The Old Time Vincent’s

Good fresh seafood. Friendly service. No problems like other reviewers.
Top neck Clams were fresh.
Chowders tasted fresh and homemade.
Conch was good and sauces were very good.
Shrimp Vincenzo was good too, nothing too special.
Good experience overall.

To Joan S.
Hi Joan I was there on the day I wrote the review and yes your cooks wear gloves and some had hair nets but not the waitress and your open atmosphere kitchen area had your servers coming and going next to where your sauce and plating areas are but that’s besides the point I’m not trying to slander your restaurant or your reputation but I’m not a dumb gypsy as with all people there are good and bad I don’t appreciate being served with an attitude or being ignored unlike others I leave tip and have been coming there for years I love the food so much that I put the way gypsies are treated under my foot cause of the respect I have for your husband but this time I’m taking a stand I’m so sorry but three dishes with hair and $ 300 bill with horrible service it’s OK I no longer want to eat at your restaurant god bless I hope Jimmy is well all the best for you and your family

Went today and ordered a Quart of the New England Clam Chowder to go. I arrived at 11:30 AM. The bread is still outstanding. Soft insides with a great crust. I know they don’t make it in house so it’s kind of irrelevant.
It was clear to me when the guy started chopping potatoes that they didn’t have any Chowders ready. I thoyght when you open a restaurant, you have everything prepped to serve for the day. The kitchen staff were wearing hair nets so that’s a plus. I got home with my soup and served it. My soup had NO CLAMS. It was ALL POTATOES and shredded bits of clam. Flavor was not on point either. I almost cried. Their Clam Chowder is my go to staple for a stuffy nose. I was greatly disappointed. I will return because I PRAY this was a a fluke.

Worst food, ordered take out, burnt pizza with spicy sausage and CHEAP cheese, fried breaded chicken in the fettuccine alfredo. Will never order again.

Stopped in on my way to Resorts World after a day at the beach and was craving their Linguine with white clam sauce. Julie my server was on point with her timely service and friendly demeanor. I have to say hands down their recipe is one of the most tantalizingly tasteful sauces around and I’ve been to several places throughout NYC.

Lasagna with medium hot sauce and aged sausage on the side excellent, always had a good time at this restaurant. Julie the waitress was very attentive and would recommend a visit.

Got takeout yesterday and the food was delicious. Best lasagna I ever had. A little on the pricey side but I will be coming back for sure. They have a patio to sit down to eat with a beautiful view. Friendly staff also, good customer service.

I honestly hate having to say this, especially after coming here for years with my dad. The service is slow and horrible now.
We ordered cold antipasto, bay clams, and mussels with linguine. The mussels with linguine was ordered with sweet sauce. We ended up getting mussels with clams and shrimp with linguine, with hot sauce.
We tried countless times to get the woman who was serving us with no success. She did not even return to the table to see if everything was alright or to tell us there was a delay with the food. She just walked by to the other tables. The couple next to us who were seated at the same time got their food first. We waited for 15 – 25 minutes to be served cold antipasto.
The food is usually good when it comes out right.
This is however not worth the drive from Brooklyn. I would never comeback here even for a million dollars. Would be nice to get the old Vincent’s back.
I never give anybody one star. This is a first. I’m so disappointed.

My husband and I came here on Monday night for dinner, had scungilli with hot or sweet sauce. It was the best we have had. Had desert and cappuccino both great. Service was great. will be back

Typical red sauce and fried seafood place. Make sure you get the sauce spicy.

Very clean and delicious food. Good portion and great prices.
Place looks a little old from outside but inside is nice and casual. The pasta, the seafood and everything on the menu is good flavors.

Five words …“can’t wait to go back”! ’nuff said

I don’t know why this place has been getting lousy reviews lately, I thought they were pretty good. Maybe they bounced back from a dip or something. The clams, whether on the half-​shell or baked, were great — just as good as Lenny’s. I think their specialty is their red sauce, you can choose from a sweeter or spicy one, both were great. The service was great, and the managers or owners greeted everyone and said goodbye to everyone. I don’t know if there was an issue with this place before, but it seems to be good now.

THERE WAS A CIGARETTE BUTT IN MY PASTA!
Unilocal forced me to give at least one star
I expected good food when I phoned in an order for Baked Ziti with Meatballs from Old Time Vincents.
My co-​worker picked it up for me and we all sat down in our office to eat lunch. The meatballs tasted“smokey” but I thought it was their style of meatballs, to use liquid smoke or something.
I only ate a few bites of the meatballs, but my co-​workers finished them off. It was a few bites later that I felt a cigarette filter in my mouth and I realized that what I thought was a red pepper was in fact a burnt cigarette wrapper that had turned red from soaking up the sauce. I immediately gagged up what I had in my mouth and had to fight back the urge to throw up!
I drove to the restaurant and confronted the owner, Jimmy Vita, about this and he did not seem to be fazed at all. He stated that his workers do not smoke, but when he asked one kitchen worker if he smoked, the guy said «Not today». Mr Vita then told me that all of the «Zitis» are pre-​prepared and not made to order. He said he would look into this (which I don’t believe he will) and refunded me the money.
I leave it to you whether you want to eat here.

I rarely complain about a restaurant but this place was terrible… Wait staff dressed basically in pajamas while serving $ 20 lunch plates that weren’t that good to begin with. A cook in the back that was throwing things in an apparent tantrum. And a very small portion for the price.

