Don Peppe’s

There is no better family-​style Italian restaurant in NYC. There is no such thing as a bad meal here. The food is super fresh and consistent. The service is efficient and friendly. This was the only restaurant that my «off the boat» Italian parents ever looked forward to going to when I was a kid and I’m definitely addicted. Its a special place for me.

Baked clams were awesome. The kiddos liked the chicken parm (it was enough to share between them, even without pasta) and the shrimp luciano with angel hair was amazing. House red was good, on the dry side, and they make it in house. It’s family style dining AND it’s a large dining room. Be ready to feel like you’re sitting at a huge Italian family dinner. It’s great!

Walked in Saturday night 715 with a 10 minute wait for a party of 4 plus high hair.
Host was friendly and accommodating. Waiter was professional and patient (we had a two year old)
Scungilli marinara, braciole, and linguine clams were stellar. They will all make you a better person
Chicken scarpiello was good but minus one star for mostly overlooked /​dried meat. The accompanying sausage/​potato/​pepper were all perfectly cooked
Side of broccoli /​string beans (one plate) extremely overpriced at $ 35.
Overall very good experience.

$$$ But worth it. Know what you want before hand. Also ask for Anthony for your waiter. Preview photos of the food on Unilocal.Cash only. Thanks!

Don’t come for the décor, come for the family style old school Italian dishes.
Want a menu? Look on the wall, that’s the only place where you’ll find it.
Came alone on a busy Saturday night around 8ish, got seated relatively fast, 10 mins or so.
Started my meal with Stuffed mushroom, and Galamah with marinara sauce.
The mushroom cooked perfectly, still holding it’s shape with a good bite. Stuffed high and swimming in the delicious mushroom sauce. Galamah or calamari was cooked perfectly, no hint of rubber texture, each bite was a perfect morsel of squid.
For the entrée, I went the classic route by ordering Linguine with white clam sauce.
Cooked al dente, with lots of plump clam pieces, whole garlic and sauce. This dish is as delicious as it gets, perfectly cooked and assembled, the flavors meld in a perfect symphony. This might be by far the best Linguine with white clam sauce I have ever had.
Ended my meal with a single cannoli, creamy but not too sweet, a good ending to my meal. I will definitely be back, there are other menu items I need to try. Be forewarned though, it’s cash only.
BTW, from the poster below, I tried to look for the $ 40 lingerie, but did not find any. Why the hell are you eating lingerie when you can have some linguine in white clams sauce is beyond me. Keep the kinky stuff behind closed doors.

The food are just ok. The dish portion is kind of small for family style. The internet prices is different than the store price
Shrimp Luciano over lingerie is 40.00. I didn’t know lingerie would cost extra. The place look like a dump! You are paying Manhattan price in queens. I had better Italian food and half of it cost in a better atmosphere! They should give $$$$ for this place not 3. NOT going back this over price dump.

My husband and I love to eat here.
Pasta is perfect. I like the atomospher, too. It’s a kid’s friendly restaurant. You can go with kids, and thay have a changing table in the bath room.

Go to order: peppers and onions, baked clams, veal don peppe, linguini in white clam sauce, chicken scarpiello and cannolis for dessert. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
There’s so much hype about the clam sauce, veal, and baked clams but it really is true. It’s unreal. The linguini is super oily, but it’s worth it. And there is SO Much garlic. And the veal is so crispy and the actual meat is so tender. The chicken is also very good, along with the potatoes and peppers it comes with. It’s very moist, which is what you’re always worried about with roasted chicken.
This place is a must try and great for big parties because it’s family style.
I can’t give this place 5 stars because of the service, which was decent. After about an hour and 15 minutes, they actually asked us to leave because they needed the table. This place is never not packed, it’s like a factory the way they flip the tables. But the food is superb!

