Discovered this place years ago and finally went back. Was as charmed as the first time by this straight-from-Italy experience in an old pharmacy with much of the original detail intact. read more

In Short: Not worth the money or the hubbub. Service not that great. The waiter was hard to EVER flag down and when we needed something. And there was no description of these pretty elaborate dishes when they were served. Italian is always better when it's simpler, I think and with the complication of most dishes we found ourselves lost, eating, guessing and not able to to taste the ingredients. The food waas incredibly OVERPRICED for what is was. We ordered basically everything on the Menu, and did family style for a large group. Family Style would suggest that it would save a little money, but we walked out, without drinks, only mildy full and oversalted having spent $60 per head. Unimpressed with nearly all of the meat and Secondi, with the exception of the Wild Boar / Pappardelle. read more

Not very authentic style, the food was mediocre. We had a farva bean appetizer that was very good and fresh tasting. The gnocchi with seafood was lacking in seafood and a very small dish. The seafood stew was okay but way overpriced, 26$! Other places around town are priced at half that with just as much seafood and better tasting broth. Service was not very good, granted it was a pretty busy night but seems like everything took much longer than it should. The decor was cool, but its your typical hipster joint in the area. read more

I'm convinced they fly the bread in from Italy because it tastes just like it does in Rome. Which is to say, different and delicious. It's an acquired taste but it's delicious. Started off with pretty high expectations. The waiters seemed to only address my brother (the only male at the table), which was annoying but typical old-school Italian, which I can say because I'm Italian. Manage your expectations and know that this place is really LOUD, near deafening, so if you want to have a conversation of an intimate nature, forget it. It's also very small so expect to be bumped into a couple times. The good parts: best Negroni I've had in a long time, tortelli tasted like heaven, bread as I mentioned, beet salad. All very very good. The fish not so much and the tagliatelle was just okay. I think Al di La's is superior. Also wasn't blown away by their olive oil but the signature white wine was very nice. read more

best italian in nyc. never waited more than 10 minutes for my reservation. kind of tough to get to, but that probabl helps them keep the food fresh. this neck of the woods actually has several real gems. much better than slope or hill or burgh. it's the place i wish we had in LA read more

This place is one of the cutest restaurants in the area. The food is pretty good and it is a great date place. What cinches the deal for me is that they preserved an old pharmacy and set up shop inside of it. I love the ambience of the place. The wait staff was nice, the food good, again a great place to go for a date. Definately check it out! read more

This place is amazing. Every time I have been here it has been intimate and special, regardless of how many people are in the restaurant. The food is always wonderful and the wine list is perfect. The menu is ever changing, fresh, and delicious whether you are ordering a traditional dish or something with a bit of a twist. A word to the wise: Do NOT miss the seasonal wine-paring dinners. read more

Delicious food all around. The staff are very helpful in matching up pasta, primi and secondi dishes. Also have great value with wine. And it's great bang for the buck consider the quality of ingredients and masterful cooking. read more

The Tuscan-country Italian dishes were delicious! Being we were a party of eight we opt for a prefix menu. I have to say the chef out did himself. From the fresh pasta, to the braised meat I can't complain the four course meal was outstanding! Chicken liver with risotto was delicious! I plan to come back and enjoy more of Italy. read more

Consistently delicious with excellent service. Try their signature martini too while you are at it.

Love this place! If you are looking for warm, old world beautiful ambiance, authentic Italian food and friendly attentive service, this is the place for you. My most recent visit here was on Christmas eve, which was an extremely busy night for this restaurant. Despite my party arriving late, the staff was extremely accommodating and friendly.Several celebrity spottings made the evening even more fun. If your idea of a good Italian meal is from the Olive Garden, do not go to Locanda Vini e Olii. You will not be happy. Bonus, there is street parking and it is easy to get to via public transit. read more

An incredible gem. Pastas and wines specifically are all some of the best I've ever experienced, as far as Northern Italian goes. Definitely one of my favorite places in the city. read more

