My partner and I had a fantastic experience at Cortese. He grew up in the area but this was my first time sitting down in the restaurant and not picking up a pizza to go. Our server (I believe her name is Abby or Gabby) was delightful! She made the experience very rememberable. The mozzarella sticks are beyond any I have tried before. They are homemade and as our server put it, they "melt in your mouth". If you are a blue cheese lover, you have to try their creamy blue dressing on their salads. I got the homemade lasagna which was delicious and my partner had a filet and baked potato that did not disappoint. Last but not least, shout out to the bartender for making our excellent cocktails! The cucumber and gin martini was just what I needed! read more

Cortese Restaurant - Homemade lasagna - Italian Near Me - Binghamton, New York

Unfortunately for us this was a big miss. The baked ziti was just noodles and sauce with melted cheese on top. No ricotta or anything in it. The manicotti was 3 shells for $20+. The shells were home made which I thought would be nice. Unfortunately it was way over cooked and mushy. The ambiance of the restaurant is nice. Nice bar area, well lit and well kept so no complaint there. The only down side was overhearing wait staff openly talking/complaining about customers. I felt that was very unprofessional especially out in the open. The best part was the service we received. I have to assume our waitress was new and training with someone but she was fantastic. Super friendly and very attentive. Very bubbly personality and always smiling. read more

Extremely disappointed. Have been a customer for over 40 years. Never have problems until now. Forgot 3 salads and 2 sides on a to go order. Also made the order wrong. All for pick up. I contacted them and asked to speak to the manager and he told me the pasta was under the chicken parm which it was not. The manager then proceeded to hang up on me. read more

Cortese Restaurant - There is no pasta under the chicken parm which the manger told me was there. - Italian Near Me - Binghamton, New York

This place has been in business since 1947 and for good reason, it's fabulous. If you're trying to get in on the weekend, make a reservation, it's always slammed. Food is great and the menu is like an encyclopedia, they have everything. This is a great establishment with great food at a reasonable price and you won't leave hungry. The decor is attractive and inviting, I really like the outside patio in the summer. Everything they make is delicious. I judge any restaurant by their fried calamari and They are among the best. Light and crispy just as it should be. Their seafood and prime rib is exquisite, drinks are affordable and generous. Simply great food , great service and a great experience. I noticed that a lot of negative reviews were related to Covid so those snowflakes should just stay inside with their face diapers and shut up. All around excellence and highly recommended! read more

I went to this place when I was kid in Syracuse and would come here on way back to Syracuse from a road trip. Great food in late 80s and early 90s. I was just there again after 26yrs moving to Missouri. Still great food read more

Love Cortese Restaurant. The food is excellent. The staff is professional and attentive. Whenever we get back to the Triple Cities we make sure to have at least one meal there. Choice of locations (bar, table, booth) to sit. Excellent Old Fashion. read more

I used to live in Chenango County drove from north norwich to this restaurant many times. The food the service was spectacular. This evening I thought get a wonderful meal at cortese before leaving going to Europe this weekend. I was considering going to kentucky fried chicken. Ordered a Thick piece of prime rib. I was not happy looking at the piece so the girl brought out another piece big huge piece of fat junior cut size I paid fullprice for a thick cut nope I did not get that salad disgusting drowned in salad dressing. While I was still eating the waitress asked me if I wanted boxes to go I flat out told her don't rush me out the door I am still eating. She never came back never gave me a refill of water left all my dirty dishes on the table. $44.00 for my crappy piece of prime rib spoke to the manager he jad this I dont care attitude told him will not be back never left a tip for my crappy waitress. This place has gone down hill big time. I wished I went to Kentucky fried chicken instead. read more

I had a really satisfying meal here after a lackluster one at another Italian restaurant in the area. I had the Chicken Angelina which is two chicken breasts lightly breaded and fried and served with garlic butter for dipping. The chicken was well cooked and super juicy. I loved the garlic butter on the side, but I did wish there had been a bit more seasoning, it was lacking salt specifically. I'm not sure if unsalted butter is used but if it is then that could explain it. The entree includes either a salad or soup and a side of your choice. I went with a salad with their homemade Italian dressing and was soooo glad I did. The dressing had great flavor and a nice zing from the vinegar. For my side I went with the homemade gnocchi and alfredo sauce. These were absolutely delicious and a great pairing with my entree. I had a sangria to drink and then ended the meal with a slice of their delicious tiramisu. Everything was very solid and I'd love to return and try some of their other offerings. read more

