Punta Dura

My boyfriend and I came here in celebration of something — I think our 3 month? I don’t know — but I was most excited because of its Sopranos fame (thankful, though, that Artie Bucco is a fictional character). I had a pasta dish that was delicious, and we split a really wonderfully done eggplant appetizer. The wine was a perfectly fruity Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Would definitely come back for a nice occasion, especially because they have live music.

What’s old tends to be what’s new but sometimes its just old. Punta Dora was one of the former jewels of Astoria alongside Piccolo Venezia, Ponticello and Lanterna (now a part of history). Regretfully, instead of seizing the opportunity to fill in the void left by Lanterna and S’apori D’Ischia, Punta Dora is sadly on the slow slippery slope to extinction. There’s still time if only someone can blow a fresh breadth.
In my last visit I unimaginatively ordered the chicken parmagena with a spaghetti side dish. I also ordered the steamed veggies and house salad. The veggies were grossly overcooked, the salad dressing tasted as if it came out of a small inexpensive bottle from the local supermarket and the chicken cutlet, sauce and cheese could have come from a local pizzaria and not from a fine restaurant; which is precisely what Punta Dora once was. With the exception of the spaghetti with sauce all else marginal. The spaghetti however was very good. And, the spaghetti is consistently very good.
Hopefully someone will re-​energize the owners (I’m thinking of a Chef Gordon Ramsey type of intervention) and make Punta Dora relevant again. Otherwise, place this former glorious restaurant on the Astoria restaurant death watch list.

Consistency is the key at Punta Dura. Over the years the same owners, the same cook and a very similar menu make this borough restaurant a eatery to visit.
Atmosphere 85 It’s European in a stand alone building
Service 75 About the only thing inconsistent
Food 85 Good, very good Italian fare
Value 85 Considering all things the price is right
If you are in or around Long Island City very worth the visit.

They were one of our favorites for years, until last week. We had a family gathering of 10 plus 5 infants. During dinner we saw crawling leisurely across the floor a cockroach the size of a baby lobster. Ugh! Never again.

Was there for a family event for my daughter. The service was very poor. The waiters were not attentive and when it was time for dessert the waiters disappeared for at least 25 minutes we had to wait a long time. The menu was blah and the food was nothing to rave about. I will never never go back there. On top of it all it was over priced. I do not recommend this restaurant for any family event.

We had my son’s Communion Party here and the food was great! The space was excellent and they were very accomodating. We will definitely keep this place on our «A» list for further gatherings.

I took my wife to Punta Dura for Valentine’s Day. They had live music from he 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s which my wife and I loved. «Put your head on my shoulders. Volare, etc.» To top it off the food was delicious! We loved the place and will go back for some weekend dinner and dancing.

Overall a good Italian place. It seems to be empty during the week, but they always have huge parties with live music on the weekends. Good for large parties. Too quiet for me usually but I will say the food is really good and they will pretty much make whatever you want.

Black Risotto with Cuttlefish was amazing and very different I enjoyed it. Sole with crab meat is great. Portions are a bit small but everything is good. The pasta with vodka sauce was the only things that I did not enjoy. Salads are a good size portion and extra in price. Great restaurant where they filmed the Soprano too.
On the weekend their is live music for dancing.

My girlfriend and I live down the block from Punta Dura, and there is never ANYONE there. The joke was always «Let’s go to Punta Dura tonight.»
Well, the joke was on us. We were the only 2 people there on a friday night at 8; I knew there was gonna be trouble. The service was friendly, an elderly italian man had a pretty easy time watching our table, as we were THE ONLY ONES THERE! The rest of the staff was drinking at the bar, having a great old time.
The real problem was the food. It was the worst food I’ve had in astoria. Everything was frozen, you could actually taste the age. The chicken entrée my girlfriend got was appalling. The chicken was actually freezer burned. Her vegetables were from a can.
My veal was also previously frozen, with canned sauce thrown on top.
It was so bad we were cracking up. I felt bad, cause the server knew he was serving crap, and had a sad embarrassed look on his face when he removed our full plates from the table.
The bill was over $ 120, as I said. the joke was on us.

We’ve been here a couple of times before on Friday nights when there is live entertainment but realized what a gem this place is when we attended a friend’s wedding reception. Alright, I’ll confess that I’m a big Sopranos fan and knowing that Punta Dura was utilized as the restaurant Vesuvio in the Sopranos may well be a factor in my liking Punta Dura.
The truth is the food is surprisingly delightful and reliable. The appetizers of calamari and caprese salad were great. The veal, chicken and the fish were tender, and tasty, just right, not overcooked. The service staff were friendly and polite.
It is easy to underestimate this restaurant perhaps because it looks like a lockdown facility. Seriously, the windows are shut close, if you’re inside you can’t see the outside and if you’re outside, you can’t see anything that will make you curious about the restaurant. If not as a dining option, Punta Dura makes for a great party place particularly because they have reasonable options starting at $ 29 per person.

portions/​prices/​service used to really terrific at one time. ever since the sopranos filmed there, the place really went down hill. the service isn’t as warm or accommodating as it used to be. the portions are smaller and the quality is not as good, especially for the price. you also feel rushed through the meal. the music on the weekends is really good, but the bar clientele? well, let’s just say that you need a visa or passport if you want to get anywhere.

I expected excellent food for this price in astoria. I was disappointed. The piano was nice though.

Big place hidden away in Astoria. Great for parties. Parking can be tough but the food is execellent. The crowd seems to be older as I was the youngest in the place.

If you ever dreamed of being an extra in the Sopranos, but did not get that call back, now you can pretend to be a part of the ‘Family’ and dine in the spot where most of the restaurant scenes are filmed… The food is typical northern Italian and was quite tasty and delicious (coincidentally, the owners are Croatian), but the prices were out of this world… If you decide to venture do ask for the menu since most of the house specials will cost you an arm and a leg… No chance of running into Tony and friends though, the place is usually on a day long lock down when filming.