We decided to give this place a second chance and we are glad we did. Came here for an early Friday dinner. Bright and inviting interior, I think helped by the large window views on the corner of the block in the heart of downtown Fairfield. The service staff were friendly and attentive. Our food and drinks were very well made. Our line up: Cocktail Caesar salad to start Octopus and fingerling potato app 2 homemade fresh pasta dishes Afogado ice cream Coffees Yes a little pricier than other italian options nearby but I thought it was worth it. We'll be back to try something else on the menu. read more

Not sure why it took me years to try this place.. Surprisingly, last night it turned out to be my favorite Italian food in Ffld County by far. So many places as my son said are, 'mid'. Started off great with the most delicious seasoned olives. The salmon was fresh and delicious, served with the most delicious sauteed vegetables and delicious mashed potatoes and sauce. My only complaint is there was not enough! The sauce and meatballs were very good and the Rigatoni bolognese was delicious - perfect al dente pasta and a very flavorful sauce that was not too salty or creamy as so many other places are. The icing on the cake was the absolutely delicious Creme Brulee -- perfect texture and flavor and not too sweet. Service was great. I highly recommend trying this place.. it took me a few years to. It was most definitely worth the price! read more

Another great meal at I'll Pelicans. Food and service were excellent. Had a nice bottle of wine and great company. Love this place!

Still hoping for a return worthy experience. Wife and others seem to enjoy the food more than I. Was there for Valentines (too busy..) and was there last week.. was seated across from the frond entry on a cool evening and ... that needs to be addressed... Crab risotto was a miss. read more

I love this restaurant. The people are amazing. The food is just delicious. I've never had a bad meal here and the cocktails are wonderful. I love to get something with shaved ice in it. I even love the glassware. Mossimo is so warm and welcoming. My whole family enjoys this place. I think the Bolognese is the best I've ever had outside of Italy. read more

What an excellent dining experience. The food and service was outstanding! For starters they bring a small dish of olives which are delicious. We ordered a sampling of several olive oils which were accompanied by warm bread. Tasting the 3 different varieties of olive oil was really good, each complex in its own way. For our entrees my girlfriend had the lamb lollipops served over polenta and I had the salmon served over a cauliflower purée. Both dishes were absolutely magnificent. The salmon was cooked perfectly with crispy skin and the cauliflower purée was insanely good. My girlfriend's lamb chops were cooked perfectly and she loved the polenta. We will definitely come back for other items on the menu. To end our meal we had an almond cake which was so good! read more

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Italian I usually cook at home and rarely find eating it out as good, but this place is perfection and worth the night out. I come here every time for the bolognese which is out of this world, incredible with crunch and parsley infused ricotta cheese, there's likely orange zest citrus note that makes this dish so different than every other bolognese I've ever had. I get this every time, I never ever order bolognese anywhere as it's not something I usually even like, but here is a different level. Tonight also tried the gnocchi, which is so rarely done well, like cloud pillows melting with taleggio, truffle, and crispy spec just insanely good. Massimo, bartenders, and servers are so amazing you feel at home. Yooooooo check them out!!!!! read more

Great ambiance and love the downtown location. The service is good, but the food is only decent for the price. I really wanted to like it more. I would still go here for a date or small group. Maybe I'll try them again down the road. read more

stylish place, good crowd, friendly yet professional service. kitchen glitched the order. two pasta dishes, carbonara and beef tortellini in red sauce. took awhile, so we suspected something was up, as others who ordered well after us were served first. yep. carbonara came out cold, tortellini too hot to eat for 6,8 mins. kitchen also can't trim guanciale, evidently, as half of it was inedible gristle. fairfield and bridgeport have better options for italian read more

You would be hard-pressed to find a more expensive restaurant in all of Fairfield County that has pretty good food but is an outrageous ripoff. $9 for bread? How about without the olive oil flight? This is no Esh with a really special bread and dip service that's well worth the price. I live only a few blocks away from Il Pellicano but would not consider patronizing again. read more

