They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same can be said for Little Italy, one of New York City’s most quaint, romantic and historic neighborhoods where legends like Robert Deniro and Frank Sinatra spent most of their famous youth.

Founded in 1908 by the Davino family Grotta Azzurra was named for the blue grotto on the isle of Capri and designed to evoke the beauty of one of the worlds most famous caves in the world, intensified.

Enrico Caruso feasted here after performances, and Sinatra called it his one and only favorite Italian restaurant, making it the site of many a “Rat Pack” evening.

Shuttered for six years, Grotta Azzurra has now been stunningly renovated and rebirthed by a descendant renaissance for dining in Little Italy, with multi-tallented chef Frank Castellana recreating the finest in Italian Cuisine.