Positano Ristorante

Little Italy's jewel with good quality food where I had the pleasure of dinning in once upon an adult time. Entrees are reasonable price but good quality preparation and ingredients for a home cook meal of Old School Italian. Their pasta is equally good as their seafood for mussels and clams.

Service is somewhat attentively yet our needs and requests were satisfied. A stroll through Littly Italy and Chinatown on a crisp night will take patrons for a wholesome dinner at Positano.

Old school Italian food at it's best... Was wandering around Little Italy, and my SFPD nephew strikes up a conversation with an NYPD cop walking the beat. Well, the cop recommended this as one of the better spots, so we took his advice. First of all, it was a heatwave (about 104, and 115 with humidity). We had some little ones with us, so we definitely asked if there was AC. Unfortunately, this place didn't, but they had lots of ceiling fans that cooled off the restaurant pretty well... We had about 12 of us that night, and they accommodated our group without any problems.

We ordered some cold seafood salad that was super fresh and tasty. They ended up giving us an extra plate on the house (nice way to start off the night). I ordered the Scallopine di Vitello alla Sorrentina (veal, eggplant, proscuitto, mozzarella & marsala wine). It came with a side of linguine in the same sauce (sauce was amazing, and veal was tasty wrapped in proscuitto and topped with melted mozzarella - loved it). Everyone else seemed to really enjoy their dishes (wife enjoyed her chicken marsala, and the linguine a la vongole looked great). We also had a few cold bottles of pinot grigio to cool us off (refreshing during a heatwave).

Service was great. Super friendly, and accommodating. Would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a good experience in Little Italy.

A long shoebox of a dining room, relatively undistinguished in decor, plus a couple of tiny tables crammed onto the sidewalk out front.

The tortellini Della casa wasn't anything special; not bad per se, but small and limp and generic, served in a noticeably watery vodka sauce. On the other hand, at $15 it was reasonably priced for Mulberry St.

Probably not the best choice for Little Italy.

The food is good at this Italian restaurant in the heart of Little Italy. I have eaten there may times. The prices are reasonable and the portions are fine. I loved the calamari.

The only bad thing I have to say is the last time that I went there the place smelled like cleaning products leading us to depart the establishment before ordering.

I have not been back since.

Sure, it's in Little Italy. Sure, we New Yorkers hate nothing more than touristy, on-the-beaten-path places. I don't think that necessarily gives us license to write off a place like Positano.

Try the fettuccine alfredo and tell me it isn't the best you've ever tasted. Not to mention the $10 price tag--can't beat that.

Although the atmosphere and the general clientele may grate on you, for a delicious, inexpensive, and simple italian fix, this is the best I've found. Especially when those snobby, "in-the-know" New Yorkers are grating on you in your favorite "hidden" gems :)

We were lured in by the Italian hitman standing right outside the door while trying to locate another restaurant. He seemed slightly scary since he was so incredibly tall. His long black trench coat didn't help. But he was very charming. He assured us this was the best Italian ever, and the drinks were better. "You like ice tea? We have ice tea. You only pay once. You drink two, you don't pay. You drink three, you don't pay. It such a great deal!"

How could anyone turn down the lure of free refills?

So he took us in and gave us menus. The waiter was not as charming. He seemed to be in a bad mood and he seemed like he would rather do anything than actually serve us. How Italian. But since we're in the States, I don't appreciate that. Also, the person I was with is fluent in Italian. He loves speaking with waiters in their native language, and the waiters usually get a kick out of it and they talk for hours in Italian. Not this one. Whenever said friend would attempt to speak to him, the corners of his mouth curl and he would make a grunting noise.

We both ordered penne alla vodka. It was definitely good. I loved this sauce especially. But something held it back from being truly great. As I'm not even close to being a cook, I couldn't tell you what the pasta needed.

What happens when you combine a neighborhood over-saturated with mediocre food, staff and atmosphere with tourists and the rejected cast list of the Real Housewives of New Jersey? Little Italy!

Positano, like all of the other restaurants in Little Italy, is plagued with sub-par food, stiff and impersonal service and, therefore, is forced to employ people to hawk their fare on Mulberry Street. The only real benefit is that the prices are pretty reasonable for what you're getting, but that isn't saying much. If you're looking for good Italian cuisine in the city, please don't head to Little Italy, ironic but true.

From San Francisco area in town for a conference and hit Little Italy on the recommendation of a paisano that grew up nearby. Tried this restaurant vs. the others mainly because it was smaller and hopefully less touristy. It was also recommended by my dining partner in crime's mother-in-law.

Overall, I thought it was quite good. Perhaps my Italian standards are damaged from too much time in California. It was also election night, warm enough to sit outside, and just basically pleasant after a day on the plane to sit and look at the buildings and watch the world go by, so that might have heped.

Angel (the meeter/greeter who is actually Bulgarian and been there 2 years) and Willie (Mexican manager there 15 years) were quite chatty. I practiced a little Spanish and took Angel's recommendation for the calarmari salad and then the linguini with clams/shrimp in light marinara sauce. Finished with the tiramisu.

Definitely above average and I really can't quibble the quality of anything or how it was prepared. Pasta was perfect, sauce just right, nice flavor. I might have liked a touch less liquid in the salad, but I tipped the bowl and ate from the high side, which was fine. There was also a sun dried tomato garnish with the bread that was to die for.

I give things three stars a lot, don't I?

Ha.

Now people tend to yell at me for using the term, "very mediocre." Of course something can't be very average...then it wouldn't be average. But I feel as if "very mediocre" would be a good terminology for this restaurant.

The food was tasty...the chicken parmigana was good. And so were the spaghetti and sauce...but it was very...average! I guess it's because my dad's Italian, so I'm very picky in terms of my Italian food.

I'll go back if I find myself in the neighborhood, but I don't see much reason for me to go out of my way.

Great atmosphere, food was ok. We grabbed a quick glass of wine and nibbled a bit. Sat outside on the patio. Staff was wonderful. Service great. Ordered soup, moderate, but to be fair it was very cold outside and the soup became cold quickly. Possibly stop by again.