Sunnyside Restaurant Week Kicks Off April 17, More Than 40 Restaurants Participating

Pupusas from Ricas Pupusas Y Mas, a Salvadoran restaurant located at 47-55 47th St. (Photo via Ricas Pupusas Y Mas)

April 5, 2022 By Michael Dorgan

Sunnyside Shines is holding its annual Restaurant Week later this month with more than 40 eateries slated to participate in the event.

The tenth annual Sunnyside Restaurant Week is scheduled to take place from April 17 through April 23 and food lovers will get a chance to sample cuisine from around the world at discounted prices.

As part of Sunnyside Restaurant Week, many businesses will offer a three-course dinner menu for $30 while other businesses will run breakfast, lunch, drinks or dessert specials.

“Different places are doing different things so it’s important to click around on our website to see who’s doing what,” said Dirk McCall, Executive Director of Sunnyside Shines.

“We’re getting menus from every single participating restaurant and we’re doing little write-ups on each one telling the story of these restaurants. It’s going to be exciting.”

In all, there are 43 restaurants taking part in this year’s event which are all situated within or near the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District.

McCall is urging residents to come out and support local restaurants given the economic challenges they have faced over the last two years due to the pandemic. He said that small business owners are also on edge because of soaring inflation and higher utility bills.

“Restaurants have been hurting,” McCall said. “Their numbers are down, people are not spending as much money and food costs have gone way up.”

“They really need us to come out and support them so we’re trying to make sure that we drive as much traffic to our small businesses as possible.”

Establishments participating in Sunnyside Restaurant Week will serve a variety of cuisines including Italian, Japanese, Peruvian, Filipino, Indian, Turkish, Mexican, Irish, Colombian, Tibetan, and Thai.

Empanadas from I love Paraguay Restaurant (Photo: Instagram @iloveparaguayrestaurant)

McCall touted a number of restaurants for customers to check out including Punda Tibetan Restaurant, located at 39-35 47th Ave., I Love Paraguay Restaurant, located at 43-16 Greenpoint Ave., and Ricas Pupusas Y Mas, a Salvadoran restaurant focusing on traditional dishes located at 47-55 47th St.

“Pupusas Y Mas is the most delectable restaurant, they serve some of the best pupusas I have had in my entire life and they make them fresh every day,” McCall said.

Some of the establishments participating for the first time include crepe specialists La Dolce Vita, located at 42-07 Queens Blvd., and the coffee shop Chakra Café, located at 44-01 Queens Blvd.

Regular favorites like the Lowery, Bar 43, Riko Peruvian Restaurant, Dazies Restaurant, Takesushi and Sotto le Stelle also make the list.

McCall said that some establishments will offer various specials instead of the three-course dinner deal for $30 due to the nature of their business. For instance, La Dolce Vita will offer three crepes for $25.

“We’ve changed it up a little bit this year because the items are a little bit less expensive in a lot of the smaller establishments,” McCall said.

“It’s going to be a really good week. You can eat three times a day or more and we have a wide diversity of restaurants participating.”

He said that Ida’s Nearabout, a bar located at 43-13 Queens Blvd., will offer drink specials. It is also participating in Sunnyside Restaurant Week for the first time.

Sunnyside Shines will be holding contests during Restaurant Week that will include participating customers being enterered for a chance to win gift certificates.

Customers who dine at three or more participating restaurants will be entered into a draw to win a $100, $75, or $50 gift certificate.

Additionally, customers will also get a chance to vote on the best servers at the restaurants, with cash prizes up for grabs for the top three servers.

A full list of all the participating restaurants taking part in Sunnyside Restaurant Week can be viewed on the Sunnyside Shines website here.

Restaurant Week menus will be posted as they become available.