Having nearby appointments over a two-day stay, we invited family to dine with us at Amata on E. 56th St in Midtown. Selected mainly by reviews on Yelp and Tripadvisor, we made a reservation and went about our NYC appointments. Hungry, we arrived at Amata...and were met by the very amiable host Christopher. After some fun with Chris at the bar we were seated in the cozy and nicely-appointed dining room. The staff quickly and easily took drink orders, brought water and fresh bread and olive oil. Our relaxed and professional waiter took our appetizer orders and answered questions and went over the evening’s specials. We are frequent visitors to the Arthur Avenue Italian restaurants and, while the food there is almost always good we sometimes feel rushed, and also become part of the hustle and bustle in that old neighborhood in The Bronx. Not so at Amata, where we were relaxed and never felt like we had to move on because they wanted to seat other patrons as the dining room filled up. The appetizers, clams casino and calamari, were delicious and were savored by our family group. Our entrees were delicious and covered items like the house-made cavatelli, paccheri, tagliolini and my veal piccata special that was the best veal I have had in ages. Plates arrived and were removed in an unobtrusive way by friendly staff who enhanced the whole meal. Desserts and cappuccinos and lattes were enjoyed by all and the staff was quite happy we enjoyed our dinner at Amata so much. We were shown to the door by Chris, and I wasn’t at all surprised to discover later that Chris is a member of a well-known family of NYC restauranteurs, some of whom are close friends from The Bronx. Small world. By all means, have a meal in this great, cozy, nicely-appointed white linen Italian ristorante. Your host Chris and his staff and especially their chef Enzo know how to make you feel at home while you enjoy your excellent meal.More