One of the best restaurants in the New Haven area. Incredibly friendly and attentive staff. Amazing food. A must try if you're nearby.

We recently moved down the street and thought we'd try some new local restaurants with outdoor seating. I relate to previous reviewers in saying that the food was great, but the service was pretty bad. I didn't get the impression that this had anything to do with the pandemic, and they weren't terribly busy when we were there. The waiters came to check on us fairly infrequently, especially toward the end. I think we asked for a box four times before we got one, and it took a year to get the check. Unfortunately this resulted in us leaving a little moody, as we had been sitting outside for a full hour and a half and just wanted to go home. As mentioned, the food was great, loved the burrata -- except for the dessert. I hate to say this, but that was the worst "tiramisu" I've ever had; mainly because it wasn't really tiramisu, it was like a cup of thick pudding. I think it was an attempt at innovation, but it was not good. Real properly made tiramisu never disappoints! read more

Cafe Amici - Burrata - Italian Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

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Second time back. Loved it the first time but now think that had to do with a multitude of happy hour drinks at Mickey's beforehand. This visit, some dishes were hits (eggplant tower), while others were so so (scrod oreganato, eggplant parm and Oreo pie). There are too many good restaurants in nearby New Haven to return again. Cute cute atmosphere with twinkling white lights and real local hangout in the bar area are definite pluses. read more

Busy bar. Small glasses for drinks, but potent tasty. Meatball app could have been more hot, by temperature. Specials prices are way too high. Salmon with two small shrimp, $40. Will return for drinks and apps. read more

Four of us had dinner last night. A snippy hostess, if that's what in fact she was, was more than compensated for by our server Tyrone, who attended to our every wish. Great guy. Food was excellent (two of us had Chicken Amici, my go-to choice here). But I'm dropping a star off of what oughta be 5 because my Dewar's on the rocks showed up on the bill with a 50 cent upcharge for, ready? ICE! The excuse I was given for this was forgettably flimsy. C'mon, guys! 50 cents for ice? Really? That'll cost you a star. Otherwise, very happy. read more

So decided to frequent again since one year passed since my last review here. Last experience was terrible and have to say my review stays the same. Ordered Veal Florentine, a basic Italian dish. Heavy on the sauce as the veal was floating as well as the spinach. The quality of the veal was subpar...hard and chewy. Meal arrived and we commented on how unappetizing it looked. Sad really as this is a basic easy dish. My fellow diners ordered gnocchi which looked and tasted decent. One had chicken parm floating in cheese. Other had salmon special with artichokes, tomatoes and olives which looked and tasted fine. House salad is pathetic with wilted lettuce and one slice of mealy tomato, and Caesar salad was not impressive. Can't recommend this eatery any longer and done going there. Sorry to say this since it once was a great local place. It was crowded tonight which amazed me considering the food is no longer good. Would love to support my local eatery but not now. Enter at your own risk as it's spotty and unreliable at best. read more

Great quaint place in the heart of spring glen! Went here during restaurant week with my friends. The line was out the door but it was definitely worth the wait! I had the fried calamari which was the best in town (a must try). Following that I had a house salad with a delicious house made balsamic dressing (Caesar dressing is house made too!). For my entree I had the chicken amici which is chicken with mushrooms spinach roasted peppers and mozzarella. It had a wonderful Marsala sauce paired with it which made it outstanding! I then took home a sweet cannoli which they also make on sight! This place is a must try restaurant! I'll definitely be back! read more

I'll never go back to this place, been going there for about two month now and for the second time they got my mussel order wrong. I ordered white and got red, I send it back they washed the red sauce out and tried to disguise it by just adding some made up bullshit sauce. Didn't work !!!!!!! Sinccerely One your best tippers read more