Well the bread just ok
Broccoli rabe and linguine I must admit was good
Marinara with stuffed shells okay
House wine very refreshing
Cappuccino nice
Price good
Would I go back, no

As far as Queens Italian eateries go, Don Peppe’s (aka Don Peps) is as good as it gets.
The first time I went to Don Peppe was on my 16^th birthday. My best friend was dating one of the waiters and he comped us the meal. After that first meal, I was sold!
Many moons later, my family and I still come to this Queens Italian staple when we want a taste of the (Americanized) old country! Some of our favorites:
— Stuffed Artichoke — terrific
— Special Salad — with cheese and salami — tasty
— Baked clams — good if a bit overcooked
— Spaghetti with garlic and oil — top notch
— Filet de Pomodoro — tomato sauce with prosciutto and tomatoes over rigatoni — delicious
— Filet of Sole — with lemon and breadcrumbs — delish
— Veal Parmigiana — I don’t eat veal but the family enjoys
— Broccoli with garlic and oil — delicious and black around the edges
— Cannoli — delicious with chocolate chips
— Red Wine — very good and homemade
— Cappuccino — very good
The service is very good but relaxed. Don’t come here and except to be in and out in 90 minutes. The courses are spaced fairly far apart. The wait staff treats you like family — especially Benny. He is a joy!
We will always come back to Don Peps.

A must if you’ve never been, absolutely no doubt the best Italian food in NYC! And it’s on Lefferts Blvd in Queens just a stones throw from JFK long term parking! Start with Baked clams and the fried peppers! Then the shrimp Luciano over linguini (my going to the electric chair last meal) is a must! The Chicken parm is awesome as is the T-​bone with mushrooms and onions OMG, OMG!!!

Based on the reviews we just had to give this a try. The ordering process was kind of unique. They don’t give you menus. The menu is on the wall and you have to order from there. Luckily, I had Unilocal’s menu pulled up and we just passed my phone around to order lol. It’s family style portions. We ordered linguini with clam sauce, veal Marsala, spaghetti with meat sauce for the kids, and baked ziti. The linguini was the best! Good place to go if you with your fam or that special someone. The cappuccino at the end was one of the best I ever had!

This is one of the best old world Italian restaurants. The linguini and clam sauce is amazing. It is family style and only took cash when I went.

5 STARS!
My friends were raving about this place, claiming it was, «the best italian food ever.» I had my doubts, but Don Peppe completely exceeded my expectations. This place gives off an old school italian vibe. The food here is amazing. Everything is served family style, which I love because I can eat a little bit (or a lot) of everything.
The baked clams are the best! You must get them! They are cooked perfectly. The clams are tender and the bread crumbs are toasty. I usually get two orders for the table when I visit. After you devour the clams be sure to dip your bread in the sauce. The mussels are really good as well! They give a pretty big portion for one order.
As for the pasta, the linguine in white clam sauce is delicious! It’s exactly how it should taste. The pasta is cooked perfectly al dente. There are nice chunks of big chunks of clam and lots of garlic. The sauce is buttery a buttery bliss.
My favorite pasta dish here is the Shrimp Luciano. I can’t rave enough about this dish. The sauce consists of onions simmered in a buttery sauce cooked to perfection and then topped with tender shrimp!
The Veal/​Chicken Parm, Veal Don Peppe, and Chicken Marsala were all good as well. You basically can’t go wrong with anything you order here. However, if you’re currently in love with other Italian restaurants be prepared to fall out of love because Don Peppe will cast a shadow on them. After eating here, I compare everything to this place and nothing else has won me over. There’s nothing wrong with high standards though. Enjoy :)

I think I’m in love.
The two best things to come out of Entourage
Is Sloan and the discovery of Don Peppe’s.
I have wanted to try this place since I first heard of baked clams. I was at JFK and decided to finally the stop for lunch.
The baked clams are a must. I could’ve eaten 2 – 3 plates of this alone.
The linguine with clam sauce is simple yet deliciously flavored with roasted garlic, and a balance of butter and olive oil.
The staff are friendly and the Chef has been here since the restaurant first opened so he knows what he’s doing. To be honest the portions are enough for 3 – 4 people so it’s actually not as expensive as you’d think. (except the clams because they’re all mine!)

Finally made it out to this place that has a reputation for serving up some of the best Italian food in New York.
Reservations are not taken. Getting a seat for a party of five for Sunday 5:30pm did not involve a wait. Courteous service. The portions are huge (served family style). Everything was fabulous — without a doubt some of the best Italian food I have ever eaten:
— Baked clams: an absolute MUST here
— Cocktail shrimp: their seafood is fresh and it tastes great
— Shrimp Luciano: very flavorful and freshly baked bread comes to the table to mop up that wonderful sauce
— Broiled steak (I know… dont ask)
— Chicken Marsala: to die for
Eating at this place would be far from a mistake. Cash only. Definitely will return.

