Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in New Canaan

Spectacular dinner with our brother and sister in law at Gioia in Oyster Bay tonight. It was our fourth time there and their first. We split appetizers of grilled cauliflower with ricotta and pistachios and warm mozzarella with prosciutto de Parma. Normally, I hate cauliflower but can’t imagine not ordering it there as it is just so good. Everyone enjoyed it. The prosciutto in the mozzarella with prosciutto de Parma tastes a cut above from other restaurants I’ve been to and melts in your mouth. My husband had the tortellini; his brother had the Gnocchi Bolognese; his wife (a picky eater) had the capellacci; and I I had the gramigna. Throughout the dinner my husband wouldn’t shut up about how he loves that place and how good it was. (So much so I wanted to hit him! 😂). Everything was perfect and our brother and sister in law both said they’ll be back. We had a little bit of a wait for the table (but not that long) so the apologetic manager said our first round of drinks was on the house. The pours are generous. The food portions look small, but they are really all you need. You leave satiated without leftovers and enjoyed a delicious meal. In my visits there I have had the mushroom lasagna, the ravioli, the capellacci, and gramigna and honestly can’t say which I liked best. Cappuccino was perfect too. Excellent wait service. Can’t wait to go back for a fifth time and turn on some more friends. (Not many pictures because background pretty dark.)

Had dinner at Alessandro’s last night to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I’d been wanting to eat here for a long time and we had a great time. The food was fantastic and the service was excellent. My husband is hard to please when it comes to really good Italian food and he was very impressed. Looking forward to enjoying many more meals there.

We don't usually do Valentine's Day dinner but we are longtime fans of Chef Peter Kelly's culinary skills, innovative menus, great cocktails, and fabulous service, and had been to Basso 56 before but have been wanting to try Chef Kelly's new location. So this seemed like a great excuse to check it and it did NOT disappoint. Great wine list, exciting cocktail menu, awesome service, and amazing and innovative menu but yet able to accommodate 2 dietary restrictions in our party of 4 without a problem or hesitation. And Chef Kelly made the rounds in the dining room twice during our meal and was as friendly and gracious as always. Sorry no pictures but everything was presented beautifully and absolutely delicious. Salads were fresh and light, grilled octopus was terrific, shrimp with truffle special appetizer was outstanding, branzino was cooked perfectly, all the pastas are made in-house and delicious, and while not on the menu, they made a cacio e pepe for one of our guests who had a dietary need and it was outstanding, especially since it was a very busy night. We will definitely be back soon!

I’ve been trying different dishes and all have been delicious. I’ve never been disappointed.

Zucca Gastrobar is a favorite- food and cocktails are always excellent. If you are planning a special event - go to Zucca. We have had several events at Zucca and they go out of their ways to accommodate special requests. A favorite spot in Westport!