You walk into Ci Siamo on a Thursday at seven-thirty and the host points you toward a table near the open kitchen. The room is tall, bright even at dusk, and the scent of wood smoke rolls over everything. You scan the menu, see branzino or strip steak cooked over fire, and assume that's the move—this is Danny Meyer's fire-driven Italian concept inside the Midtown tower at Manhattan West, after all. But the kitchen's real strength isn't the grill. It's the pasta station tucked behind it, where cacio e pepe and rigatoni come out with the kind of starch-slicked consistency that holds sauce without becoming gummy. The fish is fine, sometimes very good, but it's the pastas and a few vegetable antipasti that justify the ride out here.
Text Karpo now for a same-night backup if Ci Siamo is full, or a routing check that accounts for the 1/2/3 transfer and gets you home before the late-night slowdown hits.
The grilled-fish trap everyone falls into
Ci Siamo opened in 2022 and occupies a ground-floor corner of the same development that houses Whole Foods and the open plaza along Ninth Avenue. The dining room is loud—high ceilings, hard surfaces, and a packed reservation sheet mean conversation requires leaning in. If you're meeting someone you haven't seen in months, request a corner table when you book; the center four-tops sit in a kind of acoustic vortex where you'll catch fragments of three other dinners. The space itself is handsome: pale wood, cream plaster, and enough natural light during the day that it feels more California than Manhattan. By eight p.m. the lighting shifts warmer, and the open kitchen becomes the focal point, flames visible behind the pass.
The fire element is real—there's a wood-burning grill and oven doing steady work all night—but the menu is broader than the marketing suggests. Yes, you'll find grilled octopus and ember-roasted carrots, but you'll also find burrata with citrus, a chicory salad that balances bitter and sweet, and a few crudo preparations that change with the season. The kitchen doesn't overcommit to any single technique, which makes it easier to navigate if you're dining with someone who doesn't want char on everything. Ci Siamo NYC Danny Meyer's fire-driven approach is more about having the option than mandating it on every plate.
Subway timing and the Ninth Avenue walk
Ci Siamo sits at the southwest corner of Manhattan West, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, just south of 33rd Street. The 7 train stops at 34th Street–Hudson Yards, about a five-minute walk east; the A/C/E at 34th Street–Penn Station is closer, roughly three minutes north and then west. If you're coming from Brooklyn or lower Manhattan, the A or C is usually faster than transferring to the 7, but check your route before you leave—weekend service changes reroute the A through Queens, and the C sometimes skips express stops without warning.
The walk from Penn Station threads through the Midtown sidewalk crush until you hit Ninth Avenue, where the street opens up and the Manhattan West plaza provides a visual break. The plaza itself is windswept in winter and sun-baked in summer; there are benches along the southern edge, but they're metal and offer no shade. If you arrive early, the Whole Foods one block south has bathrooms and a place to sit with a coffee. The Ci Siamo entrance faces the plaza, so you'll see the host stand through the glass as you approach.
Heading home after dinner, the A/C/E is the safer bet if you're aiming for Brooklyn or lower Manhattan. The 7 train back to Grand Central or Queens runs frequently until about eleven, but after that it slows to every twelve minutes, and the platform at Hudson Yards can feel oddly isolated late at night. If you're taking the 1/2/3 south, you'll transfer at Penn Station, which adds five minutes and requires navigating the lower-level corridors—doable, but not intuitive if you're unfamiliar with the station. Plan an extra ten minutes if your train home involves any transfer after ten-thirty.
Who shouldn't bother with this reservation
If you want a quiet, intimate dinner where you can hear every word without effort, Ci Siamo is not that room. The noise level hovers around the point where you're not shouting, but you're not relaxed either. Date nights work if both people are comfortable leaning across the table; business dinners are harder unless you're in one of the banquettes along the west wall, which the restaurant holds for larger parties and regulars. The bar seats are even louder, though they're a decent option if you're dining solo and want to watch the kitchen.
The menu is also not built for extreme dietary restrictions. The kitchen will accommodate gluten-free requests and can omit dairy from some dishes, but the pasta is the centerpiece, and the substitutions—gluten-free rigatoni, for example—don't hold up the same way. If you're vegan, your options narrow to a couple of vegetable plates and a salad, which makes the price point harder to justify. Ci Siamo NYC driven Italian cooking assumes you're eating flour, eggs, butter, and cheese in some combination, and the menu doesn't apologize for it.
Finally, if you're hoping for the kind of old-guard Italian-American experience you'd find at Carbone or Torrisi, this isn't that either. The service is warm but not theatrical, the plating is restrained, and there's no red sauce in sight. It's closer to the modern, ingredient-forward style you'd see at Lilia or Misi, but with a bigger room and a corporate polish that some diners find sterile. The food is very good; the vibe is Midtown-professional, not neighborhood-intimate.
What to confirm before you go
Reservations open thirty days out on Resy, and prime slots—seven to eight-thirty on weeknights, anything between six and nine on weekends—book within a day or two. If you're planning a weekend dinner, set a calendar reminder for thirty days prior and log in at nine a.m. Eastern. Walk-in bar seating is available, but it's first-come and fills by six-forty-five most nights; arrive by six if you want a shot at it. The host can't hold bar seats, so calling ahead won't help.
Check the Ci Siamo website or call directly to confirm any menu details if you're planning around a specific dish. The pasta list is fairly stable, but the fish and vegetable antipasti rotate every few weeks depending on what's available. Prices run about twenty-two to twenty-eight dollars for pasta, thirty-five to fifty for mains, twelve to eighteen for starters. A full dinner with a drink and tip will land around eighty to a hundred dollars per person; if you're sharing a few pastas and skipping the mains, you can bring that closer to sixty.
The restaurant holds a small patio along the plaza during warm months, but it's not always open—check the reservation notes when you book. The patio is quieter than the dining room but less visually interesting, and you lose the kitchen views. If weather is uncertain, request an indoor table and ask about the patio when you arrive; the host can sometimes move you if space opens up. Finally, if you're coming from out of town, note that Manhattan West is a new development and some older GPS apps route you to the wrong side of the block. Use the Ninth Avenue entrance as your landmark, not the Tenth Avenue loading docks.
Practical notes
- Reservations open 30 days out on Resy; weekend prime slots book fast, so set a reminder and log in at 9 a.m. Eastern.
- A/C/E to 34th Street–Penn Station is the most reliable subway route; walk west to Ninth Avenue, about 3 minutes.
- The dining room is loud—request a corner table or banquette if conversation is a priority.
- Dinner runs $80–$100 per person with a drink; pasta-only approach brings it closer to $60.
- Bar seats are walk-in only, first-come; arrive by 6 p.m. if you want a spot.
- Check the website or call ahead to confirm current menu and any seasonal patio availability.
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Sources consulted: Ci Siamo official site · Resy reservations · MTA service status
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Ask Karpo first
Text Karpo before you head to Midtown to confirm Ci Siamo's current wait time for walk-in bar seats, and to get a live subway route that avoids any A/C/E service changes tonight. If the reservation's full, Karpo can pull same-night backups within ten minutes of Penn Station that match the pasta-forward, open-kitchen style.