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Been going here since I was 4 years old and 61 now! Always have had excellent food and service! As a vegetarian I even get great food! I love love your home made salad dressing! When my kids come into town we have to visit! read more

Went to Cortese restaurant based on the reviews online from visitors and local residents and really was hoping that it was pretty good. Went there to celebrate an event with 8 people. My God we all could not be more dissapointed. The food was just terrible. The chicken cordon blue was a frozen piece of compressed garbage chicken for $22 bucks. Disgusting that a restaurant boasts fresh good food and serves this garbage. The fried calamari was $12.00 for an appetizer, there was literally 8 pieces of squid and it was greasy. The muscles were $14.00 for 9 mussels. They were decent but a big time ripoff for the price. Are you kidding me 9 mussels, they are pretty cheap to buy. The biggest rip off was the haddock fish for $26.00 bucks that was a frozen and was only 3 ounces of freezer burned fish. They should be ashamed that they would even serve something so horrible tasting and way overpriced. I don't know what people have done so many reviews here in the last year but apparently not many of them have a clue what decent or even somewhat good food is. This restaurant was absolutely terrible. The chicken Parm was drowned in sauce and was like shoe leather. I mean the Italian food is horrible. The bread was like a soggy sponge. How this place stays open and even pretends to serve Italian food is just a joke. The people going to this restaurant often have no clue what good or decent Italian food is. So sorry we went here, ruined our celebration with a horrible meal for everyone. Will not be returning ever. Go someplace else, do not waste your time or money. You will thank this review later. read more

I took my mom out to dinner here for her 70th birthday. I made a reservation for 5:30. The food was terrific, as always. However, I do have a small bone to pick. We arrived and checked in...lo and behold, we waited a good solid 15 minutes before we were sat! If I make a reservation, doesn't that mean a table should be ready for us when we arrive? Just a thought. Don't get me wrong, the food was wonderful, as was our server. Still, I just found myself very dismayed at the wait, which defeats the whole purpose of a reservation! read more

In the mood for Some old school Italian American food and decided to venture to Cortese at a friends recommendation. Apparently this place has been around for quite some time, and it looks it. I mean that in the best way possible. Definitely an old school joint with fine dining touches you don't see too often. After being sat, they brought over some nice warm Italian bread with a garlic olive oil to dip. Outstanding! Started with the Louisiana style barbecued shrimp. A delicious albeit unusual dish. Spicy, piquant sauce over medium shrimp, very good. For my entree I had the chicken parmigiana. Two nice cutlets smothered in a wonderful rich marinara sauce with a golden, bubbly blanket of perfectly chewy melted mozzarella. So good! My server Scottie was attentive without being intrusive and was right there if I needed anything. Just a great dinner. Old school charm at its best read more

Cortese Restaurant - Barbequed Shrimp - Italian Near Me - Binghamton, New York

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Great food! Been there for decades. Delicious pasta dishes. A reasonably priced excellent dining experience. We travel from Texas to eat in the Binghamton region. It's the finest old Italian dining experience This is one of the best!!! read more

I ordered the Delmonico "Thick cut" Ribeye. It couldn't be much thinner and came well done when I ordered medium. My wife ordered the Finger food Basket and everything thing but the fries were overcooked. Sent it back and it came back the same way. The waitress may have been new as she really wasn't that good at customer service and rarely made eye contact. If I try this place again, maybe I should stick to the pizza.... read more

We tried chicken marsala, gnocchi, pasta with calamari & red sauce, and salads with house Italian dressing. The salads were overdressed. The main portions were HUGE but we didn't like a single dish. The service was friendly & prompt. read more

An Italian restaurant that doesn't serve Espresso is unbelievable. Not even an espresso machine! read more

