L&B Spumoni Gardens is an
Italian-American pizzeria-restaurant in the
Gravesend neighborhood of
Brooklyn in
New York City.[1][2][3][4] Originally conceived as an ice and
spumoni stand prior to
World War II, it grew during the mid-1950s into a full-scale pizzeria that's known today primarily for its
Sicilian pizza and ices.[5] The restaurant has been featured on the show
Man v. Food. NY Eater critic Robert Sietsema considers L&B Spumoni Gardens a must-try Italian American restaurant in Brooklyn.[6] They were featured on
Andrew Zimmern’s show The Zimmern List.[7]
History
Founder Ludovico Barbati came to the United States in 1917 from
Torella dei Lombardi, Italy.[8] In 1938, Barbati sold Spumoni and Italian Ice from a horse and wagon.[8] In 1939, he purchased a vacant property on 86th Street to make the
spumoni and ice.[8] By the mid 1950s, the location came to be L&B Spumoni Gardens, with the spumoni factory, a pizzeria and a luncheonette all on site.[8]
In 2016, one of the co-owners, Louis Barbati, 61, was murdered outside his home in
Dyker Heights.[9] In 2019, another co-owner, Patricia Barbati Coffey, 56, died after a seven-year battle with
ALS.[10]