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Forget your tasting menus, your avant-garde approaches to cuisine, and your sky-high bills. When we eat out at an Italian restaurant, we want to keep it traditional, and where else is better to do so than New York? The city is swimming with old-school Italian restaurants — including some that are owned by pop stars and their parents – which preserve the charm they had since they first opened their doors. New York has been a hotbed of Italian food since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when waves of migration from Italian workers and families caused a culinary shift away from German cuisine and towards a more Mediterranean feel. As hundreds of thousands of people arrived in the United States through Ellis Island, it only made sense for them to lay their roots in the capital city and start businesses that are still feeding folks to this day.
Which of these restaurants are the ones you need to visit, though? Well, there are a fair few. While famous Italian restaurants like Rao’s, Patsy’s, and Bamonte’s are must-see spots for pasta and pizza lovers, there are some lesser-known joints that have managed to keep a sense of mystique. The other good news is that a lot of these restaurants won’t break the bank.
Sandro’s
Tucked away in the Upper East Side is Sandro’s, an Italian restaurant that has been championing authentic Italian cuisine since 1985. Sandro’s first opened its doors after the long and illustrious career of its founder, Sandro Fioriti, who had been working in kitchens since his teenage years in Rome. When he was offered the opportunity to open a restaurant in New York City, he jumped at the chance, with the original Sandro’s operating for seven years before closing its doors and reopening them in several different locations. The current East 86th Street location opened in 2022, but it brings with it a story that has been told for almost four decades, including Sandro’s love of traditional Roman food, which has carried on after his death in 2024.
One glance at the menu will tell you exactly how old-school this place is. There are no small plates or experimental vibes here: Instead, you’ll find a lot of things that you’d see in restaurants in the backstreets behind the Colosseum. Roman favorites like amatriciana and suppli sit next to milk-fed veal chops. It even has its own homemade grissini.
Rao’s
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Most of us are familiar with Rao’s, but not because of the restaurant. Instead, it’s a brand name that stares at us from every supermarket shelf in the country, emblazoned on endless jars of red sauce. Well, where do you think that sauce originally came from? It came from its New York namesake, the Italian restaurant that has been serving customers since 1896, making it one of the oldest in the country. The history of Rao’s starts with founder Charles Rao, and it’s remained a family-run business for well over a century. Although it’s since branched out with locations in Miami and Los Angeles, it’s the New York one you want to head to — if you can get a table, that is.
Rao’s may be old-school and traditional, but it’s notoriously hard to get a seat in the place, due in part to its cozy, one-room dimensions and its ultra-famous name. If you’re lucky enough to get a reservation, you can dine on its baked clams and penne vodka to your heart’s content. If not, you may have to try your luck walking in. Just expect to wait a while.
Patsy’s
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Patsy’s has remained one of the most traditional Italian restaurants in New York since it first opened its doors in 1944. A fixture of the West Side, it’s well-known for its classic, classy dining room, a cozy affair where patrons eat elbow-to-elbow under frescoes and hanging light fixtures. Founded by Pasquale “Patsy” Scognamillo, Patsy’s has been a family business since its very first days. Incredibly, it’s only ever had three chefs during its entire history, with Patsy’s son and grandson inheriting the kitchen from Patsy himself.
Patsy’s is perhaps most famous for being a favorite of the most famous Italian-American of them all, Frank Sinatra, who liked to order one old-school appetizer on repeat. The crooner put the restaurant on the map, making it a go-to destination for folks wanting to try some authentic Italian cuisine. Where Sinatra went, others followed, and pretty soon Patsy’s was a celebrity haunt. Everyone from Quincy Jones to Michael Bublé has been seen chowing down on its food and enjoying the hospitality. Although nowadays it’s a little on the expensive side, with a basic spaghetti marinara coming in at just under 30 bucks, it’s still worth a visit.
Ann & Tony’s
When you eat at Ann & Tony’s, you’re engaging with history. This venerable institution has been serving food since 1927, and has passed through five generations, managing to remain a family-run business until this day. It’s so proud of its family lineage that its website features pictures of all of the individuals who have worked at and operated Ann & Tony’s, stretching right back to Rosa Napolitano, the great-grandmother of the family who started the restaurant with her husband Eugenio.
If you miss seeing that, though, don’t worry: The words “Five Generations” are emblazoned pretty much everywhere on its branding, so you won’t forget. You’d hardly expect a restaurant like this to reinvent the wheel when it came to its food, and true to form, Ann & Tony’s offers a host of Italian and Italian-American classics. Lasagna, carbonara, veal parmigiana, and baked clams all take pride of place.
For diners looking for something even more traditional, the menu also features tripe and giambotta, a stew of meat and vegetables cooked in a white wine sauce. Oh, and the wine is served by the glass, and you can get one for just $9 — not bad for city prices.
Da Nico Ristorante
If you’re looking for a vibe that’s both classic and classy, Da Nico Ristorante is the spot to check out. Sitting snugly in Little Italy, the restaurant has been serving customers since 1993, with a community-minded spirit that has kept it a staple of the neighborhood.
This family-run eatery is pretty unique among old-school Italian joints for one simple reason: Rather than only having the option of sitting in a duskily-lit dining room, you can also eat al fresco thanks to its tasteful outdoor garden area. It’s a real find among the skyscrapers of the city, where space is at a premium.