Visited Cortese for the restaurant week. Overall the food was below average compared to what you pay; I wouldn't say I want to visit again. The bread was barely warm and the butter was icy cold so we literally had to melt the butter under the soup bowl. The salad was actually good and I was very surprised with their fresh dressing sauce. I loved the italian sauce and the french sauce was little different from what you usually get from the store (it's not creamy) but it was sweet and very flavorful. For pasta, we ordered scallops with marinara sauce and alfredo. Alfredo just tasted like store bought sauce - nothing really interesting. Scallops were well cooked but it was the softest scallops I've ever had. Scallops are not my favorite but my friend said she really liked it. The marinara sauce was little too sweet. Prime rib was well cooked and I liked how they poured worchestershire sauce over it. Baked potato was really good too. Dessert was actually very depressing. We ordered tiramisu (their cannoli was out) and brownie. The portion was VERY small, and the tiramisu didn't even tasted like tiramisu. It was just chunk of cream and bread with some whipped cream on it. Brownie came with the ice cream but the brownie was very cold and it tasted weird with ice cream. I don't understand why anyone would serve cold cake with an ice cream. We had to let the server know that there was blue plastic in our garlic bread. At first she thought it was blue cheese. She said the manager said there's no way the plastic got into the bread so it probably came from the bakery they bought the bread but the plastic wasn't melted or anything so I don't know. Average food with not-so-good experience. read more

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Nice Italian Resturant in the bunghamton great food great service I am a vegetarian now but when I wasn't their steak with garlic is amazing yummy soups great friendly place read more

Yesterday we ate at Cortese's, our fav Binghamton restaurant. And we got my cozy favorite booth in the bar and once again, BOB, my favorite waiter on EARTH served us! Just perfect. The man is amazing. You order a martini and he brings it instantly and it's perfect (such a thing has become difficult lately where we live in Susquehanna county, PA)! He gives you just enough time, no annoying chitchat, takes your order, then brings it. Bob should be worshipped. The food was great too. read more

I really looked forward to finally dining here! So many great reviews, almost legendary. First, great atmosphere. Nice cozy old Italian feeling. Our server was wonderful! Very attentive. One of our appetizers was calamari. Totally shocked when it arrived. It was soft and chewy. Did not expect that! We opted to just take it off the order. Which he did happily. Next course, lasagna with meatballs, gnocchi and shrimp scampi over linguini. All good except for the shrimp scampi! Maybe a 1/4 c of pasta swimming in a dish of oil/scampi sauce. read more

Must say I'm sad to post this review. We live in NC, and we excited to be in town for a wedding, as my fiancé is from here. We made reservations to be sure we could get in...we had no problems as the virus is affecting businesses everywhere. We did have to wait a bit for service, but once she came she was on top of us. I ordered the Delmonico steak and he ordered the veal picatta. The salads were very fresh but a little heavy on the dressing for me, but that is just me. Bread was good. My steak was sadly 1/3 fat and the veal was overcooked. The owner must have seen our sad faces because he came over to talk with us. I explained our disappointment and he was very gracious to reduce my cost and take off the veal. He did agree to both of our concerns. This review would have been a 2, but the way it was handled shows true customer service. We will be sure to come back on our next visit. Thank you both to Chris Cortese and Damianne for providing excellent service! To me, that is a true sign of quality! read more

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Their steaks "Milanese style" is utterly incredible, with steaming garlic wafting through the whole restaurant as it sizzles during delivery to your table. An experience I've never found in any other restaurant. read more

Sausage sandwich with red sauce. Antipasto salad. Wonderful old school charm. A Binghamton staple that will hopefully be around for years to come. Consistent quality. read more

got the. Old Fashioned Hot Pie for take out and it was delicious. Staff was quick and efficient and had our food ready in 15min . Would recommend if you are looking for something new to try and a good pizza read more

Have eaten here a few times, staff is very friendly and attentive. Food, never had a bad meal and the pricing is reasonable and a very comfortable atmosphere If your in the area give them a try, dont think you'll be disappointed read more

