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The Rudar Club is not the most inviting-looking establishment. It’s on a desolate block of Astoria, and the only indication that it’s even a business is a misleading sign (Rudar Miner’s Club) out front. Inside, the atmosphere proves infinitely more welcoming, even festive, with the melodic sounds of the Istrian dialect heard both upstairs in the trophy-strewn bar and downstairs in the large, quiet restaurant hung with scenes of Istria’s crumbling towns and rocky mountains. The menu, naturally, specializes in the foods of that North Italian region: bowtie pasta a.k.a. fuzi, served with a plain brown veal sauce; grilled branzino; jota (the Istrian bean and sauerkraut soup that’s especially good in the winter); and occasional specials such as tripe and baby goat. — Josh Ozersky

Fuzi, $11; grilled branzino, $19; jota (bean soup), $4