Arthur Avenue: Where to Eat in the Bronx's Little Italy
Fresh mozzarella, house-cured soppressata, lard bread and century-old dining rooms — plus the Albanian and Ivorian kitchens on Belmont's side streets. Where to eat on and around Arthur Avenue.
10 restaurants
Arthur Avenue and East 187th Street are the center of Belmont, the Bronx's Little Italy, and the food here is old in the best sense. Madonia Brothers has been baking since 1918, the Migliucci family opened Mario's in 1919, and the Arthur Avenue Retail Market has been indoors since 1940, when Fiorello La Guardia built it to get the pushcarts off the street.
The way to eat here is to graze. Stand at a deli counter for mozzarella still warm from the stretching, buy dry sausage by the stick, carry a hero to Ciccarone Park, and save the sit-down meal for the evening, in a white-tablecloth room or a ten-table trattoria on 187th Street.
And look past the red sauce. Belmont's side streets have been Albanian for two generations, and one of the neighborhood's best rooms cooks the food of Kosovo on Hughes Avenue. On Arthur Avenue itself, an Ivorian maquis serves fried croaker with attiéké.
Sit-down Italian
From the formal dinner to the trattoria with ten tables.
- 01
Stuffed artichoke, then spiedini alla romana
Mario's · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
Five generations on from 1919, Mario's is still the avenue's slower, dressier dinner, with family photographs on the walls. Begin with the stuffed artichoke and take the career waiters' advice on the rest; the thin-crust pizza, once off-menu, is now on it.
- 02
La Riccardo pizza and a baked pasta
Zero Otto Nove · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
Since 2007 Roberto Paciullo's Salerno trattoria has been the approachable middle of Arthur Avenue dining, priced for a weeknight. Share the butternut-squash La Riccardo from the wood oven, add a baked pasta, and make it lunch after the Retail Market.
- 03
Swordfish special and a pasta for each person
Tra Di Noi · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
Ten-odd tables with red-checkered cloths, a few doors off the avenue, and one of five Bronx restaurants in the MICHELIN Guide's 2026 selection. Ask what fish came in, and order one pasta per person to share around the table.
Delis, pork stores & heroes
Mozzarella pulled by hand, salumi cured on site, and sandwiches with names.
- 04
Eggplant parmigiana hero
Mike's Deli · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
Mike's has anchored the Retail Market since 1951, and its eggplant parm hero once beat Bobby Flay in a televised throwdown. Split one at the market tables with a glass of wine, and buy fresh mozzarella to carry home.
- 05
The Numero Uno hero
Casa Della Mozzarella · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
The Carciotto family has pulled mozzarella in this window since 1993, and its Numero Uno hero made The New York Times' list of sandwiches that define New York. Eat a piece of warm, unrefrigerated mozzarella on the sidewalk and take the hero to Ciccarone Park.
- 06
The Strongest
Joe's Italian Deli · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
The Ruscigno family has run this East 187th Street deli since the end of the 1970s, and you will probably be handed a taste of fresh mozzarella before you order. The Strongest piles breaded chicken, fried eggplant, prosciutto, mozzarella and roasted peppers into one hero — split it.
- 07
Hot soppressata hero with provolone
Calabria Pork Store · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
Hundreds of house-cured sausages hang from the ceiling of the avenue's last old-style salumeria. Have a hot soppressata hero for lunch, then buy a stick of the garlic-and-wine sausage for the trip home.
Bakeries & pastry
Four generations of bread and cannoli.
- 08
Lard bread and olive loaf
Madonia Brothers Bakery · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
The oldest bakery in the Bronx's Little Italy, opened by Mario Madonia in 1918 and run today by his great-grandson. The lard bread and olive loaf are what people carry out under their arms; come early on Saturdays, when the line reaches the door.
- 09
Cannoli filled to order
Madonia Brothers Bakery · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
The shells are filled when you order, so they stay crisp. Pick a few biscotti off the wall while you wait, or keep it simple with a buttered roll and coffee.
Beyond Italian
Belmont's Albanian side streets, and West Africa on the avenue.
- 10
Brumat sampler and the bread basket
Çka Ka Qëllu · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
Two blocks off Arthur Avenue on Hughes Avenue, a room built like a Kosovar mountain house, on The New York Times' annual list and in the MICHELIN Guide. The bread alone is worth the trip; first-timers should get the brumat sampler and an extra basket.
- 11
Flija
Çka Ka Qëllu · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
A slow-baked, layered crêpe cake cooked under a lid, from Kosovo's village weddings. Order it with burek, sarma cabbage rolls or grilled meats, then walk back to the avenue for dessert.
- 12
Whole fried croaker with attiéké, or garba
YopCity · ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX
An Ivorian maquis named for Yopougon in Abidjan, with soccer on the TVs. The owner began by selling garba out of a nearby basement — ask if it's on — and the spice-crusted croaker is the plate to share, with grilled guinea fowl or dibi alongside.
Every kitchen here was confirmed open as of 2026-10-19. Menus change — confirm a dish is on before you make the trip.
Good to know
Tasting menus in New York, answered
Is Casa Della Mozzarella a restaurant?
No. It is a small deli and latteria on 187th Street, so order mozzarella or a hero to take away; Ciccarone Park is a block away. Source
Where can I eat Albanian food near Arthur Avenue?
Çka Ka Qëllu, on Hughes Avenue two blocks from Arthur Avenue, cooks the food of Albania and Kosovo and is listed by the MICHELIN Guide. Source
Can I order holiday bread or trays from Madonia Brothers?
Yes. Holiday orders and catering trays can be arranged through the bakery's own website. Source
For your next table
Get the Lovely Letter
A free weekly letter: new restaurants and bars, the week's concerts and events, and one lovely day in New York.