Well, I was dragged back to Cortese, and if anything it was worse than last time. A salad so pedestrian it should have a sidewalk, bread with the texture of cotton, slow service, a petite filet so undercooked that it had to be sent back twice (and returned from the kitchen the last time sliced into smaller pieces), 'grandma's' veal special was not special at all, with a bitter garlic butter sauce-just awful. I'm done with Cortese. read more

This is our first time here and very disappointed. I'm usually not a type of person like to complain but today I will say something. Food is extremely salty and we never enjoyed our food. We are all starving and try their food but still cannot eat them. Very disappointed. All pictures are left over and barely not touch them. The only good thing is manager Paul they give us a discount. Never go back again. read more

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Yum yum yum. I've been coming here since I was a little kid. I guess you could say this place is a staple with my family. Cortese is somewhere in between your run of the mill strip mall Italian place and a very high end restaurant. Maybe a little closer to the high end side. A vast menu offering includes all of the Italian staples that you would expect to find such as pasta, Marsala, and chicken parm. Pizza is another good option with what I believe is Detroit-style deep dish loaded with toppings. While I think all of their pastas used to be homemade, now it's just the spaghetti in terms of standard pastas- but the gnocchi and ravioli is made in house too. One thing that sets Cortese apart is their bar selection, especially craft beers of draft. A great selection including some unique ones that earned me kudos when I checked into them on my Beer social network. This place is in my list to visit every time I'm in the Southern Tier. read more

Cortese Restaurant - Homemade spaghetti with tomato sauce and Italian sausage - Italian Near Me - Binghamton, New York

Food is overall alright but it's pretty expensive for what you get. Ordered the garlic bread with cheese and it was yummy, one of the better things I had (again, just on the expensive side). The soup I ordered (chicken soup with egg) was mediocre-- just incredibly salty, couldn't finish it. On the flip side, my sisters salad was great (I think their French dressing was homemade, one of the best French dressings I've ever had, would definitely recommend). For my main entree I had the chicken saltimbocca, which I enjoyed. Portion was a little small and it was served a bit lukewarm though. The eggplant I had as a side was also room temperature. read more

Part of five with a reservation, we arrived a few minutes early and saw a tour bus of people with instruments in front of us. We didn't expect them to be marching through the restaurant playing bagpipes and drums for close to 30minutes. I'm not sure how Italian Restaurant = St Paddy's Day parade works. We were seated at a table too small and with multiple other tables at the same time in the same section. The single member staff waiting tables in our section didn't introduce herself and seemed rushed. When we asked what they had on draft she said she didn't know and told us to check menu before stopping herself and providing correct menu, the one she initially provided was out of date. One of our group had food restrictions and asked if she could check about the ingredients in the bread, she could not/did not. When we tried to order six chicken wings as part of an appetizer she said it would take about 25 minutes so we cancelled it and had calamari. Our food came out after most of the other tables, all of whom she appeared to know and didn't present to them as being inpatient or rushed. Most of us did not enjoy the meal. Veal, chicken, sausage... all were either bland or salty. Nobody at the table finished their meal, or wanted to. It was really disappointing. I would not advise anyone to come to this restaurant, it was our first and last visit. read more

Great Italian restaurant in Binghamton area. Always enjoy going there to get the chicken parm and gnocchi. My family members always enjoy ordering the lamb or filet Milanese as well. The bar truly knows how to make great martinis. They are quite strong Would also recommend the pizza, it's great for take out read more

Was the first time our meal was not good. I ordered the prime rib medium rare it was medium well. My husband ordered the delmonico medium it was medium rare. So we switched. We had capilini pasta it was over cooked and mushy. This is the first time the meal was not good. Waitress was ok and friendly. Will not go back for a while. read more

