Il Bambino

Recently started working in the area and found this place because it was close by. two bites in I was like this is the best damn panini I ever had!

Il Bambino’s ascension to one of the highest rated businesses in Queens is no mistake. It’s all the more impressive knowing the menu is dominated largely by paninis, all which are stupid delicious and filling. The Italiano /​pork theme makes the food sexy, but it’s the flawless execution that has earned the business a hell of a reputation for some of the best food in the borough.
The restaurant itself is a lot bigger than it looks. There are only a handful of tables inside, but a beautiful outdoor area that is perfect during the warmer months. Even when it’s a bit chilly, I’ll still ask if I can sit outside because the crisp air goes well with the warm food. Plus, the outdoor space is significantly less claustrophobic.
It might be hard to advocate group dining, but for purposes of trying a lot of their menu, it is most certainly a recommendation. One panini is good enough for anyone’s appetite, but the list of palate pleasing items are damn near impossible to ignore. Order anything. Try something new. Family dining is way better than eating a salad and couple of paninis.
From the insalate (salad) section of the menu, the Fingerling Potato Salad ($ 10) topped with fried shallots, pecorino, and a smothering of truffle aioli is a must. The same goes for the Chicpea Panzanella + feta cheese ($ 8) and the Baby Arugula Mimosa ($ 8) shaved egg with smoked bacon vinaigrette. There isn’t much in the Beets with Baby Arugula ($ 9) goat cheese and toasted walnuts, but I love the flavor combination either way.
Crostinis are wonderful here. At $ 6-​$ 7 each, they could stand to be bigger but it just means you have room to try the other wonderful combinations. One could do the Pu Pu Platter ($ 18) for six solo bread squares, but why limit yourself?
Here are my favorites:
* Egg salad w/​white anchovies
* Chorizo, apricot butter, goat cheese (yes!)
* Smoked tomato butter, avocado, scallion aioli
* Goat cheese, honey, rosemary oil
* Prosciutto, basil pesto, parmesan
* Smoked tomato butter, mortadella, manchego
* Egg salad, fontina, chive oil.
* Truffled egg salad, shaved speck
* Spicy avocado, goat cheese
* Tuscan caviar, mortadella, chive oil
Then there are the actual paninis themselves. Some of them are similar to the crostini combos above, except in pressed, crispy, earthy bread form. I could eat the fontina, mozzarella, pecorino and truffle oil ($ 10) all day. On the heavier side, I really dig the Berkshire Smoked Ham, truffle aioli, aged cheddar, and dirty chips ($ 11) or the Italian Meatloaf ($ 11) which comes with onion jam, tomato pesto, Lawless’ spicy mayo, and provolone. Similarly to the crostini, any combo works.
My experience with the service has been nothing short of fantastic. Whether it’s brunch or dinner, I’ve had stellar results with the wait staff. They’ve been friendly, efficient, and super on top of my orders. They’ve been good about handling the long waits on weekends and really good about getting people in without rushing them out.
Il Bambino is joining a list of successful Queens businesses (shout out Taverna Kycaldes /​Patacon Pisao /​Rizzo’s, etc.) that are also opening up in Manhattan. The West Village location is slated for opening later this year, which means big things are on the horizon. Manhattanites, enjoy the new locale but always remember where it came from:
Astoria. Queens. End.

The Weekend at Bearnise was easily the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had in my life. Only problem was that I didnt have enough stomach capacity to finish the whole thing. Can’t wait for their Manhattan location to open up!

Nice little café tucked away in Astoria. They offer both indoor and outdoor seating, the interior is nice and rustic and there’s a beautiful little garden in the back where people can eat as well.
I ordered the prosciutto panini with pickled peppers, olives, rosemary aioli and mozzarella and it was very good. The bread was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and the flavors of the rosemary aioli along with the pickled peppers worked very well with the prosciutto, which was well cured.
It’s difficult not to order wine at such a romantic restaurant and it’s very affordable here. Great place to try Italian food and an even better place to take your date.

You know, I love this place, but two huge problems on my latest visit stood out to me:
(1) The panini I ordered, their roast mushroom panini, was not prepared to their normal standards — I’ve had it probably half a dozen times before, and this time it was pretty bad. Way too much cheese, not balanced at all, and it seemed like to be all out of whack.
(2) Their cashier — a white woman — was speaking VERY condescendingly to her co-​workers of color, particularly the delivery guy. I don’t even think she meant to, it was almost as if she was trying to be nice, but her sense of superiority was just so ingrained in her that she just naturally speaks down to certain groups of people without realizing it. It was really, really troubling. :(

My girl and I have come here about 3 – 4 times. The food is really good. So far my favorite panini was the 1^st panini I ordered, I don’t remember the name but it had chorizo. Its been a while since I’ve been here… so far all the items on the menu I tried have been good. Nothing really disappointing. Looking forward to my next visit

