Borrelli’s Restaurant: Iconic East Meadow Italian Eatery Steeped in 70 Years of Tradition
Borrelli’s Restaurant has been an iconic staple on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow, New York, for 70 years and counting, known far and wide for their excellent authentic Italian cuisine especially their succulent pizza, which has even been given the thumbs-up by famed pizza connoisseur Dave Portnoy himself.
According to owner Frank Borrelli Jr., the family-owned and operated eatery was started by his father Frank Sr. – a U.S. Army veteran – and his two brothers, Al and Phil, in 1955.
“At the time, my father and uncles were working at a restaurant in Manhattan called Luigi’s, and they learned a lot from working there, and eventually my Uncle Al wanted to open up his own place,” he said, and from there Borrelli’s was born.
The restaurant seats up to 200 people, and they also have a back party room where they hold communions and christenings, birthdays, bereavements, and more; the room can hold up to 100 people, and it’s the perfect location for any type of party or event.
Borrelli’s also offers extensive off-premises catering as well, delivering trays of expertly-prepared and mouth-watering food right to your doorstep for engagements of any kind.
One could almost literally say that Frank has the restaurant industry in his blood. He began his employment at Borrelli’s at the tender young age of 10, working his way up the ranks until the day where he eventually took it over from his father, celebrating numerous milestones along the way…including even meeting his future wife, Beth, on the job.
“I was probably working here full-time by 13 or 14, my sister Angela works here, and I even met my wife here when we were both 19 years old,” he said. “She was working here at the time, and I ended up married to the ‘hot waitress.’ We’ve been married 44 years now, and we have three children together, and grandchildren.”
Frank took over running the restaurant about 20 years ago, and the idea of his maintaining the traditions of his father and uncles was never in question; succeeding his father was simply a foregone conclusion, he said.
“Even when I was a kid, I knew I loved the business, and I still do,” he said. “I love cooking, I love the dining experience and being with the guests. Making the pizzas, going in the kitchen and preparing, working alongside our 25 to 30 staff members, loyal employees who have been here a long time. It’s just something that I love to do today just as much as I did when I was 13 or 14.”
And possibly the best-ever example of a loyal, long-term employee is the establishment’s pizza-maker Laredo, who originally started working at the restaurant in 1968; now 84 years old, he’s still slinging pies at Borrelli’s 4 days a week.
“Laredo originally immigrated here with just a suitcase, and he needed a job,” Frank said. “My father taught him how to make pizzas, and here we are 50 years later and he’s still here.”
Borrelli’s is a traditional Italian-style restaurant; they don’t serve individual pizza slices, but you can indeed order whole pies that are renowned across Long Island. They’re also famous for their baked clams, fried calamari, homemade lasagna, classic chicken and veal parmesan, and much, much more.
“Come to Borrelli’s and get one of our large 14-inch pies, they’re the best,” Frank said.
But don’t take Frank’s word for it- noted pizza aficionado and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy visited the establishment several years ago as part of his popular “One Bite Pizza Reviews” YouTube series. Everyone knows the rules: Dave enters pizza parlors across the nation and emerges with a whole pie, from which he takes a slice and chows down on it on-camera right in front of the restaurant, and immediately gives his honest viewpoint on its quality.
Complicating Borrelli’s review slightly was the fact that Frank’s son, Frankie, is Portnoy’s chief videographer at Barstool Sports, and is the man behind the camera filming his boss as he conducts his pizza reviews.
Promising to be fair and impartial despite his relationship with the owner’s son and the fact that Frank himself made the pie he was about to eat, Portnoy – who is known for upholding ultra-strict standards regarding what he considers to be good pizza – nonetheless, awarded Borrelli’s a score of 7.9 out of 10. For someone who is not easily impressed, and who very rarely awards any pizza above a 9.0, this amounts to a glowing review on Portnoy’s part.
“There was a little bit of controversy regarding that review,” Frank said. “I know how Dave likes his pizza…thin, crispy, good undercarriage. Normally Laredo makes our pies, but I made it for Dave on that occasion and when he found out about it, he immediately started teasing my son Frankie, saying that I kicked out Laredo and took his spot. It was pretty funny.”
But Borrelli’s isn’t just about their fine cuisine and their Dave Portnoy-approved pizza; they also have a full bar that seats up 30 people, they regularly have entertainment for their guests on Fridays and Saturdays, and they also have an outdoor patio that they originally added during COVID-19.
As many restaurants, Borrelli’s encountered hard times during the pandemic, but Frank noted that the business was helped a great deal by The Barstool Fund, a relief effort for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 started by Dave Portnoy himself, who personally donated $500,000 of his own money to it.
Having been in the Italian restaurant biz basically his entire life, Frank said that he looks back at an impressive career with a sense of pride and accomplishment, and now he looks forward to the future and continuing to serve his valued customers for years to come.
To find out more about Borrelli’s Restaurant, please visit https://www.borrellisrestaurant.com or call 516-794-0190.