My Gf and I had NYE dinner at Locanda and was fairly pleased. Our reservation for the prix fix meal was at 9p and we were promptly seated in the bustling dinner room. We opted out of the wine pairing menu and ordered wine/cocktails a la cart. We started with the calamari stew and pumpkin soup, both were tasty. The calamari was abit chewy but the tomato stew flavors made up for it and was great for dipping bread. The soup was ok, solid for a starter. For pasta dishes, I had the parpadelle with huge chunks of braised boar - very delicious and filling. My gf has the tagliatelle with mushrooms, it was very bland with not much flavor, needed more oil or lemon or something. For our mains, I had the NYE special suckling pig and it was incredible. Huge serving of melt in your mouth pork with a side of potatoes, perfect for a cold rainy winter evening. My gf had the sea bass, the serving was very small and the plate was overcome with the veggie side but it was ok. For desert we had the sorbet and olive oil cake - both were solid, not amazing. All in all the meal was good, pretty expensive tho. The environment was great for a NYE dinner and our server was excellent. I'd come back for a standard meal but probably not for NYE/holiday prix fix. read more

This is a great place to bring a date. It's got a really cute ambiance- all the details of the old drug store preserved. The owner is your slick haired Italian type who might know people. The wait staff have sexy Italian accents. It's multi-course, which is typical of Italian meals so each dish is quite small. Unfortunately, the price isn't small. So you will end up getting an appetizer, a salad, and a pasta and of course wine, and before you know it, it comes to like $80 a person. The food is really good but I think maybe hyped up a bit because there's not that much stuff in the immediate area. read more

To say this place is the best place in the neighborhood isn't quite doing it justice. Excellent food, great wine, knowledgeable and kind service. Just can't say enough. Whether you're at a table or at the bar, this place is the place to be. read more

Really cute place, great atmosphere and service. The duck was amazingggg!! I found our seafood entree a bit too small but the flavors were great. I'd visit again read more

A very charming place. I had Tagliatelle "Al Ragu" with Orange Zest pasta, delicious, although a tad salty, with a side of spinach. Try the Barbera D'Asti "Mon Ross, great with this pasta. The service was really nice too! Will be back! read more

I have loved this place since their opening night 12 years ago. Though the owners have changed, the menu and spirit to northern Italian cuisine remains true. I love the atmosphere in the old drug store. read more

We LOVE this place. This is our traditional anniversary restaurant. We trek out from Manhattan and the subway ride from the upper east side is always worth it. The food is authentic, the wine is excellent and the staff is knowledgeable and very fun. We took a friend who is a gourmand by profession and an Italian wine buyer in San Francisco. She was fully impressed by the staff, the food and the wine. We had a blast. I highly recommend this place for a classy, authentic, exquisite dinner. read more

Neighborhood gem. Great food, wine, service, and decor. Worth the visit from any neighborhood in NY.

So I have been living in Clinton Hill for nearly a year now and am sad that I only recently discovered Locanda Vini e Olii. I have been there three times now and am beyond obsessed. I dream about the meals I have had there. The atmosphere is unique (inside of an old school drugstore), the vibe is great and the service is impeccable. I went for dinner last night with a friend and the waiter/owner Michael recommended I try the braised Rabbit with homemade pappardelle pasta. I was a bit hesitant at first as I had never tried rabbit before, but now I am hooked. It was simple looking dish but unbelievable and incredibly flavorful. Also had the strawberry and endives salad that was a good mix of sweet from the strawberries and bitter from the endives, but worked together so well. Each time I have ended my meal with a macchiato and a "Brutti ma Buoni" cookie- meaning "Ugly but good" in italian. It is a flour-less almond cookie that tastes great alone or dipped in coffee. I have made a resolution to treat myself to dinner here once a week, I think eating this well on a regular basis will greatly enhance my life and love of food, it is just that good. For anyone who left less than 5 stars, all I have to say is you are out of your god damn mind. (And do yourself a favor and read the first page of the menu, it is all right there to explain that you will not be served a texas sized portion of food. You will be eating a meal like a typical italian would- multiple courses, so smaller dishes at each course. If you want 2 pounds of pasta served to you, I suggest you go elsewhere). read more

