GODFATHER style Italian restaurant

[avi]

In THE GODFATHER Part I Michael kills a gangster and a corrupt cop in an Italian neighborhood restaurant. You know, small clothed tables, unhurried service, good food, affordable, authentic. That's what I'm seeking for an upcoming visit! Any ideas? Thanks.

[ratatosk]

I think there are a bunch of places like this in Brooklyn, down in the Bensonhurst area, that I haven't been to. Joe's of Ave U springs to mind, and I'm sure there are others. A search through these boards will reveal more information from more knowledgeable folds than myself about such spots. Hopefully in the not-too-distant future I'll be more help with those places. But right now, the best I can recommend to you are Roberto's in the Bronx and Cono & Sons' O'Pescatore in Williamsburg. Actually, let me add Patsy's in East Harlem - I haven't explored their menu much, because their pizza is so good, but everything I've had has been quite good, and the feel and style of the place is about right, I think.

[Tay]

New Corner Restaurant in Dyker Hts, Brooklyn pretty much fits this scenario. It's been around forever. Good food, old style atmosphere. It's like walking into my idea of what a 1950's Italian Restaurant must have been like..
If that doesn't do the trick, try Villa Paradiso on Bath Ave and 20th Ave in Bath Beach,
Villa Ruggiero(sp?) on 86th St around 23rd Ave,in Bensonhurst or Casa Bella on Cropsey Ave and around 26th Ave in Coney Island. All in Brooklyn.
Here's New Corner's site

http://www.newcornerrestaurant.com/

[JH Jill]

I'd love to take my Irish/Italian Bronx-born friend to an old Italian place before I put her on the plane back to Chile where she's been living for many years. We would want an early dinner and have a car (with a bit of luggage, maybe I can hide it but it's a hatchback VW Golf). I'm picking her up in Carroll Gardens. I've checked out New Corner's web site and it looks good but perhaps a bit more formal than we are looking for - or do people go there dressed informally? I checked out Joe's of Avenue U and wonder if it's too much just a sandwich shop. We're going tomorrow (Saturday) so I guess they have more specials.

Given the circumstances, I'd like a delicious place without a real parking problem. Is New Corner the only option? (Also, ordering recommendations, if you have any)

Thanks,
Jill

[Tay]

JH Jill
The great thing about all the places I listed is that they are as formal or informal as the customer chooses to make them. It's a matter of personal preference. Unless I am eating at a very casual chain type place, I prefer not to wear jeans when I dine out, but you can with no problem.. As for recc. They have a large, varied menu. I have a weakness for their Frito Misto platter (Basically a platter of assorted fried veggies, mozzarella), etc) One of the few places where they 'shoestring' their fried zucchini...Yummy!
I usually choose from the daily blackboard specials. They make a Salmon Alfredo over fettucine that rocks.They also do all the classic old school dishes very well. Their portions are very generous, so be prepared to take home some of your dinner. As for parking, the restaurant is located on the ground floor of a private house and opened in something like 1940. It's located in a residential section of Bay Ridge/Dyker Hts and is one of the very few areas where parking is a realistic possibility. If you know anything about the neighborhood, you know how valuable that can be.Just pay attention to the parking signs I would definitely suggest you cover any luggage, though there is very little foot traffic in that specific area. If you get there early enough, you may actually score one of the parallel spots right in front of the restaurant.
The other restaurants I mentioned are also fine with casual dress, Parking is bit more difficult, but also obtainable.
Personally, I am not a big fan of Joes' of Ave U, but again, it's a matter of personal preference. I like to be able to converse with my dining companions when dining out, and New Corner, is not noisy.
Whereever you end up, I hope you have a great meal and that you post your experience.
ENJOY!

[majorette]

Among all the upscale newcomers, you can find good old-school Italian in Carroll Gardens. I spent 8 wonderful years living there; it's one of my all-time favorite neighborhoods. I would still be there if the rising rent didn't price me out. (I'm in Jackson Hts now, so I'm not complaining!)

Try Casa Rosa on Court Street and I think 1st Place. I like the linguine Casa Rosa. Or head down Court Street toward downtown Brooklyn and try Queen, on Court and Livingston. Their panna cotta is out of this world. There's also Red Rose on Smith and Union. I had a champagne shrimp dish there years ago that I still remember.

For snacking, try the rice balls at Joe's Superette on Smith Street and 1st Place. There are 3 kinds: rice with mozzerella, chopped meat, and proscuitto with ricotta. He also does potato croquettes. If you Google Joe's Superette, you'll find an NYT article that leads with them. They also make fantastic cold cut sandwiches on hero rolls. I just ask for an Italian hero and let whoever is behind the counter make it his way. The last time I ordered it, it came with pepper ham, fresh mozzerella, proscuitto, salami, provolone, lettuce and tomatos, salt and pepper, and oil. No vinegar, no onions, no peppers?! I was prepared to be disappointed. I wasn't.

