Instead of mafia members, today's dinner crowd is a mixture of folks who've been coming there for ages and the artist-yuppie crowd for which Williamsburg is quickly becoming famous (or perhaps infamous). Other prominent Italian-American guests have included Frank Sinatra and Robert DeNiro.

Bamonte's also boasts an affordable '$$' price ranking on Yelp and stocks a full bar. Highlights include the rigatoni with vodka sauce, zuppa di clams, pork chops with hot and sweet vinegar peppers, stuffed artichokes, mussels marinara, prosciutto with melon, handmade cheese ravioli, eggplant rollatini, and baked ziti. Dishes are served family-style (think big plates and large tables full of lots of people) with generous portion sizes, and the tuxedo-clad servers don't skimp on the wine pour, either. Bamonte's might owe its time-tested success in part to its no-frills menu. Read more: Michelin-Starred Restaurants You Should Visit At Least Once History Of Bamonte's And Mob Tiesīamonte's restaurant exterior - Instagramīamonte's is located in a two-story house with brick and red clapboard siding, mere feet from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, a facade emblematic of Bamonte's unique past-meets-present brand. Today, dinner at Bamonte's is as much a taste of Italian-American culinary prowess as a taste of NYC history. Even as trendy new brunch spots, record shops, and high-dollar vintage stores crop up in Williamsburg around it, Bamonte's remains an unshakeable New York institution. The Williamsburg joint opened in 1900 and hasn't moved locations since.

Enter Bamonte's: the oldest Italian restaurant in Brooklyn and the former famous haunt of mob giants. In 1972, Joe Gallo was killed while dining at Umberto's Clam House at the corner of Hester and Mulberry in what's now Little Italy. In 1985, Constantino Paul 'Big Paulie' Castellano (boss of the Gambinos, one of the five families of NYC) was shot during a dinner at Sparks Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan. To their faithful patrons, these restaurants were a regular mainstay, but also took on another dimension of significance for their A-list clients the joint must be trustworthy and low-key.

The mob's connections to its favorite restaurants have been just as strong in real life as on-screen, particularly in New York City. In 'The Godfather,' the restaurant scene where Michael Corleone whacks Solozzo and Captain McCluskey was filmed at Louie's in the Bronx. Bamonte's, Brooklyn - BrandonKleinPhoto/ShutterstockĪnyone who's ever seen 'Goodfellas' will surely remember the scene where the crew makes dinner in prison look like a gastronomic dream come true, slicing garlic with a razor and spending hours on a tomato sauce.

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