ASTORIA, QUEENS
Koliba
A timber shepherd's hut in north Astoria — garlic soup, roast duck and Slovak dumplings.
A koliba is a shepherd's hut in the Slovak mountains, and the room on 23rd Avenue dresses the part — rough timber, lodge lamps, a feeling of being somewhere colder and higher than Queens. It is one of the very few places in the city cooking the food of Slovakia and its Czech neighbor, and it has held on in north Astoria for years.
Start with the garlic soup, cesnaková, poured over croutons — a Slovak cure for nearly everything. Then roast duck with dumplings and cabbage, schnitzel, or pierogi; if bryndzové halušky, the sheep-cheese potato dumplings that are Slovakia's national dish, are on the menu, order them. Drink a Central European lager and take your time.
Editor’s tip
Begin with the garlic soup, and ask whether halušky are on that night.
Make an evening of it — beautiful stops nearby
Also in the neighborhood
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Taverna Kyclades
Astoria's definitive Greek seafood house — whole fish, famous octopus, and a line that's part of the ritual.
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Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden
The last of New York's original beer gardens — Czech lagers under the trees since 1910.
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Editorial draft — core details last reviewed October 13, 2026. Confirm practical details with the official site before you go.