This frenetic Italian restaurant on the upper west side is known for having superb homemade pastas and sauces at a fraction of the cost of most other places. The trade-off? No reservations and no plastic.
Celeste also happens to have excellent cheeses and absolutely stellar gelato. This was first brought to my attention by one of the food editors of New York magazine who noted at the end of their review that the recommended dish to order their was the gelato. Since that review I have had the gelato about a half dozen times and it has never let me down.
The chocolate is very rich and flavorful, almost perfect. If you are a chocolate lover get this dessert if you go here. If you already have 3-4 servings of dark chocolate every day like myself you may want to try one of the other flavors as they are all superb. The Hazelnut and the vanilla both have an equally strong flavor as the chocolate.
Their sorbet is also top notch. Very lightly sweetened, but, like the gelato, flavorful as hell. The mixed berry tastes like it was just prepared in a fancy 5 start kitchen. Whatever dessert you decide to have Celeste gives you a monster serving so be nice and share with your dinner companion. Or don’t.
Recommened: House-made gelato