“Get ready for a lot of flavor.” This was what an old hand with the menu at Don Peppe said as the first plates came to our table. He could have shortened that to “get ready for a lot,” or just “get ready.” Some preparation for the meal to come is definitely in order for the uninitiated, a word that on a typical day applies to nobody at this white-tablecloth red-sauce restaurant in South Ozone Park, Queens.

Don Peppe novices need to know that certain items are not welcome on the premises, as listed on a sign on the front door: No Tank Tops, Hats, Strollers, Baby Carriages, Credit Cards. With these exceptions, the dress code is permissive and allows for pantsuits, polo shirts, track jackets, pleated trousers, wide shorts. The manager in charge of the waiting list one recent night — reservations aren’t taken — had on a guayabera embroidered with a Yankees logo. Waiters wear white shirts and neckties. Bussers are dressed in black T-shirts with The Original Baked Clams printed on the back, a stirring if undocumented claim.