Georgi only kept us company as we approached the ramp to the Cross Bay Bridge; we were on our own after that. Matt and Neil expressed neither disinterest or resistance to our intention of walking to Vincent’s Clam Bar via Crossbay Blvd, but later admitted to bottling up their intense mental agony and sore talus’ to save face during the hike.
The crowd outside Lenny’s Clam Bar was making a scene again, forcing us to weave our drooping bodies through the boisterous, spit-​flecked maze.
Clientele included the local elderly sporting trendy Paula Deen haircuts with husbands tucking guts beneath their Polos. It was clear that we were the youngest, sandiest patrons to arrive that evening.
I will assume that the Lenny and Vincent rivalry did not end when both establishments were razed during Hurricane S. (It’s in poor taste to mention the storm’s name aloud.) I will also assume that though both owners perished, Vincent’s heirs chose to move in the direction opposite tradition, remodeling the dining room with a modern sensibility, which I will always prefer to the corny, family-​style décor that Lenny’s heirs have sustained.
I ordered steamed mussels and the waitress advised against it. (I love it when this happens.) «they jus drop ‘em in boiling water hunny… get these, they’re much better, they come in a sauce,» she said, pointing at the menu to the zuppa di mussels in red sauce.
Jonas teased me about avoiding the soft and warm loaf of sliced italian bread. (I only ate two pieces this time and not because his teasing worked.)
When a man puts his family aside and his life at risk to harvest a creature for consumption no bet is necessary to prove that the creature’s overwhelming flavor value outweighs its debatably «scary» look. That being said Matt and Neil each ordered breaded slabs of land meat smothered in hot cheese and sauce. (If you enjoy breaded slabs of land meat smothered in hot cheese and sauce you can eat in the safety net of Vincent’s and leave without disappointment.)
The Lenny’s mussel sauce was a maroon blanket to Vincent’s scarlet quilt: rich in hues deviating from deep brown to cherry, chunks of diced tomato and sprigs of parsley giving my mouth a welcome texture when compared to Lenny’s homogenous glop. Mussels were about the same; tender and soft, no nuts, very slurpable. Also, no misleading lump of bread in the middle of these mussels; instead they are piled in the form of a crumbling pyramid. Two mussels were clamped shut suggesting rot, but i used my tiny fork to crack them wide, splattering Matt and myself in ruby pools of oil, which cued me into the likely consequences of soaking the second loaf of Italian bread in the sauce, but I think a six mile hike was enough for me to break even.

If I could give less than 1, I would.
With a staff who honestly doesn’t care about their patrons and mediocre to downright awful food partnered with an insanely expensive menu, avoid at all costs.
I have been to many fine dining establishments over the years and this was the only place I have EVER seen that charged my wife and I for refills on our drinks. In fact, the cost of our soda’s totaled to more than the cost of our individual meals.
I had the lasagna, and really enjoyed the crunchy parts of it while my wife had the lobster ravioli, which the lobster stuffing might as well have been a hockey puck. Chewy and tasted like it came straight from the freezer… not appetizing at all.
Seriously, avoid this place at all costs. The McDonalds across the street provides a better menu and probably a better dining experience. Absolutely awful.

Came here with my family on a Friday afternoon around 1. The place was empty. They’re known for their spicy sauce which we all thought was delicious. We got the shrimp cooked in the spicy sauce, chicken cutlet parm on a hero, pasta and sauce, jalapeño poppers, and mozzarella sticks. It was overall a good Italian meal, not bland (which is what I’m used to getting at local pizzarias).
We got a pitcher of red sangria to share — not much alcohol or fruits in it. Wasn’t really worth it. The service wasn’t too good. Considerating it was empty, they really should’ve been more attentive.
If I ever eat here again, it’ll be for take out because the food itself was good.

This place is absolutely horrible I ordered two simple drinks a white Russian and a coffee with Bailys and the guy totally fucked it up to the point where you didn’t even want to drink it. My girlfriend ordered a chicken salad with no onions making it very clear that she didn’t want onions so rather than the waiter coming over to us and telling us that the salad was premade he decides to deliver the dish and say sorry I tried picking some of the onions out for you…
Ridiculous

Okay, knowing the history of the city and the area I gotta say I was hoping for more. It’s a fairly small place with a family feel, not that family, at least not anymore. Walked in and was seated quickly and u have to say that the staff was friendly and attentive. Food came out quickly the atmosphere was good.
The bacon wrapped scallops and artesian flatbread were both good, I’m more partial to my fig and prosciutto flatbread but I can be a snob ;-). The wine, a Pinot noir by the glass, was spectacular. Wish I had paid more attention. The bread and dipping oil were dangerously good!
Main course I had pasta tossed in garlic and oil with anchovies and crab cakes. I was a little disappointed. Speaking for myself, I like just enough oil to pool a little when placed in the dish, there was a quarter cup of oil when I was done. The garlic appeared to be dehydrated minced garlic which, well I’m Italian, it’s in my kitchen but if I’m making pasta al oglio I use fresh garlic is all I’m saying. That said, it was decent. The anchovies gave it a nice salty finish that I particularly liked and hadn’t considered before. (Guess what I’m making tonight?) the crab cakes were good although I prefer a Maryland style crab cake over the deep fried but good.
Dessert was the tiramisu, good, not great but good, a cappuccino and a glass of port from the Brotherhood winery in OC, NY which is always decent. I liked that they had wine from the Brotherhood (Americas oldest winery BTW and they make a luscious holiday mulled wine) as opposed to a Taylor’s only selection.
I’ll definitely be back for more.