Lenny's Clam Bar
Seafood restaurant · Howard Beach ·
Seafood, raw bar, BBQ, Italian standards, celebrity photos
Seafood, raw bar, BBQ, Italian standards, celebrity photos
"You’ve heard ofRandazzo’s, but have you heard of Lenny’s? At Randazzo’s, you can stare at Sheepshead Bay while you eat your galamah, but at Lenny’s Clam Bar in Howard Beach, you can still ask for Joe. The longstanding tradition, which—spoiler alert—guarantees you a free glass of wine whenever you ask, dates back to the early days of this Italian restaurant. Fifty years later, the offer still stands, and the old-school institution remains a destination for seafood feasts big and small." - Willa Moore
"This ancient clam bar on the way to the Rockaways is lined with signed pictures of Italian celebrities and provides a modicum of comfort where clam bars are concerned. The menu is vast, with clams and oysters a major focus, and skewed toward Italian and specifically Sicilian Italian maritime culinary specialties. Don’t miss the lobster bisque, so thick you can almost stand a spoon up in it." - Robert Sietsema
"On the lip of Shellbank Basin, along which cars whiz on the way to the Rockaways, this Howard Beach restaurant was founded in 1974. It’s a massive complex that concentrates on Italian seafood, but then goes on to make every other red-sauced recipe you can think of. The signed celebrity photos on the walls — including Frank Sinatra and Andre the Giant — are worth a visit, but then there’s also the lobster bisque, several kinds of baked clams, and shrimp scampi. The fried calamari is some of the best in town." - Nadia Chaudhury
"If I'm heading down Cross Bay Boulevard toward the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge or Rockaway Beach, I stop at Lenny's Clam Bar for a bowl of its famous lobster bisque or a plate of locally sourced clams casino dotted with bacon, red bell peppers, and Parmesan. Founded in 1974 on Shellbank Basin by immigrants from Apulia, it remains one of the city's few clam bars, offering every bivalve variation imaginable as well as raw oysters, pastas, and seafood stews; the towering space is lined with signed photos of celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Alec Baldwin, and Andre the Giant." - Eater Staff
"The lobster bisque ($13) shines like gold in its broad bowl at Cross Bay favorite, Lenny’s Clam Bar. Lift up a spoonful and you’ll see that its coarse texture is due to plenty of smooshed lobster meat. The lovely color is owing to the lobster-shell broth, and the dots are the black pepper that gives makes the soup dance on your tongue." - Eater Staff
