23 Best Italian Restaurants near Essex

“First visit. Three delicious, wood-fired pizzas, cooked to perfection. Highly recommend the “Brickside” signature!! Looking forward to our next order!“

“The food is always absolutely fresh and delicious. I was there today with some former co workers been one and a half years since I retired. Lunch wad fantastic as always 😋 I had to order my favorite chicken franchise to take home. Let me tell you when I reheated my dinner it was so so good just like I remembered it food is fantastic and fresh and the best meal you will get in Old Saybrook .“

“EXCEPTIONAL Italian deli. Cool little place and very friendly.“

“Best penne alla vodka I’ve ever had. Gluten free option too! Great service as well. ❤️“

“Love it so very much. Food is excellent“

“Was visiting area. Stopped in for drinks. Sarah the waitress was awesome spent time with us made the best sangria. So friendly unbelievable customer service. I got the salad was delicious. My husband chicken parm. Great place highly recommend!!!“

“If I was rating our experience based on our first time going here, it would be 5 stars. Our second visit was not as great as the first. Unfortunately the service lacked, incredibly, our second time here. We watched our waitress go above and beyond for all tables seated around us (similar to the waitress our first time here). When our waitress got to our table, she didn’t ask if it was our first time dining with them (as we’d heard her ask 2 other tables), she didn’t offer to explain any of the specials (as we’d heard her tell the other tables), her demeanor and tone visibly shifted from cheery to monotone each time she got to our table, and she didn’t check in with us throughout our meal. It was incredibly odd. Maybe she wrongly assumed since we are on the younger end of their typical clientele, my husband is covered in tattoos, and we had our young child with us, that she wouldn’t be tipped well?! Not sure. But her service definitely left us with a sour taste towards Grano Arso, which is so unfortunate since we enjoyed our first visit there. My husband left her a 40% tip as he usually does when we dine out; perhaps she won’t be so judgy towards others in the future.“

“Round 2 for Valentine's Day dinner... A completely new spot for us that DIDN'T disappoint.. Morina Restaurant for the win...Everything was amazing..The entire staff made us feel like family, the way a restaurant shouĺd be. The Garlic Rolls are to die for, and the awesome Chicken Parmesan with fresh made parpardelle pasta, and homemade sauce, & Jen's Greek Chicken wrap was PACKED with fresh grilled chicken & feta cheese & had killer fries. We will be back. Thank you to the whole Morina family.“

“From our reception to when we left every was fantastic. Our hostess offered my wife and I several seating options and was very inviting. Our server Addy was just phenomenal. She offered us several recommendations that were just spot on. Very attentive and anticipated our needs. We will definitely be coming back soon. Magical night!!“

“Finally a real Italian restaurant on the shoreline! From the hostess, who greeted me to the server, who served us to the owner, who thanked us, you have a customer for life Salute!“

“great food, great staff! Only pizza we ever get!“

“Fantastic pizza! I'm pretty picky with pizza..I was impressed. service was great too! 👍🏼“

“service and food are amazing“

“Our group of 7 was seated & treated well, food was delicious, fast & hot & service was great!
The Clam strips & calamari were delicious, as was the cheese pizza, calzone, club sandwich, genoa grinder and spaghetti with meatballs. Onion rings were a very generous serving.“

“Excellent meal , perfect flavor and presentation, and generous portions“

“My wife & I have been enjoying MANY weekday meals at TJ'S for more than several years. And I can honestly say that we have, not only enjoyed the food we ordered, but, more importantly, the caring and attentive staff that we have dealt with over those years. We could more highly recommend this restaurant as a place for you to enjoy a good meal!!“

“We've been going to Sal's Pizza since it was in the Westbrook Cumberland farms building & now their beautiful restaurant!! ANN & Staff thank you for making our Daughter's Birthday Special, Memories are a Lifetime, Kindly Brandy, Tommy & Family

Vegetarian options: They're accommodating just ask politely

Parking: PLENTY OF SPACE

Kid-friendliness: ABOVE KIND, PROFESIONAL & THOUGHTFUL

Wheelchair accessibility: Yes“

“Stopped by on our way through CT from Long Island. Was pleasantly surprised with how great this pizza was! A little on the greasy side but nothing you couldn’t pick up with a napkin. The only “negative” was the inside is very plain. Not a ton a decor, but that’s not really important. Would deff come “

“Five professional motor cycle riders who eat in a lot of food at different stops were very satisfied. Great prices/ great quality/ good quantity/fast service/ great waitress/ clean modern seating and restrooms/ ample free parking. Its now on our favorite list. Thank you for serving us so well!!“

“Hand cut steaks and macaroni and cheese that’s better than homemade. Let them make lunch and you can grill dinner.😊“

“This was originally a one star review...
First time back in a while. Ordered their lasagna.
It was horrible. It was like soup, Even after you let it rest for over an hour.

Seemed the no structure was based on not enough noodles. And there certainly didn't seem to be enough meat.

Extremely disappointed.

Be on the look out for shrinkflation too.

BTW, I use to rave about the place. Not so much now :(

Steph, just replied. And offered to replace the lasagna. I really appreciate the offer. I'm going to give them a call and update my review

Maybe just bad luck of the draw,

I called and spoke to Sue and she was kind enough to send me a gift card for ia chance to try some lasagna again.

We will definitely give these guys the benefit of the doubt and try again.

In the meantime even though the lasagna was not the best, the service here based on this conversation was quite good.

So to support them I'm moving this from a one star to a 4-star and I will update it again once we try the lasagna again“

“A little pricey , but you get what you pay for. The food is absolutely excellent!“

“Stayed here for a family vacation the amenities were amazing they have a Starbucks inside of the spa and the spa itself was a treat to be there for it was a very relaxing place to spend a vacation I would recommend it to all my friends and family“