Casa Nostra in New Dorp is a soon-coming Italian restaurant at 2481 Richmond Rd., New Dorp. Prior to this upcoming venue, the building has been home to a restaurant for over 75 years. (Advance/SILive.com|Pamela Silvestri)(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After several months of renovations, the New Dorp structure with its notable Mansard roofline is being transformed into Casa Nostra.
The red-on-black painted building at 2481 Richmond Road will be an Italian-themed restaurant.
New Casa Nostra will be a family-style eatery also with a la carte Italian dishes. (Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
A representative for Casa Nostra said food will be family-style as well as à la carte. The menu in development will feature a variety of curated dishes. Further details will become available as permit issues are addressed and the second floor dining room takes shape.
The address has been a rich one for restaurants. Through the 1950s and 1960s, it was called Silver Dollar Restaurant.
With its Mansard roof, the structure at 2481 has been several restaurants since the 1950s. (Advance/SILive.com File Photo)(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
Over time it became Villa Portofino. According to the Staten Island Advance archives, John Amato and well-regarded chef Renato Sena were proprietors of the restaurant as of 1986. The paper of record detailed how the duo mastered both front- and back-of-the-house.
Amato shared with the Advance in an interview, “We came from Italy — from Avellino when we were very young and we always worked in restaurants. I started as a dishwasher — we both did — and then I became a waiter and my partner learned to be a chef. We worked our way up."
Flashback to December, 2004: Renato Sena was both the owner and the chef at Villa Portofino in New Dorp.(Advance/SILive.com File Photo)(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
The men had worked together since 1963 at Michelangelo in Brooklyn and in such Manhattan restaurants as the Palm, Tavern on the Green, Delfino and Orsini’s. Renato (Ronnie) retired from the business after a substantial residence at Bocelli’s of Grasmere.
In Nov. 2007, Ocean 3 Lounge and Bar debuted on the Staten Island dining scene. (Advance/SILive.com File Photo)(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
The New Dorp location remained Villa Portofino for over two decades. Francesca’s Steak House opened subsequently, lasting about two years at the location.
Then, three entrepreneurs reimagined the venue as Ocean 3. According to a food review from 2008, “Ocean 3 in New Dorp works their many concepts into one ambitious operation ... offering over 90 separate edibles touching on Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, American and Italian food themes.”
The bar at Ocean 3, a new club where the old Villa Portofino use to be.(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
The critique added, “Leaving no customer out in the cold, ‘Kids Corner’ spotlights tenders, pasta and something called ‘Cheesy’ with a ‘great grilled chicken taste,’ otherwise known as chicken topped with bacon and cheese.”
About two years later, Buona Sera brought solid Italian back to the address. Eastern European-themed night club Amadeus was established afterward and closed after the pandemic.
Pamela Silvestri is Advance/Silive.com food editor. She may be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.