Nice walk. A way to engage the family while waiting for your dinner reservation. This is a great…read moreway to get your steps in.

I came here for my nephews graduation from Cornell University, and had some time to explore the…read moredowntown area also!! A small city in upstate New York, it was great weather while I was here, and the views of Cayuga Lake from Cornell University were amazing!! Yes, driving through this city was tight, pretty small streets. And my nephew told me the winters here are brutal. The Ithaca Commons, which is a public plaza in downtown, had shops and restaurants, a very nice area to walk through!!

I love Ithaca - it's the town that initially pulled me to CNY. Lots of culture and unique, diverse…read morebusinesses, but still has that small town feel. It's built up quite a bit since I lived there, so vibes have changed slightly. Still, love to visit and relive some of the memories. Within the vicinity of a ton of gorgeous waterfalls, some of them walkable from town. Also easy to drive to several lakes and parks and wineries. The commons is a super cool collection of locally-owned artisan shops worth the stroll and the browse. Their farmer's market is one of my happy places - love strolling on a weekend, grabbing some snacks, and sitting on the doc to watch the ducks. It's true what they say, Ithaca is gorges!

I took my son to dinner here while I was in town. He had been before with friends and recommended…read moreeverything. We had an amazing waitress and a series of back-up help who were so attentive to every detail. The food was delicious. We both left feeling like it was time to go to bed....satiated and relaxed. Would recommend.

Cozy (if a touch loud), excellent Italianesque pizza/pasta/salad joint. Good cocktails, beer and…read morewine cards. Experienced and personable servers. Bougie uni crowd, but good value for money nevertheless -- not always the case in Ithaca. Pasta Alla Vodka was particularly fine.

I suggested this not so casual spot for a casual catch-up with my girlfriend and a friend, mostly…read morebecause I'd tried their sister restaurant next door. We were seated right away. The layout and vibe were nearly identical to the other location: cozy, softly lit, and upscale. Deciding what to eat was the hardest part. I went with my gut and got their Lamb Ragu Pasta - rich, herby, and the pasta had this firm bite. My girlfriend had the Porchetta, which she found a bit too fatty, though she polished off the potatoes with zero hesitation. My friend ordered the Chicken Piccata. I tried it, nodded, and moved on - good, but not groundbreaking. We ended with an affogato (fancy words for vanilla ice cream drowned in espresso). Simple, classy, and somehow the star of the night. If nothing else, I'd come back just for that.

Super cozy restaurant with phenomenal food and service!…read more We ordered a few starters: the chicken liver crostini, beet salad, and mixed green salad--all of which were fantastic. The chicken saltimbocca and bucatini were delicious, but the star of the meal was the hanger steak. Not only juicy and tender, but so so flavorful! I don't order steak often, but I wouldn't hesitate to get it again. They also have a solid selection of cocktails and wine to pair with your meal. The staff are really friendly and helpful with menu suggestions and wine pairings. I believe it's run by a family, and it certainly provides the comfort and care of one. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner and will be back!

Our meal at Gala Osteria was delicious -- authentic Italian dishes. I loved the tagliatelle and the…read moredessert with maple syrup grown locally. Our waiter Steve was very attentive and gave great suggestions. Don't let the somewhat odd location discourage you from a fabulous meal.

Delicious pasta! Better than Thompson and Bleecker and perhaps my favorite restaurant in Ithaca!…read more We tried the eggplant roll appetizer which was warm and very cheesy. The anchovy salad was also good (I prefer the white anchovies which they used). The salad was also quite generous with the cheese. I enjoyed dipping the warm bread in the leftover eggplant cheese/sauce. For mains we tried the chicken, black spaghetti, and the pappardelle. I love mushrooms, so the pappardelle was my favorite. A rather simple buttery sauce which allowed the flavor of the mushrooms to really come through. Delicious! I don't usually like to re-order the same dish when returning to restaurants, but this was so good when I come back I will definitely be getting this again! Black spaghetti and chicken were also good- no complaints here. For dessert we tried the panna cotta which was a tiny bit on the runny side though I am just being picky. It was very tasty and not too sweet. The tiramisu was also good (on the boozier side). The desserts were rather small but the mains were all quite hefty portion sizes. Reservations were rather inconvenient to snag though definitely not too hard. Overall, I really enjoyed Gola Osteria and will have to return to try more of their pastas!

