Italian Restaurants in Hartford, Connecticut
Savoy Pizzeria & Craft Bar is located at 32 Lasalle Road in West Hartford, Connecticut. Their pizza is considered a Neapolitan pizza as its origins are from Naples. It is said that in 1889 Raffaele Esposito of Pietro II Pizzaiolo pizzeria was asked to come to the palace with three of his pizza creations for Queen Margherita and King Umberto of Savoy. One of the pizza’s had the colors of the Italian flag, red, white and green and the queen declared it to be her favorite. It was named after Queen Margherita and quickly became one of the favorite pizzas throughout the kingdom.
So, the name Savoy Pizzeria & Craft Bar came from the long-ago kingdom of Savoy. The tradition of Neapolitan pizza uses only the finest ingredients available. Starting with the dough, they use a very fine, high quality dough and mix it with a specific water temperature. Adding a few other secret ingredients their and having the dough rise and relax many times, the dough comes out of their 900-degree oven with a delicate crunch. Of course, other ingredients are added prior to cooking. The cooking process takes about 90 seconds.
People from Hartford flock to Savoy Pizzeria & Craft Bar just to enjoy their tasty specialty pizza’s. The positive posts on the world wide web give them a 4.4-star rating with over 650 people weighing in.
The Mill on the River is located in a mill that dates back 200 years ago originally called the Podunk Mill. It is located in South Windsor which is only about14 miles from downtown Hartford, Connecticut. They have a creative touch on not only modern American food they also serve great Italian food and offer an extensive bar and wine menu.
The dam was originally built by Indians and Colonists and was sadly destroyed during a flood in 1750. Joseph Rockwell stepped up to the plate and rebuilt the dam in 1775. The mill was used to grind rye, buckwheat and corn which was stored in bins until it was ready to be sold. The kitchen area also served as a post office. Also, on the property was an ice house and a brick yard. After the ice was cut on the pond, they stored it covered in sawdust so it could last for the year.
The Mill on the River is considered one of the most beautiful restaurants in the state of Connecticut. Its picturesque views give their clientele the feeling they are dining in the past. Is it no wonder they have over fifteen hundred reviews on the internet giving them a 4.5-star rating?
Located just and eight-minute drive from downtown Hartford, Connecticut in Wethersfield is Carmela’s Pasta Shop. Owner and operator, Carmela Orfitelli, immigrated to the United States from a small town south of Napes with her family in 1968. Carmela was only 17 and did not know any english.
Carmela was only in the United States three days before she took her first job in a tool and die company. Fortunately, she had uncles, cousins and aunts that had already immigrated to Wethersfield so she not only worked with them to learn the English language, she also paid attention to the locals as well as studying movie dialogue and listening to language records.
She married at the age of twenty to her husband Richard and had two children. Sadly, Richard died at the age of 46 from cancer and Carmela had to raise her two children on her own by working several jobs nonstop.
She took a big leap in 1997 and opened Carmela’s Pasta Shop. She was terrified it would fail, however, when people came in and tasted her authentic Italian dishes, they spread the word and soon she was so busy she had to hire help. Not only is this place a great place to dine in, Carmela makes many items that can be bought at the store and taken home to eat.
Today her son, Michael and sister, Maria help her working at the counter and in the kitchen. She gets a 4.5-star rating on Google.