Rudar Social Club AKA United Miners Soccer Club

Yes, strange looks when you walk in, but friendly looks they are. Someone will direct you to a lovely nook of a restaurant downstairs. The food and service is divine!
SHHshhh… Don’t tell the hipsters.

We’ve been to this restaurant a couple of times and we love it every time. The portions, flavor, price and ambience are all on point. Don’t be put off by the bar by the front entrance, you will be stared at awkwardly by the usuals. Get passed that and you will be seated downstairs at a quaint eating area and will be enjoying a terrific meal in no time. Staff is friendly as well, definitely worth a visit.

I love this place! How often do you find a great restaurant underneath a social club for Croatian men? My cousin’s Croatian friend said that her father plays cards here every week but she never knew that there was a restaurant underneath the club. Her father probably wanted to be left alone by the girls.
This subterranean restaurant was nearly empty when we were there, making it underground in both senses of the word. For appetizers, three of us shared a huge plate of smoked ham and sheep’s milk cheese. As great as that cheese was, it was too big for us to finish. We also each ordered an entrée, and none of us finished them. The calamari was really nice, the risotto really great, and the plate of a variety of meats was fantastic. Then, we found some room in our stomachs to try the crepes. I had one with jam but I tasted the Nutella too. Both were really great but I liked mine more. On the menu, the crepes are described as melting in one’s mouth, which isn’t far from the truth. They were the best crepes I had for a long time. Considering the enormous portions and quality, the place is fairly cheap too, and the service is really nice and friendly.

What a wonderful hidden gem. We went to dinner with friends who have been going here for years. The food was delicious, each dish was prepared with care and the service was warm and very friendly. Definitely worth coming to.

This is perfect comforting food for the Winter months. The atmosphere & staff also make it feel especially homey. I’ve walked by this mysterious building countless times, wondering what secret society lurked behind the doors & fold-​out sign listing Sunday Specials. It’s nothing to be scared of guys!
Not wanting to walk far on a lazy Sunday afternoon for food, I took my book & walked over to the restaurant. From other’s reviews, I was prepared not to be deterred by the men hanging around the bar & looked for the stairs down to the dining room. One of the guys pointed to the orange wall behind him. I went down the stairs and the long hallway wondering if this was actually the way to the kitchen. It opened up into a cozy nice room, with 2 families (speaking Croatian, with their American kids, & non-​Croatian guests). The staff was super friendly, later on I come to find out my waitress lives on my block. Quite knowledgeable dishing about the restaurants & their owners in Astoria. Apparently Ruger has been in this location for 25+ years.
I ordered the Fuzi $ 14, listed under appetizers but definitely the size of a main. I also ordered the Swiss chard & potatoes $ 5. It does take some time for the food to come, since it’s fresh pasta. This meal hit the spot! A giant plate of meat stew (believe it’s veal) over little pillows of pasta. The side was potato was mashed with the Swiss chard, I though it would be cubed and sautéed. It was still a good counter to the rich stew though. After a while, after it cooled off, the Fuzi gravy did taste a little gamey/​rich. I would just be aware of that if you aren’t a meat fan. The meat chunks were very tender as well.
I’m assuming most of the entrees are done well here since this place has been around so long. I would like to go back for a crêpe & cappuccino, maybe a chicken or fish dish as well.
The dining room is big, but somehow I could hear all of the conversations of the 2 other tables at opposite sides of the room. It must get pretty loud when it’s full.
Note: apparently you can smoke at the bar. I kept getting wafts of it down in the dining room– or was someone smoking downstairs?

I’ve come here a few times. My fiancé is Croatian and this is one of his family’s favorite places to eat for Croatian food. We’re usually sat in the basement part of the restaurant. If you’re not Croatian and you’re trying it out and you want a drink with your meal try the Croatian beer it’s good. The bread they provide is always fresh. We always order the prosciutto with cheese to start. I know I should order other things than my normal to try but I always order the gnocchi with sauce. Their gnocchi is homemade and the sauce it comes with is so good I can’t help but always order it. It’s not an expensive place to eat, the service is good and the food is excellent. It’s a nice cozy place to enjoy a meal.

This place is home away from home for me. My Croatian father and I discovered this restaurant four years ago and the service and food here is outstanding. They treat me like family whenever I can make it out to queens for a quality and home-​cooked feast. I suggest you eat their special for the day (written in Croatian on a board but don’t hesitate to ask them to translate!) and finish with a plate of perfect palacinke. An affordable, cozy, authentic, and delicious experience that makes you feel like you’ve escaped the chaos of the city and are on a vacation in Istria.