Try Caputo's on Court and 3rd Place for their fresh mozzerella. I used to buy other cheeses there. Their breads and foccacia are good. Other items like olives, oil, etc.

I love JH, but I miss Brooklyn!

[josh L]

I'm not personally a big fan of any of the restaurants mentioned on this board. Most of them have not been good for years, and some probably were never good. Maybe I just dont like over sauced, gloppy plates of italian american food served in a tacky environment. I guess I'd reccomend Cono's Pescatore in Williamsburg because they continue to cook in an old world Sicilian style and if you must do the Italian American Godfather thing go to Two Toms, while it wont blow you away they make pretty good pork chops and it is truly one of a kind and worth a visit. I'd also suggest visiting Queen on Court Street which takes old fashioned Italian American food to another level.

[HankyT]

Monte's Venetian Room in Carroll Gardens and 2 Toms around the corner from it. Story was the big shots would dine at Monte's while their drivers would eat at 2 Toms. Much debated here but I love 'em both.

[elecsheep9]

Tonio's on 7th Avenue in Park Slope has that same kind of old school red sauce joint vibe.

[MAW]

I love Tonio's!!

-----
Tonio's
306 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215

[prunefeet]

Monte's is what you describe except for one important exception...the food is not all that good. I mean it's ok, it's not gross in any way, but not so good either. I still think it's worth it for the vibe. The bartender told me that when Sammy Davis Jr. was in town he used to call them to keep the place open for him...

[HankyT]

A lot of posters feel that way, but I have to say I've had a couple of really great meals there. I think they're probably pretty inconsistent.

[bobjbkln]

When I think "family" restaurant, I think Pasquale's Rigoberto on Arthur Ave. It may be a bit bigger than you want, but otherwise has all the trappings including some genuine arrests a few years ago. It's also the kind of place where the younger waiters may bus the tables and take your orders, but only the older ones can actually serve your food.

[obob96]

Since you're not really specifying location or borough, some random suggestions on top of those already posted. Bamonte's on Withers St in Greenpoint, where some Sopranos scenes were shot; in Manhattan, Rocco (Thompson St), Gene's ( W 11 St), Monte's (Macdougal St). Haven't been to any recently, but they all have the requisite decor and menu, and have been around, like Bamonte's, forever. Try the veal, it's the best in the city.

[joeyBK]

Alot of restaurants fit that bill in Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge. I'm gonna name a few that don't get as much press as some of the others on the boards: La Palina, Ave O right off of 65th st, Bensonhurst amazing red sauce neopolitan cuisine, Villa Fiorita 18th ave and 78th st, Bensonhurst great sicilian and neoplitan mix and Ponte Vecchio, 4th ave and 88th st, Bay Ridge must try the gnocchi napoletana della casa.

[Tay]

joeybk
I love the food at Ponte Vecchio, but you can grow old ( Or psychotic)
trying to find parking, especially on a weekend.

[prunefeet]

I totally grew up in Rocco's and Gene's! Good call obob96. Have not been to Gene's recently, but the food used to be good and Rocco's is still good. By the way, this is NOT Rocco DeSpirito's place, this is old school.

[Brian S]

For what it's worth, I believe the scene you are thinking of was filmed in Mario's Restaurant in the Bronx. http://www.mariosrestarthurave.com/

[Striver]

Mario's is large and noisy, and both the food and atmosphere are better, IMO, at Pasquale's Rigoletto (I agree with bobjbkln's recommendation, above) . Roberto's is the best restaurant in the Belmont neighborhood, but I don't think it's the kind of place the OP is looking for.

[Woodside Al]

The Godfather scene the original poster references was filmed at the (long gone) Luna Restaurant on White Plains Rd. in the Bronx

[tomtibaldi]

Woodside Al...Just read your comments from oct 19, 2007 on Chow. The scene from The Godfather where Pacino does the shooting was Louis restaurant on WHITE PLAINS ROAD and GUN HILL RD in the Bronx. Not Luna restaurant. The red lighted sign in the movie was the same sign in the restaurant. I am 1000% sure. My father Primo Tibaldi who has since passed away was part owner of Louis restaurant and was the chef there for 30 years. I am 55 now and was a jr in high school when the scene was filmed...1972 and was there watching most of the filming. If you want to discuss this further my email is [e-mail]...just wanted to set the record straight.

[hdmkom]

Louis Italian Restaurant, 3531 White Plains Rd., Bronx, NY...I grew up a block away....

[lanamonster]

This is not in brooklyn, but John's Italian on E12th street in manhattan actually really matches this description. The waiter there told me that they filmed some scene in the Sopranos there, due to the atmosphere-inducing table full of drippy candlewax. There is a surprising neighborhood vibe for a place in this area of manhattan.

