Vico Of Farmingdale Wins OpenTable Diner's Choice Award: 'It Means A Lot To Us'

FARMINGDALE, NY — Vico Costiera Amalfitana became the first Farmingdale restaurant to win an OpenTable Diner's Choice Award.

The Italian restaurant aims to bring the Fortuna family's Vico Equense cuisine to Long Island at 313 Main St., Farmingdale. Vico specializes in artisan pizza, homemade pasta, entrees, cocktails, dessert pizzas and more, and won under the Italian restaurants category.

Co-owner Perry Fortuna thanked everyone for the "amazing reviews" and welcomed everyone to try authentic Amalfi Coast cuisine inspired by the Fortunas' family in Vico and Capri, Italy.

Perry's father, Joe, said opening the email from OpenTable and finding out they won was "great."

"It really meant a lot to us," Joe told Patch. "This is the feedback from the diners who have been here and experienced the restaurant."

Joe said winning OpenTable means more because it is not the "opinion of one person" or a contest where people can vote every day.

"I’m not saying the people who won best categories [in the Bethpage Best Awards] aren’t deserving," Joe said. "[OpenTable] is actually, the people have spoken. The people who have come here, tasted the food and dined here. When you look at how OpenTable gives out the award, it’s a combination of the reservations, the reviews, the feedback, experience. It’s not only the food."

Joe said he and his family set out to give people a taste of Italy in their own backyard.

"Why do people go to Italy? One of the main reasons is for the food," he said. "We wanted to bring that here. And we did. The best compliment that we get; we get a lot of this specific compliment: 'I feel like I’m eating at my grandmother’s house.' That’s because it’s home cooked, it’s made from scratch, everything’s fresh. To get that type of compliment is the best."

Farmingdale Village Mayor Ralph Ekstrand congratulated the Fortuna family, chef Eric LeVine and everyone at Vico for winning the award.

While LeVine primarily cooks at 317 Main Street — both he and the restaurant won Bethpage Best Awards — Joe credited LeVine for helping to bring his family's culinary vision to life when Vico opened.

"Everything helps. It all helps," Joe said. "Everybody knows chef Eric and the great food that he makes. It’s like an all around thing. It brings notoriety to everything, which is awesome."

Joe said he and his family are "very honored" and that the recognition "means a lot to us."

"It’s not so much our family name," Joe said. "It’s more of the town Vico Equense. Vico Equense is not a big town in Italy, so they all know we have this restaurant here and it’s named after Vico Equense. There’s a lot of pressure on us to be excellent. I go back three or four times a year. Perry goes back. When we go back, we hold our head up high, because we represented Vico Equense in America honorably."

Joe said multiple Michelin chefs hail from Vico, a town where people have a "passion for food."

"I don’t see it like it’s concentrated in Vico; I think all of Italy has that passion to make excellent food," Joe said.

Joe said it was an "honor" to secure Farmingdale's first OpenTable Diner's Choice award. He noted the award is good for his group's businesses — 317 Main Street as an American gastropub and The Nutty Irishman as a pub and music venue — but he hopes it will also be good for the rest of Farmingdale.

"To bring that award to Farmingdale, to this community, is great, because we’re part of the community," he said. "We give back. We’re bringing light and making the community know, 'Hey, there’s a Diner’s Choice Award in Farmingdale on Main Street.' It’s good for everybody. People may see it from another town, let’s say Port Washington, and they’re like, 'Oh wow, look, let’s try this restaurant Vico that won the award.' They come to Farmingdale and go, 'Oh wow, look at all these other restaurants on Main Street!' That’s why it’s good for us and it’s also good for Farmingdale."

Vico is currently selling tickets to a 3D interactive dining experience called Nya & Ned Save the World. The event features a Vico menu at The James Room; similar to what 317 Main Street did.