Amazing food and good prices!
I recommend the fish brancino with olive oil, garlic and parsley. It’s always fresh!
Fuzi (homemade pasta) are amazing. Once I had mixed meat, it was pretty good.
Even though I get so full after the appetizer and main course, I somehow always find some space for dessert– always palacinke (crapes) with nuts! Delicious !

Amazing food, Wait staff is very friendly and helpful, this place is quite great croatian beer and food. If you are looking for a place with great food and drink, low key then you found your place.

After reading the previous 10 reviews on this place I’m convinced that the Unilocalers are either affiliated or employed by this place.(some didn’t read or understand the rules for posting on Unilocal) Here is my experience. I went in last Friday around 7pm with my 2 girlfriends. One of them has a Croatian friend who requested «Rudar». Though at the same time saying they are «slightly indifferent» to non Croatians or people who do not speak Croatian. Neither of us do. As we walk in from a shady side door we are greeted by intimidating glares from guys playing cards. I though we were in the wrong place. Then a lady bartending tells us the restaurant is down stairs. We make our way to the basement and find a cozy ambience. OK I thought, it’s all good from here. Not quite. The waitress who is mentioned in another review «Tina» looked annoyed with us. When asked what she suggests she rambled some dishes. We ended up getting the highly recommended gnocchi and fuzi. Absolutely the WORST FOOD I EVER HAD!!! All three dishes were gnocchi/​fuzi with that fine mixture of about 2lbs of grease and 1lb of water. After this disaster we had palachinke. Which are basically crepes. Those were good. When I got home I had severe vomiting. The place gave me food poisoning! The chef needs to go. STAY AWAY from this place!

Unilocal is to be thanked in this case, because without it I’d never even know that the Rudar Social Club existed, never mind that their charming quasi-​secret downstairs restaurant.
When my SO, who is open-​minded but required a little push in the right direction, agreed to check it out, I started losing my own confidence. After all, the eatery is hidden behind a nondescript New York City brown brick façade that in my home borough of Brooklyn typically garrisons dentists and chiropractors. Not so in Astoria where, once you get past the bar area of good old boys, glimpse the awesomeness that is the «game room» (dozens of Croatians playing cards at round tables), and proceed downstairs, you’ll enter an Eastern European wonderland full of families, holiday mirth, great food, and warm service.
I was reminded of a Russian restaurant (without the gaudy décor) – what with the families celebrating children’s birthdays, the playful bickering, the cheerful familiarity. Our waitress Tina, a sweet lady who seemed to know everyone, immediately determined that we weren’t regulars and introduced us to the menu, recommending a few dishes upon request. The only glitch (for my SO but not for me) was the heavy presence of veal on the menu (she doesn’t eat it). I had the veal soup (a nice broth resembling chicken soup, not too adventurous) and the veal paillard (scalloped, buttery veal), which was very good. The chicken scallops sautéed with a wine and mushroom sauce was also good. But the winner was definitely the comfort dish – potato and swiss chard dish, generously treated with oil. Red house wine, affordably presented in carafes and half-​carafes, quenched our thirst.
We even laughed when some smoke started pouring from the fireplace, but Tina and Co. soon nipped it in the bud by opening up the windows. And back to our merriment we went. With only 8 reviewers before me, I’d hate to think that I’m contributing to RSC’s future demise as a gathering place for European soccer fans, Croatian miners, immigrant tots, and other awesome people. But it would be a crime to let this place go unnoticed! It’s a neighborhood institution, and I feel privileged to have visited their RSC’s world.

Fantastic food. Home-​cooked style. Incredibly friendly waiter. Large portions. Prices reasonable.

This is the first place I went when I was in NYC awsome place.