[obob96]

Not so surprising, really: there used to be many micro-Italian neighborhoods in the city, and East 11 and 12 from 3rd to Ave A were strongly Sicilian, accounting for the (now gone) foccacceria on 1st and 11th and scattering of (mostly gone) food shops, Veneiros among them. Clustered around 59th Street east of Third and under the Queensborough Bridge was another--the presence of the bocce-courted Il Vagabondo in E 62 is one last testimonial.

[JH Jill]

I never hear anyone mention John's, but when I returned from a summer in Sicily a few years back, that was the only Italian food I tried in New York that tasted good to me. We lived in a village on the sea, north of Catania, and the fish and vegetables over there were so fresh and the pasta dishes so flavorful, that I could barely bring myself to eat Italian here afterwards. I think John's definitely has a lot of Sicilian still.

[riverside]

Do you mean John's of 12th St.?

[JH Jill]

That's the one, East Village. Easy to miss. Not much to look at from the outside, but tasty inside.

[zemilideias]

They opened Johns in the late 80s, early 90s when I was living aroudn the corner--ain't no holdout from old Italian families in the hood like some poster said. It was yuppie from the get go

[Up With Olives]

Zagats disagrees. It says for John's (E. 12th) "Date Opened:Mar. 1908."

[shaogo]

John's is a very, very good restaurant. I've only been there twice. Both times were remarkable meals. The food is simple and genuine and full of rich flavors.

The drippy candlewax table that's so famous was apparently a thing started when the restaurant either opened or survived a milestone, and it's been building up ever since. It's a little bit of "wild and crazy" in an otherwise very sober, professional setting.

The decor reeks of the kind of effect the OP wants. I highly recommend John's on 12th.

[Geo8rge]

You should specify which boro. There are places like that all over NYC and even Bayonne NJ.

Also possible in Brooklyn: Mamma Lucia and Laura's Kitchen.

[hopkicker3]

You may want try VESUVIO OF WHITESTONE for authentic Italian Cuisine. The restaurant is in Queens...the Chef is from Salerno...the rooms are intimate...12 02 149th Street.

ilvesuvio.us

[Howard_b2]

You gotta check out Gargiulo's restaurant in Coney Island. Very good food with that ole Brooklyn feel to it.
http://www.gargiulos.com/

[dhs]

get there at the right time (lunch is when I have seen it) and you can still see food from gargiulo's being walked next door by a waiter to some un-named, un-seen patrons.

[alysonlaurel]

Oh man. I have been wanting real Italian food in Brooklyn since I moved here a month ago from North Carolina (where most Italian food is not so good). It looks like I hit the motherlode with this thread!

[Vinny Goombah]

One place exactly fills the bill. Try Ferdinando's on Union Street (off the corner of Hicks St.). Same tile floor, same decor, Sicilian dishes, great food, great service. Been there since 1904. Hardly changed since then.

[RickTheClamBellyFan]

Funny you should mention the McCloskey/Solozzo murder scene in the Godfather. You're looking for a restaurant like that? How about that exact restaurant? I can put you there. It's called John's Italian Restaurant and it's on 12th Street just east of 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. Very good, very southern Italian. Try it. You'll love it. Oh, and by the way, remember when McCloskey says, "Try the veal, it's the best in the city"? Well, the veal there is ONE of the best in the city anyway. My best friend has been a friend of John's for eons, and I have grown fond of this restaurant. Nothing fancy, but just as you described in your request. It's set up a little bit differently from the way it appeared in the movie, but not very differently. Same tablecloths though. Hey, I'll probably see you there!

[StheJ]

I've been to John's many times and I can promise you that it is not the restaurant from the Godfather. As to which restaurant it actually is, I have no idea...

[Striver]

To the best of my knowledge, Woodside Al, who posted to this old thread in 2007(see his entry above), was right. It was the Luna on White Plains Road in the Bronx (which has been gone for quite a while). This assertion has been backed up by some shot location sites on the web (doesn't mean it's true, but there you are).

http://www.jgeoff.com/godfather/gf1/gf1scene.html

http://www.movie-locations.com/movies...

[addictedtolunch]

There actually was an old-style Italian place called Louie's in downtown Yonkers near the Bronx border until a few years ago and some say that was the place it was based on. Yeah, the veal was indeed "best in the city", but the city was Yonkers.

[zemilideias]

yeah, man, Luna was deep! Food was OK, but the beehive do's and crooners on a Friday night made it all worthwile!

[moshulupkwy]

I knew the owner of the "Godfather" resturant. Name was Vinnie Natale (rest in Peace!). He was in the movie ( not the waiter but the one 'ringing up the check". Do not remember if the wife (Dorothy) was in the movie.....anyway I know it was in the Bronx but I never knew the name of the resturant!

