Italian restaurant Patrizia’s to open in Massapequa Park
Family-style dining is the specialty of Patrizia's, a mini-chain of Italian restaurants whose newest location will be in Massapequa Park. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
Patrizia’s Italian restaurant is all about more: more food, more celebration, more noise. And now, more Long Island locations.
The Hicksville restaurant, which opened in August 2016 and received two stars from Newsday, will be joined by one in Massapequa Park, expected to open in the next few months.
Massapequa Park will be the eighth location of the metropolitan area mini-chain whose owners, Naples-born brothers Gennaro and Giacomo Alaio, began their careers as waiters at Viva Loco in Bellmore before opening the first Patrizia’s Italian restaurant in the Bronx in 1991.
Patrizia’s offers a full menu of Italian-American classics and pizza, but the best deal with the most food is the family-style dinner — an option ordered by about three quarters of diners. For $50 a head, you can stuff yourself silly with antipasti, pastas, chops, steaks and dessert, and drink unlimited beer, wine, sangria or soda. (For a $5 upcharge, you get wood-roasted lobster with mussels and clams.)
The Hicksville dining room is one of Long Island’s loudest. Periodically, waiters approach a table with a candlelit dessert, and everyone in the dining room starts twirling their napkins over their heads and singing a birthday song as if possessed. As the night progresses, conversation becomes impossible. The birthday songs come faster and, on weekends, the whole room may start singing along to “Sweet Caroline” or “Greased Lightning.”
The new location will take over the space that was formerly Tra’mici Ristorante Italiano, which opened in September 2016 and closed seven months later. Tra’mici succeeded Cavendish & Ross (March 2015 to August 2016) and, before that, Varsity Grill.
Patrizia’s will be at 4915 Merrick Rd., Massapequa Park, patrizias.com.
