Via Carota

"It's extremely hard to secure a reservation at Via Carota (one of the best restaurants in NYC), and there's pretty much always a wait for walk-ins of two or more hours. Obviously, that's kind of annoying, but it doesn't deter us from eating here. This place manages to stick out among thousands of Italian restaurants in NYC by making food that’s unfussy and uniformly delicious. A meal here should involve some of the dozen-plus vegetable dishes, the steak tartare-like svizzerina, and the cacio e pepe (which is non-optional)." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, molly fitzpatrick, tiffany yannetta

"Sometimes, we’re wrong. It’s rare, but it happens. Our initial review of Via Carota, for example, was pretty lukewarm. But that was back in 2015, a confusing time when bone broth was the beverage du jour and electric hoverboards were catching on fire. With its perfect mix of casual, buzzy atmosphere and impressive, unfussy food, this West Village restaurant has grown on us immensely over the years. It’s one of our favorite Italian spots in Manhattan, slightly edging out the latest iteration of sister restaurant I Sodi, so swing by for some world-class cacio e pepe and a crisp, towering salad. Just be sure to arrive before 6pm. Via Carota is essentially walk-in only, with limited reservations, and we aren’t the only ones who love this place." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah

"An essential New York restaurant, Via Carota is the most famous spot from Rita Sodi and Jody Williams. Crowds love its simple Italian dishes like Meyer lemon risotto or fried rabbit. Long known for being walk-in only, these days the restaurant now has some tables open for reservations. Jon Hamm, Taylor Swift, Kaia Gerber, Steph Curry, Fran Lebowitz, Sophie Turner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mark Ruffalo, and Camila Cabello have been seen dining here." - Deuxmoi

"Sparsely decorated yet warm and inviting, with plenty of wood and exposed brick, Via Carota is the kind of place where you might run into celebrities, but where you’ll feel totally comfortable sitting next to them in jeans and a T-shirt. But they don't take reservations here, so the flip side of all that cool is that waits at peak times can push three hours. The menu is full of supremely delicious creations from Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, who between them run Buvette in NYC and Paris, I Sodi a couple blocks away, and Bar Pisellino across the street. Even the relatively straightforward vegetable dishes, like the carrots with yogurt and pistachios, are remarkable in their fresh simplicity. —John Wogan, contributor"

"An essential New York restaurant, Via Carota is one of the handful of spots from Rita Sodi and Jody Williams that remains the crowd favorite for good reason, with its simple Italian dishes dressed up to perfection. Long known for being walk-in only, these days the restaurant thankfully has some tables open for reservations. There’s also a cookbook that came out last year." - Melissa McCart