[hdmkom]

Louis, 3531 White Plains Rd,. I grew up a block away, and it was my "neighborhood Italian"

[hdmkom]

Louis, 3531 White Plains Rd...Maybe the "corporate name", was Luna, but I'm 55 years of age, grew up a block away from Louis, talked to 3 of my closest pals from the same neighborhood, and not one ever remembers hearing the name "Luna", but we all, clearly, remember , Louis,. The sign from the Godfather being the exact sign in the movie.

[hdmkom]

Louis, White Plains Road, off Gun Hill Rd, Bronx, NY...The 2 train comes rumbling by after Michael shoots Solozzo & McClusky...It's been gone since the 70's

[Dr.Faustus]

Sam's on Court St.

[hambone]

Sam's has one of the best pizza's on God's green earth but I find the food there disappointing.

If I were trying to meet the original poster's request, I would suggest Monte's (on Carrol St in Gowanus.) It still looks like it must have when Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack would hang out there after playing Manhattan.

(And there food is pretty good. Great baked clams. And a good Italian cheesecake.)

[nooyawka]

I second the rec on Sam's. Make friends with Louie. Be nice.

Here's a video I found after I tried it. Definitely my sentimental favorite.
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2008/06/videos-sams-restaurant-pizza-brooklyn-cobble-hill-carroll-gardens-nyc.html

Link to info:
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives...

[StheJ]

I would agree that your best bet is Ferdinandos. (I think part of The Departed was filmed there if that makes any difference) Get the panelle... It is really good.

I second Monte's for atmosphere and vibe... although I agree with the other posters as to the food.

[venezuelan]

I def agree with Ferdinandos

[bigmackdaddy]

The food at John's on E. 12th and Monte's on Carroll Street is awful. You're better of eating veal parmigiana at local pizzeria. I'm a big fan of Two Tom's on 3rd Ave by Union St., and Tonio's on 7th Ave by 8th Street. Tommasso on 86th Street by 14th Ave if I feel like spending a tad more. I'm sure there will be counter-points to my recs. Actually, and I know I sound like a skipping record, DiFara Pizzeria has very good Italian dishes, limited as they are. The veal, meatball and other plates are pretty damned good. You'll have to settle for a small & dingy table as opposed to a diner. Or, you can always go take-out.

[bigmackdaddy]

I completely forgot about Florio's. It's in Manhattan and has NYC Grandfather status for its cigar bar but, when it comes to Godfather like atmosphere and good red sauce food Florio's has it in spades.

[howster]

Im suprised no one mentioned Bemontes

[Brklynbobby]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Embers Steak House in Bay Ridge. It's the most godfatheresque of all. They have the real thing hanging out there.

[Bob Martinez]

"I'm surprised nobody mentioned Embers Steak House in Bay Ridge."

Probably because the thread is titled "GODFATHER style *Italian* restaurants."

[Tay]

So much for the whole Diplomat thing, :-)

[dark knight]

@Howster - Someone did mention Bamonte's earlier.

[montoya040]

Clinton Restaurant on Clintonville street and 10th ave. in Whitestone, Queens. It's owned by two older Italian sisters and the food is amazing. Also, the vibe is just as you described it.

[BigGuy]

Ralphs on 9th Avenue at 56th Street.

[k_brklyn]

Try Lanza in the East Village.

[victoria060]

The restaurant scene in the Godfather was filmed in Louis's Restaurant on White Plains Road in the Bronx. I had my high school graduation party there. My family ate there at least once a week. When the owner died his son Vinny took over the restaurant. Vinny had a part in the restaurant scene. When ever Vinny took your dinner order he always said " eat, drink and order what ever you like there's no charge" he would pause for a few seconds and then say " only cash' and then he would laugh loudly. It was the best.

[hdmkom]

THANK YOU!
I have been trying to "prove", online, that this was Louis, and NOT Luna...I grew up in The Gun Hill Projects a block away, and ate there numerous times as a kid. No one I know remembers it being anything but, Louis. People find "facts" in cyberspace, and run with them...

[tomtibaldi]

HDMKOM who are you? I grew up in the Gun Hill projects 3445 Holland Ave and I am 55 yrs old also and my dad was Primo Tibaldi chef and part owner of Louis restaurant where the Pacino scene in The godfather was shot. I was there for the filming and my fathers partner Vinny Natale was the waiter in the movie who takes the check to the cash register. I grew up in that restaurant and it kills me to see people saying it was filmed in a place called Luna..a rumor started 30 + years ago which is untrue. The restaurant looked in real life just as it did in the movie...right down to the old-time tablecloths. I challenge ANYONE who contests the truth of this statement to contact me and I would be happy to discuss this in [e-mail]