Montebello

The nearly private banquettes in this sedate peach-colored room would provide a nice huddle for midtown deal makers or illicit lovers—or anyone else who’s here for a reason other than the food. Appetizers and pastas can be pleasing, including the jumbo seared scallops basking in a brandied saffron sauce. But soggy bruschetta reeked of raw garlic; the chicken Montebello was a pallid paillard; and a special of striped bass was merely swiped with tomato sauce and dotted with a few chewy clams. Offerings from the rolling dessert cart were unremarkable.