I heard this place was great. Well, it was just OK. There were a few problems. I couldn't sit under the awning as they said they had reservations there. An hour and a quarter later as I was leaving only two 4-seaters were filled. Most tables were empty, I didn't like the untruth. I wanted to order take out as well and as I can't eat salad I asked to switch to pasta. There was a $2 upcharge. I can't believe substituting $.50 worth of pasta for $2.50 worth of salad warrants an upcharge. I did order clams with red sauce which was OK, but the sauce was just OK. It needed some oregano, garlic and a pinch of red pepper as it was very bland. And they serve little clams but do not have seafood forks. All that with a touch of supercilious attitude. Don't think I'll return read more

I've been to this restaurant about 8 times now, and I have yet to be disappointed. A restaurant should be reviewed based off of a few categories ... 1. Food Quality, 2. The Service, 3. Vibes 1. **The Food**: The food at this place is good, even very good, but sometimes it falls completely flat. What I have come to realize is if you order something on their standard menu then you're safe. They even have some hidden gems on there that are actually quite tremendous (their steak being one of them). Generally, their appetizers are fantastic as well (especially their eggplant tower/bruschetta). However if you order something off of their 'specials' menu then you're really taking a chance. Some of their specials are very tasty, however some can be incredibly bland or even off-putting; I've noticed this particularly with their seasonal specials. In general however, you will be very pleased with their food. 2. *The Service*: Let's face it, good/bad service can absolutely make or break the best restaurants in town. I am of the firm belief that if I'm going out to eat and paying good money to do so, I deserve the best service (for my money) and anything less is unacceptable. That being said, I've NEVER had a bad experience with the service here. In fact, the service has always been exceptional (particularly during dinner hours). The wait staff is young, but not too young to where they'd be immature. They're young, friendly, professional, and attentive. And the owner is VERY responsive to anything short of that. The owner makes himself very present and genuinely cares about your meal being everything you'd hoped it would be. 3. *Vibes*: The vibes at this place in my opinion are second to none (as long as you don't sit in the back towards the bathrooms). The restaurant itself is full of lively energy and good vibes. The wait staff is friendly and it really feels like a family type of atmosphere when you're in there. They even have a bar attached to their restaurant with the friendliest bartender I've ever met. Its a small bar, maybe 20 seats in the room with 2 televisions, but you'll feel right at home there. *** Bottom Line: Great vibes, reasonable prices, very good food. Every restaurant has the occasional 'hiccup' this place included, however overall you will be very satisfied. It has one of my favorite bars in the area and I consider this place to be a bit of a hidden gem. I definitely recommend it. read more

I loved this place. I went out with hubby to celebrate my birthday. Everything was perfect! I ordered the shrimp limoncello. The fresh noodles, homemade sauce and tender shrimp was to die for. Of course for dessert we had cannolis. I will definitely be back for more savory, authentic food and awesome service. read more

This place was terrible. The wait staff was nice enough, but it looked like a diner inside ( It has been redone since I ate there so it might be nicer) and we had people right behind us with no privacy screen to the point were we almost had to talk to each other (and did) because they were so close. They were very nice, but I don't necessarily want to feel forced to make eye contact with the people at the next table. The food was edible, and that is the nicest thing that I can say about it. Not much else to report. There are better Italian places out there for sure, so keep searching for something else if you are in the mood for pasta... read more

Fettuccine Carbonara. Don't forget. You must order this. My boyfriend did and it was amazing (damn it, wish I had ordered it too!) Instead I had the Penna Vodka which was quite good also although it was piping hot. I'm talking, when we asked for the leftovers to be wrapped up, steam was still escaping out of it. We started with the truffle fries and the panecotto. Might I add, that anywhere we go for dinner that has a panecotto on the menu, we'll try it. THIS PLACE BY FAR TOPS THE CHARTS OF BEST LOCAL PANECOTTO. :) All that plus the caesar salads (awesome dressing and perfect amount of it by the way) and we were way too full. Rather varied music selection playing. Always kept you guessing what was going to play next. Next time maybe we'll sit outside, by the time we left, it was pretty bumpin' out there with not a single table available. Lived in the area for a bit over 2 years now, wish I tried this place sooner. Definitely will be back. (Not to mention there is a "Fried Cheesecake" on the menu....too bad we didn't have room for it. MMMmmm I can only imagine....) read more

