Rocco Restaurant

Rocco Restaurant
Restaurant information
Established1922 (1922)
Closed2012 (2012)
Previous owner(s)Rocco Stanziano, Antonio DaSilva, Gianni Respinto
Street address181 Thompson Street
CityNew York City
CountyManhattan
StateNew York
Postal/ZIP Code10012
CountryUSA
Coordinates40°43′40.8″N 74°0′0.8″W / 40.728000°N 74.000222°W / 40.728000; -74.000222

Rocco Restaurant was an Italian restaurant on Thompson Street (Manhattan) in Greenwich Village.

Ralph Redillo, the superintendent of the building, has said it was a “big mob joint” and in the 1950s, attracted Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. Later celebrity guests included Johnny Depp, Robert De Niro and Screw Magazine editor Al Goldstein.

Mario Batali worked there as a chef.

It is said that in 1952, Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo ordered a hit there. In September 1952, he met with Joseph Valachi for dinner. He was given a hit on Eugenio Giannini, a Bureau of Narcotics informer from the Lucchese crime family.