Quality Italian

Order:
- Tricolore Margarita (5/5)
- Quality Mule (5/5)
- Fusilli al Manzo (5/5)
- The Classic Chicken Parm for Two (5/5)
- Tiramisu Luci (5/5)

Pros:
- Great tasting food
- Good selection from menu with fun twist of a classic chicken parm
- Great service
- Lots of seating
- Not busy during lunch hours

Cons:
- Expensive

Overall: Loved our experience at Quality Italian. We thought the chicken parm pizza would be the star of the show, but actually loved the pasta even more!

I had been to Quality Italian a few times - I took a friend this time - it was her first visit.

The restaurant serves everyone little baked rolls - they're amazing and a great start to the meal. They're steaming warm and ready to be layered in butter or doused with olive oil.

We started with the Filet Mignon meatballs - which were covered with a delicious red sauce and shredded Parmesan. The meatballs were excellent- seasoned perfectly - tender and flavorful!

The next appetizer was the Lobster Scampi Toast - it was really the star of the meal. The toast had a rich, tomato butter that enhanced the large pieces of lobster tail placed on top. It was one of the most unique appetizers I'd had and we both enjoyed it thoroughly.

The main dish came next - the Dry-Aged Porterhouse Agnolotti - it comes in a brown butter sauce. I had the dish once before and remember really enjoying it. This time, I had to work at it.

The Agnolotti was a little too 'Al dente' for me - I like my pasta, especially the ravioli family, tender and to melt in my mouth. I had to chew this pasta a little too much. Inside, the Porterhouse meat was tasty, but lacked seasoning - both my partner and I immediately noticed the lack of flavor. I got creative - I cut each pasta in half exposing the meat, and soaked it in the brown butter sauce. With a few tender grilled onions, the soaked Agnolotti was now quite good!

The dessert was the 'biggest' surprise - we ordered the Chocolate Olive Oil Cake and Lemon Sorbet. They delivered a cake large enough to serve at least 4 - and with the sorbet, which was excellent, it was a gigantic, decadently delightful dessert! The cake was as chocolatey and velvety as you could expect . We took 1/2 the cake with us!

We had been to the other location, in Denver, with friends. So, we thought we knew what to expect. Our waiter had been there 11 years and had been to Denver so we shared a lot of the experiences. The menus are a little different and this NYC one knocked our socks off.

Somm was great. Had the knowledge of the wine list and super polite and conversational, unlike some snobby somm's. Kistler Pinot, yes please!

In Denver we had the Chicken Parm Pizza but here we decided to do more of a variety. Starters were the amazing bread and oil, the gem Caesar (dressing - wow - preserved lemons, mmm), the prosciutto (top notch quality), and the sausage toast (good, just full already).

Mains we had the Chicken Alan (tender juicy and good flavor), the Truffle Cacio Pepe (they shaved the truffle table-side, and it was a hefty amount!). Plus the meatballs (solid), the fries (solid), a side of red sauce pasta (nothing to write home about) and the best side I've had in a long while: Creamed Corn Crème Brûlée. Most inventive dish of the night. What is this dish?! It's like a side/dessert, savory and sweet.

We also had the opportunity to have a couple really nice tasty endings (even though we were stuffed): a S'more's Sundae and some homemade limoncello.

The upstairs dining room was great, having a sliver view of the park. My water was always filled, too, which really showed they cared about the customer experience.

Overall, I will have to say 9.6/10, and that's just to leave wiggle room for anything that comes along better during the second half of my life.

I have been fortunate to dine here several times - usually for larger group dinners. This time was a smaller group lunch.

The service and quality (no pun intended) has always been excellent.

We shared a seafood tower, and it's always a great start to a meal. Everything was fresh and presented wonderfully.

I had the truffle cacio e pepe which melt in your mouth delicious, but also so rich.

We all shared desserts including the tiramisu and chocolate olive oil cake. As usual, they were amazing too.

5-stars for service, food, and atmosphere!

