Eating on the avenue
Rooms, ovens, counters and bakeries
What is on Arthur Avenue and East 187th Street, sorted by how you eat there. No hours, no prices: both change, and the merchants' association keeps the current list.
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Richard Joseph Spinelli eats on Arthur Avenue the way a resident does, on a weeknight and at a counter as often as at a table, and this page is sorted that way. The names below are the long established places at the time of writing; for current hours, closures and new arrivals, the Belmont Business Improvement District directory is the authority, and calling ahead on a Friday is never wasted.
Sit down rooms
A first visit usually means choosing between an old room with tablecloths and a newer one with a wood oven. Both kinds are here, and the old rooms are the reason the avenue is famous.
- Mario’sArthur Avenue
The old room with tablecloths, run by the same family across generations, and the one that turned down The Godfather. Southern Italian, sit down, reservations sensible on weekends.
- Dominick’sArthur Avenue
No printed menu, communal tables, the server tells you what there is and the check arrives as a number. Not for everyone, and exactly right for some.
- Roberto’sCrescent Avenue
A chef driven room a block off the avenue, known for pasta and a wait that people accept.
- Zero Otto NoveArthur Avenue
Wood oven Neapolitan pizza and Salerno style cooking in a room built to look like a piazza.
- Tra Di NoiEast 187th Street
A small family room off the avenue, the kind regulars keep to themselves.
- Enzo’s of Arthur AvenueArthur Avenue
Neighborhood Italian with a bar, easier to get into on a weeknight than the famous names.
Counters, delis and the market
This is where residents actually shop, and where a visitor gets the best sandwich on the avenue with the least ceremony.
- Arthur Avenue Retail MarketArthur Avenue
The indoor market since 1940: Mike’s Deli for sandwiches and arancini, butchers, produce and a bar, under one roof.
- Calabria Pork StoreArthur Avenue
Cured meats hanging from the ceiling and a counter that residents shop at rather than photograph.
- Casa Della MozzarellaEast 187th Street
Fresh mozzarella made through the day, and a line that says so.
- Teitel BrothersArthur Avenue
The grocery on the corner for oil, cheese, olives and anything a kitchen runs out of.
- Cosenza’s Fish Market and Randazzo’s SeafoodArthur Avenue
Fish on ice facing the sidewalk and clam bar counters for a cheap seat and a dozen on the half shell.
- Full Moon PizzeriaArthur Avenue
The slice on the walk to campus.
Bakeries and pastry shops
The bakeries divide into bread bakers and pastry shops, and knowing which is which saves standing in the wrong line on a Sunday morning.
- Madonia BakeryArthur Avenue
Bread, especially the loaves that show up on every table in the neighborhood.
- Addeo BakersArthur Avenue
Bread bakers with a following; sells out early on the days everyone wants the same loaf.
- Egidio Pastry ShopEast 187th Street
Pastry and espresso at a counter, the way a slow morning on the avenue should start.
- DeLillo Pastry ShopEast 187th Street
Cannoli, sfogliatelle and cookies by the pound.
- Morrone Pastry ShopArthur Avenue
A pastry counter with a cafe, easier to find a seat in than most.
Practical notes
Big groups do well here, because the old rooms were built for family dinners; ask about family style and call ahead. Some counters still prefer cash. Sunday mornings sell out at the bakeries, Friday nights fill the restaurants, and the week after a festival is quieter than the week before. For how to arrive, the getting there page covers every train and bus.