Question for all you Al-Di-La Regulars

anonymous

Dh and I are planning a rare dinner out on Saturday night and plan to go to Al-Di-La. I see that they open at 5:30 on Sat. nights, rather than 6:00, as they do on other nights. Do people really go right at 5:30 on Sat nights to avoid a wait? If we show up at 6:00 (or slightly before), do you think we'll have much of a wait?
Thanks.

rose

I've never been there because it annoys me that they don't take reservations.

But I guess that's not helpful.

shishkab

well, i've only been there once recently (and it was great). it was a Sat. nite, and we got there @ 5:45 to beat the rush. believe it or not, there were plenty of people already inside. by the time we left, there was a line.

so... in this case earlier is better than later, IMHO. but in case you ARE late and have to wait, at least you can hang out at the wine bar around the corner, eh?

anonymous

Subject: Worth the wait

You never know with Al Di La, but I don't think you'll have to wait long if you show up at 6. you Or, you can always sit and have a glass of wine next door at their lovely wine bar. Either way, it's worth the wait.

pitu

I totally agree that it's worth waiting for - and I often see a few couples lined up right before they open. Even with that, early shouldn't be a problem. I've also had good luck going late -- 9:30 or 10pm.

I wouldn't recommend eating dinner in the wine bar at back, unless you get seats at the actual wine bar. The tables back there cross the line between cramped charming (like the front) and cramped ugly I-don't-want-to-listen-to-my-loud-neighbor.

Another waiting place is Tempo a block away on Fifth -- they have a bar in front and nice wines by the glass. I've heard good things about the food at Tempo too, but al di la is VERY special and worth the wait imho.
Except the pork rib special that people go nuts for is too sweet for me. Everything else, love love love.
Beef cheek special, fab.
Vongole, yum.
Baked cod (or whatever fish), yum.
GRILLED CHARD STEMS - a weird side, deeeeelicious.
Malfati, heaven if you like sage butter. Good to split as an app since it's rich.
Afogato dessert - a nice little cup of espresso poured over homemade ice cream. The simple Italian pleasures . . .

Stone Park at 3rd St on Fifth Ave has an excellent bar to wait at -- they make a good Negroni.

carnivore

pitu wrote: I totally agree that it's worth waiting for - and I often see a few couples lined up right before they open. Even with that, early shouldn't be a problem. I've also had good luck going late -- 9:30 or 10pm.

I wouldn't recommend eating dinner in the wine bar at back, unless you get seats at the actual wine bar. The tables back there cross the line between cramped charming (like the front) and cramped ugly I-don't-want-to-listen-to-my-loud-neighbor.

Another waiting place is Tempo a block away on Fifth -- they have a bar in front and nice wines by the glass. I've heard good things about the food at Tempo too, but al di la is VERY special and worth the wait imho.
Except the pork rib special that people go nuts for is too sweet for me. Everything else, love love love.
Beef cheek special, fab.
Vongole, yum.
Baked cod (or whatever fish), yum.
GRILLED CHARD STEMS - a weird side, deeeeelicious.
Malfati, heaven if you like sage butter. Good to split as an app since it's rich.
Afogato dessert - a nice little cup of espresso poured over homemade ice cream. The simple Italian pleasures . . .

Stone Park at 3rd St on Fifth Ave has an excellent bar to wait at -- they make a good Negroni.

I've never had anything bad at Al Di La, but I want to join Pitu in pimping Tempo, an underappreciated place in the neighborhood. The buccatini with pistachio pesto will make you wonder how you ever lived without it!

pitu

Carnivore wrote: [quote=pitu]I totally agree that it's worth waiting for - and I often see a few couples lined up right before they open. Even with that, early shouldn't be a problem. I've also had good luck going late -- 9:30 or 10pm.

I wouldn't recommend eating dinner in the wine bar at back, unless you get seats at the actual wine bar. The tables back there cross the line between cramped charming (like the front) and cramped ugly I-don't-want-to-listen-to-my-loud-neighbor.

Another waiting place is Tempo a block away on Fifth -- they have a bar in front and nice wines by the glass. I've heard good things about the food at Tempo too, but al di la is VERY special and worth the wait imho.
Except the pork rib special that people go nuts for is too sweet for me. Everything else, love love love.
Beef cheek special, fab.
Vongole, yum.
Baked cod (or whatever fish), yum.
GRILLED CHARD STEMS - a weird side, deeeeelicious.
Malfati, heaven if you like sage butter. Good to split as an app since it's rich.
Afogato dessert - a nice little cup of espresso poured over homemade ice cream. The simple Italian pleasures . . .

Stone Park at 3rd St on Fifth Ave has an excellent bar to wait at -- they make a good Negroni.

I've never had anything bad at Al Di La, but I want to join Pitu in pimping Tempo, an underappreciated place in the neighborhood. The buccatini with pistachio pesto will make you wonder how you ever lived without it!

pitu is not pimping Tempo -- I have not had dinner there! Vibe is wrong for me . . .

If I'm getting the fake fur on, it's for Stone Park. Side dish of pork belly tagiatelle, superYUM.

carnivore

pitu wrote: pitu is not pimping Tempo -- I have not had dinner there! Vibe is wrong for me . . .

If I'm getting the fake fur on, it's for Stone Park. Side dish of pork belly tagiatelle, superYUM.

You should try Tempo!

Stone Park was also good, although some of the dishes were really salty. I got the pork chop with the tagliatelle (mmm... double pork) and was quite pleased. The service was also really good there. My grandmother was visiting from Florida and had about a dozen special requests for her food. The waitress dealt with her way better than I could have in that situation.

finn

Perfectly salty, though !

jamzer

Editress,
To answer your question... you will not likely wait very long. Al Di La gets very busy around 7:30 or so. If you have never been, it is certainly worth going to. For what it is worth, the owners live in the neighborhood.

anonymous

I'm bored today, so bear with all my posts. thanks.
Al Di La has always served great food at a reasonable price.
The wait is long so the others are right. Get there early.
The owners are friendly and, in my opinion, really give a homey feel.
They were one of the first to venture into 5th Avenue, and I'm glad they did.
Well I hope this plug for them helped.