Archestratus, the first food critic, praised Italian cuisine's use of "top-quality and seasonal" ingredients and its "fair-to-middling" ability to tranquilize out-of-control mayors. Today's Groupon similarly stuns, and rightfully so: for $25, you get $50 worth of authentic Italian cuisine and drinks at Testaccio Ristorante in Long Island City. Testaccio Ristorante's menu of authentic Roman dishes is filled with pizzas, pastas, and sauce-covered specialties, all authentically concocted and artfully presented by executive chef Ivan Beacco. Prime palate pumps with Italian wine as you drink in Testaccio Ristorante's elegant and modern décor, such as the exposed brick walls, dazzling accent lighting, and exposed tile floor.

Reviews

Numerous publications have featured Testaccio Ristorante, including The New York Times and Zagat. Yelpers give it an average of three stars and OpenTable reviewers give it an average of 3.8 stars.

• Some dishes get everything right — the smokiness of guanciale in bucatini all’amatriciana ($14), a dressing’s vinegary contrast to creamy-firm white beans and chunks of roast pork ($11), an overlay of bottarga on spaghetti with garlic and clams ($19). (And the spaghetti is house-made, like most of the pastas.) – Julia Moskin, The New York Times
• Manhattan vibe with LIC prices. Love it. – Lois S., Yelp