At the beginning of 2019 I created a NYC food bucket-list of all of the top restaurants around the 5 boroughs I wanted to try out while living in the city, based on taste, aesthetic, atmosphere and price.
I racked multiple articles on the web, scrolled through endless pins on pinterest, dug through magazines, books, forums and FINALLY compiled a solid list of places that seem worth the time and money to try out. One of the restaurants that was ranked pretty highly for taste and aesthetic was Pietro Nolita… better know as, “The Pink as F**k restaurant.”
I went with my fellow NYC foodie Kristiana, to get the inside scoop on this tiny Italian spot right off of Bowery.
The restaurant is tucked between Spring St. and Elizabeth St. with the two nearest subway stations being Bowery (J & Z lines) and Spring St. (6 line). You definitely can’t miss it, as its bright pink facade stands out among the stereotypical dark brick walk ups.
The restaurant itself is absolutely TINY. Because of this, I would make sure you book online well in advance and don’t try to roll up the day of. Chances are– they’ll be booked solid if you do! There were only a few small tables tightly lined together and a few bar stools creating a very intimate setting. I don’t mind this typically, but my complaint was that it didn’t feel like you could speak a word without everyone in the room hearing your conversation.
The food itself was very good! I actually asked them to customize my dish (I know…complicated customer), to switch out the listed pasta of Penne in favor of Gnocci that was available in another dish. The combination of Gnocci with this dishes’ sauce was incredible and super filling. I thought the portions sizes across the board were really great too. I’ve linked the menu below!
Pricing was a little bit high I felt, ringing in at a little bit over $20 a plate. I suppose this is relatively normal for New York City– but being a VA girl, I know I can get a 3 course meal at Chili’s for $12. Yes, yes I know. I’m super classy (but at least I’m a cheap date)! The biggest frustration for this restaurant is that THEY DO NOT ACCEPT CARDS.
I can honestly say I have never been to a cash only restaurant. So if you’re like me and never carry cash– you have to use their ATM in the back of the restaurant that charges you a $3 service fee to get cash out. I know it’s not the end of the world, but it was definitely inconvenient and put a damper on the end of the meal having to scoot between tight tables back and forth to get money out of an ATM. It made the restaurant itself feel less credible in a way.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal but I don’t think it was worth the “hype.” It’s definitely a cute photo spot and a fun place to check off of a foodie bucket list– solely for the Instagram effect (it doesn’t offer anything aggressively unique besides that. It’s just an Italian restaurant).
Positively Han 