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At first glance, Joanne Trattoria doesn’t exactly scream “pop superstar.” Tucked on Manhattan’s Upper West Side between small shops and walk-up apartments, it looks like the kind of cozy Italian spot where you’d expect to see a local sipping wine and picking at spaghetti. But you might not realize this restaurant is owned by an A-list celebrity. Lady Gaga’s parents, Joe and Cynthia Germanotta, are the ones behind Joanne Trattoria, and while the singer herself keeps a low profile here, she’s a part owner in the business that bears her aunt’s name.
The name is deeply sentimental. Joanne Germanotta, Gaga’s aunt, died from lupus at 19, leaving behind a creative spark that shaped her family long after she was gone. Her memory lives on in both Gaga’s 2016 album “Joanne” and this restaurant, which turns grief into something warm, comforting, and communal. The Germanottas grew up close to where the restaurant stands now, and their menu still reads like a neighborhood love letter. Offerings include spaghetti and meatballs and family recipes like lemon artichoke chicken and eggplant parmesan.
The vibe is as intimate as the food. Unlike many celebrity-owned restaurants that bank on flash over flavor, Joanne Trattoria feels like a place that was always meant to be there — with or without a world-famous name attached.
From red sauce to red curtains
In recent years, Joanne Trattoria has leaned even further into its creative roots, evolving from a neighborhood trattoria into something more like a dinner theater with red sauce. It all started with one show — Drag Me to Joanne’s — and quickly snowballed. These days, Sunday nights belong to drag and bingo, Thursday brings trivia, and the rest of the week is fair game for cabaret acts or tribute sets that could easily hold their own in a downtown venue. It’s a theatrical twist that feels surprisingly organic — after all, Lady Gaga does love whiskey, and there’s something perfectly on brand about sipping one during drag bingo with a bowl of meatballs in front of you.
But it’s not all kitsch and camp. The programming also reflects Joe Germanotta’s deeper ambition: to give rising performers a real shot — like the one his daughter fought for on New York’s small stages. He spent years watching her grind through Manhattan’s venues, scraping together momentum one stage at a time. His hope is that Joanne’s can offer the same shot for the next would-be star. And while most guests may come for dinner, plenty end up staying for the show. With a revamped menu that leans into shareable plates and a surprisingly extensive mocktail list, this is one celebrity-owned restaurant that is well-worth visiting.
Dining and Cooking