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Few New York restaurants are as old and still as vibrant as Gargiulo's, the Coney Island Italian-American classic opened in 1907, known for its Neapolitan-based seafood dishes and pastas. Just across the street from another Coney landmark, Nathan's, this restaurant is a high-ceilinged dining palace, complete with chandeliers, thick linen tablecloths and tuxedoed waiters scrambling from room to room. For such a large place serving so many customer at once, the kitchen prepares its pastas with surprising care, and two specialties—fettuccine verde Gargiulo, a creamy tomato sauce concoction with chunks of chicken and chopped prosciutto, and spaghettini Sorrentino, a mass of chicken and steak bits tossed with olive oil, abundant garlic and very thin pasta—stand out. Lobster is picked fresh from the tank up front, and among the dozen veal dishes, the Milanese, lightly breaded in garlicky crumbs and fried, and the grilled with sautéed artichokes, are well done. Lots of fish, seafood, chicken, steak and pasta dishes to choose from, perhaps too many, but with a revived Coney Island and the Cyclones playing not far away, Gargiulo's easily handles the new day-trippers, Brooklyn wise guys, and the curious all at once. — Jack Robertiello

Fettucine verde Gargiulo, $15; veal Milanese, $15; spaghettini Sorrentino, $16