls!

The location is close to theater district specially close to wicked. Service was great and the place is very modern. The prices here are high, the portions are small, and the food is little bit better than average. To sum it up it's not the prices.

Great place for pre-show drinks! I would recommend the Italian Margarita. Surprisingly refreshing.

Food and service are always excellent. One of my top pre theater favorites when seeing a show in the 50s.

My companion thought he'd been here and liked it before...but no...he got it confused with another place. Still menu looked ok, and the place is stylish and comfortable, so we decided to stay.On the positive side, service was reasonable, though the lead waiter did his best to upsell. Caesar salad was decent; my companion and I decided to split one, and it came out already split at no additional charge. My friend's branzino was well prepared and laid atop a tiny amount of orange, tomato and onion that was quite tasty.On the negative, for only the second time in my reasonably long life, I sent a bottle of wine back. It was $5 wine by taste, body and flavor, and they were charging $65. The replacement bottle was better, but not worth the additional money.Rest of the food was mediocre at best. Supposedly house-made chicken parmigiana was thin and tasteless, it sure looked like something that was made by machine. Side of pasta was a glob of chewy noodles lightly basted in mediocre sauce.It's hard to find really good food in the theater district, but not impossible; I'd recommend doing a bit more research and finding someplace else.