Can’t believe I have not written a review on this place yet. Ouch. Slacker here…
If you like bread and cured meats and some cheeses and not have the same thing twice in 90 days then you should try II Bambino. This place is solid good.
Now, I don’t know the finer points of panini’s or crostini’s; but I can tell you they are delicious. Yum. Tasty. Good. Etc. Etc. Etc.
II Bambino is a sandwich shop; bottom line. They sell meats from any deli and place them between two slices of bread or one. That’s it. Simple concept. Now, what they do different is they take quality ingredients and make it their own. I love it.
You will find various meats in combination pressed between two slices of a Italian style bread. They come out crispy, hot and delicious. I have had 4 or 5 different paninis and all have been good. Flavor balanced with the ingredients as well as the bread. They go down so easy, that you could easily order «many» and enjoy.
Crostini concept is crispy bread top with a variety of different ingredients. Just go to the menu on the website and drool over the various combinations of toppings. Good to Super Good. Damn I am getting hungry.
I am a sandwich guy. I love sandwich’s. II Bambino takes it to an other level with a large selection of menu items. I regret not going as often while I live in Astoria, but I can tell you one thing and that is you will certainly have a wonderful experience. From the welcome to service to the food to the overall ambiance of this restaurant.
Good job II Bambino…

I enjoyed all most all Panini and crostini from II Bambino! They make their Panini so it is really fresh! I wish I took a note of all food I got from here because it is difficult to track down the Panini name from pictures. They look all really similar, haha.
But I remember I really enjoyed below 4 items. (apparently, I really like truffle flavor)
–Panini: Roast Mushroom, caramelized onions, dirty chips, truffle spread and fontina
–Panini: Notorious P.I.G (Weekend Brunch menu): smoked bacon, scrambled egg, aged cheddar, truffle spread
–Crostini: Mushroom truffle butter, dirty chips, parmesan
–Dessert: Panna cotta with cocoa covered cornflake and raspberry sauce
I did not enjoy «The Shrine to Swine Panini (porchetta, scrambled egg, onion jam, aged cheddar, cracked pepper aioli). Porchetta became oily when it was heated and the oil was mixed with onion jam and aioli sauce…

A very solid panini spot!
I came here with my friend for lunch, and it was already pretty busy inside. Fortunately, we were able to snag a table right away (there were only 2 available when we came in)
I got the Roast Chicken Panini ($ 11) with béarnaise mayo, mushrooms, and goat cheese — absolutely delicious! I love goat cheese so I knew right away I’d enjoy this. The mayo was also very good, and went well with the cheese. As with paninis in general, the bread was a little too toasted for my liking to the point where the roof of my mouth was aching. But still, a delicious sandwich so I wasn’t too upset about that.
My only complaint would be that I wish there was a bigger variety of the meats offered. A lot of the paninis are pork-​based, which I don’t have a problem with, but would’ve preferred to see more paninis with chicken and beef (surprisingly, there were no beef options at all!)

I need this sandwich place at the corner of my street like ASAP. like RIGHT NOW
if you haven’t been to this place yet, you need to go.
Prior to going to this place I wanted to order all the damn things. Everything sounds so good. And looking through Unilocal photos didn’t help at all. There was nothing I saw that look bad.
5 chicks and we ordered our own sandwiches with a lot of appetizers.
Appetizer
Olive Bowl
Crostini as appetizers: not sure if I remembered everything we ordered but I will try my best to list what I can remember —
*Mushroom truffle butter, dirty chips, parmesan
*Truffle egg salad and shaved speck.
*Prosciutto, olive spread, goat cheese, chive oil
*Chorizo, apricot butter, goat cheese
*Goat cheese and fig spread
*Smoked bacon, goat cheese and Lawless’ spicy mayo
(I think that is what we got… I know for a fact the top 3 we got because that is what I chose =])
sandwich:
I got a Panini that includes *Chorizo, romesco, shaved red onion, mozzarella, truffle aioli… I asked them if they could add spicy pickled slaw because you know I like things spicy.
it was delish!
BUT before I chose that I was going to choose a breakfast Panini and I wish I chose my original choice because one of my friend got the breakfast and we all shared our sandwiches to have that great experience and I loved her Panini the best.
there eggs man… they put some drugs in there that makes it so addicting.
this place is very small… so going here in large groups you may expect to wait a little. but it’s worth it. damnit! I would drive there again to eat it because it’s worth it. But reality… I wish it was near me.

I ran into this spot last weekend, and thoroughly loved it. For what the offer, they are outstanding, and really have the best available products. I was born and raised in Italy, so I know what I’m talking about when I describe the quality of Italian products. These guys have the very top.
Porchetta special panino: delicious, and very sizable.
Smoked bacon cracked pepper aioli and manchego crostini: very good.
Salume tartufo Rosemary ricotta chestnut honey crostini: I was not charmed by the combination of flavors, but it’s only a matter of taste. The crostini were very well prepared nonetheless.
They have an outstanding Garnacha for $ 7 per glass. An absolute steal.
Dina was a very helpful and professional waitress. She was very patient with us, and thoroughly described their plates. I can’t wait to go back.

