Adriana’s Restaurant and Wine Bar

We went to Adriana’s to celebrate Valentine’s Day. My husband picked the perfect place. Everything was delicious and the service was fantastic. Our server, GianCarlo, was so attentive and made the experience so enjoyable. We ordered the burrata and brocolli rabe and sausage for apps. The portions sizes we huge. For entrees we had the scallops and the sea bass. I order scallop dishes all the time and this is the best one yet… the brandy cream sauce was to die for. Next time I would skip the cannolis-​definitely not the best. Also had a nice wine selection.
I cannot wait to return. It was a pricey dinner but it was worth every penny!

On a random weeknight, I came with a friend to Adriana’s for dinner and conversation. The ambiance was welcoming and the staff were friendly from the start. We ordered the calamari as an appetizer. It was prepared well and was not excessively chewy. As an entrée, I ordered the Vitello Paradiso, which was highly recommended. I found the entrée to be of huge proportion, rich and heavy, but was pretty good. I would only recommend this for a cheat day and as a form of «elite comfort food.»
Recommendations:
–Consider sharing the entrée. It’s a lot of food.
Verdict:
Was it good? Yes. Would I dine here often? No.
The food and service at Adriana’s were both good, but I would only recommend it if you’re looking for a heavy meal.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in New Haven. The service is great, and the food is amazing. Definitely recommend the sea bass and the burrito special and will be coming back in the future!

I last went to Adriana’s with a group of 10; every single person was disappointed in his or her meal. There were four of us who ordered the zuppa de pesce (spelling?) and it was downright inedible. The pasta was way too al dente (undercooked) and the sauce was really just blah. But worst of all, the fish that the menu specified would be included were NOT in the dish. Instead of letting us know, the cooks decided to replace it with the most unappetizing, chewy hunks of octopus. I am a bit nauseated just writing this. It was downright gross.
It wasn’t just our meals that were underwhelming. Those who ordered the swordfish complained it was undercooked. My husband ordered the veal at medium, and it was extra well done. I don’t think I need to get into the pathetic looking salads or warm beer, do I?
Unfortunately, this establishment has turned off a large group of loyal customers!

Not that good food! I went with 4 friends and none of us really liked the dishes. I had ordered gnocchi and it wasn’t well-​prepared.
We ordered wine as well — I was surprised to see mediocre wines (which would be like 3.0÷5.0) highly overpriced at this bar.
My friend has read some good reviews and hence we went. But w.r.t my tastes, I am not going back!

I think this is my favorite Italian restaurant in New Haven. The sea base is wonderful and one of my favorites. The broccoli rabe is always cooked to perfection. Delicious! I have never had a bad meal there. I have found the service to be very good. The only reason I didn’t give it that extra star is because the use a mixture of real lobster and fake lobster in their lobster over linguini and cream sauce dish. The dish is great but I now order it with the request that the don’t put the fake stuff in. The sauce is full of flavor and the pasta is freshly made.
As for the bad reviews that I’ve read, I would suggest not going in on restaurant week. I have found that in many restaurants, they are not able to put their best foot forward during that time.

From the first few minutes I walked in this place I was feeling some type of way about it. No one was standing at the front and we waited a good five minutes before someone came over to greet us. Even having a reservation we waited a good 20 minutes after the first five minutes of waiting. Before we sat down, they pulled apart a table for four and put us at one of the now tables for two.
We didn’t have anything on our table because the other half of the table had everything… and we were surrounded (almost literally in the middle of the room) by six parties of no less than 10 people each, one including middle aged women acting like this restaurant was a TGI Fridays or something… needless to say, I could barely hear my boyfriend the entire night. I read a sign while waiting for a table and it said something about being a romantic restaurant… Far from it! I think it’s more of a family place.
The food was basic. I had tons of food left on my plate and didn’t even bother taking it home. The drinks came out fast though.
I honestly felt like I was at Olive Garden. Nothing special about the staff. I guess I just expected more from this place after reading the reviews and from what others have told me.

Went for Restaurant Week last night. Even though they have a parking lot, it wasn’t big enough and we ended up parking behind a truck with my car sticking out on a corner. Guy in the lot said it would be fine but it was nerve wracking. Food was good. My husband got the meatballs and I got the calamari. They were ok. Meatballs were very dense but not outstanding or anything special– calamari had nice light breading on it. My husband got the stuffed filet and I got the ribeye– those were excellent. The tiramisu was kind of gross– inside was very wet and tasted like it had been frozen and defrosted too fast. Would like to go back and try their pastas as we have heard nothing but good things about them. Our server was very nice and attentive. Will give it another try sometime in the future.

Incredible service portions and attention to detail. Old school feel good Italian food. Have tried multiple dishes in each of the disciplines and was never left hungry or diappointed.

By far one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in the state and I eat out for pretty much every meal. Service is impeccable, with lots of attention to detail and the seating was fairly spacious despite the fact they were packed. Just be warned the portion are huge. My date and I shared an appetizer and it was more than enough for a meal. We each brought home so much food it looked like we hadn’t touched a thing. Drinks were also an appropriate size. You can not beat the food and service and atmosphere for the price. The area is kinda of scary but the parking lot is well lit with camera’s for easy safe and free parking.

Met a friend for lunch yesterday and had a great afternoon. I had grilled chicken with broccoli rabe which could easily feed 2 people, My friend had a cold seafood platter which was gigantic. Every table was filled for lunch. Beautiful restaurant and bar. The waitstaff is very professional. One of the best Italian restaurants in New Haven.

