Someone called ahead at Pier 220, made a reservation for Robert De Niro and requested a corner table.

The Titusville restaurant staff wondered, is it the Robert De Niro?

Turns out, it was.

"We were stoked. I love the guy," said Dr. Sachin Shenoy, who owns Pier 220. "My manager called me. We all came down. My whole staff was there to make sure he had a good time."

The Academy Award winner best known for "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" — considered by some to be Hollywood royalty, a legend in the mafia genre — visited the restaurant about 2 p.m. Tuesday with his son and a guest. They left two hours later.

According to his server, Janille Eclavea, De Niro ordered lobster bisque and enjoyed the french fries there.

"He had called and made a reservation," she said. "He actually used the name Robert De Niro. The person who took it, we weren't sure. We didn't know if it was really the Robert De Niro, but he asked for a corner seat."

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She described the experience as low-key. He opted to dine in at the waterfront restaurant. Fellow diners didn't immediately recognize him, but the Oscar winner did pose for photos with the Pier 220 staff.

De Niro, a pop culture phenom who's received coverage for his recent portrayal of Robert Mueller on "Saturday Night Live," had no entourage and dressed, well, like he was on vacation.

"I'm guessing he was vacationing because he went to Kennedy Space Center," Eclavea said.

"For small-town Titusville, it's a pretty big deal," said Pier 220 manager Jessica Burroughs. "He's like in every great mafia movie," she said, adding, "he's a lot funnier than he really is in a movie. In the movies, he's always a serious (guy)."

Some of De Niro's comedy credits include raunch coms like "Dirty Grandpa" and "Last Vegas" as well as the family-friendly "Meet the Parents" series.

His upcoming project, however, has made waves in Hollywood.

De Niro's film "The Irishman" reunites him with fellow Academy Award winners: "Goodfellas" co-star Joe Pesci, Martin Scorsese and "Godfather" co-star Al Pacino. A release date for the movie based on the book, "I Heard You Paint Houses," has not been set. For that film, De Niro enlisted the help of Larry Mazza of Cocoa Beach for research in playing someone in the mafia. Mazza wrote "The Life: A True Story About a Brooklyn Boy Seduced into the Dark World of the Mafia."

Pier 220 opened New Year's Eve, and Shenoy says business has been good. Having an Academy Award superstar visit the restaurant is the cherry on top.

"We're busy as is, but it's nice for people to come in, and it's a validation to what we do," he said. "It's De Niro, you know? It's iconic."

Sangalang is a social strategist with USA TODAY Network-Florida.

Contact Sangalang at 321-242-3630

or jsangalang@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @byjensangalang

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