Where to begin? I want to love this restaurant, and the food was fine, however there was something that is preventing me from giving a 5. Let's explore. I knew going in the price point was going to be 40-50 a person and I assumed that the portions were going to be moderate, so I should not be surprised by the check or my desire to grab a snack after we finished. We did not have a reservation so we sat near the kitchen. I love sitting near the kitchen. As a person who used to work in restaurants, you learn quickly everything about a restaurant by how they treat their staff and what are their priorities. The runner was the star of the place. Massimo should give that young man a huge raise because he made every plate sing. There seemed to have been a bet, challenge, or deep desire to sell all the tomahawks. Perhaps at $165 a plate, they weren't going as fast, but fist bumps all around for each sale. I read some reviews indicating the food was fine or meh.... I actually think the food was good, however I just kick myself because most of the items on the menu I can make myself, I should have read the menu more closely before entering but wanted to give the place a second go. The waiter asked us twice if we wanted salads, apps or sides... that should have been our cue. They were selling bread with flights of olive oil, I think my review may have been higher if they threw us a token piece of bread along with the olives. One review indicated the food lacked salt, I may need to agree with my fish however the sausage added plenty of salt to the pasta. All in all if this was a local restaurant, and the prices were a bit less, I would come back to try other items, but my husband agrees it is a nice place, with nice people, with a nice, but limited, menu. read more

IL Pellicano - Branzini and Rigatoni - Italian Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

Does this Restaurant in Connecticut warrant a $100/head excluding drinks and tip. YES WAY! Came by for early Thursday dinner at 6:00 PM. The owner/manager came by and greeted us with pleasantry and appreciation. The restaurant was still very quiet since our early arrival. We ordered from the small plates/ appetizer (fried calamari, brussel sprouts and ceasar salad) Each of the appetizer dishes were enough to share for 2. However, each entree is enough for 1. So their menu servings are not family style portions. As each appetizer dish was delivered we found the food perfectly cooked and balanced. As for the entree the Pork Chop Scarpariello was a winner. The Pork Chop was nicely grilled and finished in the oven well. The Scaparelli flavor came through with it's nicely mild sweet and sour taste. The Rigatoni Bolanaise was cooked with finesse. Where the bolanise sauce was not too heavy , just enough balance between meat and sauce and the Rigatoni was just perfectly cooked. If you want a little heavier pasta dish we also had the Bucatini with black peper sauce a/k/a Caccio e Pepe. The black pepper sauce was a light creamy sauce with a unique amazing black pepper flavor. We finished our meal with a pistachio gelato and tiramasu. The gelato was perfectly chilled with a hint of pistachio nut. But the tiramasu was lacking the tempered chill I like ie the cream was loose. However, the flavor was was good. We lucked out with parking a block away with no meter so that was good. Overall, we enjoyed the experience with the combination of food quality and service. The restaurant is quaint in size yet comfortably arranged in close quarters. Coming from Manhattan I feel if it was just the food - the FOOD COST is a little high BUT the service and management help justifying the $. We had a wonderful evening. Thank you Il Pellacano. read more

Che figata! Massimo greeted us with warm enthusiasm as soon as we walked in the door and made my girlfriend and myself feel right at home. From my reservation he noticed my name was "Mario" and immediately began speaking to us in Italian and gave us our choice of seats within the restaurant. One glance at the menu and we knew we were in for an outstanding experience. Outstanding doesn't cover it. The pasta was exquisite. My girlfriend and I both looked at each other after 1 bite and both said we'd drive out of our way to eat here again and again. If you want to eat excellent Italian food in Connecticut, this is it. Come here. We haven't found pasta anywhere close to this quality in the entire tri-state area. Drop everything you're doing right now and get over there right now. I'm not kidding. read more