Had a business dinner here that started at 5:30pm. I had asked for a quiet table and so it seems they sat us at one end of the room. It was indeed quieter but got louder as the night went on.

Complementary rolls that come freshly baked which were nice and warm.

Started with the yellowtail, scallops, and tuna carpaccio. They were all good but lots of flavors that mixed in together well - the yellowtail may have been my favorite.

I got the dover sole, which was good. It comes crispy and topped with a hazelnut butter sauce. A good portion size so I couldn't even finish the last few bites.

Lastly, ended up desserts. I really liked my salty pistachio Gelato. It wasn't really salty, but had a deep pistachio flavor. Topped with sour Cherries, a light pistachio crumble/breading on the bottom, and crispy waffle pieces to compliment. I'd get this again.

I tried a bite of the Ferrero Rocher Gelato, and it had a strong hazelnut chocolate flavor (not my cup of tea) and the chocolate olive oil cake which is like a slightly lighter, less decadent regular cake. It's a personal cake size, so pretty big, and comes with Gelato, crunchy nips, and sour cherries.

Quality Italian is a boisterous festival of food excellence. This is not a peaceful nook to whisper sweet nothings into your date's ear: you're going to be yelling over the other patrons. But what you'll be yelling very likely will be compliments of the exceptional cuisine. I went with a group that ordered a number of dishes to share, which is my advice at most restaurants, this one included.

Salads are nothing special. We had the beefsteak tomato and NY chopped salads. Both served only to add some vegetation to the dinner and were otherwise not memorable. Skip them and leave room for stronger options. Two pastas followed, the potato and robiola gnocchi and the cacio e pepe - both were delicious and highly recommended. The gnocchi was topped with a little crunch that blended exceptionally with the buttery / tender (can you call pasta "tender"??) interior. The cacio e pepe was also fantastic, more delicate than thick pasty versions served in old school Italian restaurants.

Then main dishes did not disappoint: a NY strip and the restaurant's signature dish, the chicken parm serviced in the shape of a pizza wheel. The parm was very good - but short of great, and risks becoming more gimmick than top-flight entre. The NY stripe far exceeded it in terms of quality -- tender (yes, like the gnocchi) and cooked to perfection.

I arrived on a Wednesday night with some colleagues for a business dinner and the wait upstairs was 45 mins so we opted for a high table in the bar area.

I went with the pork chop based on the recommendation from the waiter. He chose the pork over the filet. I find it hard to find a pork chop on a menu often because it's a difficult cut of meat.
Once it arrived the pork was covered in a sour cherry sauce that was extremely complimentary.

I devoured the whole thing even though it was a hefty portion. It was delicious! Also the pasta I tried was made in house and worth an order.

Went back after a great first visit many years ago for a business dinner. This time I brought my wife and we had a great curved booth seat with a view out the window. Our waiter, Michael C treated us exceptionally well and even treated us to the Crispy Calamari Casino to show us how good it was. It was amazing. I am not a huge Calamari fan but I gobbled it down. It had fried pepperocini's and spices as well as an aioli that was so good. I also got the beefsteak tomatoes and stracciatella.
For the main we split the Chicken Parm Pizza for two with the chili honey sauce. I also had the Tricolore Margarita -- which got more spicy as the ice melted. Nice touch. A wonderful visit.

Came back after a few months and had a very pleasant experience. Fantastic chopped salad and the blood orange soda was so refreshing! We were right by a window with a beautiful view. Our server was very pleasant and friendly too. Adored this experience for lunch.

EXCELLENT FOOD & SERVICE

You will want to stop by this gem of your in Midtown, NY! It is a cozy place with excellent service! We were treated very well by every server at our table. Roberto was very helpful and made great recommendations. We ordered their chicken parmesan pizza with their spicy honey! It does not disappoint! Roberto recommended we add a side of pasta, which was the perfect addition to our meal. The ambiance is lovely, I recommend making a reservation to ensure you get seated. Drinks were great! I highly recommend going here. You won't regret it.