Tony’s Billiard Cafe

The Best Dominican Fare Is Served May Be Served in a Bronx Pool Hall | Eater NY

"On a cold Saturday afternoon in the Bronx I sat at the black granite lunch counter in Tony’s Billiard Cafe, a tiny basement space that feels like a communal living room: families sipping multicolored Country Club sodas, preteen boys racking pool balls at three bar-sized tables, a child running to a TV showing cartoons in Spanish, men playing dominoes, and neighbors lingering over the main attraction — chef Anita Belen Romero’s daily specials. The food is delicious: stewed beef, goat, and chicken are tender and aromatic, bathed in tangy sofrito, and fried pork belly chunks taste great over white rice soaked in red bean liquor; regulars say people who eat here once become customers for life. The name Tony’s stuck (it used to be called Nano) even though Romero and customers don’t know who Tony was; Romero moved from Santo Domingo 16 years ago at 47, had an award-winning pastry shop there, and now cooks using techniques she learned as a child after her grandmother fell ill rather than relying on her formal classes. The convivial atmosphere keeps people lingering well after lunch—"Anyone who comes here eats, with or without money"—and Romero mentors teenage regulars while fighting a second bout of cancer, insisting, "Yo pa’lante." Even without a renewed liquor license since COVID, the night crowd keeps the place lively (games and pool rolling on until 4 a.m.), with Marisol taking over the evening shift and the same warm, bar-like energy despite the absence of alcohol." - Mike Diago