Gaudio's Pizzeria & Restaurant

The Gaudio family proudly announces its 50th year in the restaurant business, serving the Astoria community. Gaudio's began as an Italian immigrant's dream, opened in 1958 by Luigi Gaudio, and now son Domenico, known to all as "Nicky", is at the helm, serving up some of the best pizza around, as well as delicious southern Italian dishes made from family recipes. It's not just the food that brings crowds here, but the wry and lovable personality of Marie, the sole waitress that caters to you with a funny story and her own brand of wit.

Gaudio's got its name from making the best pizza in town, so stop in from 11am to 10pm for their delicious, crispy pizza with all your favorite toppings. "Grandma's pizza" is one of the house specialties, covered with sliced fresh mozzarella and a smattering of fresh tomatoes on a thin, crispy, square crust. Enjoy a slice of grandma's on the go, or order one or more pies to be delivered to your home or office. Neapolitan pies can be topped with olives, peppers, sausage, mushrooms or pepperoni and Sicilian square pies are perfect to cut up for your next pizza party at home. For lunch, calzones stuffed with creamy ricotta, sausage rolls and hot heros just fly out the door. Order your next hero filled with juicy sausage and peppers, meatball parmigiana, eggplant parmigiana and chicken cutlets. Peppers and eggs, shrimp parmigiana and steak and onions on crusty Italian bread will fill you up for lunch or dinner.

Whether you eat in at one of the bistro tables, or have your meal delivered, get your next dinner from Gaudio's where you can dine on honest Italian cuisine at very reasonable prices. Order a couple of appetizers to whet your appetite, such as a half dozen golden baked clams or clams casino topped with crispy bacon ($8.95), and soak up the garlicky juices with warm, crunchy bread. Mussels are also prepared in a delicious sauce meant to be soaked up with warm bread. Crispy, golden calamari rings with marinara sauce or stuffed mushrooms are also popular appetizers. Gaudio's special salad could be a meal in itself, so you might want to share all the crunchy lettuce, tomato and cucumber tossed with fresh cuts of prosciutto, salami, roasted red peppers, green olives and provolone ($11.95 for two). A glass or two of the house red wine was the perfect accompaniment.

Gaudio's hot entrées are available for lunch or dinner, to eat in or they will deliver to your home or office. You'll be hard pressed to decide among their numerous pasta dishes such as linguini with broccoli, garlic and oil, spaghetti carbonara with a touch of bacon and onion, and spaghetti with meatballs, sausage or clam sauce. For about $8.95 to $10.95 the pasta dishes at Gaudio's won't break your bank and allows for entire families to dine out together. Baked pasta dishes such as manicotti, ziti and lasagna will save you hours of cooking time and taste as good as grandma's.

Gaudio's features lots of meat, chicken and seafood dishes and is proud to get their provisions from local suppliers to insure the highest quality ingredients at their peak of freshness. One of my favorite dishes at Gaudio's is the chicken Francese. These chicken cutlets were so tender, you won't need your knife and the lemony sauce is just right. Veal scaloppine, Marsala or piccata style, with lemon and capers, are also tender and prepared right on the spot for maximum flavor and tenderness. Eggplant parmigiana and chicken parmigiana are the classics, rendered perfectly here. Classic steak pizzaiola with mushrooms, shell steak or broiled boneless club steak satisfies the meat eater, and there are juicy burgers too.

Fresh shrimp can be ordered in a spicy tomato sauce, or Francese style, oreganata, or scampi style in butter and lemon sauce, all at reasonable prices. All meat, chicken and seafood entrées are served with a choice side order of pasta, salad or French fries. By the way, the fries are fresh, hand-cut potatoes, not the frozen kind.

In addition, Gaudio's Pizzeria and Restaurant has a full catering menu with full and half trays of all their specialties to make your next affair a success, without any of the fuss. Order party sized appetizer trays, pasta or any of their hot entrées and salad and leave the rest to the staff at Gaudio's. Keep it in mind while you're planning your holiday party at home or work. Everything will be delivered hot and fresh.

Visit Gaudio's Pizzeria and Restaurant, located on 30th Avenue, just off the corner of Steinway Street. Gaudio's is open for lunch, dinner and snacks seven days a week, from 11am to 10pm. If you can't stop in, then call in your order for fast, free delivery in the area. The Gazette proudly congratulates Gaudio's on their 50th year in business!