Nonna Dora’s

Bit of an odd location on a quiet corner in Murray Hill right next to a Chipotle but it's always packed and lively for good reason!

The namesake Nonna Dora is from Puglia, so the menu features some less common pasta dishes like ceci e tria (mixed fried and boiled pasta with chickpeas - very rustic, unique, and delicious). The malloreddus and spaghetti are also fantastic, you really can't go wrong with any of the fresh-made-daily pastas.

It was also a pleasant surprise that they have bottles of Montefili Chianti for $65 which is honestly a steal for that quality of wine in an NYC restaurant. Wonderful pairing with all of the pasta dishes.

Don't sleep on the desserts either - the cheesecake and tiramisu hold their own against any in the city.

Food was GORGEOUS and I had a delicious mocktail from them as well. I had a truffle mushroom pasta which was delightfully fresh. They had some really unique dishes as well, including a saffron pasta the likes of which I've only seen at one other spot in the city.

Amazing service- they give you both sparkling and tap water whether or not you ask which is a great touch. They must have a tap of sorts because the water comes in recycled bottles.

We went on a blizzardy day and the warm atmosphere was perfect. Nothing like a big bowl of pasta to warm you back up!

I'm not a big fan of eating pasta out since it's something that's typically easy but time consuming to make at home. This was a bit pricy, but worth it since it's handmade pasta. The beet salad was a bit overpriced ($20) and it could have been a few dollars cheaper.

The sever was great and he helped us figure out what to eat. Definitely worth a visit.

I was already intrigued about Nonna Dora's after reading a NY times article about how there is a literal grandma handmaking the pasta every day but when a friend of mine who knows all the best hidden gems in NYC told me that this was THE place for pasta in the city, I had to try it.

I love how unassuming it is - hidden in a strip mall esque location in Kips Bay by the AMC theater you have to know it's here to know it's here. They have a huge menu with interesting pasta dishes and we had a hard time deciding but landed on a daily carbonara special and the orecchiette with duck ragu, with the meatballs to start. The food all came out REALLY fast and my only complaint was that it was warm vs hot, making me think it had been sitting in a large pot for a while. This place does have a "home cooked" vibe down to the large bottle of wine that the waiter brings around and refills your glass with before you are done with it. It's a fun, cozy experience and the pasta was very good, although I was not blown away as I thought I might be.

This is not the place for you if you're cutting carbs, but Nona Donna's pasta is truly amazing.

Handmade by this Italian grandma, there are so many options and sauces that this place could be like your weekly spot without ever getting bored.

Started off with the anchovy appetizer, which was excellent, and then doubled down with the squid ink anchovy spaghetti.

Service was friendly and attentive. So good.

For the price point, I had higher expectations on the quality of the food.

The calamari and burrata were good (not great). I find it surprising that they didn't have an anchovy-free version of the ceasar salad dressing. As for my main, I got the spaghetti with Sunday sauce and meatballs. The meatballs were bone dry, overcooked and completely flavorless, a shame because the spaghetti (as in, the pasta itself) was exceptional.

As for the service? My server was very very very inappropriate. Whenever I put in an order, he would stand RIGHT NEXT TO ME. The restaurant was neither loud nor was it so packed that it required anyone, let alone someone I do not know personally, to invade my personal space. As I was seated against a glass partition, I couldn't shift back any further. I also noticed that he did it only to me (not my other two guests) and quite a few times. He got close again and again, and especially when he was pouring my wine. Then, as if it couldn't get any worse, he brushed a lint off my shoulder. I almost lost it. There was a definite creepy factor that I cannot stop thinking about, weeks after I dined here. I find it interesting that another server stepped in to take the rest of our order.

It's also hard to find this place, because the neon sign is so very very small. I walked past it quite a few times. It's a pass for me.

Had a 6pm resy on a Thursday night for two - there weren't too many people but the restaurant filled up quite quickly by the time we finished our meal (around 7:30).

Good service and extremely fast turnaround on food orders. Friend ordered the pasta special (assuming this varies time to time but confirmed it was worth). I ordered the pesto gnocchi and can also confirm it was very good - texture and flavor exactly how I'd imagine.

Their half-frozen chocolate dessert also very delicious and would recommend as a sweet closure.

We've been wanting to come for a while and finally made it. Absolutely fabulous! It's a small place but they do take reservations and it's nice inside, not too loud.

It's important to know that it's just pasta, no pizza. But I have to say that one of my daughters who was initially disappointed by the lack of pizza ended up loving all of the pasta.

We had a beet salad appetizer and some delicious cocktails. They have an entire negroni menu and I had the infinito which was fantastic. My wife had the bees knees and really liked it.

For pasta we had the ravioli with pistachio sauce, papardelle with wild boar, spaghetti and meatballs and another stuffed pasta. All were fantastic. For dessert we had the Nutella filled calzoni which was great. It's not cheap, pastas are in the 30-40 range, but very very good. We'll definitely be back!

I rarely give places 5 stars, but this is definitely one of the few that are worth going to in NY. If you're looking for a busy, but not impossible to get a seat at restaurant with amazing food and service, come here. We got the pasta test (vegetarian) and we left with so many leftovers! For dessert we got tiramisu which was delicious! The owner was so nice and the ambiance was great. Would definitely come again!

Pasta are fresh and sauce is perfect, not underwhelming or overwhelming. The place gets really crowded, so better make sure you have reservation.