Bronx Restaurants

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On the recommendation from our waiter at a different establishment, we headed off to the Riverdale area of the Bronx in search of a tapas restaurant. She couldn't remember the name of the place but we used our online resources to find the location. As we drove along Riverdale Ave., we heard the sounds of music and laughter coming from this one location, so we parked the car, walked up the street and found Tin Marin Tapas Restaurant & Bar. As we entered, we were immediately greeted with a warm welcome and seated at a table. People having a good time, eating, drinking, talking as well as watching TV. Ah yes, this is nice!!! The portions are nice size and easily shared between people and is a place we will happily return to.

Favorite Dish: For dinner we shared the Mejillones en Cava (Prince Edward Island mussels steamed in cava with garlic, shallots & roasted red peppers), Papas Rellenas De Queso (golden crispy baby yukon potatoes stuffed with manchego cheese topped with an herb aioli), Gambas Al Ajillo (Spain's most famous tapas, delicious shrimp sautéed in a spicy herb and garlic cream sauce) and Chorizo (Spanish chorizo sautéed with shallots in white wine topped with crispy golden panko bread crumbs) tapas. To go along with this, we had two glasses of delicious Sangria.

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Here's a place in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx that has amazing beer and pub grub. While we tried to organize a VT meet here, most attendees backed out at the last minute. But Pam made her way across town to join Sara, Minifrosch, and me for a nice lunch on a Saturday afternoon. While I wouldn't go as far as to say the place is family-friendly, it is not a problem to bring young children along during lunchtime hours. Do be aware there are no high chairs, however (though manager Brian did offer in jest to secure Minifrosch to a chair with duct tape; I should note Mommy was not amused). As it turned out, after a few minutes of wandering around the place, the little guy got tired and slept in his stroller through the entire meal. Given the loud noise all around, we were most impressed.

Favorite Dish: While certain VT members would not approve of my writing this tip, this place specializes in high quality burgers, along with well-crafted sandwiches and other pub grub. I went for an excellent burger with bleu cheese and bacon, while Pam decided to go for the "Alehouse Burger," a 1/2 pound beef patty topped with BBQ pork, cole slaw, and onion rings with a side of sweet potato french fries. Sara decided to try their nachos, which were so huge even she was unable to finish it with her amazing metabolism.

Over a dozen beers are offered on tap at any given time, though most selections change from time to time. Among the beers normally available: Weihenstephan hefeweizen, Gaffel Kölsch, Guinness, and Buepoint Toasted Lager. This time, I tried the Ommegang Abbey Ale, while Pam had a pint of Brooklyn Summer Ale. Very nice!

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Does this place have the best Gyros in New York? The New York Daily News thinks so. Who am I to argue? When I worked in the Bronx, this was my favorite place to have lunch (and sometimes dinner). The modest-looking storefront is home to a family-owned local gem. Prices are very reasonable, ingredients are fresh, and everything on the menu is delicious. In addition to a number of homemade Greek specialties, the restaurant also serves locally renowned burgers and french fries that put the neighboring McDonald's to shame. When you come here, there's a good chance you'll be served by owner Christopher, who, depending on his mood, might offer your table a round of free "Bronx Champagne" (tap water).

Favorite Dish: The Gyros are now famous, of course. My favorite lunch was a bowl of homemade avgolemono (a lemon-chicken soup with egg) and a side of delicious french fries. You might also want to try the stuffed grape leaves. If you have room, you must try the homemade baklava for dessert.

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Tosca is a trendy bar/restaurant/lounge here in the E. Tremont section of the Bronx. The restaurant is packed on weekends and a big social gathering place for the locals.

Whenever I get together with my cousin we always wind up coming here. The atmosphere and the food are excellent and its close to her home. We usually settle at the bar for about an hour to a couple of drinks and then either order and eat at the bar or get table for a sit down meal. They have a huge selection of dishes to satisfy anyone. They even have sushi...

My cousin loves the sushi and brags about how delicious and fresh it is. Sushi is about the only dish I am not keen on, so I usually pass and order something else.

If we are having dinner here and my cousin does order the sushi, I usually will go with their hot antipasto plate which comes with baked clams, shrimp, mussels, eggplant rolotini and stuffed mushrooms which is enough as a meal. If I'm not in the mood for that I will have the Seafood Ala Tosca which is shrimp, mussels, clams, calamari, scallops and lobster tail in a marinara sauce (yum, yum, yum)!!!

Favorite Dish: Hot Antipasto salad is delicious and quite filing as a meal. Large selection of sushi, pasta dishes with every imaginable seafood with different sauces. Anything you have here will be good!!

The food ranges from chicken fingers to Seafood combination. Great for family dining as well as romantic. This place is great on weekends dinner and dancing all in one. If you just want to relax and have a drink they also have a sports bar. I've seen everything from birthday parties to weddings. I love it.

Favorite Dish: Paella!!!! This is what Jimmy's is famous for. Paella is a yellow rice with all types of seafood in it. The best I have ever tasted.

All along City Island Avenue, mixed in with the gift shops, antique shops, thrift shops, etc. are many great seafood restaurants.

Walking the entire length of City Island Avenue takes about 25 minutes (excluding stops.)

The photo shows a section of City Island Avenue.

Favorite Dish: For lunch try these places:
Tito Puente's
Sammy's Fish Box

For lunch or dinner try:
The Original Crab Shanty

For a great harborside dining experience, try:
The Harbor Restaurant.

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Frankie & Johnnie's is what I would call a typical Bronx Italian Restuarant with good food, relaxed atmosphere and friendly service. The restuarant is a nice size with a large dining room, bar and private party room. The restaurant is full of hard wood accents as well as Yankee and Bronx memorabilia. Frankie & Johnnie's is a place that my wife grew up with. Many family dinners and events have been held here over the years due to the great food and welcoming atmosphere. We often come here before or after a Yankee game for a bite to eat.