This place was recommended to us but I was skeptical based on the reviews. Turns out the reviews are right on, it's an okay place with okay food. They have outdoor seating which was nice, but it's right on Whitney so the traffic was a bit loud at times. I got the Shrimp Puttanesca, the shrimp was fine but the dish was mostly tomato sauce and not particularly flavorful. We didn't stick around for dessert but the options looked pretty good. read more

The food is great, but the service really stinks. You know that feeling when you stand at the hostess stand and have waiters rush by dozens of times without so much as a "hello" or "we'll be right with you?" That's Amici's to a T. The poor service starts at the door and extends through dinner, with none of the polite chitchat you expect from wait staff. Somehow, with plenty of staff rushing through aisles with heads down as though on a mission, the food, water, and bills move oh-so-slowly. The manager (I think he's the manager anyway-- he's always there) is the only one who is friendly and seems to care if you're waiting for a table. I went in today for pick up that was supposed to take 25 minutes and took 40. The waitress helping me did not offer a time estimate while I stood there waiting for 15 minutes. She wouldn't even catch my eye or pretend to check on the order when I asked! When I finally pulled over the manager he apologized and promised it would be out in two minutes. When the original waitress handed me my order, it was with no smile, no apology, and no explanation. It was honestly shocking-- though not as shocking as when a neglected table tried to flag me down to take their order, thinking I was wait staff! We often come here because it's so nearby, but we can't help but hope the management will start training staff to smile and be more pleasant... They are truly grumpy and it doesn't make for a good dining experience. read more

Ok well ... almost exactly 5 years after my last review (and last time here), we were back as part of a group of 13 old grumpy folks. (Well, we are younger and nice ... but the rest of our group were old folks!). Now I have a thing about asking for separate checks .. I HATE doing that to a server. But before we sat, one of our party grabbed our waitress and told her she insisted our table have separate checks. Except for my partner and I together each person wanted their own. The waitress was super sweet about it and accommodated the request with no problem at all. Mental note ... never again with this group. Again I was SO hoping to like this place but it just fell flat like last time. One of our party had the Fried Calamari as his appetizer and sent it back. Couldn't believe theyd serve a mess like what he got ... underfried calamari -- all stuck together in clumps. Just terrible. An eggplant entrée that was just a thick slice of unseasoned plain eggplant seared on a grill till it was tough, then slopped with sauce. My entrée was a special that night ... Spaghetti with shrimp (4), roasted cauliflower and peas. Ok but nothing special .. not a decent portion either and no presentation .. just slopped in a bowl. And AGAIN like 5 yrs ago, the pasta was underdone. How can an Italian place not get pasta right?? My partner had a salmon special that came over rice. Was decent but the rice was overly garlicked. Another thing that's really idiotic about this place .. is the Specials List doesn't show prices. Server said (when asked why) .. "that's just how the management here insists on doing it .. you just have to ask us for the prices" .. how ridiculous is that? So again .. disappointed ... second time ... and in spite of the good service we had from our nice server, we ain't comin back. Detinitely not worth the $96. tab for two. read more

