Gargiulo’s One Of NY’s Oldest Restaurants Changes Tradition

As a kid growing up in Southern Brooklyn birthday dinners were often held at Carolina’s Restaurant on Mermaid ave., weddings were attended at Gargiulo’s. Before the current location appeared in the 1920’s, Gargiulo’s restaurant was a small and humble looking store front on Mermaid ave., they would have their produce delivered from the farms located at the other side of Brooklyn.

Of course, many of us Brooklyn Boys worked at a legendary roast beef restaurant which opened in 1938 called Brennan and Carr. On Sunday nights the Gargiulo’s crew would stop by the B&C to order a speakeasy concoction made of hamburger blanketed with slabs of roast beef drowning in beef broth.  It became known as the Gargiulo Burger. Back then it wasn’t on the menu. You had to be in the know. Today, the Gargiulo Burger has hit the mainstream.

Last summer AMNY  named Gargiulo’s of Coney Island one of NYC’s oldest restaurants. Nathan’s Famous also made the list. According to their site:

“Gargiulo’s Restaurant is a Coney Island fine dining establishment that serves Italian food on white tablecloths and has hosted countless parties, weddings and celebrations in its Grand Ballroom. Anthony Russo and his brothers took over the restaurant in 1965 and recently took a step into modern times by introducting iPad’s to the wait staff.

Fun Fact: The restaurant has, until just recently, enforced a strict dress code: proper attire, no shorts and no tank tops. Changing demographics and Superstorm Sandy’s devastation forced the owners to reconsider.
2911 W. 15th St., Coney Island, gargiulos.com”