This was our first time here, came early pre theater. Our meal couldn’t have been better. I had the baratta app, delish and easily enough for 2. Husband and bil had the snails. Very good but way to many (is that a bad thing?). Sil had octopus. Wonderful. Entrees were the stuffed chicken breast, veal chop and sea bass. All were expertly prepared and presented (did I mention delish?). Will definitely be back for a second try. Excellent first.

Aunthentic Italian like no other place I have ever dined at before!!! Enjoyed Arancini rice balls, calamari, sea bass, chicken with prosciutto and penne vodka. Can’t wait to go back

I’m rather ambivalent about Adriana’s. We didn’t order appetizers yet ended up waiting 2 hours for our food.
We did have a group of 20 – 25, but the restaurant wasn’t all that busy… So 2 hours seemed a ridiculously long time to wait for our entrees. It didn’t help that the waiters were difficult to get ahold of and rather unfriendly.
The food was pretty good but not all that special. The tiramisu was the exception though — delicious!
Overall, I wouldn’t really go back.

This restaurant is absolutely outstanding. I lived right behind it (on Lyon Street) and Adriana’s became our go-​to, sit-​down restaurant. It is a bit old-​school (I wouldn’t characterize it as «trendy»), but the food is delicious and the ambiance is perfect for what you would imagine a New Haven Italian restaurant to be. Here’s my breakdown:
Food — Enormous portions. Greeted with warm bread and a red pepper and olive oil salad. In terms of appetizers, they’re all amazing, my favorite being the meatballs, fried calamari, and the seafood salad. The seafood salad is a heaping tower of seafood in a light lemon dressing. Totally outstanding.
Entrees are equally enormous and tasty. The pasta carbonara at times comes served in a cheese wheel — that’s pretty awesome. The seafood pasta — probably my favorite — again comes with a heaping pile of seafood. You will fill an entire bowl with the leftover shells. The osso buco is great — but it wouldn’t be my go-​to selection. It is quite heavy and wasn’t nearly as impressive as some of the other dishes mentioned. Same with the sea bass — good, but not ridiculously amazing.
Décor/​Service — Service and décor are both pretty old-​school Italian restaurant-​esque. Servers — while polite and attentive — are not overly friendly like you typically find in most casual restaurants. To be honest, I don’t recall the décor (the food was that eye-​grabbing), but I feel like it was fairly spacious and clean.
Location — The location isn’t nearly as bad as many mention. While just east of the restaurant is a dicey area, the restaurant itself is in a fairly safe (by New Haven standards) location. Plus, they have a guard in the parking lot, if you have any concerns about the safety of your car. There is also usually a police cruiser parked in the empty lot across the street on Grand Avenue.
All in all, you can’t beat this place for the money. The food can be heavy (This is not the place to go on a diet, but really, that could be said about just about every Italian restaurant in the Northeast). But you will continue to eat, well past being stuffed, because the food is that irresistible.
Great restaurant — ranks up there as one of my all-​time favorites.

Came for a friend’s birthday in late Feb or early March. There was something like 20 of us.
Many of us had our eyes on a couple of the different appetizers to start but then we were told that there was only going to be 3 different passed apps in which we didn’t get to choose.
When the bill came, it turned into a hot mess.
Throughout the meal we requested multiple times if they could just divide the checks into couples (because some people ordered really expensive dishes and drinks and some chose not to) but the waitstaff refused to honor our request so people ended up spending over $ 100 per couple regard of what they ate/​drank/​an didn’t order (apps)
I’d be willing to come back just my husband and I, but whenever he’s tried to make reservations for just the two of us, they are booked weeks in advance…

Very good Italian restaurant! I went for New Haven’s restaurant week so I got to get an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. I started off with the arancini rice balls which were very cheesy. I wish there had been more of a ham/​pea taste but the tomato sauce it was served with made up for it. I got the scallops with brandy sauce — top notch! The scallops tasted fresh and paired with the sauce was just delicious. I thought the mash potatoes were good, but a tad salty. For dessert I got a cannoli which seemed to be spiced with cinnamon — very interesting! Not my favorite cannoli ever but definitely above average.
The service was a bit slow but I attribute that to their busy schedule with restaurant week. They were more than accommodating getting us a table and for that I really appreciate it.
Happy to give a thumbs up to another Italian restaurant in New Haven off Wooster St!

Food was good. I had a fish special that was very good. Husband had a pasta dish that had spicy sauce. It was a little too spicy for him, but we brought it home because it tasted good. Overall I think it’s a good place to eat. I would definitely come back and try something else.

I went to Adriana’s 3 days ago and I’m still full! It’s a hidden gem in a tough neighbor that is a nod to New Haven’s past. This is definitely your old school Italian restaurant in both vibe and food. The staff is super friendly and attentive. We ordered a bunch of appetizers to start: burrata, risotto balls, meatballs and panecotto. The portions were so large that was I full before my dinner even came. For my entrée, I got the filet mignon stuffed with gorgonzola and it was perfectly cooked and bursting with flavor. All of the food was so fresh and felt totally homemade from grandma’s kitchen. For the amount of food you get, the prices are great. I ate my leftovers for the next 2 nights! I will definitely be coming back here the next time I’m jonesing for a good old fashioned Italian meal.

New york style Italian restaurant, good location, nice décor and pretty good staff.
Started with Fried Calamari and it was good, nothing special as Calamari goes.
For meal i had Veal Milanese. The Veal was tender and nice flavor served with arugula, red onions and balsamic vinaigrette.
Portions were huge and price was reasonable!
Recommended