My wife and I got a gift card for this place at a silent auction. The first time we tried to go was a Friday night. The place was jammed and smelled great. We could not wait the hour it would have taken to seat us - we did not have reservation on Yale's graduation night but looked forward to returning. We finally made it back. We were seated quickly at a nice outside table and were greeted by the same great smells. The specials menu listed G-Bot beer and I thought, "This is it!" Well, they were out of G-Bot and it went downhill. Appetizers were panacotta, which was OK. A bit heavy, needed salt, but otherwise fairly tasty. The heirloom tomatoe salad featured somewhat over ripe tomatoes. Better than supermarket quality but nowhere near what I can get at the farmstand in August. My main was shrimp fra diavalo. It featured six flavorless overcooked shrimp in a banal tomato sauce that lacked any character or garlic. No diavalo whatsoever. The peppers were cut into tiny tasteless morsels. It could not be saved by a liberal dousing of crushed red pepper. My wife ordered the chicken picata. Her first bite mingled the satisfying picata sauce with undercooked chicken. The waitress graciously took it back and boffered my wife the menu to select something else. She ordered the penne vodka which arrived at the table quite quickly. I did not try it, but her review was rather negative. Undercooked pasta, overly heavy sauce that lacked cream or any trace of garlic or the pancetta that was promised in the menu. The Caesar salad consisted of store bought dressing and what seemed to be pre-shredded cheese. The house side salad swam in a "eh" vinaigrette. On a brite note, her blueberry lemonade, from the specials menu, was excellent. read more

We ordered a large sausage and peppers pizza and a Caesar salad. The pizza was just ok but you should stay away from the Caesar salad! What a rip off! For $8,95 I'd at least expect etc freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and home made croutons. What you get is sliced romaine-not even organic-topped with store bought boxed croutons that were manufactured years ago, and Kraft grated cheese that doesn't require refrigeration and comes in a green plastic shaker jar! Please!!!! And I'm quite sure the dressing was not fresh or homemade but jarred and bought from Sysco in a 5lb tub. But kudos to you for the fantastic food cost realized with this menu item. read more

Ate at the bar with a friend. Nice neighbor hood spot but not off the Beaton path.Calamari was good, Bruschetta was better. Homemade Buccatini-scallion pesto with shrimp, roasted tomato & pignoli nuts on the special 's menu was to die for. Not a large selection for alcohol but sufficient. I'm going back !!! read more

Will cater to gluten free. Meal was really good. Good amount of beers on tap. Wine was good as well and fairly priced. Nice portions as well for fair pricing. Would recommend. read more

I've had decent Pizza here. However, all the other dishes I've tried (been here 3x over the years) were poorly prepared. Tilapia tasted like old fryer oil & was accompanied by mealy beans. Caesar salad was watery and sour. There are many Italian places in the area - this is one to pass up. read more

While this was once among my favorite in Hamden it has gone down in the last few years. Service is weak; slow and curt. Food is fair: usually very salty, overcooked and poorly made. Price is a little high-ambiance fine. read more

Eh, i've had worse. If my opening comment wasn't enough to sell you on this place, maybe this will. I had started a review and forgot about it. I actually had to look up the restaurant to jog my memory. Anyway... I ended up coming to this restaur...i mean place, a few times. Once it was to try it out, the other 2 times were for other events so i had no choice. The fried calamari was tasty, but everything after that was unexciting. It wasn't good, it wasn't bad, it just was. One note: SALT WARNING. In my group (6 people) we each had very salty meals and were drinking copious amounts of water the next day. read more

Many years later - we decided to give Cafe Amici another try. I was a skeptic from the start- but it was a far better experience this time and I'm glad I gave it a 2nd chance Service was great; dinner portions were big, plentiful and downright tasty. Lots of sauce on everything - but that's the way I prefer Italian food. Even the warm table bread and Caesar salad were worth noting in this review as being impressive. read more

I never write reviews but I had to for this one! Café Amici is the best Italian spot. I called in an order for pickup & on my way out, my car wouldn't start!!! So I called them & asked if they can deliver it instead. At first they told me they were about to close & the driver had left for the night. So I agreed to a refund. Can you believe the manager delivered the food herself!? Great customer service!!! I've worked in the restaurant business for years and one thing I truly appreciate is great customer service. Not to mention, the food is amazing! Wow I'm so happy. I can't thank you enough! You've got yourself a loyal customer for life! read more

