Sandro’s opened in Midtown in 1985, eventually migrating to the Upper East Side, where it’s now in its third home: a skinny room on 86th Street with vintage Italian aperitivo ads. Despite all the moving about, the Roman-style restaurant still has its regulars who pop in for quiet date nights and businesslike meals with their children who recently graduated from Wharton. Take advantage of the housemade grissini—long, slender, and complimentary—and try the neighborhood-famous bucatini alla’amatriciana, in a lightly sweet tomato sauce that tastes deeply of pancetta. The scene may not be as stimulating as that of nearby Elio’s, but the food is often just as good.
Food RundownSuppli
Perfect, simple. No notes. Filled with rice and stretchy mozzarella, these suppli are stiff on the outside, but collapse under the weight of a fork.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Spaghetti Al Limone
The bucatini all’amatriciana isn’t the only pasta you should order. Get this one as well. It tastes like butter-injected limoncello.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Pollo Bolognese
Unlike many of its Upper East Side Italian peers, Sandro’s doesn’t do chicken parm. Instead, they have this heavily breaded pollo bolognese, which will scratch the same itch.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Dining and Cooking