I am not even kidding… this place has the BEST paninis in NY/​Queens area…
I first learned about this place from a friend in Miami who was visiting me for the weekend… she was bugging me to take her to this place, and said her friends and family highly recommended her to try this place. so we went on a Saturday for Brunch and O-​M-​G best decision ever. The paninis are amazing, the prizes are great. the hot chocolate is delicious, great atmosphere. and best of all. they have huge portions!
Every time I have friends /​family visiting, I take them here =)
5-​stars all the way to II Bambino!!!

Delicious Crostini sampler with lots of selection. The Potato salad was quite refreshing. And extra props to the Very friendly waiter

Il bambino is a great place for lunch. Their fingerling potato salad is not to be missed. The roasted chicken, mozzarella, arugula and Lawless spicy mayo panini is delicious. I have also tried plenty of their crostini’s and was never disappointed. They have a great outdoor seating area for when the weather is nice. You must try this place. There is something for everyone to enjoy.

Another great meal here! We had:
Notorious PIG– which is very truffly. Must get if you love truffles.
The Shrine to Swine– very good. It is similair to a pulled pork.
Bacon Butty– also delicious! I would highly recommend this as well!
The coffee is really good– smooth but not weak. My brother got the peanut butter hot chocolate– OMG delicious and definately sweet. I would get it as a dessert.
The manager was our waiter, and he was extremely helpful, attentive and accommodating to my grandmother. There is a reason this is one of my favorite places in astoria!!! Brunch is a must!
* edited for typos

HUZZAH!!! THIS BE MY 800TH REVIEWETH!!! In keeping tradition with my «milestone» 100-​reviews, I will rant and rave about a place I’ve been dying to review ever since I took a bite out of my very first panini here — Il Bambino :’).
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First I will start off by listing the paninis I’ve tried here:
Off of their regular panini menu:
+ Roast Chicken, béarnaise mayo, mushrooms, goat cheese
+ Speck, dirty chips, scallion aioli, fontina
+ Aaaaaand last but certainly not least: One of their «Panini Specials of the Day» — Fontina mac n’ cheese, Berkshire smoked ham, truffle oil (and I asked them to stuff some Dirty Chips in there for some crunchy texture… mmmmm…crunchyyyy).
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Off of their ridiculously curated brunch menu:
+ Sir Oink-​a-​lot Sweet — Sausage, scrambled eggs, caramelized onions, basil pesto, fontina $ 11
+ Pig in Japan — Prosciutto, scrambled eggs, rosemary aioli, scallions, mozzarella $ 11
+ Cheese Us Christo — Scrambled eggs, farmhouse blue, mozzarella, aged cheddar, dirty chips, garlic butter $ 11
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When I first saw this place I was just walking by about 2 years ago. Then it popped up as recommended by Unilocal a few months later. I bookmarked it and then (very much as one does with a George Foreman Grill, I set it and then) I forgot it… until about a year later when I was walking around this area again, but under much different circumstances… I NOW LIVE LIKE 1 MINUTE AWAY. PRACTICALLY ACROSS THE STREEEEEET (but not directly across in case any weirdo stalkers are reading this) and so naturally I needed to come here ASAP.
I’ve always liked paninis, but they’ve never been something that I’ve sought out to eat… I mean, they’re usually a staple at your regular, run-​of-​the-​mill corner delis and usually they range from pretty good to bland/generic…but not here. Not from Il Bambino. These are different. These are magical crispy perfection with complex and delightful flavor profiles.
My boyfriend didn’t understand the fuss and hype surrounding Il Bambino, but Unilocal doesn’t have a negative track record of steering me wrong…
Now I’ve been here easily like 6+ times and each time I push through their simple looking door I’m excited about stuffing my face. I eagerly listen to our waiters give us a run down of what the yummy ‘specials of the day’ are and I lovingly go through their menu (which even goes so far as to provide definitions for the different types of meat [varying on different cuts of pig and different preparations like salted, cured, etc] and cheeses).
Service here has never been less than an A+ for me when I’ve come with either my boo or one of my best gal pals. I’ve always been greeted warmly, seated promptly (except for one time where there was a 30 minute wait time on a Saturday afternoon around prime brunch hours… can’t fault them for that) and my food has always come out quickly, warm and perfect.
I love, love, love Il Bambino and love that it’s my my favorite neighborhood of Queens. I did notice on their website that a Manhattan location is in the works… kind of a bummer because I want them all to myself, but I’m happy for them because it’s a sign of success and I wish nothing more but success for these folks so that their amazing food will be around forever {3.