We used to come here often and loved it. Their veal was always tender and the veal Florentine was always delicious; had a distinct lemony sauce. We were very disappointed tonight... the veal Florentine was completely different; barely any lemon flavor and very little sauce. The portion was large but the flavor very different and bland. We also ordered the beat and prosciutto salad; however there was no prosciutto. The marinara sauce was good but a little acidic. I thought maybe the chef changed and asked the waiter and he said no; he offered no solution and didn't seem to care about my opinion. I am very disappointed because previous to this experience I loved the place and was thinking about the Veal Florentine all day. read more

The food is wonderful and the service even better. Pizza is so good! (Words of my 8 year old granddaughter)

It's basic food. Nothing good, nothing bad. To me it's just a pizza joint with average food. I thought mine was unfortunately tasteless. What makes it only 2 stars is that this place charges as if it were some 4 star restaurant and it just isn't. The price is not worth it. read more

Well known local "secret". Outdoor seating, casual restaurant and friendly bar to the side. The waitstaff is friendly and well versed in the menu, which has different specials listed each time we go. The manager, head chef / owner and bar manager all work together to create a comfortable atmosphere. We have stopped for wine and appetizers, full meals, and simple cocktails and always have a great time. A little known fact is the gluten free personal pizza is among the best in the area, crispy and perfectly done. My favorite appetizer is the eggplant tower, which is plated and garnished like you would expect at a restaurant with 4x the cost. Stop by for casual comfort and a very good meal. Shhhh don't tell anyone, I don't want to wait for a table next time! read more

Went with my husband during restaurant week. The food and service were great! We had the crabcake and rollatini for apps, both were tasty. I had Chicken Milanese, large portion lots of sauce (I am a big fan of sauce on the plate - not just a small splash). My husband had steak, asked for it Medium Rare and it came out perfect!! We had cheesecake (not made in house) but it was great. The service was perfect, she was there when we needed her but not overwhelming! My only suggestion would be to make sure that espresso is hot hot before serving, but I am sure we were the only ones enjoying one. We will be back!! read more

The food seemed pretty good, but I couldn't try it. The hostess said it was twenty minute wait, came back after twenty minutes, she said it was now a twenty five minute wait. The disdain in her eyes towards my utter existence will haunt me for years. I would only go here if you enjoy watching an old hag taking out her disappointment in her own life on unsuspecting patrons. read more

I think this place is very underrated. The value of the food is excellent and the addition of the bar gives this place a whole new feel. The bartenders are great and the happy hour specials can't be beat. It's a great place to either grab a drink and an appetizer, have a meal at the bar, or bring the whole family for dinner. It's definitely one of the best "local" places in Hamden. read more

I had the pizza as an appetizer and the flavor was just off. It had a very strange taste. I had a garlic dish with angel hair pasta and it was dry. I was really disappointed with my food. read more

My sister comes here frequently as she lives in the neighborhood. I have not been here in many years. We were planning a girls weekend that began with dinner at Cafe Amici's. We opted to sit indoors because of noise from the traffic. We waited almost 5 minutes without seeing a soul. Finally a server said "Sit wherever you want" so we did. There were only 2 occupied tables inside. Immediately we were informed that there was no pizza that night. No pizza in a pizza restaurant? That was what we came for. We got menus and water. We ordered fried calamari as an app. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. Our server brought us bread and butter. It was stale. Finally the owners wife slid our calamari onto the table as she passed by without so much as stopping. There were no clean plates to eat it on and no serving utensils given to serve the calamari, no spoon for the marinara sauce. We never had our water refilled. We were never even asked how we were doing. We got garden salads, and this is where I became disgusted. I am a cold pantry chef and would be horrified to serve what I received. An eighth of a tomato. 1 piece, and equivalent to half a slice of red onion. There was also a lettuce core in my salad but it was quite small and I know shit happens so no biggie about the core. However they should be ashamed to call this a salad. This is a restaurant, not the local soup kitchen. My sister ordered a glass of wine to have with dinner. It arrived after 20 minutes, but by this time we had waited an hour for our food. Finally the waitress comes over and says your dinner will be out in 5-10 minutes. Then she says "To be honest, more like 10 minutes". We cancelled our meal at that point. She came back and said we were all set and apologized stating the kitchen was tending to the patio orders first. They need to employ a manager who knows how to prioritize. In any event there was no charge for what we ate up to that point, which was basically equivalent to a prison meal.....some lettuce, some water, some stale bread. Thanks but no thanks, I will not waste my time again. read more

