Old Italian Ambiance With a Modern Twist

"Oh my gosh, we're definitely getting one of those little pizzas!" I squealed, as Melissa and I walked into Patricia's Brick Oven Pizza and Pasta on East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx for dinner. This is not just any Italian restaurant, it is one of the best.

The atmosphere has an old Italian-style flare about it and upon arrival the wonderful scent of pasta and baking bread instantly has your mouth salivating. After being seated at a small table furnished with a few small candles in the center, we immediately ordered a glass of wine. Seconds later, to our surprise, the waiter arrived with one of those small personal pizzas and put it in the center of our table. "We didn't order this..." we said to each other, but we weren't complaining. Soon we realized that Patricia's does not only start their customers off with a generous sized bread basket, they also give each table a small, six-slice Margarita pizza to share! The crust is so thin and crunchy that you almost wish you can eat the whole thing to yourself, and I must admit that I had to hold myself back to leave room for my main course.

After devouring my lasagna in record speed, which was cooked to perfection, Melissa and I discussed if we should see a dessert menu. We said, "we'll just see what they have..." Well, what a mistake that was! The dessert menu consists of a variety of Italian pastries and cakes that will have you thinking you've died and gone to heaven. From tiramisu to homemade gelato, we wanted it all.


After having a heated debate over whether we would order Nutella filled pastries or zeppoles, we decided to call Tony the waiter over and ask him what his opinion was. That's the deciding factor, we thought. After explaining our dilemma, the waiter told us "don't worry girls, I'll make a special platter for you... it's on the house." Out came a beautiful platter consisting of light, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth pastries stuffed with delicious Nutella spread and fresh zeppoles straight from the deep fryer covered in powdered sugar and dollops of whipped cream. Need I say more? It was pure amazingness!!

I strongly recommend Patricia's to all lovers of traditional Italian cooking. The atmosphere, the food and the service are simply unbeatable. The staff is so attentive and warm that you almost get the feeling that you are sitting at nonna's dinner table being told "mangia, mangia!" and you keep eating because, well, you just can't get enough.