Wow. Thanks to my brother for the recommendation. Italian family styled entrees, which I prefer. Got a chance to try the white clam sauce linguine and the shrimp luciano linguine. The white clam sauce was very fresh as the only problem was the waiting time.
They do not accept reservations nor do they accept credit cards! I would recommend this restaurant and would come back!

The atmosphere is old school Italian all the way and I love that. I’ve been here before and had a great time but this time around was a car crash.
Here’s how it went wrong:
Service: It took 20 minutes to take our entire order which came out wrong anyway, Our waiter didn’t serve us our baked clams and Chicken Don Peppe which they always did before and they did for other tables around us, they forgot our spoons to serve ourselves the clams, they also forgot our utensils twice and we had to flag down a server to bring us new ones-​At one point we just grabbed a set from the table next to us.
Food:
My biggest complain was about their signature dish, the baked clams. They packed too much breadcrumbs in each clam. The clam became a needle in a haystack. The linguine with white clam sauce was too oily for my liking.
Brew:
House red wine which is great with veal or any red meat. I love it with the Veal a la Don Pepe
House White. Great with seafood, which I pair with the linguini with white clam sauce and the baked clams. The alcohol was the best part of the meal.
Giving them benefit of the doubt, I’ve had much better experiences here before in the past and I hope this was just an off night for them but I may be fooling my self since it was a packed restaurant and it didn’t seem other tables were having the same problems as mine.
Good Luck!

After visiting here a half dozen times, this is my favorite Italian restaurant in the area.
First time I came here several years ago or perhaps more, I was very confused about family style dining. The server kindly explained how it works.
Every time I came I start with baked clams appetizer. I ordered other appetizer before but my favorite is still the baked clams. Always enjoy this garlicky flavor.
For pasta, I think my favorite is linguini with white clams sauce. Great flavor. My complaint is pasta texture. It’s not al dente. I like my pasta with firm texture. Every time, I think of it after they bring the pasta, I should have asked when I ordered it. I forget.
For the main dish, I had different one each time. Everything I had was good, trying to think what was my favorite… I think chicken with lemon and butter. Chicken is cooked to the perfect texture and lemon and garlic butter sauce nicely blend well with the chicken.
For desert, my ultimate favorite desert tiramisu is always good and consistent but cannoli here is very good too.
No reservations. Just come early.
No credit cards. Bring plenty of cash.
buon appetito!

I’ll be honest. The hype of this restaurant from the show and movie «Entourage» convinced us to check this place out. They weren’t just hyping it up. This was some of the most delicious Italian food your mouth could ever come across.
When you walk in to this brightly (maybe overly bright) lit room, the guy in his deep accent asked «How many?» followed by telling you to «Sit wherever you like». Across the room I see a bunch of the staff/​management playing cards on one of the tables. No shits given. One guy, who looked like he might be the one running the joint, while playing cards, managed to keep his eye on the entire restaurant. Without even looking away from his cards he would yell out «Antonio! Those customers over there need you» or «Tell that group that just walked in the door they could only order to-​go now.» (They stop serving after 930pm)
The menu was on the wall. After much deliberation, we decided to go with the linguini and clams in a white wine sauce and the Veal Don Peppe. Our server Antonio took our order and it didn’t take long for our food to come. Prior to this we were served some rolls of bread.
The linguini came out first, still piping hot and boy did it look awesome. The amazing aroma of the pasta and sauce hits you right in the face and you know you’re about to eat something really special. I was impressed as our server took our empty plates in front of us and transferred the pasta to each of our plates, lady first. It was so good and there was so much left over. In fact this one dish, ordered by the Asian family next to us fed that group of five.
We ordered the Veal Don Peppe out of recommendation by much Unilocalers. A lightly breaded large piece of veal with chopped fresh tomatoes and red onions in an oil and vinegar sauce. Again, HUGE portions. Serves many. I happily brought this home and continued to eat this for the next day. Highly recommend this as well.
Great service throughout. Great food. Lots of leftovers.
I already told my wife. Every time we visit NYC, we go to Don Peppe’s.