First, the service was fantastic. Second, the atmosphere was friendly. Third, the food was pretty disappointing. The roasted beat salad was tasty, but the Lobster ravioli we had as our entree was very bland. I've had better from the refrigerated section at Stop and Shop. We had banana's fosters for desert and it was fine, but nothing special. We may return on a nice night to sit on the patio for a glass of wine and some calamari, but we definitely will not spend the money to eat dinner here again. read more

First time here and absolutely felt in love!! First of all, I'm not from here. I live in Stamford about 1 hour away. After I went to Ikea with my boyfriend we were starving and wanted a place to eat with an outside sitting. We came across this restaurant looked at menu and said "this is it". Let me tell you how happy I am with the decision we made. The food was so delicious! The restaurant was so cute and comfortable. Our server, Brett, was the best. He knew his menu and was great at helping me choose what to eat. Next time you go, I recommend you asking for him. He made us feel so comfortable and was so friendly. Thank you for such a great experience. Next time I'm we're in town, we'll be back! read more

Cafe Amici - Thyme truffle fries. Sooo good! And the smell was to die for! - Italian Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

If I was rating this solely on food quality, it would be a five. We have gone four times since moving to Hamden, and each time I am blown away by the meals. Typically I order pasta dishes; however last night I got the Almond Tilapia with Farro. It was phenomenal! I was also impressed with my martini. With that being said, three out of the four times the service was HORRENDOUS. We waited 15 minutes just to be seated. I had to carry the high chair to our table. My toddler son was so hungry and we waited a half hour for a bread basket. We needed to ask the waitress three times for the drink list, and our meals took forever. Overall, the service is simply forgetful and slow. Having worked in the service industry for half my life, I can confidently say that this restaurant is very much understaffed for the amount of costumers they have coming in. Staff also need to be re-trained. For the high quality food, Cafe Amici definitely needs to improve their service to match. read more

Service is wonderful, food is amazing, terrific staff, overall amazing experience. Give this beautiful Old Louisville treasure a shot. You won't be disappointed! read more

When a power outage threatened to ruin our wedding day, Cafe Amici came to the rescue. With a food truck, a generator and a plan - they were ready to cater our wedding within a few hours. The way they worked so closely and quickly with our wedding planner made the transition so easy. They helped recreate some of our wedding menu (cocktail hour bites, salad, pasta) and then opened up the party for wood-fired pizza. I never would have imagined this would be what I served at my beach wedding reception, but it was absolutely perfect! All of my guests raved about the food, and most of them were Italian! The addition of wood-fired pizza actually made the reception flow better as people began to get up out of their seats. As a vegan, they took care of me no problem. Serving my salad with no cheese, making my pasta vegan and making me a special vegan pizza. They even packaged up additional pasta and two personal pizzas for my husband and I that we ate after the reception on our hotel room balcony. It was perfect. The cooks were genuinely nice and attentive to our guests needs. We are so incredibly happy that Cafe Amici was there for our wedding. Highly recommend!! read more

We went a 5:45 and were seated right away. When seated the waitress got our drinks and brought a bread basket right to the table. Our salads and appetizer came in a timely manner and so did our entree'. It was a two hour dinner which is what I expect when I go out for a evening. I don't want to be rushed in and out. Let's just say for people complaining about the wait it is a small place, it's very popular. Make sure you call ahead of time if you don't want to wait, find out if they have any slow times. If you come at 7-9 expect a wait. The only issue I didn't give 5 stars was the tab. A little costly for pasta dishes. read more