Edit/Update: The waitress reached out to me personally today (12/14/10) with a sincere and heartfelt apology, so I am bumping the review from 1 to 4 stars. I am leaving the initial review as it was, though I have removed her name. ---------------------------------------- I had dinner at Celeste last night with my girlfriend. It was our two-year anniversary. The food was pretty good, but what happened at the end ensured that I will never go back: My girlfriend and I intentionally did not eat about half of one entree and a third of the entree so that we could have them for lunch today. We asked to take the food to go, and our waitress agreed. She came back a couple of minutes later with the check and told us with a smile (as if it was a funny joke) that the food had been thrown out by someone in the kitchen. She offered nothing but a feeble sorry, as if we shouldn't care. When she saw that we were upset, she came over and said "It's not my fault. What do you want me to do?" She then asked, in a very disingenuous tone that communicated that she didn't care that we were upset, "Do you want something?" She left again, without offering any compensation or true apology. She came back a third time, seeing that we were still upset. This time, she said in a very passive-aggressive tone that it was her fault, and that we should go ahead and leave her no tip. Again, her tone strongly communicated that she thought we were ridiculous for caring. (We still left a 15+% tip). The manager/owner/guy in a salmon-striped dress shirt who had been walking around the dining area making it clear that he was in charge noticed we were upset at this point. She walked over to him, and (speculation) appeared to tell him why we were upset. He (speculation) appeared to respond as if he didn't care. Neither spoke to us again, and we left. Had they offered, at the very least, a real apology, we would not have been nearly as upset. We compared this to an experience we had at Union Square Cafe last year: USC brought us the wrong entree; they then brought us the other entree, let us keep the first one, and gave us a free dessert, even after we had said that we were happy with the one they'd mistakenly brought out. Celeste management, if you read this, feel free to contact me at celeste.apology@gmail.com. I will update this post if I hear from them. (Update/Edit 12/14/10: The waitress reached out to me personally today with a sincere and heartfelt apology, so I am bumping the review from 1 to 4 stars. I am leaving the initial review as it was, though I have removed her name.) By the way, we had the ravioli with ricotta and spinach, the pasta special (something with eggplant), the monkfish, and the veal. All were good. Nevertheless, I recommend that you not eat here until they apologize and show some class. read more

RACIST, RACIST AND RACIST!!!!!! As A HUMAN I have always stood up for what's right. As a Latin women of color I have seen a few things...but nothing like Sunday night. The owner of Celeste was RACIST and RUDE not only to me and our party of five but to his waitress who he called Stupid in front of all of us. Waited for the food hoping it would make up for his attitude, only to find out he was also A RACIST. I asked him if I could have some pepper for my gnocchi, his response was the following; Would you like red or black pepper, or as we call it on the Upper West Side, "African American Black Pepper to be Politically Correct". The look of hate in his eyes was beyond disgusting, as he tried to intimidate me with his racist remark. I walked out of the restaurant and my boyfriend and his family paid in full cash the bill. PS: We made reservations due to the high reviews of fresh pasta. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE, THE FOOD IS JUST MEDIOCRE!!!!!! -------------------------------------- In response to your ignorant answer after my review. Let me make clear a few things. They didn't write a review to defend my honor, they wrote a review because we were all offended by your Racist comment and a few other things. Also, I would love for you to take me to court; because of the following reasons: A) NO ONE went ballistic, I left the table without making a scene, as you went to look for the pepper because you NEVER ground the pepper on my pasta as you said. ( I'm sure you can get those images from your camera). B) If Adriel asked you to apologies to me (you never did) why would he say not to go outside because "I will kill you"? - Stop lying! C) You just admitted saying the racist comment I'm referring to. I never mentioned profanity. D) You are correct, we can't change your character, but that doesn't mean I have to take your racist comments. We didn't overreact, what you said was RASIST and out of line. My goal here is to shed light on people like you. I come from the hospitality business and would never hurt a business just because. I don't care the race of the staff you hire or the people you date, that doesn't make you and your comments any less racist. Maybe other people would take your disgusting racist comments but not me! that doesn't make me sensitive, it makes me awear to the reality. PS: I don't think your waitress was surpriced or in agreement with you. since she also agree with the comment my boyfriend left. Good luck!! read more