This place is great. Me and two friends stopped by and had some dinner/dessert at the bar. The service seemed attentive and the food and wine were excellent! Seemed crowded but a good vibe permeated the space. I recommend and will be back myself. Pros: Good pasta; great wine; nice waiters/bar tenders; cool wine pouring device behind the bar; the building itself Cons: A little bit of a walk The portion size debate is a non issue for me. I don't need a huge plate of stuff to make it good. read more

I've been to Locanda once a few years ago and I remember food being quite good. It was that memory (and a host of raving reviews) that led me to dine here again. Unfortunately, this time the experience was subpar. The service is very uneven. We were greated and seated promptly, but the waitstaff is rather indifferent, and and has to be flagged down if you want anything. No one inquired if we liked the food or if we needed anything else. In addition our one request to have a different sauce with a pasta dish (seafood gnocchi, which due to allergy we wanted to have with plain tomato sauce instead, as is listed on the menu on their website in the first place!) was very proudly denied. Now, I've eaten in plenty of high end restaurants and that has never happened to me before. I understand that some dishes are alrea dy pre-made but ghocchi is cooked separately and this should not have been an issue. On to the food. That was uneven as well. The strawberry mint salad with almonds was delicious and refreshing. The cheese plate was good, except the onion marmalade as an accompanied it was a rather strange choice. There was plenty of bread, but the green spread that came with it tasted really bland and simple olive oil wouldve done a better job. As for the pasta, the less is said the better. Pici was undercooked, tagliatelli and maltagliatti on the other hand were over-cooked and drowned in butter. All three pastas lacked any flavour other than overpowering black pepper. The side of roasted potatoes came out dripping with oil and I suspect that they were fried. In any event, they were inedible. Overall the ingredients seemed really fresh but the execution was severely lacking. The wine was good, so there is that. read more

I have been here a couple times. The first time it was great. The second time I really didn't like the young chicken because I thought it was tough and over cooked. But the staff stepped in and rushed me another main course. This is excellent service. I finished my dinning experience without skipping a beat. I really appreciate this act of service because it's rare, but in this day and age it's needed. Very tentative to service and never had to turn my head and look for service. I would recommend this place and am proud to have this place in my neighborhood. . read more

Stumbled upon this place as I meandered though Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy one day. The veal tongue is ridiculously tasty, and the pici was pretty good too. The staff was very polite and attentive, and out waiter recommended a great wine pairing. I highly recommend this place to people interested in a real Brooklyn dining experience. read more

Extraordinary. Perfect. Unhurried and lacking any pretentiousness... Truly Italian.

Always a pleasure! This is the third or fourth time that we dine at this exquisite restaurant. We like the menu, the atmosphere and the service. What can I say - a pleasure every time. We shall no doubt return whenever we have the chance to. read more

Ever feel like the ambiance, food, drink and restaurant personnel made an evening with friends into something really important? Our dinner at Locanda was perfect, from beginning to end. WILLY made us feel so welcome. The food was delicious. I ordered the anchovy starter and guitar strings pasta, a simple meal that surprised and delighted me. Desserts were shared all around. The experience was conducive to intimate and lively discussions. Made me feel grateful to live in Brooklyn. read more

