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A quick look at the seventies-era lettering on the Domenico's awning tells a diner they're headed into old-school culinary territory. Large portions hark back to the pre-tasting plate era. Sepia tone photos of vintage gondoliers and Roman palazzos cover the walls. The menu is classic New York Italian, with Caesar salads, heavy pastas, and hearty veal, chicken, and seafood dishes. Choices shift seasonally, but the staples carry over, and the preparations are capable, if not inspired: Spiedini alla Romana, fried bread stuffed with fresh mozzarella, comes smothered in a briny blend of capers and anchovies; the piquant penne all'arrabbiata's thick tomato sauce is infused with the flavors of pancetta and fennel-inflected sausage; and lemon, white wine, and capers are joined in a savory gravy that adorns the veal scaloppine con capperi. Patrons seem to value the predictability. Still, time hasn't entirely passed Domenico's by. An updated dining room next to a small, sunken bar area provides the bulk of the square footage; here, two rows of four-top tables are warmed by cream-colored walls, exposed bulbs in iron sconces, and an eclectic band of tiles that frames the room at chair level. — Ethan Wolff

The prix-fixe menu is available from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., $22

Mozzarella fresca, $8.50; penne all'arrabbiata, $18; veal chop, $28