The sad thing is, I was actually excited to check out this restaurant since the Yelp reviews had been so favorable. It's very unfortunate then, that the apparent owner of UWS's Celeste is not only racist but also a miserable bigot in general. So the story goes: My parents are in town from Shanghai, it's New Year's Day, and we sit down at a table by the front door for dinner. First the waitress rushes through the specials for the night and rolls her eyes when asked to repeat an item. Then the owner walks by and whispers to her that we can't understand English anyway and to not bother explaining further. Despite this, I bite my tongue and decide to not let this ignorant statement made by a shameless racist ruin our night... but then it gets worse. Before ordering, my parents ask to move over one seat to the vacant table next to ours as the wind from the opening and closing of the front door was bothering my dad. The same waitress says to ask her boss, the chauvinist. Once asked, we received this absurd response from him: "Absolutely not. It's against the health federation policy so no, you may not under any circumstances switch tables." At first I thought, "wait, this fool HAS to be joking because that's an insane statement," but no, with a straight face he turned around and walked away. Needless to say, we left immediately after. A $1 tip was left for the bread, since it's not the staff's fault their boss happens to be a tragic human being. I don't care how good anyone may claim the food to be at Celeste, there are too many lovely restaurants in this beautiful city to bring business to one run by an awful bigot. Lesson learned, never return to Celeste, ever. read more

If you're craving a side of strict dining rules with your meal, look no further than here. From the moment you step through the door, you're hit with a barrage of regulations faster than you can say "reservation." Cash only? Check. Immediate seating? Double check. And don't even think about bringing a cookie to this establishment - it's a cardinal sin. But wait, there's more! As you settle into your seat, be prepared for the owner to make the rounds, not to welcome you warmly, but to flaunt the culinary creations and reiterate the house rules. It's like dining with a drill sergeant, minus the motivational speeches. Sure, the food is fantastic - if you can wolf it down between glances at your watch and furtive checks of your wallet. But for those seeking a leisurely dining experience, this is about as inviting as a tax audit. Proceed with caution, and preferably with exact change in hand. read more

TERRIBLE. I HAD THE WORST EXPERIENCE THERE TONIGHT. The food was okay, but the service was awful. The owner is racist. Please do not justify his behavior by eating at his restaurant. My jewish friend and I, a Korean American, were denied dessert after we had ordered appetizers, entrees, and a bottle of wine. The owner said that we had already been there for one hour and that there were people waiting. There was no one waiting and there were at least two empty table around us. Also, since when is it not appropriate to spend an hour at a supposedly nice restaurant for dinner? He proceeded to force us out of the restaurant saying that he did not want to hear what we had to say. This has been a humiliating and saddening experience. To think that there are still such ignorant people existing in such a diverse city as New York makes me sick. read more

The owner. Went with my spouse and child. Had the salmon. Gigantic piece, competently cooked. Good value for money. Pizza. Good value for money. Kid didn't love it, but she is finicky. Clam pasta. Well cooked clams and pizza floating in greasy oil, the sauce seemed entirely oil and garlic, no real hint of clams. Undercooked eggplant appetizer. Owner came by, how is everything? Got the "yeah, yeah fine". Came back, how is everything? OK... pasta not a success. Why? Greasy and sauce fairly flavorless. Listened. And then... came back to argue. Some biting remark like "that's how I cook it" or "that's how it's supposed to be cooked." Clearly, deeply, deeply vested in being him. Average food with a side helping of creepy. Off the list. read more

Word can't explain how much I love that pizza place. This place offers the best Italian pizza outside of.... Italy. :) I have visited Italy last summer, still have memories, it brings the taste, the feel and even the attitude of the country into this restaurant. I have been there 3 times, and have always waited more then 20 minutes for my dish, but it is worth it. The owner is really nice. He talks to me about his past in Italy, about Some people don't necessarily like this, but I this restaurant and weather or not I like the food. He is serious about his pizza place. Overall, the food is great, the prices reasonable. But the feel of Italy makes this place my favorite. My favorite restaurant in New York of all time!!! read more

Read the reviews before deciding to spend your money here. You will see that for years the owner of this place has been all types of terrible to hundreds of people. How this place has managed to stay open is a mystery. Here's a few other Italian restaurants to go to instead: -Bella Luna on 88th & Columbus -Pappardella on 75th & Columbus Or... Arte (73rd & Columbus), Cibo e Vino (89th & Broadway), Osteria Cotta (84th & Columbus), Coppola's (79th & Amsterdam)... Or basically any other restaurant. New York has too many amazing, great, good, and even decent restaurants run by incredible, kind, hardworking & dedicated people who love this industry. This place is not worth it. read more

