A Family-Style Italian Table With Big Chicken Dishes and a Busy Bar

A plate of Chicken Di Nonna arrives with plenty going on: a chicken breast filled with ricotta and spinach, finished with mozzarella, then settled into pesto vodka sauce. It is the sort of unabashedly substantial Italian-American dinner that makes a table pause before anyone reaches for a fork.

This family-run restaurant, associated with owner Enzo and his sons, puts the emphasis on familiar cooking done with care. The food is fresh and house-made in character, with sauces that taste like a point of pride rather than an afterthought. The menu ranges widely through pasta, chicken, veal, seafood, salads, pizza and sandwiches, so a group does not have to agree on one narrow idea of Italian dinner.

The room has the comfortable, lived-in sociability of an Italian family home, only with more tables and a full-service bar nearby. Regulars are known by name, diners greet one another, and an ordinary dinner can take on the easy bustle of a neighborhood gathering.

The meal can begin simply and well: bread with olive oil, marinated peppers and cheese. House-made focaccia with roasted sweet peppers and provolone offers a more substantial opening, bringing together soft bread, savory cheese and the sweet edge of roasted pepper.

A complimentary house salad keeps the first course from becoming too heavy. Parmesan peppercorn dressing, house balsamic vinaigrette and house dressing have all been options, alongside French and zesty Italian. It is a small detail, but a useful one when the rest of the meal may involve cream sauce, melted mozzarella or a serious plate of pasta.

For a brighter opening, the tomato salad has combined vine-ripened tomatoes with cucumbers, red onion, thin garlic slices, basil and a light oil-based dressing. Grilled shrimp has also appeared on salads, making the salad portion of the menu more than a token concession to restraint.

Chicken Di Nonna is a signature order for good reason. Ricotta and spinach give the chicken a soft, savory center; mozzarella adds a familiar blanket of richness; pesto vodka sauce brings the whole thing together. It is a composed dish, but not a delicate one.

Chicken Enzo, sometimes called Chicken deNo, takes a different route with a rich sherry cream sauce. The restaurant's chicken is notably tender, and this is the choice for diners drawn to a creamier, deeper sauce rather than tomato or lemon.

Chicken Parmesan is another generous plate. Its scale alone makes it a shareable-looking order for some tables, though many people are understandably reluctant to surrender a bite once the crisp chicken, sauce and cheese are in front of them.

Chicken Piccata has also been served over angel hair pasta in a thick lemon sauce with capers, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. That collection of ingredients gives the familiar piccata format more texture and color than a bare lemon-butter version.

Penne vodka is a recurring favorite, available as a sit-down pasta choice and a takeout order. It fits neatly into the restaurant's larger affection for sauces with enough body to cling to every forkful.

Traditional pasta choices have included fettuccini Alfredo and spaghetti with meat sauce, while rigatoni primavera offers a vegetable-centered turn. The menu's breadth is helpful at a mixed table: one person can order a substantial chicken entrée while another settles in with pasta, a salad or seafood.

The FraDiavolo pizza brings pepperoni, sausage and bacon together over a sauce that balances heat with a little sweetness. It is a meatier, livelier choice than a plain cheese pie, without pushing the spice so far that the sauce loses its flavor.

There is also a chicken cutlet sandwich with an old-school Hartford Franklin Avenue spirit. It has the direct appeal such a sandwich ought to have: a proper chicken cutlet, a familiar Italian-American sensibility and no need for a long explanation.

Arancini, seafood appetizers and clam chowder have all appeared around the table, giving the opening courses plenty of range. Fried calamari stands out for its crisp crust, a welcome contrast to the softer, saucier dishes that may follow.

Veal Parmigiana and other veal dishes broaden the restaurant's classic red-sauce side. For diners who prefer seafood to meat, the menu has room there, too, rather than treating it as a single obligatory entrée.

A pistachio cake provides a fitting finish when dinner has been a long one. After a meal built around bread, pasta and generously portioned main dishes, dessert may be a shared-table decision. It is still nice to know there is a proper sweet option waiting.

A hallway connects the restaurant to its full-service bar, where guests can order from the restaurant menu. That arrangement gives the place two distinct tempos: a dinner table for a full meal, or a more casual bar seat with pasta, pizza or a chicken dish close at hand.

Couples have dined at tables near the bar, while larger groups have found room for a more celebratory meal. The atmosphere is warm and relaxed, but it is not hushed. When the dining room fills, conversation and neighborhood energy rise with it.

Attentive service helps keep that busier setting manageable. This is a restaurant where a large menu and an active room work together: some tables are lingering over veal and wine, others are collecting pizza and salads to take home, and the bar remains part of the dinner conversation.

The restaurant works across several kinds of visits: weekday daytime dining, dinner, bar seating and takeout. Pizza, penne vodka and salads all translate comfortably to an order brought home, while the dining room is better suited to the full bread-to-dessert progression.

It can fill quickly, particularly at dinner and on Fridays, so reservations are a sensible choice for a planned evening. Walk-in availability can vary with the crowd.

There is a free parking lot, though open spaces can be tighter during busy periods. The restaurant is also easy to reach from the interstate, a practical advantage when gathering friends or family from different directions.