Howard Beach Italian Restaurants: A Cross Bay Blvd Guide

The Howard Beach Italian restaurants compared here all sit on Cross Bay Boulevard in Queens: Lenny’s Clam Bar, open since 1974 and listing 11:00 AM to midnight daily; Vetro Restaurant & Lounge, with a marina out back and closed on Mondays; Matteo’s of Howard Beach; Bruno Ristorante; Gino’s Pizzeria and Restaurant; and Divino Pizzeria. Of the five that list chicken parmigiana, Gino’s has the lowest entrée price at $24, and three of the six publish a party-room or group size. Hours, prices and policies below come from each restaurant’s own website, checked in October 2026.

What are the best Italian restaurants in Howard Beach?

The six run from a seafood clam bar to a pizzeria with a party room. They are listed in street-number order, and several of the sites spell the street “Crossbay”.

How these six were chosen: they are editorial picks against published information, not a taste test. Each has a working official site, a posted address and either hours or a menu with prices, the kind of filters covered in six quick checks New Yorkers use to choose a restaurant. Howard Beach restaurants on other streets, or without a readable site in October 2026, are not included.

Is Howard Beach still Italian?

As a dining question, yes, and the restaurants’ own pages lean on it. Lenny’s traces its opening to January 11, 1974 and describes a second generation of family hospitality. Russo’s On The Bay, the event venue at 162-45 Cross Bay Boulevard, says Frank Russo Jr. opened it in 1987 and that “the family still runs it every night.” Gino’s cites “over 3 decades” in the community, Matteo’s bills itself as Family Style Italian, and Bruno describes “an authentic Italian menu that is straight out of southern Italy.” This guide speaks only to dining and makes no claim about who lives in the neighborhood.

Which Howard Beach Italian restaurants are on the water?

Of the six, only Vetro describes itself that way on the pages read for this guide. Its homepage describes “Italian dining on Jamaica Bay,” and its location page says there is a marina out back where boats can tie up and walk in “for a drink or a bite.” Sunday prix-fixe brunch, 11:30am to 2:30pm, is $38 per person with one Bloody Mary or mimosa, tax and gratuity extra, and moves out to the Waterfront Veranda “once it warms up.” Its menu page gives no veranda date, so call 718-843-8387 before counting on outdoor seating this late in the year.

As of October 2026, dinner is 5pm to 10pm Tuesday through Thursday and 5pm to 11pm on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday dinner from 3:30pm to 9pm. Tuesday through Thursday, the homepage also lists a 34 oz Pat LaFrieda porterhouse for two at $120, dine-in only.

Which Howard Beach Italian restaurants are open on Mondays?

Four of the six list Monday hours, Vetro is closed, and Divino’s homepage shows only a single day.

• Lenny’s Clam Bar: 11:00 AM to midnight, every day.
• Gino’s: 10:30 AM to midnight, Sunday through Thursday.
• Matteo’s: noon to 10pm, Monday through Thursday.
• Bruno: noon to 10:00pm, Sunday through Thursday.
• Divino: the homepage shows only an “Open today” line, 11:00 am to 10:00 pm, and no weekly schedule; call 718-738-2005 to confirm Monday hours.

For a late Monday table, Lenny’s and Gino’s both list a midnight close. Weekends reshuffle the list: Matteo’s opens at 5pm on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday, while Gino’s runs to 1:00 AM on Friday and Saturday. Matteo’s site also leads with pasta, calling it homemade and “made daily in-house”; what that claim does and does not tell a diner is covered in homemade pasta in NYC and what “fresh” really means.

Which Howard Beach Italian restaurants take large groups?

Three of the six publish a size in text, and Matteo’s publishes event prices without one.

Lenny’s Clam Bar names three party rooms: the Carina Room for up to 40 people, the Jillian Room for up to 60 and the Juliet Room for up to 65. Party Menu 1 is $39.95 per person, Party Menus 2 and 3 are $49.95, and a buffet runs from $38.95 to $46.95, all subject to an administrative fee and New York State sales tax. Packages include an occasion cake, unlimited soda, coffee, linens and napkins, and valet parking. As arithmetic rather than a quote, filling the Carina Room on Party Menu 1 comes to 1,598 dollars (40 guests at $39.95) and the Juliet Room on Party Menu 2 to 3,246.75 dollars (65 guests at $49.95), before the fee and tax; Lenny’s does not say which menus go with which rooms or whether the counts are seated.

