Trattoria Dopo Teatro

Note: Click here for a more recent visit to Trattoria Dopo Teatro.

The “bow-tie” (named for the street pattern where Seventh Avenue and Broadway cross at Times Square) isn’t known for fine dining. On a Saturday in November, my 10-year-old son and I were getting hungry, and our options were dwindling. Neither McDonald’s nor Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company seemed appealing. He doesn’t eat ribs, so Virgil’s BBQ was out.

In this culinary desert, Trattoria Dopo Teatro was a happy find. Perhaps nyc.com exaggerates when they say that it “has the feeling of a Trattoria that one might find near Rome’s Spanish steps.” Still, it is an attractive setting, located in a landmarked 1875 building. I especially liked the photos of the Italian movie stars that adorned the walls. According to the same site, “The restaurant has a beautiful interior garden, called ‘The Secret Garden.’ It has elaborate mosaic designs, beautiful paneling, a working waterfall, a cigar room and a GRAPPA library.”

Pizza from the wood-burning oven can be heartily recommended. The one I had featured tomato and prosciutto. It was cut in eight slices, but folded back on itself, so that one would eat two slices at a time, sandwich-style. I don’t recall a pizza being served that way, but it worked.

We arrived (without a reservation) at around 4:30pm, at about the time the Saturday matinee crowd were settling in for a post-theater supper. Luckily, we were seated immediately. I should think a restaurant in the Theater District would be adept at getting patrons in and out quickly, but service was erratic.

There is no children’s menu—a fact I wouldn’t ordinarily mention, except that one might expect it in this neighborhood. When I asked about it, the waiter said, “We have pizza and pasta.” My son was perfectly happy to have Penne Marinara (not actually on the menu, but any Italian restaurant can make it), although it came at an ‘adult’ price.

Trattoria Dopo Teatro (145 W. 44th Street, between 6th Ave & Broadway, Theater District)

Food: *
Service: Fair
Ambiance: *
Overall: *