Valentine's Day 2013 - I was really looking forward to my first visit here. I'd read a lot about it and thought it would be the perfect romantic Valentine's Day experience for my wife. As others have said, the decor and ambiance are delightful. The restaurant is on a quiet residential street with no other commercial businesses in sight. The old drug store setting and decor are very charming. The hosts and waiters are a bit brusque, but energetic and engaging nonetheless. You do miss out on the charm of bonding with a server, but the coverage service is attentive and knowledgeable. And, the place has a very cool vibe - not too hipster or too Brooklyn - just right, like you are in the know on a special place. There are other charms - we ordered the house wine by consumption just to experience them measuring how much we drank with the famous measuring "stick" and the menus made of cardboard are clever. Unfortunately, where this all falls down is with the food. The best I can say is that the quality of the ingredients themselves was pretty good, but they need a new chef. The preparations are basic and as others here say waaayyy too much salt - we had "sushi mouth" the next morning, which is a first for Italian food. This night they had only a four-course prix-fixe V-day special with three choices for each course to choose from. For the starters we selected the warm octopus and poussin (small chicken apparently, now I know why they use ducks) pate. The octopus portion was so small that after I ate one small piece my wife wanted to know why I didn't leave her any (the guy at the next table said "oh, there it is" while fishing in his bowl). The pate was flavorless and had an odd texture. For the secondi (supposedly the best course here) we chose the maltagliati ("badly cut pasta) with funghi - it was more than just badly cut - it had less flavor than the chicken pate, and the Guitar String pasta with fish - wow, I was instantly transported to the Fulton Fish Market - and, the pasta was overcooked. On to the mains. The Piedmonte beef finally brought us dish with flavor. It was nicely cooked, sliced and presented. However, it was served with a pile of dry arugula and that's it. No salad dressing on the arugula - can we make some effort here? And no vegetable? The Branzino was just a filet, not the whole fish as its usually served. It was cooked AND served in parchment paper with carmelized onions and some badly mauled fennel. Overcooked and bland. I could have prepared this dish in two minutes. Dessert. We survived to sample the simple piece of chocolate cake (the homemade whipped cream was good) and ricotta cake with fruit coulis (the coulis was the best part of meal). In the end, we drank $25 worth of the $32.50 bottle of wine, which wasn't bad and my wife had a cup of tea served in a cute, but less than functional little pot. My wife liked the earrings I bought her and loved my card, and we enjoyed ourselves even though we had schlepped out to Clinton Hill from Harlem for a really forgettable food experience. Dinner was $55/pp plus wine, tip and tax and we were up to $170+ Maybe this was an "off-night" or they are still learning the prix-fixe thing, but with only three choices per course on a "showcase" evening, this was beyond disappointing and by New York standards, embarrassing. read more

Special place. Wonderful service. Perfect neighborhood spot. Food is consistently delicious and menu changes with the season. Food is always fresh and regularly inspires me to try new things. Spectacular wine. Love it. read more

The setting: very cool and charming. The service: friendly, but a bit too familiar and, furthermore, confusing with different waiters running by you. The food: below expectations, considering the promise. The bread - a bit stale. The pea paste served with the bread - tasteless. The seafood and the land charcuterie plates promised a lot, but again under-delivered with their blandness, though the ingredients themselves were obviously top-notch. No condiments were served to supplement the flavor, and when we asked for some mustard, it was promised, but never delivered. The seafood gnocchi was rather good as was the lamb ravioli dish. The chocolate cake was stale mediocrity incarnate. Overall: a great concept in a great setting, but the chef needs to develop some taste buds. read more

A real gem in a quite Brooklyn neighborhood Tonight was the second time we dine in this restaurant. First time was some four years ago. Both times we enjoyed it tremendously. Although we made reservations we had to wait some twenty minutes to the table as it was Friday night and the place was packed. To compensate, there were three glasses of wine, gratis, on the table. We had almost a full dinner, anti pasti, primi and main course. Each dish was tasty and unique. I do recommend this place, just make sure you make reservations otherwise you have no chance to get a table. read more

Love this place! The duck breast, branzino and tripe are fantastic. For desert, get the Cheesecake. You won't regret it.

Great restaurant. This is my go to place when I bring people to see what Brooklyn is all about. Unassuming storefront (old drug store), the inside still has elements of the drug store and a vintage feel. The food is outstanding- have been here about 8-10 times and tried almost every dish on the menu. The duck is the standout- I highly suggest a trip here if only for that. Happy to give this restaurant a great review-long overdue. read more

Great dining experience. Very cozy place, food and staff were great. Would recommend. Will definitely be going back again soon...

