A modern non-traditional Italian restaurant located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, known for its intimate ambiance, boutique wines, artisanal cocktails, and housemade pastas.
Danny Emerman is a restaurateur and co-founder known for establishing Italian restaurants in New York City, including Barocco and Bottino. He is also associated with 'ino.
'ino is a modern non-traditional Italian restaurant located in Manhattan's Flatiron district. It is known for its intimate and sexy ambiance, offering a creative Italian menu with a subtle English accent. The restaurant emphasizes boutique wines by the glass, artisanal cocktails, and housemade pastas.
Customer perception is mixed. Many praise the friendly and attentive service, the beautiful bar and lighting, and well-crafted cocktails. However, some find the food solid but not particularly innovative or bold, with flavors sometimes described as one-dimensional. Portions are generally considered generous, but prices are often noted as high for the perceived quality. While the ambiance is generally pleasant, some reviews suggest tables can be too close together when the restaurant is full.
Additional Details
The name 'iNO is pronounced /EE-NO/ and is a diminutive suffix, often used to mean 'carino' (cute or charming). It is an offshoot of the restaurant 'Bottino'.
Reviews suggest the restaurant can be relatively quiet and not overly crowded at certain times, making it a comfortable spot for a relaxed meal. There are no explicit peak times mentioned, but it's implied that it can get busy.
The food was solid. Everything was made just fine. My only reservation is that nothing stood out. There was nothing bold or innovative about the food. They played it very safe. The portions are big but overall it feels too expensive.
The service was very friendly and attentive. The ambience was nice, and relatively quiet. The day I visited the restaurant was almost empty, but I got the impression that the tables are too close together with a full room.
The portions were far bigger than Rezdora, like three times the portion. Felt very nice from a value perspective. If Rezdora menu is a 10 on execution and ingredients, then this is like a flat 7. Which is fine btw.
I don't know my pasta exceptionally well, but their pasta didn't seem like freshly made, or the flour used isn't like the kind they use in Italy, because it didn't feel friendly on the digestive tract. Further, the pastas were good, but they were very one dimensional (meat pasta was just meaty, the red sauce brought no acid, the pesto/cream pasta was just creamy, no acid or spice or contrast).
I've never had octopus pasta before, and it was fine with the tiny bits of Bolognese thankfully, but perfectly cooked octopus has the same texture as pasta, so that conceptually is weird to me.
The focaccia sandwich was really good, but would have benefitted from some kind of acid (balsamic glaze, pomegranate, or some wine vinegar). It was less porchetta, and more chicharron though...which again, is not a problem.
We came for a large group dinner here and immediately were taken by the beautiful bar and lighting in the space (photos attached). We were greeted warmly at the desk and waited at the bar for our friends to arrive. We ordered cocktails (margarita & Sidecar) while there and both drinks were well-crafted, strong & delicious. When we were escorted to our tables in the back, the wait staff could not have been more welcoming and accommodating, despite the size of our group. For appetizers, we enjoyed their excellent red wattle meatballs (with homemade ricotta and a delicate tomato sauce), fritto misto (lightly fried shrimp & calamari with a dip), fresh market salad (with beets, fennel & squash in a balsamic dressing) and my favorite: crispy fried mozzarella (slices of breaded mozzarella with fig jam & prosciutto). For pastas and mains, we shared cavatelli (tomatoes, basil, garlic & olive oil), perfectly seared branzino filet, roast heritage chicken (very moist and flavorful), sauteed broccoli rabe and perfectly crispy potatoes with pecorino. Service moved swiftly and efficiently, and we were never wanting for water or wine refills throughout. Everyone there was so friendly and eager to please. Thank you for a wonderful evening!
As a tourist, this was a wonderful place to sit and have a meal. It wasn’t too busy or crowded, but comforting enough to crack open a book while I enjoyed a drink. Radhika, Allison, Alessia, and Blake were very friendly and welcoming. They were very knowledgable of the menu and made my dinner selection quite easy. Jonathan was an amazing bartender and served me the perfect drinks just off a few questions. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone around. I hope to see you all again soon. Happy New Year!
I went to this restaurant for a birthday dinner about two months ago, based on the “amazing reviews,” but the experience was very disappointing overall. The décor, ambiance, and food are nowhere near five-star quality, yet the prices are extremely high for what is offered: $38 for rigatoni, $48 for porchetta, and $48 for braised short rib. As someone familiar with Italian cuisine, I can confidently say this did not feel Italian at all.
Our table was placed toward the back, very close to the kitchen door, so we could hear constant noise and conversations from the staff. Across from us was what appeared to be a group of influencers recording everything, while the rest of the restaurant was nearly empty—yet this was the table and area we were offered for a birthday celebration.
I will say the waiters were polite and attentive, which contrasted sharply with the rest of the staff, who appeared unfriendly and disengaged. I could go into more detail about the food—such as the meatballs, which didn’t taste like meatballs at all and were extremely salty—but the bottom line is this: there is no way this restaurant deserves such overwhelmingly positive reviews when there are so many truly excellent restaurants in the city. This one isn’t even close.
