Gino Focacceria

I am so dissapointed that this restaurant has closed! Depressed even! I grew up on the rice balls that were served here. When they changed owners years ago I was worried the recipe would change and it didnt. When they closed this time, I think I shed a tear. Yeah they were that good. No one makes them as good, no one! I wish I had the recipe! :/

i am so disappointed that this place closed down. gutted. just absolutely… gutted. i used to go to this place as a kid, and the last time i went was in September of 2012, because i know live in the shit state of Texas.
i don’t even know what to do with myself right now. their rice balls melted in my mouth. i am so sad. this is just… devastating.

I am very sad that this place closed down. They had some of the best comfort food here. The rice balls are very good. The Scilian slices were to die for… thick slices… it’s square shaped with some tomatoe sauce, cheese, basil, and garlic. It was $ 2.50 a slice and I always order about 4 and they do run out of these very often. I have not found a place that could make it as well as they do here. *Tears…
I had the penne alla vodka– super. I regret not trying out more things here. I been eating here every month since I moved here 5 years ago. The people who worked here were very prompt and nice.
I hope they reopen some day soon. If they do, please message me.
I wish the owner and his family the best of luck.

I’m sorry to say Gino’s has closed their doors permanently. There aren’t many Brooklyn restaurants left serving up authentic Sicilian dishes, let alone at the quality which was served by Giuseppe and family. I enjoyed their food with my family over the last 14 years, It was a home away from home and they will be greatly missed.
I hope they find a new space to pop back up, I’m positive the loyal patrons will follow.
Burrasca furiusa prestu passa. Buona Fortuna
~C

The rice balls are killer here. when I’m in the area I have to stop by and get a few

Typically, a true Focacceria specializes in Sicilian dishes, at least the ones that I know of do. There arent too many authentic focacceria’s around. Brooklyn is lucky enough to have three (that I know of. maybe there’s more?) Gino’s, Joe’s of Avenue U (Gravesend) and Ferdinands (Union St.).
Some of the Sicilian Specialties you can find at a Focacceria are rice balls, pasta con sarde (sardines), Valsteeda (spleen…No comment… never tried it) and panelle (fried chick pea concoction served on a roll with a glob of ricotta). Gino’s rice balls are excellent. in NJ, its hard to find rice balls, in Brooklyn, most pizza places have them. I have had the panelle in the past and really liked them. The calamari marinara was very good… loved the sauce and the bread it came with was awesome. Gino’s isn’t fancy… it has a pizza parlor atmosphere. A lot of the food is already prepared and is on display in the showcase and is heated up in the oven when you order.
Nothing fancy here, but some good food that you won’t find in most Italian restaurants.

Ginos has THE BEST riceballs! They’re nice and crispy on the outside and the stuffing inside is just delicious. Definitely brings me back to when I was a kid and Bensonhurst was still an Italian neighborhood with authentic food. Yum.

Great place for real Italian comfort food. Nice riceballs and heroes as well as some amazing potato croquettes. My favorite dish was the octopus/​calamari salad — wow.

Excellent Italian cuisine for a fair price in the heart of Bensonhurst. Place has a steam table with tons of pasta and pesce. One of my favorite spots in Brooklyn!

If you are looking for a pizza this wouldn’t be the primary option, you go to Gino’s for what i call «Italian comfort food»
You find all the best specialties here — «special» riceballs, heroes, cooked italian dishes (penne vodka) and rolls.
They have a special $ 1 pepperoni and cheese roll which is one of the best bargains around and the always put pizza pies and other specialties on sale ($ 4 chicken rolls).
There is a pretty nice sezed space to sit and eat, kind of looks like an old brooklyn diner in the back, it’s just a great spot to hang and eat great food.
Not many foccaceria’s left in the neighborhood but this one was and is still the best. When i’m in the mood for Italian but don’t want to sit in a restaurant for an hour i come here for a fix.
PS they also have desserts!

Fried Calzone. YES. it makes my heart flutter with desire.
& the rice balls… i need to try them ASAP.
this place is not about fancy pants atmosphere, it is only about taste.
…and the cute guy at the counter ;]
yes, him and taste only.

When I was a kid, I lived over a Focacceria on 13^th Ave. I survived on Panelli Specials, Riceball Specials, Vasteeda, Calamari Marinara and other delicious and wondrous Italian specialties that would make anyones toe’s curl in delight! When «Giovanni’s Focacceria» closed it’s doors back in the day, I wept for my Panelli-​less future.
Then came Gino’s. It is hard to believe that I have never been to this place until very recently, and other than the Focacceria down on Union St, it is the ONLY traditional Italian Focacceria left in Brooklyn.
I had, of course, the Panelli Special, which for you non-​italians, is chick pea patties, deep-​fried to a golden brown, then plopped onto a homemade semolina roll and topped with the GREATEST homemade Parmesan and ricotta cheese you have ever tasted (HANDS DOWN) and set in a toaster oven to melt and simmer into maximum deliciousness.
Besides my near orgasm from sucking down every last morsel of that amazingness, I then moved on to the Calamari Marinara, which was by FAR the GREATEST marinara sauce I have ever had in my 35 years on this planet. The Calamari was steamed to perfection, melted like butter and not the slightest bit rubbery.
Gino, I love you and I want to bear your children. You bring my senses to new and astonishing heights. I could drown myself in your ricotta cheese and marinara, I would bathe in your EVVO. Please, please PLEASE never leave me, as I have found true love inside of your arms…
Mi Amore!

The pizza here is alright. They have this recession menu for cheaper food. I’ve seen a dollar a slice around the city, but didn’t know they had one near by. A large pie is 6 bucks and that is a really great deal!

For $ 1 a slice, and $ 6.50 for a pie-​its not that bad. If you want crispy slices just ask for it to be in the oven longer.

Sometimes I wonder why I ever left Bensonhurst and what I might be missing. However; a recent trip to this old stand-​by left me reassured in my decision that I got out of Dodge when I did. I would always take a walk over to Gino’s for the Panelli Special. A delicious sandwich made from ceci (chick pea) fritters, deep fried to a golden brown, on a soft roll smothered in creamy ricotta, with fresh mozzarella and baked in the oven until the cheese melts and just… ok, before you get too excited, that was a few years ago… fast forward to 2 weeks ago… I walked in and the place was a mess, an empty coca-​cola fridge behind the counter filled with plates and aluminum foil… it was like a junk drawer with a big glass window… not appetizing at all… everything in the display was greasy and dry at the same time… how does that even happen? never the less, I ordered my panelli special and it came to me on a burnt roll and I just couldnt stand to finish it all… I had to wrap it back up in the foil and cut my losses. What a let down. Gino’s…it really hurts to say, but I wish you would’ve closed your doors when you were at the top of your game, rather than becoming a culinary designated hitter with bum knees that should’ve retired years ago.

Gino’s is a hit-​or-​miss. Somedays the slices are crispy and delicious, others, they’re chewy and gross.

This is the place I go to when I’m craving some hot Italian sausage. Get your mind out of the gutter. They make these tasty little heroes at good prices. It’s definitely not the cleanest place though.