The Clinton Restaurant
“Pizza, meat tortellini (which is from Varsi Deli down the street and is amazing) and their chicken parm are all my favorites there.”
“The sauce had a nice balance of spice and sweetness and the pasta was cooked al dente, just as it should be.”
“You want authentic Italian, you get on a plane and you fly to Queens, because in this little restaurant called Clinton's is where you'll find it.”
The Clinton Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
6 reviews
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I am just going to review the food, no back ground story…just the facts of the food.
Me – Chicken Milanese – Basically they serve you just a chicken cutlet naked with two slices of lemon and some marinara sauce on the side. Its a no-carb sandwich on a plate, except they put the carbs in a bread basket on the table. My side salad was some lettuce and a very cold, right out of the refrigerator tomato cut into quarters. The salad, no matter how much oil and vinegar I put on it was not edible.
Others:
Chicken Parmesan – The person only ate half and said the chicken was to chewy. The side of pasta was consumed. Eating pasta over the chicken tells the story.
Shrimp Parmesan. – Looked like invisible shrimp with sauce and mozzarella cheese smothering it. I know there were shrimp in there but hiding under a blanket of sauce and cheese. No complaints from the diner.
Eggplant Parmesan – Diner indicated that the eggplant was chewy and not as good as some take out they have had in the past. Sauce and cheese again was fine. Some other sort of house/sharable salad was ordered and it looked the same as my house salad but with a few olives and pickled peppers. It was not entirely consumed.
Spaghetti and broccoli – Looked nice, but how much can you destroy this dish. The quickest thing on the menu to prepare. No complaints from the diner.
According to the diners, all of the sodas tasted watered down.
No one ordered coffee or dessert. I got the feeling like everyone at the table was either on a diet or disappointed in the food but was not talking about it. The bill was right at $135.00, a little pricey for disappointment.
Would we come back and give this a second chance. No thank you. I want to give 3 stars but really its 2. Service was a bit off also, but mainly the food was pretty bad.
Our annual Christmas luncheon took place on a Monday. It was spent here because Primo Amore, our go-to restaurant was closed. My boss decided to have it here because she and her husband have dined here before. It's a quaint restaurant/bar decked with 1960's tablecloths adorning each of the wooden tables. Everything about this place is old school, which in this case is not a bad thing.
We sat at the bar until the rest of our party arrived. Drinks were good and inexpensive. The bartender was pleasant and gave off the vibe that she's been there many years. Once the rest of the party arrived we sat down in the dining area. The bartender functioned as the waitress as well.
She gave us ample amount of time to place our orders because we were so busy catching up with each other. We placed our orders for apps and entrees. Our apps consisted of clams oreganata and fried calamari. Entrees consisted of chicken parmigiana, lemon chicken, & shrimp parmigiana. My chicken parmigiana came with penne pasta. The chicken was delicious, but the pasta not so much. It was drenched in pasta sauce which made it too salty to enjoy.
Although Whitestone really doesn't have any culinary gems or must visit restaurants, the Clinton is definitely a must-stop if you're a local or an out-of-towner.
The best way to describe the food here is Italian-American comfort food. Whether you go with one of the pasta dishes, one of the parmigiana's, something from the grill or the seafood, you can never go wrong really. Everything is cooked just the way you're grandma would make it and served in a setting like you're at your grandma's house. My family was in the restaurant business for decades, but this was one place in Whitestone my parents have continued to come to since the mid-1970's and that I've been visiting since I can remember.
This place is the ultimate American Italian restaurant. It's a family place that was still super friendly even though we were not from the neighborhood. The food was what I've eaten a million times at friends' houses. The portions were huge, so I'll be eating this for the next three days.
If you happen to be craving Italian food in Whitestone, Queens, the Clinton is a pretty good choice. I've been here many times over the past few years and the quality has always been consistent. The prices are fair and the staff is friendly, professional, and attentive.
The menu is a bit one dimensional; they serve massive portions of typical Italian staples such as pastas, veal and chicken parmesean, sausage and peppers, meatballs, pizza, etc. Everything is hot, fresh, and generally well done, albeit without much in the way of flair or uniqueness in terms of flavor and presentation. That aside, if you stop by you're almost certain to get a good (yet simple) meal.
Recommended, though there are better places out there.
Stay away from the linguini and clam sauce. And penne ala vodka. Better yet, stay away from this place all together.