Don Peppe in Queens

Family-Style Italian That Has Not Changed Its Mind Since 1968

Don Peppe is the kind of Queens institution people plan a trip around. Half a mile east of Aqueduct Racetrack, in South Ozone Park, it serves southern Italian-American food on platters meant for the middle of the table, takes no reservations and takes no cards. Almost everything about the place is a decision made decades ago and never revisited — which is roughly why the New York Times put it back on its 2025 list of the 100 best restaurants in the city.

The Concept · The Story

The family dates the restaurant to 1942, when Mike DeLuca Sr. opened it in East New York, Brooklyn. In 1968 the DeLucas moved it to South Ozone Park, and it has stayed there ever since. Today Mike’s son Michael Jr. runs it alongside his own sons, Michael III and John, while a cousin — also Michael — works as head chef, so the recipe file has never left the family. The racetrack next door shaped both the room and the crowd: jockey silks and framed photographs of thoroughbreds have hung on the walls since the move. The house has had a second life on screen too, from Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” to an HBO “Entourage” storyline.

What to Order

The baked clams are the signature: breadcrumb crust crisped almost black on top, creamy and briny underneath. Linguini with white clam sauce is the other classic, and the dish that carried the restaurant onto national television. Beyond the two, the board runs to shrimp luciano, shrimp oreganata, stuffed mushrooms, eggplant rollatini and fried peppers with garlic and oil among the starters; rigatoni with sausage, ziti with broccoli rabe and fettuccine al prosciutto among the pastas; and veal Don Peppe, chicken scarpariello, steak pizzaiola and a fresh-cut tomahawk steak among the mains. Bread arrives as whole accordion-cut loaves, and keeps arriving.

The Space

A bright, plain hall of round tables laid for sharing — no printed menus at the table, just a board on the wall and a waiter who will steer you through it. The room absorbs three-generation birthday parties and groups of twenty with the same unhurried competence, and the soundtrack is conversation at full volume plus platters landing. Service is brisk rather than soft, and the house posts its rules at the door: no hats, no tank tops, no credit cards. Dress is otherwise casual, the noise is real, and nobody walks out hungry.

Good to Know

Do they take reservations? No — the restaurant works first come, first served, so arrive early or plan to wait, especially with a big group.

Can we pay by card? No. It is cash only, and the restaurant states that policy itself.

How should we order? Family-style: choose a few platters for the whole table rather than a main each, and ask the waiter how much you actually need.

Which dish should a first-timer get? The baked clams, then linguini with white clam sauce.

Is it good for a big celebration? Yes — round tables and shared platters are the entire design of the place, and the staff handle very large parties as routine.

Opening hours