Otto Restaurant New York, NY: (Also known as Otto Pizzera) It’s not very often that you ignore the recommendation of the concierge at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, so we decided to trust their recommendation and headed to Otto Restaurant New York for some thoroughbred New York City thin crust pizza.

The menu was as uncomplicated as a Pizzeria’s can get. There were the usual bunch of pizza bases and topping combos along with some uninspiring pastas and veggies. A few salads, cheeses and meats also made their way into the menu for innovative patrons looking to create their own antipasta plate. We decided to stay simple and ordered a humble Margherita with tomato sauce, Bufala Mozzarella and basil; and a Pepperoni with tomatoes, spicy salami, mozzarella and cacao.

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Sadly, neither came even close to getting us excited about the taste. The pricing was slightly on the higher side compared to the quality and quantity of toppings. The crust was also a bit hard and didn’t appear very fresh, or maybe it just wasn’t my style of pizza. Both the pizzas were actually disappointing to put it mildly. A Pizza Hut or Papa John's pizza would have made me just as happy to be honest.

Otto Restaurant has a reasonable collection of wines, starting from $15 a glass. Stick to the wine and cheese combo and you won’t have much to complain about here.

The service was fair at best. The waiters went about as if they were swamped (they weren’t, a lot of time was spent chatting with each other) and trying to get their attention was nearly impossible.

The setting looks slightly dull; however, the wine bar at the entrance was very inviting. I only wisih that was all the further I went into Otto’s. The orangish walls and light brown wooden furniture don’t do much to add zing to the humdrum ambiance either. Otto Restaurant New York might serve as a decent destination for a casual lunch with a bunch of friends to share some New York City Pizza, but it’s certainly not for more formal meetings or romantic outings.

Overall, you wouldn’t be totally disappointed if you ate here, but you wouldn’t exactly be counting the days until you came back here again either. Otto Restaurant New York is good if you don’t have too many expectations from your pizza and are just looking to fill your stomach with lacklustre New York City pizza and other comfort foods. If you are looking for the best pizza in New York, this isn’t the place; a better be would be John’s Pizzeria.

Our rating for Otto Restaurant (Otto’s Pizzaia) is between bombastic and not.

What I liked: Nothing really

What I didn’t like: The bland pizzas, an over-priced menu and the inattentive service

Rating: Between Bombastic and not

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