I’m not Istrian or Croatian, but I’m madly, madly in love with this place.
As a former waiter, I am thoroughly embarrassed by the fact that my friends and I did everything we possibly could to annoy the living hell out of the staff at Rudar. Four of us showed up at 5:00. A fifth diner appeared at 7:00. 25 more of our friends – mostly Slovenians – trickled into the restaurant between 7:30 and 9:30. We stayed until midnight.
I mean, really! How annoying is that? We’re total pricks. Four people walk in without a reservation, occupy a table for six, and then slowly turn into a table-​camping party of, like, 27 people. Not cool. Don’t ever do this to a restaurant, especially not a small restaurant. It’s pretty chaotic and cruel.
But the servers and manager of the restaurant were unbelievably welcoming and accommodating. They patiently put up with our mayhem, and even offered to split our checks up. Amazing. Rudar Soccer Club, you are run by a bunch of Istrian Zen Masters.
The other reviews are spot-​on: this is an amazingly easy-​to-​miss club in an industrial-​looking building. When you walk in, you’ll probably be greeted by the stares of craggy-​looking old European dudes. But once they invite you into the restaurant in the basement, you’ll be in a completely different world, filled with absurdly patient Croatian servers and tasty Istrian wine and handmade pasta and little fried fish that taste like fishy popcorn.
Try the fuzi with veal sauce – it’s one of the best plates of handmade pasta you’ll find in NYC, and it’s only $ 12. The grilled calamari in a parsley-​garlic-​butter sauce is also amazing. And if they have the bite-​sized fried fish snacks on the special board (I think they’re called gelita, but don’t quote me on that), give them a try.
This is one of my new favorite places in NYC. Simple, honest food, served by unusually welcoming people. Worth the trip, even if you’re not from anywhere near the Balkans.

they are always extremely hospitable, great food and all at a reasonable price. ***cash only***

The history of this place is really amazing. Back in 1977, a group of Istrians from the small town of Labin (Croatia) formed this club for football purposes. As a majority of them worked in the mine before immigrating, they called themselves the United Miners Soccer Club. The ground level bar is a gathering place for the Croatian community, and as you enter the intense glares might be a little intimidating. But rest assured everyone is happy to see you here, it’s just a bit of surprise that you have happened upon the place.
Down the staircase past the bar to the right, you will find first a small hallway, and then a very nice dining room and waiters wearing vests and ties. The service and feel are not that stuffy though, and questions are met with smiles and as good an answer as language barriers will allow.
The menu is quite thorough, with a Croatian bent on many familiar Balkan specialties. It’s not exactly cheap, but you don’t feel the prices are unwarranted either. A good way to start is with an Istrian classic, fuzi sa zvacetom istarski ($ 12), a sort of bow tie pasta served with small chunks of veal and sauce.
Before anything comes to the table, you might be approached by children from other tables while enjoying heavy Slavic ballads and pop on the stereo. Grab a ½ liter of house wine ($ 8 !!) which gives about a glass and a half each for two. The brick fireplace is not on, but the atmosphere is exactly as if it were; cozy, charming, and easy to relax. It does not feel like New York City at all.
We steered our decisions for entrees towards meat, as any self-​respecting Croatian would. The meat combo plate mjesano meso na zaru ($ 15) was not bad, but some of the meats were a bit dry. Thankfully a generous portion of ajvar accompanied the plate and could be dolloped on everything. A better way to enjoy the meats seemed to be with a nice amount of sauce. The teleci odrezak sa gljivama ($ 16) was the winner of the night with a fine wine and mushroom sauce slathered on otherwise unremarkable cuts of veal.
We all love meat and potatoes together, so it is worth ordering a side portion of blitva s krumpiron ($ 4), which is mashed with Swiss chard. On its own it is not that full of taste, but it combines well with chunks of meat from the platters.
Be sure to take a moment and ask your servers about the history of the place and their homes, as if it’s not crowded they are more than happy to tell you their proud stories. It really added to our experience and made us feel all the more welcome to be there. We even got to see a birthday cake come out for a family of about 8 while we dined. Grandma was celebrating with her family, which probably all were from New York, but you could tell she was happy to have them here in Rudar for some memories of back home.

really special place. its like you just took a mini-​vacation to croatia. you’d never in a million years think about walking in here to grab a bite to eat. the indiscreet awning says its a miners soccer club. a large population of croatians from the coal mining town of labin started this club. luckily my croatian friend anita gave me the insiders scoop and invite so i ventured here.
when you walk in the first floor you see a bunch of old men playing cards and speaking in a language that sounds almost russian. they look at you for a split second then get back to their game. then you walk downstairs to a dining room, and you are pleasantly surprised to a see a large room decorated with croatian ornaments and memorabilia.
the servers greet you and welcome you to your table. they don’t have croatian beer so you can go for the medovaca. a special honey wine that is as strong as grappa but way tastier and sweeter. it tastes so good that it got me curious about — sliivovica
the best dishes are the fried calamari and the branzini. the grilled meats are fine but a little dry. the ajvar pepper dip makes up for the dryness. overall i thought the food was ok, nothing spectacular. i’m curious to try the other dishes at another time. what really brings you back here is the experience and the medovaca.

