The best Astoria restaurants

This Brazilian, mostly takeout spot offers breakfast all day and its authentic meats make appearances throughout lunch and dinner, heavy on inventive sandwiches and burgers. Fresh fruit juices and smoothies, and the popular Brazilian soda, Guarana, round out refreshing memories of Rio at this hidden spot.

Philippe Fallait brings the flavors of his native Brittany to Astoria with this blue-and-white-walled café. The diminutive spot specializes in sweet and savory crêpes; sample hearty fillings like lamb and aged cheddar, and poached pear with aged goat cheese and toasted almonds.

Scanning the menu at Compton’s is like scrolling through your smartphone contacts: Debbie, Joshua, Morgan and Tony. But in this case, they’re a few names of the nearly dozen sandwiches at this Queens corner shop. It’s all pretty familiar.You also feel like you’ve been sucked into a 1990s time warp when TLC’s “No Scrubs” plays on the flat-screen TV and replicas of Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog sculptures adorn the shelves. Looking like they’re hungover, locals stroll in on weekends wearing shorts and baseball caps and some arrive on skateboards. Then they order hefty sandwiches to undo their late-night shenanigans.To get into that mind-set, we looked past the Rob and the Morgan to order the Sticky Tender Hero ($12). It was the perfect pick: Between slices of soft semolina bread, a blue cheese dressing oozes through a tangle of shredded lettuce, onions and tomatoes atopchicken tenders doused in a bright buffalo sauce. Imagine being dragged into a raucous college sports bar where the comfort food still has the power to entice you with its large, reasonably priced portions.This decadent sandwich tempted us to taste the Backyard Burger ($10.50), a sirloin patty slathered in Russian dressing, evoking childhood memories of chowing down on a McDonald’s Big Mac. Plus, you can add sides—steak fries ($4.50), onion rings ($5) and mozzarella sticks ($7)—to round out your meal.If  you believe bigger is better, order the Tony: a towering hero filled with prosciutto, Virginia ham, soppressata, pr

Some Astorians deem Vesta the best thing to have happened to the ’hood since Elias Corner. (Only, it’s Italian.) This perpetually packed trattoria attracts diners nightly with its modern rustic cuisine—and pasta in particular. We can’t say no to the orecchiette with pork sausage and Swiss chard and hearty wild boar lasagna.

Paninis are the focus of this 32-seat spot, decked out with wooden farm tables and an outdoor garden. Choose from fillings like house-made porchetta and spicy pickle slaw, or opt for small plates like chickpea panzanella and baked stuffed portobello.

If you don’t feel like splurging at Mombar, head a few doors down to the pint-sized Kabab Café. The food is just as delectable, but cheaper and less gussied-up. Cheerful proprietor Ali el-Sayed wants you to be happy; start on your way with velvety baba ghanoush (studded with apples for a sweet twist) and perfectly crisped, creamy sweetbreads. Logs of ground lamb and beef kofta are well-spiced, and the classic moussaka is a hearty vegetarian option.

New Jersey brothers Peter and Danny Aggelatos flip Neapolitan-style pies topped with Brooklyn Grange produce at this 30-seat joint. Wood-fired crusts are topped with creative combos like spicy sopressata and thyme honey; and brussels sprouts, farm egg and truffle oil. House-made country bread serves as the foundation for crostini slathered in ramp butter or spring-onion compote. The beer list also skews seasonal, highlighting American sips from Dogfish Head, Victory Brewing Company and Firestone.

If you’re in the mood for burgers, sandwiches and all things fried, you’ve come to the right place. Queens Comfort in Astoria serves up a menu full of ooey, gooey brunch offerings. Think bacon-scallion mac and cheese, Cap’n Crunch–coated chicken fingers with chili-bacon-caramel sauce, an egg sandwich with bechamel, cheddar, bacon and tater tots and cornflake-crusted fried chicken and waffles dusted with powdered sugar. The list of burgers also reveals some inventive twists, like the PB&J burger topped with good ol’ Skippy, grape jelly and smoked bacon. Slightly more traditional options include a shrimp and fried green tomato po’ boy with remoulade, a meatloaf sandwich topped with onion rings and bacon ketchup and a burger topped with fried jalapenos, bell peppers, cheddar and sriracha. 

Steaming bowls of umami-laden ramen are dished out from an open kitchen at this neighborhood staple. Choose from 14 soups, including the Kagoshima-style tonkotsu (pork bone), Nagoya-style (chicken bone) and vegetable broths, along with add-on toppings like chashu (barbecued) pork, poached egg and menma (bamboo shoots). Gyoza, ebi shumai and the rice-bowl dish donburi round out the simple menu.

In the Thai language, the word "pye" means paddles—necessary tools for guiding the small wooden boats that transport noodle soup along the canals of Bangkok. A simple menu of Thai street food (called "hawker food") is found in the old D & F Deli space, where the noodles and soups come with beer and creamy Thai iced tea to wash it all down. The sukhothai soup epitomizes the style of Bangkok street food with its quick cooking ingredients: thin rice noodles, long beans, roast pork, dried baby shrimp and ground pork in a spicy chicken broth.