Tucked into a plaza at 555 Boston Post Road, Andini’s Restaurant is easy to drive past if you don’t know it’s there. Plenty of Orange families do know. Owners Redi and Jessica have run the Italian-American restaurant since 2011, and in that time it has become what their own website calls “The Hidden Gem of Orange”: a place for garlic knots, veal meatballs, thin-crust pizza and a glass of wine with people who know your name.
“Don’t let the unassuming exterior fool you,” Mina wrote in a five-star Google review this year. “Inside, this place welcomes you with a cozy, family-style neighborhood vibe that makes you want to become a regular immediately.” With 4.7 stars from more than 300 Google reviews, plenty of people seem to feel the same way.
Redi and Jessica’s neighborhood place
Andini’s opened in Orange in 2011. Redi and Jessica set out to create a place built on warm hospitality and comforting Italian-American cooking: handcrafted pastas, fresh seafood, signature pizzas and a wine list meant for lingering. Fifteen years later, the menu still runs from antipasto and soups to pasta, entrées and a long list of gourmet pizzas, with rotating lunch specials and weekly chef features in between.
It is the kind of place people return to. Shelby, who calls Andini’s “one of my absolute favorite restaurants to visit regularly,” went on to hire the restaurant for her wedding. Jay, who came in with kids, wrote that the staff was “very welcoming and super friendly,” that the free bread came out fresh, and that the entrées and pasta plates were “huge and delicious.” Yvonne, writing two weeks ago after her first visit, kept it short: “It was our first time here and it was delicious!!! We’ll be back.”
These days the restaurant asks weekend diners to call ahead. A note on its homepage recommends reservations so you don’t “get stuck on the waitlist,” though walk-ins are welcome when there’s room.
What to order
Start with the dishes regulars mention most. Garlic knots come up in 17 Google reviews, more than any other item, and the veal meatballs have their own fan club.
Veal meatballs ($15.95). Made with 100% ground veal, served in red sauce and topped with ricotta. Mina called them “incredible texture and flavor. Truly stand-out quality.”
Garlic knots ($12.95). Fresh garlic and parmesan, with red sauce on the side. They show up on nearly every table and on the catering trays, too.
Chicken Milanese ($26.95). A crispy cutlet under arugula tossed with red onion, tomato, parmesan and lemon dressing. Mina called it “easily one of the best versions of this dish we have ever tasted in Connecticut.”
Lobster ravioli ($25.95). Shallots, plum tomato, Madeira wine and cream. “Can’t say I’ve ever had better lobster ravioli anywhere else,” Alex wrote, adding that the cannolis are “out of this world.”
Penne gorgonzola ($26.95). Chicken, cherry peppers and a gorgonzola sauce. “If you love Gorgonzola cheese, this is an absolute must-try,” Mina wrote.
Pork Chop Andini ($32.95). The house chop comes with roasted peppers, capers, cherry peppers and a wine demi. The pork chop comes up in four Google reviews, along with the chicken marsala ($25.95).
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The pizza
Andini’s pizza is thin-crust and comes in 12-inch and 16-inch sizes, with gluten-free pies available in a 10-inch size. A plain cheese pie is $15 small and $19 large. The gourmet list is where it gets interesting:
- Caprese ($18/$23): a white pie with fresh mozzarella, arugula, red onion, tomato and a balsamic reduction.
- Mashed potato pizza ($16/$21): bacon, garlic, olive oil and Italian herbs. Mashed potatoes come up in seven Google reviews.
- Andini Hot Oil ($17/$22): sausage, caramelized onions, hot oil and parmesan.
- Clams casino ($18/$23): red or white, with clams, bacon, red and green peppers and garlic.
- Margherita ($16/$21): olive oil, garlic, tomato, fresh basil, mozzarella and parmesan.
The calzone ($15) is stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella and comes with marinara on the side; extra fillings are $2 each.
For something lighter, the arugula salad ($15) comes with fresh mozzarella, red onion, tomato, balsamic reduction and a lemon oil dressing, and the gorgonzola and walnut salad ($16) adds cranberries and candied walnuts to mixed greens. On a cold night, the soups are classic Italian comfort: pasta fagioli ($8) with vegetables and beans, or escarole and bean ($9) simmered in garlic and chicken broth with parmesan.
The pizza trailer
Andini’s doesn’t stay inside the restaurant. Its wood-fired pizza trailer pulls up to backyard celebrations, big family gatherings and even weddings, and the crew sets up, makes pies until everyone is full, and cleans up afterward.
Packages start at $1,400 for up to 50 guests and include a mixed green salad and Italian ice for dessert. The crew starts with classics like pepperoni, bacon, homemade sausage and plain mozzarella, then moves on to gourmet pies such as the margherita and the mashed potato. If you have a favorite from the restaurant menu, you can ask them to bring the ingredients for it.
Shelby booked the trailer for her wedding. “Our guests are still talking about how amazing the pizza was!” she wrote. “The crust was perfectly crisp, the toppings were fresh and flavorful, and everything was so perfectly timed.” She added that the appetizers and dinner selections “were just as impressive,” and that everything was served with warm, friendly service.
Back at the restaurant, catering trays need 24 to 48 hours’ notice and can be ordered by phone.
IF YOU GO
Andini’s Restaurant, 555 Boston Post Road, Orange
Phone: 203-799-0200 (reservations recommended on weekends)
Hours: Tuesday–Thursday 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.; Friday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday noon–8 p.m.; closed Monday
Online: andinisrestaurant.com
Also: takeout, catering trays and the wood-fired pizza trailer
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