you know what? my original review was lame for this place and did it zero justice. Being first generation Croatian (Istrian)-American, this place deserves 1000% better from me! Rather than update my previous review, which sucked — I’d figure I’d grace you readers with abrand spanking new review of this truly hidden gem.
So like a lot of social & sports clubs here in Astoria, a bunch of Istrians from the small city of Labin started this joint in 1977 as a place to get together, eat, drink and socialize with their fellow Istrijani (Istrians in Croatian). Due to this place being away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of Astoria and having a tiny green awning by it’s door, I guaratee you could pass by this place and 10 out of 10 times would never guess a fantastic restuarant lay in the basement of this club with top notch service by a really friendly wait staff.
Once you walk through it’s doors, I’d advise to skip the upstairs portion unless you’re a wiz at tresette or briskula (two card games famous in the region) or are there for some type of special event, you’ll mostly find old-​timers up here playing cards and just shooting the breeze. Taking the quick walk downstairs brings you to a Labin styled ‘konoba’ (Croatian for a tavern) you would find in the old country. And I’m not telling you this to pull your chain or glitz this place up — with it’s stone floors, comfy seating, smaller tables and intimate atmosphere, it really makes you feel like you’re in a small konoba in Istria.
Start with the house white wine or some Karlovacko beer while one of the waitresses rattles off the specials of the day. I would recommend their buttery tasting, lightly fried calamari; the octopus grilled to perfection or the Istrian prsut and sheep’s cheese; with Istrian prsut being similar to Italian style prosciutto.
For an entrée, you can never ever go wrong with their fuzi with veal sauce. While a number of Istrian/​Croatian/​Northern Italian joints in the area serve this dish, Rudar’s is by far the best. Handmade bowtie paste with a silkly smooth and tasty veal sauce — and don’t forget to make sure and sop up the remaining ‘sugo’ (Croatian for sauce) with their bread. On a cold winter day, I can never say no to a bowl of their jota (Istrian stew) or manestra (Istrian veggie/​bean soup) and if you’re feeling like a true carnivore, their cevape and kupus i kobasice (cabbage and sausages) are spot on. If you a really enormous appetite and need a side dish, the blitve (swiss chard and potatoes) are as close as they come to the way my family makes it. And the cherry on top? All of the above mentioned is dirt cheap; the most expensive dish they offer is a steak platter for $ 20 (!!). Dinner for 2, a carafe of wine, some appetizers and 2 entrees and a desert should fall somewhere between $ 70-​$ 90.
I cannot rant and gush about Rudar enough, please check it out!

One of my favorite trips EVER is my visit to Croatia — checking out intriguing places named Malinska, Hvar, Opatia, Rijeka, Krk, Dubrovnik and Cavtat. Not only was I introduced (courtesy of my best pal, Su and her lovely cousins, Margita and Michel) to breathtaking views and seascapes, but it was there that I had my first endeavor dining at a konoba.
A «konoba» is a traditional Croatian restaurant or tavern that is typically found in a cellar or basement of some sort.
This explains why you can walk past this joint without realizing that a full-​service restaurant exists. The Rudar Social Club is located in what appears to be a highly industrial area, right off Northern Boulevard, there are no windows and a lone sign outside says, «United Miners Soccer Club.»
Be forewarned: the regulars will, however, look at you a bit funny at the door if you don’t look European or are accompanied by a Croatian. Don’t let that discourage you from checking it out (as you can see from my profile pic… I’m Filipino and clearly not a Croat).
For me, Rudar’s simplicity is its main draw. Nothing too fancy here… not as huge as the Astoria Beer Garden but same kind of rustic charm. Families and friends can just hang out and have some traditional Croatian cuisine. They don’t rush you through your meals here.
The calamari here is the freshest and tastiest I’ve had. The calamari itself are freakishly huge (where the heck do they buy their seafood?), and with its proximity to the Adriatic Sea and other Meditteranean countries, the regional influence, particularly Italian, is evident in their meals. Typically, when I go here with friends, we start off with the calamari, share the mixed grill which includes several pieces of raznjici (grilled pork tenderloin), cevapcici (small grilled spicy sausages) and other grilled meats which you top off with a condiment called Ajvar (Ivar), and save some room for palacinka (crêpe topped off with nutella, jam or whipped cream) for dessert… and of course, we drink lots and lots of wine!
Lastly, make sure you tell the wait staff, «Hvala,» which is Croatian for «Thank you!»
In my opinion, there should be more konobas in New York City. Whenever I want to relive my trip, I head for Rudar!