Lusardi's - Review - Upper East Side - New York

Open since 1982, Lusardi’s is an endearing and perfectly preserved example of the hyper-regional genre known as Upper East Side Italian. If it’s your first time here, the abundance of landlines and food sauteed in white wine might strike you as dated, but just give it a few years. You’ll warm up.

The crowded dining room of a nice Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side.

photo credit: Bryan Kim

For the majority of the clientele, this restaurant is a ritual. But it also works for a weekly date night, pre-prom dinner, or anything in between. By 7pm, regulars crowd the bar, discussing facial appointments and doctors in Florida, while a host in a sport coat—typically one of the brothers Lusardi—greets guests who’ve been eating here for the last 30 years.

In true UES Italian fashion, the dining room looks like a suburban home with dreams of Tuscany, and the menu is mostly a formality. If you haven’t yet memorized your options or developed the confidence to order something unlisted (spaghetti pomodoro, say), here’s a tip: Get the thinly pounded veal with lemon and parmesan. Like most things here, the monochrome dish is perfectly untrendy.

Food RundownZucchini

Should you order this little side of sauteed zucchini with marinara? Trick question. It’s complimentary. That’s what hospitality looks like.

A plate of sliced zucchini with tomato sauce.

photo credit: Bryan Kim

Tartufella Alla Piastra

The food at Lusardi’s isn’t cutting-edge, and it doesn’t need to be. In this simple salad, grapes, almonds, warm goat cheese, and thinly sliced pear check every box in terms of texture and flavor. The teamwork is magnificent.

A salad with pear and a fried round of goat cheese.

photo credit: Bryan Kim

Tagliolini Cacio Pepe

Tossed with thin strands of zucchini, the tagliolini tastes like it was finished with a bucket of butter and has so much pepper it’s genuinely spicy. We’re fans, but, due to the richness, you’re going to want to split this with at least one other person.

A bowl of pasta topped with cheese.

photo credit: Bryan Kim

Vitello Martini

The restaurant’s calling card. This thinly pounded veal has a parmesan crust that fully absorbs the surrounding lemon sauce, making every single bite tart and buttery.

A piece of thinly pounded veal in a lemon and butter sauce.

photo credit: Bryan Kim

Sogliola Al Prosecco

Yet another dish that could conceivably be served at a Vanderbilt luncheon. But unlike the Vitello Martini, this dry sole is a rare skip.