Met up with friends here over reunion weekend, and it was my first time back in years! The staff…read moreseemed a little overwhelmed, but we were patient and it all worked out great. I ordered the Greek salad with chicken and was pretty satisfied with it. A huge shoutout to Rena, our waitress--she was so friendly and incredibly helpful! (I don't know why the other waitress when we only asked if we could sit down and we knew it could be awhile for our turn, she was rude). I know this place has gone through a lot of ownership changes lately, so I really hope they keep the food quality up at this level. Heads up that it's only one check per table, but that was easy for us to handle. Thanks for the great salad!

Great local spot, very friendly staff. Chicken souvlaki platter was delicious. Cozy little spot…read moretucked away on Eddy Street. Will definitely return and be a regular.

Ithaca Is Foodies was arguably one of he best food tours that I've ever had the pleasure of…read moreattending. Our guide Seth showcased Ithaca's diverse food scene (a lot of which was locally sourced fare, which was super impressive) while tying in interesting historical facts about the city of Ithaca--which was totally unexpected but definitely well received among the group as well as very much appreciated. A decent bit of walking, which was fine, but it's good to point out for our less mobile friends looking to partake. At every stop we had small drink and food portions, which after the 2-3 hours I was relatively full, which is always nice after completing a food tour. We started off at Moosewood Restaurant and worked our way through the Ithaca Commons to 6 total different spots, stopping along the way to point out fun facts about certain areas, murals, general historical tidbits as well as highlighting local business practices that may not be commonplace elsewhere (did you know that Ithaca commonly uses a "Collective" business model versus the generally practiced "Cooperative" business model, where individuals in charge share equal responsibilities/shares and others are welcome to work their way up through work efforts and such). I'm sure the general order/selection of restaurants rotates given time of year and availability so I won't go into much detail about where we went here, but all of the choices were awesome and accompanied by narration from either Seth or the owner of the restaurant about the food we were enjoying as well as a small history of the establishment. Overall a wonderfully thorough tour that left me wanting to know more about the city of Ithaca and it's quite interesting history. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting the Finger Lakes Region!

Mild disappointment. Ithaca known for great food and interesting venues. 3 of the 6 stops hit the…read moremark. Moosewood, Ethiopian, and F. Oliver's achieved on both. You could skip Ten Forward, underwhelming Star Trek theme and basic sandwich. Coltivare was an excellent tour and an even better tour guide, but surprised to see basic flatbread as our sample. Ice cream shop was ok but nothing special to make it onto Foodie tour. Not a bad way to spend a day, just needs a little work.

Tonight I placed a delivery order and it was fabulous. I ordered the fried haddock dinner with…read morepenne pasta and tossed salad. The fish was cooked perfectly,( Not greasy at all)., and the portion was very generous. The Penne pasta was. Also delicious. Delivery was quick.. This is one of My. Favorite. Take out places. Can't go wrong!.

I will say, Christina saved my evening. I looked around for something to feed my young daughter…read more They went out of their way to make something for her that is not fully on the menu. Thank you so much. Great care!

Martin at Ciao was honestly the greatest server ever, always bringing energy and making every…read moreexperience better. He had a way of making people feel welcome while still being quick, attentive, and on point with everything. It's rare to find someone who balances personality and professionalism as well as he did. I hope to hear his response because he truly deserves the recognition. GIVE HIM A RAISE!!

The secret menu item here is the Tuscan Sacchetti pasta but with the bolognese sauce instead of the…read moreAlfredo sauce. They are so popular here they ran out of my favorite go to dinner the lasagna. A waiter recommended the above way of ordering the Tuscan Sacchetti and ever since it is now mandatory. Bolognese sauce is off the hook tasty.,Throw in the the hot bread and oil dip and BOOM!!