14 Most Romantic Restaurants in New York

Canto, on Perry Street in the West Village, operates in the register this neighborhood does best: a room reportedly calibrated to feel like a borrowed living room — tables close enough that the conversation is ambient rather than overheard, lighting that holds the evening together without staging it. Djamel Omari and Allen Chan opened it in late 2021 after careers built through kitchens and floor shifts and group management, and what that background seems to have produced is less an ego-driven concept than a room with real voltage. By most accounts, it's the kind of place that suits a long night better than a quick one — where the pacing is the point as much as the food.

The kitchen works in contemporary Italian, leaning toward the trattoria end of the spectrum without apology. The Fritto Misto has a reputation for the kind of clean, greaseless fry that signals genuine attention to technique rather than a throwaway opener. The Green Pappardelle ai Frutti di Mare is consistently cited as a centerpiece — broad pasta in shellfish, a dish the menu appears to take seriously. The Bistecca alla Fiorentina functions as the room's anchor, the dish diners reportedly return for, and at this price point in this neighborhood the value is described as quietly real. The Branzino and the Pappardelle Cinghiale round out a menu that rewards sharing if you're inclined to order across it.

Practically: Perry Street is the original location and, by most reports, the one worth planning around — a second Upper West Side location exists, but the West Village room is where the particular atmosphere that defines Canto apparently lives. Aim for mid-week if you want the room at its most coherent. If you're two and undecided, the Branzino is reportedly the move; if you're ordering for yourself alone, the Pappardelle Cinghiale.