Hands down my favorite restaurant. Quality food and great service. Cortese is a piece of history in the southern tier. I've never had an entree I didn't thoroughly enjoy. My go to's are fettuccine alfredo, plain pizza, prime rib, pork chop, any chicken dish, chicken wings, filet mignon, or shrimp cocktail. Simple side salad with ranch dressing and iceberg lettuce always served cold and crisp. 1. Fettuccine is amazing. Made with pecorino cheese! 2. Pizza is to die for. It's very much a local style of pizza. You will either love it or hate it. 3. Shrimp cocktail cold, crisp, large, and snappy 4. Filet is a quality cut and flavorful 5. Wings - order them mild with ranch. They are fresh wings and aren't not partially cooked a head of time so they do take 20 minutes or so. To die for! 6. Any chicken dish your little heart desires will be delicious! I literally can't count the number of times I've dined here over the past 30 years. I found the negative reviews rather humerus. The one mentioning racism - umm, did you happen to take a look at the servers here? I'm posting this review as a courtesy. Cortese doesn't need yelp. The locals understand the quality of food and service here is superior. One last note, reservations are a must it's way too busy here to expect to be seated without one. read more

Mediocre at best. Went here for my son's graduation. I felt lucky to get a reservation. Everyplace else was booked. Service was great. Food not so much. Edible. But mediocre at best. read more

Big menu. Known for Italian but I normally get Delmonico King Cut with Malanaise garlic. The staff isn't great, most of the bartenders take care of the locals. A younger gal with dark hair was there on a Monday and she was great. Loved the prime rib as well. read more

Always consistent food and friendly service whether eat in or takeout. Their pizza is the best in the Binghamton area.

The worst pizza I ever ate. Was too tired to go to Brozetti's so I tried, one more time, Cortese. Last time, no doubt. Chicken pizza was sickly sweet, the cheese was not only burn but came off in a sheet, if you dropped this on the street, dogs would pass it by. And to top it off, the menu on-line shows the price as $12.50, got there and it was $18!! Cannot believe so many people think so much of this pizza it truly sucks out loud. read more

Corteses was recommended to us from a client in the area. In fact he had called to have a table ready for us. Good thing too as the place was packed. Clearly a local favorite. We did not need to wait long. Grabbed a stool at the bar for a quick beer and were not even able to finish the beer before our table was ready. Good beer list - from lagers to IPAs it was a good choice of standard selections as well as some good local crafts. Food was good. Menu is a bit limited for what is typically seen today. It was good though. I had burger with no bun and enjoyed its preparation. My friend had a pizza. I grabbed a slice and ate the topping. Very good. read more

Wow! It's unfortunate that this place has declined in it's food quality and staff. We were there for New Years Eve. Rightly so, assumed it would be congested and behind. However, our reservations were for 7:30pm. Got seated at 8:35. Received our appetizers at 9:15pm, which were tasty. At 10pm I went to the front and let them know that it had been a very long time and still no dinner. When I returned to table, food was being placed. Only one of the 6 of us was satisfied. Two meals were returned. My meal went back as it was basically disgusting. The meat had a very strange smell, and the taste was worse. The service was less then mediocre. We received our bill at 10:35pm. No apologies or recognition of the poor food or service. With the competition of Italian restaurants in this area, I would recommend one of the others. read more

What a find. In town for one night and one night only, my father-in-law and I glanced at the list of restaurants provided by our hotel, dialed some of them up on Yelp, and threw caution to the wind. Assuming most "legitimate" places are in "downtown Bing" is definitely a no-no. Cortese's a little out of the way, but sometimes you gotta stray off the beaten path to find the gems. This place reminded me of a restaurant my father used to take us in the North End of Boston, Joe Tecce's. It's dark, the tables and silverware are appropriately heavy, and there's a creepy painting of Jesus on the wall by the door. Just what the doctor ordered. And the food! We weren't starving, so we ordered off the "lighter fare" menu, which isn't what it sounds like -- it just means the portions are smaller. I opted for the chicken parm, which came with pasta and a fresh side salad. My father-in-law got the chef's special pasta, which is spaghetti mixed in with sauce, peppers, and hot Italian sausage. Both were preceded by a loaf of hot fresh bread. Washed it down with an Ommegang Abbey Ale, a Belgian-style amber from Cooperstown. I can't believe how lucky we were to find Cortese. This is a classic old-style Italian place that brought back some sterling memories. read more