Community Corner
Bites Nearby: Luigi's Restaurant and Bar
A Manhattan-style restaurant with the comfort of home in New Hyde Park.
You could stand on a corner and look around until a restaurant sign draws you in. But we've got a better idea. Each week, New Hyde Park Patch picks a great restaurant either in town or nearby that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice:
Homemade Italian specialties, an authentic wood-burning brick oven and award-winning wine lists are among the amenities that draw customers into Luigi’s Restaurant and have them returning time and time again.
In business since 1992, Luigi’s has withstood the test of time. “This will be our nineteenth year and every year we have actually gotten busier,” says owner Vincent DiRicio, who describes the restaurant’s design as one that is “timeless” and “makes people feel at home.”
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From young couples to families, Luigi’s menu and atmosphere is one that many enjoy. Plus, this local favorite boasts notability; Luigi’s wine list has received the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator for 11 years in a row (from 1995 to 2008), as well as the 2006-2007 Award of Distinction from Wine Enthusiast.
With a selection of Italian and American wines, many of the bottles offered at Luigi’s are $30 and under. In addition, a menu for just “demi bottles” or half bottles is available along with classic cocktails and a bellini bar.
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“We are basically a Manhattan-style restaurant without forgetting that our roots are based in Queens and Long Island,” said DiRicio.
Luigi’s pastas such as their fettucine, pappardelle, gnocchi, ravioli, and lasagna are all made on-site from recipes that have been handed down from past generations. Fresh mozzarella is also made twice daily.
Other menu items include thin-crust pizzas cooked in an authentic wood-fired oven, steaks, chops and seafood. According to DiRicio, fried calamari and baked clams are among the restaurant’s most well-known dishes.
And if you can't sit down and have a bite to eat, Luigi’s has a takeout menu.
Luigi’s Restaurant and Bar, 265-21 Union Turnpike, New Hyde Park. (718) 347-7136. Lunch: Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Dinner: Monday through Thursday, 4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.; Sunday, 2:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