Vetro seats group dinners of twelve to fifty in a semi-private part of its dining room, for up to three hours, and asks groups to reserve at least a week out. Past fifty, its private rooms take sixty to a hundred and fifty guests; no room prices are posted on the pages read, and Vetro asks for a date and headcount before replying with what it costs. For lists past 150 it points to its sister venue, Russo’s On The Bay, whose seated capacities run from 65 in the Rose Lounge to 575 in the Encore.

Divino says its party room “can hold up to 50” and books with any of its party packages, which the page shows as images rather than text, so no package prices are quoted here; call 718-738-2005 for current packages. Matteo’s posts event packages from $65 per person (Silver) to $95 (Platinum), plus tax and gratuity, with no room capacity. Bruno and Gino’s post catering menus but no room capacity on the pages read for this guide.

What does an Italian dinner cost in Howard Beach?

Chicken parmigiana and clam-sauce pasta appear on enough of these menus to compare. As of October 2026, the chicken parmigiana entrée costs:

• Gino’s: $24.00, with a choice of pasta, salad or vegetables.
• Divino: printed as 26.95, with no dollar sign on the menu, so confirm the price; served with a salad or pasta in tomato sauce.
• Lenny’s: $29.95, with vegetables and potatoes.
• Bruno: $31.
• Matteo’s: printed as 25/35, shared with its Marsala, Francese and Milanese; the menu does not say what the two figures mean.

Vetro does not list the dish. Pasta with clam sauce, red or white, is:

• Gino’s: $22.00.
• Divino: printed as 22.95, with no dollar sign on the menu, so confirm the price.
• Lenny’s: $26.95.
• Bruno: $29.
• Matteo’s: 28/38.
• Vetro: $16 for Linguine & Clams, on a pasta list headed “Appetizer portion.”

Among the heroes, chicken parmigiana is $15.00 at Lenny’s and $16.00 at Gino’s, while Divino’s is printed as 16.95, with no dollar sign on the menu, so confirm the price. Gino’s adds that “Prices on our website may not reflect our most current prices,” and its pages carry a 2021 copyright line, so treat every figure as an October 2026 reading and confirm by phone.

Which restaurant fits which night?

A Monday or midnight table points to Lenny’s or Gino’s. Water and a Sunday brunch point to Vetro. A party of 40 to 65 with room sizes and prices both posted points to Lenny’s, and the lowest posted pasta and chicken parmigiana prices to Gino’s. For a similar outer-borough strip sorted by opening days and prices, see Arthur Avenue restaurants in the Bronx.

Frequently asked questions

Is Howard Beach in Queens, and how do you get there without a car?

Yes, Howard Beach is in Queens: Russo’s On The Bay lists its address as 162-45 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, Queens. Vetro’s own directions say to take the A train to Rockaway Boulevard, transfer to the Q41, Q52-SBS or Q53-SBS heading south on Cross Bay Boulevard, get off at Cross Bay Blvd/163 Ave and walk two blocks south toward 165th Avenue. The other restaurants in this guide do not publish transit directions.

Is there parking at the Howard Beach Italian restaurants on Cross Bay Boulevard?

Some do. Vetro offers complimentary valet at the door, and Matteo’s lists free valet parking every day at dinner time, plus a lot next to Capital One Bank during lunch hours. Lenny’s includes valet parking in its party packages. Gino’s, Bruno and Divino do not publish parking details on the pages read for this guide.

Which Howard Beach Italian restaurant is the cheapest?

Among the restaurants in this guide that list those dishes, Gino’s Pizzeria and Restaurant posts the lowest pasta and chicken parmigiana entrée prices, starting at $15.00 for pasta with tomato sauce and $24.00 for the entrée. Its site warns that prices may not reflect its most current ones, and its pages carry a 2021 copyright line, so confirm by phone.

Do Howard Beach Italian restaurants take reservations?

At least two do, according to their own sites. Vetro says a reservation is “a good idea on weekends” and also seats walk-ins “whenever there’s room,” with the bar and Blue Lounge the easiest spots. Lenny’s says it recommends making a reservation ahead of time. Vetro asks groups of twelve to fifty to book at least a week out.