F&J's is a family style Italian restaurant with big portions; come here hungry and you'll leave stuffed. The menu has many good choices from appetizers such as fried ravioli and hot antipasto, pasta, chicken, veal, seafood, pork, meat and vegetable dishes. The food here really is incredible and the service is top notch. Every time we come here I feel like I'm with the mayor since Liz and her family seem to know everyone in the place(staff and customers alike). I like that the restaurant is casual and unpretentious so I can relax and enjoy the meal. The place is always packed but I can't blame people for coming here for the outstanding food. Occasionally you'll bump into a Yankee or two having a meal at F&J.... they have good taste in food as well.

I always look forward to a meal here and my doggie bag full of food for later.

Favorite Dish: There are so many delicious things I have eaten here that I'll have to narrow it down a bit.

Appetizers here are very good especially the fried ravioli, hot antipasto, fried calamari and the baked clams; we often order a bunch of appetizers to share when we are with a large group.

The baked ravioli, papardalle carbonara, penne vodka and the cavatelli with sausage are some of my favorite pasta dishes.

The stuffed pork chops are my all time favorite here. Two huge chops are filled with proscuitto and provolone and are smothered in a wine sauce with mushrooms and melted mozzarella on top. Absolutely delicious especially with the potato croquette on the side.

The Tiramisu, Zeppole and chocolate ravioli are very good desserts (I like Marie's Tiramisu and Liz's Chocolate Ravioli's better but why make them cook for me...).

Riverdale is blessed with a few good restaurants, and Tokyo House is one of them. My family enjoys Japanese food and this is just down the road from their home.

We've been here a few times and most recently we were here to enjoy a nice meal while celebrating Linda's birthday.

The restaurant is small, with about 10 tables and a section where you can have a larger party like we had (8 of us). There is a really nice sushi bar where your sushi is prepared fresh with fresh ingredients (as I am told, since I don't like sushi).

As you are seated you are given a menu which is quite extensive. They have the usual times you find in any Japanese restaurant with sushi and sashimi being their largest. The waiter places endame on a "comunal" plate to be shared with everyone.

Most of the combinations dishes come with miso soup and salad and the prices are quite good.

Favorite Dish: I do not eat anything raw, so I usually order the seafood teriyaki which is a combination of grilled salmon, lobster and scallops with a side of either brown or white rice. Linda usually has the teriyaki chicken and Gabi (and Ferni) usually order the teriyaki steak.

Kris, Jon, Randy and Bobby will always order a combination of sushi and sashimi which they always rave about.

Spoto's is a nice Italian restaurant on Tremont Avenue in the Bronx. Liz has been here many time but this was my first visit to Spoto's. We were seated outside since it was a nice sunny day and not too hot. The waitress was attentive and took our drink orders and brought some bread for the table. The menu has the usual variety of Italian dishes as well a pizza. It wasn't too hard for me to decide that I wanted Ravioli and Liz wanted the gnocchi. We ordered the Hot Antipasto to share since it had some of our favorites: stuffed mushrooms, clams oreganata, shrimp, mussels and peppers. The food here was very good and we wound up taking some antipasto and half of our meals home in doggie bags (it made for a nice lunch the next day). It was an enjoyable meal with the beautiful weather and excelent company. I was quite pleased with the food quality and the service was very good.

Favorite Dish: The Ravioli was very good and creamy. I liked that I was able to have vodka sauce instead of the marinara sauce listed in the menu. Liz enjoyed her gnocchi and also had it in vodka sauce instead of the kisted meat sauce on the menu. I appreciated that they were willing to change things up in order to please the customer's palate. The antipasto was a nice size and I thouroughly enjoyed the mushrooms and shrimp.

Tosca Cafe is located in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx. This place is a favorite of Liz and her friends so this was one of the first places she ever took me to in the Bronx when we began dating. The place is a nice size with plenty of seating and a nice bar area (in the summer ther is outdoor seating available). The bar/lounge area is a great place to hang out for drinks after work or just with friends. We love having a seat on one of the couches and enjoying a drink or two with friends.

Don't let the Italian name fool you though there is more than just Italian dishes at Tosca; they also have Sushi. The menu here has the same Italian favorites everyone loves such as fried calamari, Pasta Fagioli, Penne Alla Vodka, Eggplant Rollatini and Chicken Parmiagiana. The sushi list is extensive and I enjoy having a few Dragon Rolls or Rainbow Rolls when I'm here.

The service and the vibe of the place is very good; that's why I like it besides the delicious food. So if you're in the area; definitly stop in and enjoy some lunch, dinner or even brunch (on Saturdays & Sundays $24.95 Per person). So bring your apetite...you won't be dissapointed.

Favorite Dish: The Dragon Roll and Rainbow Roll are my favorite on the Sushi menu. When we eat here is it usually with a group of friends so we order the hot antipasto for the table which has baked clams, shrimp, mussels, eggplant rollantini and stuffed mushrooms. The fried calamari is also a must for us when we eat here...it is very crispy and good.

The Ravioli Arragosta is one of my favorite pastas on the menu. It's yummy ravioli filled with Lobster and calamari in a vodka sauce. The Pork Chops with Vinegar peppers are also nice and very juicy. Liz likes their Gnocchi Quattro Formaggi in a creamy cheee sauce or the Risotto ala Tosca which is risotto and seafood. The Seafood Alla Tosca is also very good and we've been known to order it and split it along with an appetizer since there is just so much seafood on the plate it is too much for one person.

The Tiamisu is pretty good and Liz enjoys the creme brulee here as well as the caramel apple for dessert.