Via Trenta Osteria feels like somebody picked up a corner bistro from Italy and plopped it right onto 30th Ave. It’s not hard to understand why this restaurant’s popularity has grown since it opened in 2011 if one considers that it was done under the watchful eye and competent hand of owner Giovanni Pappas.

Cleopatra Nestor, both a regular customer and manager, explains that she simply started out as a fan of the restaurant and got involved. “That’s how we started, just my husband and I, going to the restaurant over and over, multiple times a week. I’ve been helping here and there for the past three years. Now Via Trenta’s owner is a good friend and the godfather of my child. We just opened Spanglish here in Astoria.”

Italian food has become such an American staple that it sometimes strays a bit from its roots. Think of most family-style Italian restaurants, with cuisine that might be described as Italian-American, featuring all-you-can-eat menu options and lots of pizza, which has been pretty much adopted as America’s favorite food. And then there are the true-to-life Italian restaurants, based on the European version. Via Trenta is most certainly, and unapologetically, the latter.

Nestor explained that the goal isn’t to just provide fine dining, it’s to give the best dining experience in all of New York City. Via Trenta Osteria is a mirror restaurant of Pappas Venti Cinque in Manhattan. “I don’t know if many people know this, but [Pappas] owned a successful Italian restaurant across from the Met for 26 years.” The two restaurants featured nearly identical menus, but Via Trenta Osteria can operate without those steep Manhattan prices.

The interior of Via Trenta Osteria feels perfectly saturated with an effortless elegance. Wherever you look, there are touches that suggest an Italian wine cellar: a bit of wood here and there, some exposed brick, quiet lighting.

All the pastas are house made, fresh, premium, high-quality ingredients. Linguine nero ai frutti di mare is a great choice: long, thin noodles darkened with squid ink and loaded with seafood. Nestor, of course, has no shortage of her favorites, dishes that kept her coming back again and again as a customer. “I think the artichoke, the special appetizer sauteed artichoke. Truffle pasta. Truffle risotto. Tuna tartare, everything is just so great. Oh, and the beef carpaccio.”

For dessert, it’s wise to go for the homemade ricotta cheesecake. “It’s a traditional Italian recipe. I don’t think it’s anywhere else,” Nestor said. “It’s like my grandmother used to make in Romania. It’s like being transported back in time.”

And, if you’re not planning to enjoy a bottle of red or a bottle of white, there are plenty of tempting signature cocktails to enjoy that rotate in and out, Nestor said. “For Valentine’s Day, for example, they did hibiscus martinis. They did strawberry last summer. Or jalapeno basil recently.”

Nestor also explained why Via Trenta Osteria is the perfect spot for a romantic date night or an impressive dinner with out-of-town guests. “[Pappas] loves this place, and he deeply respects the customers. He’s committed to maintaining the warm, authentic atmosphere. We know this isn’t Park Avenue, but we want to bring that level of experience to Astoria. We like to say, ‘Don’t come here to eat, come to dine.’”

36-19 30^th Ave. / Phone: 718.545.2090 / viatrenta.com / Yelp: 3.8