L&B Spumoni Gardens

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L&B Spumoni Gardens
L&B Spumoni Gardens pizza (41436).jpg
Two slices of Sicilian pizza at L&B Spumoni Gardens
L&B Spumoni Gardens
Restaurant information
Established1939 (1939)
Food type Italian-American
Street address2725 86th Street
CityBrooklyn
CountyKings
StateNew York
Postal/ZIP Code11223
CountryUSA
ReservationsYes
Website spumonigardens.com

L&B Spumoni Gardens is an Italian-American pizzeria-restaurant in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. [1] [2] [3] [4] Originally conceived as an ice and spumoni stand prior to World War II, it grew during the mid-1950s into a full-scale pizzeria that's known today primarily for its Sicilian pizza and ices. [5] The restaurant has been featured on the show Man v. Food. NY Eater critic Robert Sietsema considers L&B Spumoni Gardens a must-try Italian American restaurant in Brooklyn. [6] They were featured on Andrew Zimmern’s show The Zimmern List. [7]

Contents

History

Founder Ludovico Barbati came to the United States in 1917 from Torella dei Lombardi, Italy. [8] In 1938, Barbati sold Spumoni and Italian Ice from a horse and wagon. [8] In 1939, he purchased a vacant property on 86th Street to make the spumoni and ice. [8] By the mid 1950s, the location came to be L&B Spumoni Gardens, with the spumoni factory, a pizzeria and a luncheonette all on site. [8]

In 2016, one of the co-owners, Louis Barbati, 61, was murdered outside his home in Dyker Heights. [9] In 2019, another co-owner, Patricia Barbati Coffey, 56, died after a seven-year battle with ALS. [10]

The restaurant opened a second location in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn in December 2024. [11]

See also

References

  1. "L&B Spumoni Gardens". NYC Go. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  2. Sifton, Sam (December 2, 2010). "Looking for Old Brooklyn? Nosh This Way". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  3. Sietsema, Robert (October 28, 2013). "Staten Island Pizzas That Stood the Test of Time". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  4. Durante, Eugene (April 3, 2012). "Rating New York's 'Upper Crusts'". High Brow Magazine. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  5. Bredderman, Will (September 26, 2012). "It's hip to be square! Bensonhurst legend coming to Barclays". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  6. Sietsema, Robert (December 1, 2014). "10 Old-Fashioned Italian-American Restaurants to Try in Brooklyn". Eater NY. Retrieved March 7, 2015. five must-try Italian American restaurants in Brooklyn
  7. Dellso, Meredith (April 19, 2018). "NYC restaurants get spotlight on episode of Andrew Zimmern's 'The Zimmern List'". AM New York. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Our Story". L&B Spumoni Gardens. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  9. Burke, Kerry; Annese, John; Slattery, Denis (July 1, 2016). "Co-owner of famed L&B Spumoni Gardens pizzeria that nearly stirred mob war shot dead in backyard of his Brooklyn home". Daily News. New York. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  10. Brown, Stephen Rex (February 18, 2019). "Co-owner of famed Brooklyn pizzeria L&B Spumoni Gardens dead at 56". Daily News. New York. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  11. Frost, Mary (December 13, 2024). "Long-awaited L&B Spumoni Gardens opens in DUMBO". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved May 31, 2025.

40°35′41″N73°58′52.5″W / 40.59472°N 73.981250°W / 40.59472; -73.981250