Spent Christmas Eve here and had a wonderful time. I'm still reminiscing about the lamb casserole and the branzino. I'm a big fan of this place. A great neighborhood spot in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. read more

Completely overrated. Service is poor. Food is mediocre. Don't be misled by the nice design of the place and the charm of it. If you want a good meal, go elsewhere. read more

One of a kind. Charming. Cozy. Authentic Tuscan Italian. You'll love how it's tucked away on a quiet corner here in Clinton Hill, with a very inviting outdoor patio (during the warmer months) to sit and graze for hours. The nostalgia of it's interior and the old "Levy's Pharmacy" storefront still in tact makes for a surprising experience. It's the perfect date spot. Intimate. Romantic. Delicious. A wonderful staff as well; they know what they're doing. Had my birthday dinner here last year and it was literally the best birthday I have ever had. Vini e Olii is just divine. Grazie mille! read more

I just had the worst customer service experience of my life at Vini & Olii. I ordered zucchini ravioli ($16) for dinner with a glass of wine ($10). I was shocked at the size of the portion (6 raviolis) and I would probably have refused the meal if the bar maid had not given me about 1/3 of a loaf of bread with pesto sauce which I hoped would fill my stomach. It was 8:30pm on a Friday and I was tired at the end of a long week and essentially stuck with making the most of the predicament I found myself in. I explained my frustration to the blond-haired waitress/manager, and she said the ravioli was what they considered a primo. It was not labeled "primo" and there was no indication of the size of the portion on the menu. She asked if I wanted to order anything else, I explained that I was on a fixed budget. She had a touch of arrogance and expressed no care about how disappointed I was. I had previously stopped by the restaurant several times before entering, and I was hoping it would be a nice addition to the neighborhood culinary options. When paying my bill, I felt I would pass on my concerns to the manager/owner I hopes of a more hospitable response. (I do not know his name. He is a bald man around 40 years old). I explained my disappointment and said that there was nothing on the menu to indicate that pasta would not be enough of a plate for a dinner. And therein started the tirade. I was hoping that he would hear my concerns and express a heart-felt apology. After all, I am a neighbor and have invested many years and resources in the community that he portends to serve. What I was told was that: - I should have read the first page of the menu where there was an explanation of menu terms. I had not seen this essentially worn printout that was almost impossible to read in the darkness of the restaurant. However, I question whether one should have to read every page of a menu in order to make a suitable dinner order. - I said, well, that's fine, but it would be helpful if you write some explanation of the portion size next to the heading "Pasta." - The owner/manager said "No. When you come into the restaurant, you have entered Italy we will not explain anything." - I said that there are thousands of Italian restaurants in the US and that if they are using a standard that is different from the predominant one, that it behooves them to clarify their standards. How is a customer to know to ask whether a service is different from the market standard unless they have been given some indication? - He reiterated - telling me to stop talking and listen to him now - "No - you are in Italy now." I said, well, the service staff could have at least explained the portion size. - He then continued to say "Yes, I know that some people don't like this. There might be 5% of the people who complain, but 95% are happy, so we are not going to change. " He continued to say "I know that you might never come back and that you might write something up, but we're not going to change." I was so shocked at this arrogance and lack of customer service, that I wrote down all of his clever phrases on my receipt and got out of there. I was so offended by his disregard for my experience as a customer that I did not give a tip. This is the one thing that I regret. I should have refused to pay the bill and have given a tip to the barmaid who was also from Italy and was gracious and warm and hospitable. She was a fine and kind representative of Italy whom I would give my business to in a heartbeat. However I will never step foot into this restaurant with such arrogant, righteous, and obnoxious Italian bosses who give the country a bad name (and I have lived in Europe for seven years and visited several times Italy so I know from whence I speak). This type of behavior could only happen in a place so starved for good restaurants as Clinton Hill. It's really a shame that the residents are putting up with this treatment. read more

Terrible service and very rude new owners, who were verbally abusive to our party. I will never go here again and I strongly recommend you avoid it too. read more