Armando’s Restaurant and Bar

This old-world Italian spot—a Brooklyn Heights institution since 1936—shuttered briefly in 2009 to make way for a short-lived fast-food franchise. Armando’s is now back in business, but despite a recent redesign (newly upholstered banquettes, updated artwork), the food still seems stuck in the past. An overcooked meatball marinara appetizer featured gummy meat and bland, generic sauce, and a grilled octopus salad was served with an overwhelming excess of salty olives and capers. Orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage was better, with pleasantly bitter greens and spicy, fennel-heavy pork, but even that success felt a little staid. We’re all for classic restaurants, but without a little 21st-century panache, this one could soon be extinct.