Isabelle's Osteria
In a scramble to look for a restaurant in the Union Square area, I stumbled onto this one, which is about 3 streets north of Union Square. The menu itself looked pretty normal, and when I arrived, the weather was very nice and calm. They had patio seating, and they opened the windows to let the fall breeze seep into the area. I made a reservation for 2 for 6 PM easily.
Ambiance & Service
For a table for 2, they sat us in between rather tight pillars, which I thought was very strange. The place was very dark and dim lit, which was why the pictures turned out dark as well. The ambiance felt very Flatiron like, where there was a lot of foot traffic and noise from various places.
The service was very quick, as we finished our dinner in about an hour.
Food
The glass of Chardonnay ($20) came from Resonance, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022. This was fruit-forward with acidity and minerality. As you let it collect more air, it started to settle.
The Mushroom Lasagna ($31) came with spinach, porcini, bechamel, and taleggio fonduta. My partner enjoyed this, and this was my gift to them. They love lasagna and mushrooms, and they seldom have them combined together. This was slightly salty, but it had that earthy flavor that mushroom lovers tend to enjoy.
The Lumache ($28) came with pork ragu, lemon, rosemary, chili, and whipped ricotta. The pasta was cooked perfectly, and the pork ragu was pretty delicious. The seasoning on this was very balanced, and I enjoyed all the flavors together.
The Brick-Pressed Local Chicken ($38) came with charred broccoli rabe, castelvetrano olive and pepper, and lemon. The chicken was quite juicy and plentiful for the value. They surprisingly gave a lot of broccoli rabe, which the chicken sat on top of. The chicken was a bit heavy on the salt, so they could’ve seasoned it less. Nonetheless, the skin was crispy, and overall, the course was good for the price.
Overall Impression
Isabelle’s Osteria is going to be one of those middle of the road restaurants that no one will rave about nor complain about. It does the food decently well, and it seems to be a very local joint. The food is good enough such that I think the value is surprisingly decent for Italian in the city. Would I make a special trip to come here? Likely not, but if you’re stuck with a decision, it’s a good choice to consider for Italian.
Yelp & Google Jabs
The taste of the food is the only reason why I would go back and give another chance. Maybe we just had a bad waiter.
For some people, the service means a lot, so that’s why I included a service section to my review. Generally, I try not to rate the service that heavily since I care mostly about the food. This person came with a party of 12, so I can definitely see how the service can be hit or miss since the space is fairly large, especially if they have to go back and forth the patio.
My only minor complaint is that the quantities are a bit small for the prices. Also there was no bread basket which seemed odd for an Italian restaurant.
I thought the quantity was comparable to most Italian restaurants in the city in this price range, so I’m not sure what restaurants this Elitist is comparing to. As far as the bread is concerned, we generally don’t care much for that since the meal is going to be heavy on starch anyways.
Revisions
- Sep 19, 2025 - Initial revision.