As for the food, Da Nico’s wood-fired oven churns out dozens of handmade pizzas per night, with old faithfuls like quattro formaggi, bianca, and margherita all on the menu. There’s an impressive selection of pasta and risotto dishes, a sizable antipasti menu, and four different types of parmigiani. Its lunch menu is just as impressive, with a selection of panini sandwiches for folks looking for something a bit lighter. Come for the food, stay for the vibes.
Mario’s
Running a restaurant can look easy, but very few stay open long-term, and even fewer make it to over a hundred years old. Mario’s is one of those latter few, being an Italian restaurant in the Bronx that has been passed down through no less than five generations in more than a century. That homely feel is also handed to its customers, who feel like they’re part of the Migliucci family the moment they walk through the door.
As you might expect from a restaurant that’s been serving folks since the early 1900s, Mario’s doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead it focuses on making the Italian dishes that all of us know and love, and doing so at a price that feels reasonable. The majority of its pasta plates come in at just over $20, and its meat dishes aren’t that much more either. You can grab a classic green salad for a little over $11, and a large margherita pizza for $23. Don’t fancy eating in its decked-out dining room, in which every table is decked out with a linen tablecloth? No problem: You can order online.
Monte’s Trattoria
There are plenty of well-established Italian restaurants in New York City, which have over time built up a legion of famous fans and graced the cover of countless magazines. Monte’s Trattoria isn’t one of them, yet it really should be. This lesser-known Italian joint has been operating since 1918, and it’s managed to retain both its traditional charm and the feeling of being an underground gem. The restaurant was founded by Louis & Sylvia Medica, who immigrated to the U.S. at the start of the 20th century, subsequently setting up their trattoria in Greenwich Village. Chef Pietro Mosconi now oversees the restaurant, and has done so since 1983, sticking to classic methods to make classic food.
Entering the restaurant is like stepping through a time warp, or at least into a dining room thousands of miles away in Italy. The vibe is crowded but convivial, the food served generously and priced affordably. Waiters drift around dressed in black vests, ferrying plates of baked clams and manicotti to tables that sit under countless framed photos of famous patrons. It’s the kind of place you want to sit in all night — and you probably would, if you didn’t have a queue of people waiting to take your table. It’s kinda wild that Monte’s has never reached the name recognition of a place like Carbone, and we think it’s time that changed.
Emilio’s Ballato
Emilio’s Ballato was founded in 1956 (when it was known just as Ballato’s — the Emilio’s part came later, Emilio Vitolo bought it in the 90s), and it quickly became a hotspot for folks in the know. The family-run business, which had all of Emilio’s sons working in the kitchen, soon turned into a celebrity hangout with everyone from Barack Obama to George Clooney eating in its snug dining room. This is made even more notable by the fact that Emilio’s Ballato has a famous no-reservations policy, with folks waiting for two hours or more outside to get in and try the food. We’re pretty sure Obama wasn’t standing in that queue like the rest of us, though; instead, he was reportedly tucked into the private dining room at the very back of the restaurant.
Once you get into Emilio’s Ballato, the exclusive vibe continues with its secret menu. It’s impossible to know what’s on this menu unless you’re in the know, but diners have been known to stroll into the kitchen directly and ask for a little-known dish. Others will have to make do with its classic menu, which consists of all the favorites you’d expect from an Italian restaurant.
Ortobello’s
Ortobello’s is a restaurant with a lot of history. This Italian eatery has been serving customers in Brooklyn for over 50 years, piling its plates high with food and plying folks with friendly service. Much has happened during that time, but in 2024 it faced its most dramatic moment yet, when a fire caused by an exhaust fan tore through the restaurant, scorching its ’70s interiors and forcing it to close. It looked like it could be all over for Ortobello’s, but the Italian joint has managed to bounce back, and as of 2025, it’s making food and putting smiles on faces with renewed vigor.
Unlike many other Italian restaurants in New York, Ortobello’s isn’t showy or garish. Its storefront is on an unassuming street corner, and if you weren’t in the know, you wouldn’t even be aware of what was going on inside. Well, what’s happening through those doors is endless orders of gnocchi sorrentino, ravioli alla vodka, and mussels marinara. You won’t be leaving hungry, trust us.
Bamonte’s
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Operating since 1900, Bamonte’s has become both a New York institution and an American one. Founded by Salerno native Pasquale Bamonte, the Brooklyn restaurant is heralded as one of the original models upon which all of the other Italian joints in the city were modeled. While other restaurants are crafted to feel as though they’ve been there for generations, Bamonte’s actually has been, and its vibe is as classic as it comes. It was even allegedly a favorite restaurant of mobsters like Lucky Luciano. Italian-American restaurants don’t get much more classic than that.
If you were expecting anything overly fancy or unorthodox on its menu, you’ll likely be pretty disappointed. Bamonte’s specializes in serving up traditional Italian and Italian-American fare, with dishes like eggplant parmesan, rigatoni alla vodka, baked ziti, and clam fra diavolo. The dessert menu errs more on the American side, with cheesecake and ice cream to keep the kids happy (and the adults, too). It’s all served in an ultra-classic dining room, with deep red walls and linen tablecloths completing the experience.
Dining and Cooking