Astoria
Jan 26, 2016

The End of an Era – Astoria Italian Restaurant Ponticello Has Closed

WHA reader Nancy tipped us off to this bit of news—beloved Astoria Italian restaurant Ponticello (46-11 Broadway) has closed. They were an Astoria institution for 34 years, serving up quality Northern Italian (…)

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Photo credit: Ponticello

WHA reader Nancy tipped us off to this bit of news—beloved Astoria Italian restaurant Ponticello (46-11 Broadway) has closed. They were an Astoria institution for 34 years, serving up quality Northern Italian food. We know many of our readers enjoyed meals there over the years, and are sure they will miss the food, opulent atmosphere, and gracious staff. The restaurant closed because the owners retired.

Here’s their goodbye message on their website:

Dear friends,

On Sunday, January 3rd, Ponticello will open and close its doors for the last time. We cherish the relationships we have built with all of you. We owe our success to you, our loyal friends. It has been a joy to call you friends and to serve you. We always felt like you were our family. Our goal has always been to make you feel like you’re stepping into the house of a friend when you came through our doors. Judging from the relationships we have built, over the years, we are confident we achieved our goal.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Luigi and Joe and the boys of Ponticello Ristorante

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One of the favorite dishes at Ponticello, linguini with clams. Photo credit: Ponticello

You can feel the love in the comments on their Facebook update, too:

Friends, it is with a heavy heart we say goodbye. The time has come for us to end this chapter and start a new one in our lives. Ponticello has been our home for over 34 years. We made countless memories & many friends along the way.

We want to first thank our staff who persevered throughout the year. Without you, Ponticello would not be what it has become today, a Family. To our family and friends, we were sad to see Ponticello’s doors close last night; however Ponticello will always remain in the hearts of us all. Thank you for being a part of our lives!!

Your friends,
Joe & Luigi

We wish all the best to the owners and staff at Ponticello.

About Meg Cotner

Meg Cotner was trained as a harpsichordist and now works as a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Queens," and is a skilled and avid home cook, baker, and preserver.

One Comment

George Maroulis

Meg, I recently drove by where Ponticelo used to be and it seems that a new Italian restaurant took over the space. Do you have insight about what the new place is all about? I didn’t find anything on the usual sites ( Yelp etc.) about the newbie. George

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