| Rao's | |
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 Interactive map of Rao's | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1896; 129 years ago (1896) |
| Food type | Italian-American |
| Location | 455 East 114th Street (atPleasant Avenue),Italian Harlem,Manhattan,New York City,New York, 10029,United States |
| Website | raosrestaurants |
Rao's (/ˈreɪoʊz/)[1] is anItalian-American restaurant founded in 1896. It is located at 455 East 114th Street, on the corner ofPleasant Avenue inEast Harlem (orItalian Harlem),New York City. Rao's has a sister restaurant inLos Angeles.[2][3]
The restaurant was started in 1896 by Joshua Anthony Rao, who moved with his parents from Italy to the United States. He bought a small shop inItalian Harlem, once a very large Italian-American community, and ran the restaurant until his death in 1909. Louis Rao took over the business. Seen by many as a very suave man, he had his hair cut at theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel and wore many fancy suits.[citation needed]
Rao's now sells products in gourmet markets and supermarkets. Products include pasta, sauces, as well as olive oil.[4]
Though small, Italian Harlem culture is still kept alive by Rao's and theGiglio Society of East Harlem. Every year on the second weekend of August in honor of Back To School, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the "Dancing of the Giglio" is performed while thousands of visitors and onlookers celebrate the once largest Italian community in New York City.
TheNew York Post describes the restaurant as "one of the hardest places to get into in the city".[5] Notable patrons of the eatery have includedJohn Gotti,Rudy Giuliani,Robert De Niro, and others likeBo Dietl.
In December 2006, Rao's opened a second restaurant in Las Vegas atCaesars Palace, under executive chef Carla Pellegrino, with two ten-table rooms and additional seating available on an outdoor garden patio.[6] In early 2009, Rao's in Las Vegas opened abocce bar outside and began offering bocce lessons and cocktails there.[7] The Las Vegas location closed in 2021.[8]
A third location, inHollywood, Los Angeles, was announced by Frank Pellegrino Jr. onLate Night with Jimmy Fallon in July 2013,[9] and it opened in September of that year.[10][11]
In October 2023, a fourth location was opened at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in South Beach Miami, Florida.
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In the movieThe Wolf of Wall Street, which premiered in December 2013, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is seen eating dinner in Rao's restaurant during a meeting with private investigatorBo Dietl.
Woody Allen andMia Farrow regularly ate at Rao's in the 1980s. Mrs. Rao inspired the character Tina Vitale in his 1984 filmBroadway Danny Rose.
Jars of sauce can be seen in the grocery store scene in the movieChristmas with the Kranks.
In 2009,Jay-Z shot the music video for "D.O.A." (Death of Autotune) at Rao's.[citation needed]
Rao's was the basis for "Raimondo's," a fictional restaurant featured as the site of a murder in theLaw & Order episode "Everybody Loves Raimondo's." The owner of the fictional restaurant was played by actorRay Abruzzo, who later co-starred with Pellegrino onThe Sopranos.[citation needed] The episode was based on a shooting at the restaurant in 2003.[12]
OnTop Chef: All Stars,season 8, episode 8, an elimination challenge required the chefs to cook a three-course family-style Italian meal at Rao's restaurant for the judges and Rao's owners and staff.
On an episode ofKitchen Nightmares, Season 7, episode 2 "Pantaleone's",Gordon Ramsay talks about the history of Rao's restaurant to the family who owns the pizza shop "Pantalone's" inDenver, Colorado. He then takes the father and son to the Rao's restaurant atCaesar's Palace inLas Vegas. They then meet the owner, Frank Pellegrino Jr., and learn that he is the fourth generation of successors to operate the family-owned restaurant.
Rao's was profiled on the pilot episode ofGuilty Pleasures as home ofBobby Flay's favorite meal.[13]
In Season 7, episode 11 of the television showBillions, Bobby Axelrod takes an influential politician to Rao's for dinner.
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40°47′38.16″N73°56′3.2″W / 40.7939333°N 73.934222°W /40.7939333; -73.934222