I'm disappointed to write this review, but I feel compelled to share my experience. Despite the high number of reviews, which I suspect may be influenced by the offer of a free dessert for reviewing, my visit was far from satisfactory. I ordered the salmon tartare, only to find that the fish had a bad smell. When I brought this to the server's attention, the owner intervened, insisting the fish was fresh, which made me feel uncomfortable and somewhat disrespected. Moreover, the overall service was lacking, and the insistence on cash-only payments added to my feeling of being somewhat ripped off. The combination of the subpar food and service left a lot to be desired. read more

I recommend this restaurant to everyone. I think I had the best dining experience ever. I went over there on a friday night with my beautiful mom (chef) and my boyfriend. Our sweet italian waitress seated us at the table and treated us very well even if the place was Pretty busy and she was Running around tables. We got some specials of the night and pasta with claims (one of the best thing that my mouth tried) The owner went To our table few times, he was super nice with us, so friendly explaining the "cheese plate" and him with the waitress, Made our night simply amazing! Food is an orgasm! If you want to spend a good experience, well Go To celeste!! read more

I don't get it. I was told to try this place from a lot of people in the neighborhood they said it was great. Combine that with great reviews and me and my wife went last Friday for dinner. We had high expectations and I think we might have not ordered correctly. The place was packed and had a line out the door. We ordered the mussels, pasta special, and the fish special. Everything was nothing special. A ton of people ordered the pizza and it looked great. I am guessing we went wrong in not ordering the pizza. I may try it one more time and get the pizza but as far as the other food is concerned this place is not worth it. read more

WARNING STAY AWAY EGO-ITALIAN ACCENTED WAITER!! I have never been treated so badly by an EGO- ITALIAN ACCENTED WAITER EVER! my wife and I ordered food to go after 35 minutes we asked EGO-ITALIAN ACCENTED WAITER about our order..he never PUT our order IN ..ok fine, after another 25 minutes we walk in and hes sitting with his friends drinking WINE! HE STILL had`nt put our order in.. in very ARROGANT WAY HE SAYS HES BUSY and the kitchen made a mistake 10 minutes passes EGO-ITALIAN ACCENTED WAITER STILL HAD`NT put or order in the guys in the kitchen say in spanish he is lying he does this ALL THE TIME read more

Great fresh unfussy food....love the pizza...reminds me of Rome. This is a small, always crowded (noise level can be difficult), but consistently efficient place turning out delicious food. It is not a place to linger over a glass of wine (there are always crowds of people waiting) but you will not be disappointed with anything in the menu. A tip to those who want to try this place--go for lunch on a Saturday or Sunday and it will be more relaxing. Carmine, the owner adds to the personal, neighborhoody feel plus he is a character. Wish there were more places like this in New York. read more

This restaurant is phenomenal for the price and quality. We've been to italy many times and the owner has a place in Rome too. All the foods were excellent. I had the monkfish stew with olives, my friend had the salmon and the best things are the dishes on the specials. Screw the wait - sometimes you have to to have good food. The place enphazies the food - not the special lighting or special features of higher end and $$$$ italian places in nyc. Put it this way - I remembered it from 5 years ago when I went again this weekend! read more

This has become our favorite neighborhood go to on the UWS. The owner is always welcoming and friendly, and we love when we order the cheese plate and he explains each cheese in detail and how he brought them back by hand from Italy. The pasta is always cooked to perfection and the pizza is always delicious. They often have a pasta bolognese special...if you are lucky enough to be there for this definitely order it...promise you won't be disappointed. Finally, the prices simply cannot be beat! read more

Great Italian food. We have been going here for a couple of years and have never had a bad experience. Sometimes the waiters are annoying...but honestly if you need your servers to kiss your ass, you should just stay home. What matters is the food-it's good and cheap. The wine selection is fine, and the desserts have been good on the few occasions we haven't been too full to have some! Try it. It's good. read more

I stopped by this adorable spot and am floored with the quality of service food I experienced. The menu is incredible, fresh and delicious. The owner taking the time to check in with tables provided such a wonderful neighborhood experience. He knew everyone who walked through the door. You can really tell how much he cares. The staff was so attentive and friendly. It was amazing I will definitely be back. read more

I love this place! The food is delicious. I count down the days until the fall and they add their butternut squash ravioli to the menu. It is to die for. The staff is rough and they hurry you along, but it is part of the charm and when its raining/snowing and you're waiting for a table, you are grateful for it. I love bringing out of town guests to this place! read more

the supply and demand dynamics of the upper west side have resulted in the gushing reviews for this place but i think it is just okay - a bit on the oily/salty side. the food is pretty good and the servers are sweet but to be honest the owner can be pushy and if it's busy he can be a bit of a jerk and act like you are doing him a favor by eating at his place. read more