Bambino Brunch… I wouldn’t come any other time.
Priced well for HUGE portions. cute atmosphere, backyard seating. (Just don’t sit at those side tables if you’re small like me, you won’t be able to reach.)
Their breakfast paninis are probably the best thing in this whole wide world.
Please do yourself a favor and order the breakfast egg specials! I ordered PASS THE HASH (hehe) –soft scrambled fluffy eggs, crunchy potatoes, with thinly sliced chorizo, some type of truffle mayo and parmesan cheese. HOLY MOLY. This seriously hit every note on your tastebuds; crunchy and creamy, salty and savory. And ask for the chili oil! It’s homemade and it’s not too spicy, but works so well with the panini.
And the cutest servers here. I loved my server, he was so cute, I wanted to hook him up with my gay guy friends.

I would give this place 3 to 3.5 stars. Food was good but not impressive and could see a few improvements. Service was great and ambiance good too.
My friend and I chose outdoor seating on their back patio. The inside of the restaurant looked like a deli. They need to work on this. The outside seating was nice though. It seems like this was the preferred area as there wasn’t a single party sitting inside.
We decided to get 4 crostinis to share. Each comes with two pieces (about 2x3inches). Overall the bread that they had was too thin and just awkwardly in between chewy and crunchy… Aka a bit stale. And really cold. I think most of our food would have tasted better if the bread were hot and fresh. They put three of the crostinis on one small plate so 6 pieces of bread all crowded together and piled on top of each other. Crostinis became hard to grab without touching the others and the toppings of the ones on the bottom would get stuck on the bottom of the crostinis on top. There’s a reason for their combination of toppings so lets not mix them all together. Plating also makes a big difference in how you taste and perceive your food. This is something they can work on. It won’t kill you to wash a few extra dishes.
1. Special of the day crostini chicken salad, avocado, bleu cheese, bacon bits, tomato spread: Chicken was too dry and needed some more flavor, just a tad bit more salt. Everything was creamy… maybe too creamy. Chicken salad was creamy, bleu cheese creamy, avocado creamy. Good thing for the bacon bits and the somewhat crunchy bread.
2. Artichoke, goat cheese and olive spread: A good one to have right after the abundantly creamy crostini. This was refreshing. I was afraid the artichoke and olive together would be too sour but the cheese and bread neutralized it.
3. Smoked bacon, cracked pepper aioli, manchego:
Loved the combination on this one. Smoky bacon flavor really came out and the manchego just added to the snokiness. The cracked pepper aioli was just the right amount of kick and it was very smooth in texture. It made everything feel like it was melting in your mouth.
4. Goat cheese and fig spread: Great one to end on. Sweet and savory combo. I wish the goat cheese were stronger. It was a bit overpowered by the fig spread. Also very simple and could have been easily made at home.

The service, the food and the atmosphere is on point. It’s a small place but it’s very comfortable. This place is the reason I have a new found love for crostini. I come here a couple times every month for lunch. I usually get the PuPu platter (6 different crostini) and get full around the 3^rd piece. I wouldn’t recommend saving some and reheating for later, they tend to get soggy.
Always eat the egg salad crostinis first.
Lighter Crostini:
— Mushroom Truffle butter (refined indulgence), Dirty Chips (deli at 4 o’clock in the morning indulgence), and Parmesan
There’s something very exciting that happens when two indulgences from different ends of the spectrum collide. Go ahead, give it a go. You won’t regret ordering this one.
— Smoked bacon, Cracked Pepper aioli, and Manchego
I’ma sucker for bacon and cracked pepper. But who really isn’t a sucker for bacon?
Heavier Crostini:
— Egg salad, Smoked bacon, and Lawless’ Spicy Mayo
The spicy mayo and the egg salad give it a deviled egg taste with a bacony kick.
— Smoked bacon, Goat cheese, and Lawless’ Spicy Mayo
Similar ingredients, but totally different taste. It comes off a bit tart.
— Truffle Egg salad and Shaved speck
The shaved speck adds a savoriness to the mellow taste of the egg salad. Very satisfying.
Yes i know that’s only five, but I only review my favorite.

I used to live down the block from this place and I thank the gods for this gem. Everything’s rock solid including their to die for paninis *drools* and yummioso soups. Laid back and unpretentious even with all the hipsters rolling around in my city.
Oh bambino! Why do you have to be so far away from me?

Un petit restaurant sans prétention qui ont comme spécialités les Criostinis, et les paninis !
Il y’en a de toutes les sortes: Avocado et cheese, bacon and cheese et des plus travaillés. Delicieux !
Une bonne sélection de vin à la carte goutez le Sheraz/​Cabernet !
Un endroit simple et moderne avec qq tables. Serveurs très sympas et jeunes !
Idéal entre amis ou en couple.