Il Buco

Once an antique store, il Buco is a unique restaurant that takes pride in its high-quality ingredients sourced from Italy. The menu changes daily and is released at 4 PM on the same day. Fortunately, the menu on the day we visited was incredible, but I can't imagine them offering a bad one.The rustic and cozy atmosphere is incredibly welcoming. The service, led by Johnny, was excellent, and his recommendations were spot on. Highlights of our meal included the pulpo, cavolonero, and the bikini for appetizers, as well as the steak (special) and wagyu skirt steak for entrées. For pasta, the short rib campanelle was truly outstanding. However, I'd skip the truffle tagliatelle - it was a bit dry for our taste, which is surprising since it's usually hard to go wrong with a truffle-loaded pasta.

One of the first things I do every time I book a trip to NYC is to book a reservation at Il Buco. The food and wine are delicious and the ambiance is so sweet. Love this place

This is a very special restaurant with great rustic ambiance. The service by Johnny was excellent. Very attentive and knowledgeable. The food was the best part. All my guests were extremely impressed with the quality of the food.

3.8 stars for Il Buco is flat out ridiculous. Shame on y'all... I'm done sneak dissing, Kendrick inspired me. Gab G, Giacomo C, Jingshu G, Skyler N y'all need to be held accountable for these 2 and 3 star reviews. We gon give a starbucks 5 stars but Il Buco 3? Y'all are lucky I can't comment on reviews...Anyways - My list of favorite Italian places in New York City is a living, breathing work of art. There are just so damn many of them, and some do get comfortable at the top *cough cough Via Carota cough cough*. The crown is heavy.That being said, Il Buco has consistently been in my top 5. Every time I finish eating here I'm like "why don't I come here more???" All the top 5 have been 1 at some point... I don't actually have a list, this is more of a theoretical list.It is SUCH an authentic Italian dining experience, that on this trip we had to wait 45 minutes to be seated even after arriving on time for our res. I was originally slightly perturbed, but sitting at the bar and enjoying life with my girlfriend and with the staff apologizing 3 times and comping our drinks, how could I be mad? Sh*t happens and they handled it so professionally. I don't ask for much tbh...We were seated at a candlelit 2 person wood table that I can only imagine had been imported from the Tuscan countryside. Our damage this time consisted of the Salumi Platter, Tuscan Kale Salad, the Bikini, Truffle Tagliatelle (Special), and the Bistecca.The Truffle Tagliatelle had me really thanking god for my existence. If something can taste as good as this pasta does, life is worth living. Sometimes I get worried that all of the brightest and most creative minds of our species are busy programming how to make apps more addictive, but this pasta gave me hope. You can't deny the shine of a jedi.Our meal ended with them bringing out a slice of chocolate cake for my baby's birthday which was a great touch and made me look good, so shoutout Il Buco. We also ordered affogatos as they are objectively the best dessert on the planet and a great way to end a spiritual meal. Euphoric.IG @jnov_Tiktok @jnov_reviews

Food and ambiance here were top tier here. i cam in around noon and it was fairly quiet. Overall, the decor is rustic and extremely nice. Would definitely say this is a perfect late night. Would highly recommend stopping in here.

Food was top teir for a date night that won't break your bank. Food was very good and the patio was cute. The server was kind and had great wine recommendations.

I visited this restaurant to celebrate one of my friend's birthdays. We made a reservation a week prior to celebrate down in the wine cellar. The ambiance down there was everything. Although a bit cold understandably, I loved the overall vibe of the restaurant. The servers were very polite and I had only positive interactions with the staff. Not to mention their bathrooms were very cute, perfect place to take a few mirror pictures :)

10/10 dining experience truly. From the moment I walked in I felt transported into a quaint little european town village vibe place. The ambiance was perfect. Service was also so lovely and very attentive, we never waited long while waiting for food or water. Ordered a ton and some not pictured: pulpo, tonno, bikini, tagliatelle, (another pasta with sausage), tarte for dessert. Everything was amazing - it's been a while since I have felt blown away by Italian food but this really did the job! It was a little pricey but worth every penny. I will be back. My favorites were definitely the pulpo, tagliatelle, and tarte dessert.

It's been years since I dined there - at night for my birthday, all dressed up. Waiter was very skimpy with olive oil for the amazing bread - circa 1995. We had to keep begging for another drop!I remember having fish; it tasted very fresh and molto bono. I live around the corner and want to go back for lunch on a week day when it's serene but somehow forget about them, or maybe I'm too busy mid day, or ... don't want to run into John Derain (haha)The store is rustic elegant, a unique tasteful escape from the NY restaurant scene. Not sure how they keep going, but happy it's still there.

Overpriced and overhyped. Had the campanelle which was good but nothing special. The tortelloni was so dry and undercooked, filling was under seasoned. We went based on the reputation but that is all the restaurant has to rely on, rather than quality of the food itself.