This neighborhood favorite started out as a cafe and became a popular place to dine a few years ago. It still draws crowds for its few tables, despite the absence of drinks and bathrooms. Lillo's lasagna ragout is better than the one grandma made, their meatballs with an ideal texture and sauce are wonderful and their fettuccine with touches of Parmesan cream sauce are almost too rich to be stored completely in memory. Aspiring restaurateurs in Park Slope should study this pleasant Fifth Avenue staple before their own opening ceremony.
Although it opened its doors in 1998, Al Di Là is still second to none in the neighborhood. Excellent Northern Italian dishes include ragu noodles, black spaghetti with octopus ragout and grilled rabbit. Bamonte's is a New York classic that every red sauce lover should visit at least once. It first opened its doors in 1900 and still retains a great old world appeal; the platonic ideal of a vintage Italian restaurant in Brooklyn with all the dishes on the menu up to the task.
Now in its 28th edition, Il Buco is as in demand as ever, with an extremely rustic charm that hides a space that could also function as a film set. It reflects its flattering light on homemade pasta options, such as torchio with black sausage, asparagus and pecorino and noodles with black truffle and parmesan. Whether the notions of fashion attract you, like an influencer, to a photographic moment or sound forbidden alarms, it's remarkable that Dante is relevant 107 years after its premiere. The “best bar in the world”, which usually comes and goes, has spuntini, cheese plates and mixed salumi, a variety of delicious pasta and main courses such as branzino and chicken parmesana, in a place full of character.
Even with space for 70 people inside and two strips of sidewalk seating outside, Lilia is still packing after six years serving the best pasta program in her area. Its brick and wood interior is informally elegant, and the open kitchen offers hits such as spaghetti with anchovies and a wood-fired leg of lamb with Roman spices.