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We had a family emergency and had to cancel our reservation one and a half hours before dining during parent weekend at Fairfield. Every single restaurant was packed with hours of a wait, so they definitely filled our table. I spoke with the manager about refunding our reservation charge as a courtesy and a repeat customer with extenuating circumstances, and she was extremely rude! They lost our business and anyone else who ever asks us for a Fairfield CT dining recommendation! read more

The service is outstanding, thank you David for steering us towards the best cooked swordfish I have ever had. Great environment. Sat a two top and watched the kitchen do their thing. This place executes at a high level. Try Prosecco on tap w their spritz concoctions. I will be back! read more

IL Pellicano - Open kitchen in rear of this cozy establishment! - Italian Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

Enjoyed my girls dinner here. The starter focaccia bread is delish but wish it came with more the portions were a bit small. All the pastas looked great and were big portions. I got the bolognese which was delicious but came with so much I wasn't able to finish it. The drinks were great but also on the smaller side. Overall would come back for sure but is a bit expensive read more

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Ok, but overpriced and mediocre food. Drinks are way overpriced, food is ok. The salad had barely any cheese, the salmon was overcooked, and the dessert extremely small for the price. read more

Corkage is $60 Shorter wine list but some solid selections - just 200+% mark up - even at the higher end so any bottle you bring over $30 makes sense Suggested Durand (20 year old wine) and was given a nod (I got it) Broke cork with lever pull (as if my fault) - rescued bottom half with some help No decanter offered. Food is straight forward but well made with generous portions You will have to establish that you are not subject to helping table turn It is not quiet but nice on inside - not elbow to elbow read more

Il Pellicano is a very cute Italian spot that I believe opened somewhat recently. Dined with a relative and our expectations were surpassed by a mammoth margin. Ordered the olive oil flight and the Polpette Pomodoro as appetizers. Love the olive oil sampling concept - 3 different olive oils served with warm, freshly made bread. The olive oils tasted awesome and was absolutely worth it. The meatballs were also perfectly tender, and I liked the crostini that came with it, even though it was on the crunchier side. We ordered pasta for our entrées and were blown away. My relative ordered the Potato Gnocchi Gratine and loved every creamy bite. The gnocchi was on the pillowy side which is well-suited considering the heavier fontina cheese sauce. The speck, truffle oil, and the toasted crumbs added a much welcomed crunch and added richness. I ordered the tortellini and the arrabbiata was perfectly spicy. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the meat filling was a much-welcomed complement. It's one of the best pasta dishes I had in a long time. It was a great time, in a nicely designed dining room, and proficient service. It's most certainly five stars from me! read more

Very lovely vibes, gorgeous decor and beautiful food. But the flavor of the food just didn't hit. The drinks were spectacular. I think all the food items kind of lacked salt. We ordered the octopus which was just a weird dish. I think it needed acid. Pastas seemed homemade but again just felt like they needed salt or cheese, or just something extra. The waiter was great and overall ambience was great, but I've eaten better food at less fancy restaurants. read more

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Fabulous experience tonight - excellent service, pleasing food presentation, tasty and well crafted cocktails, delicious food. menu has something for everyone. attentive and engaging manager made it seem as though we were the only patrons there. wonderful time with friends. thanks Il Pellicano. read more

Meh. I went last night. The service was initially very slow as it took a little over 10 minutes until the server even came to the table. After he initially came over though, he came over frequently. However there was some things that I didn't like. I wanted a beer and saw about 5 or 6 listed out on the menu and below them it said to ask your server for rotating and seasonal selections. I asked and the server said, "we don't do that". Then why have that stated on your menu? I can't be the only one that has asked what else they have for beer. If you "don't do that", remove that line from your disposable paper menus then. Also, the menu is very limited but the Tortellini sounded good so I went with that. While it was good, the serving size of that dish was a complete joke. I literally finished it in about 2 minutes. In my opinion it was smaller than even an appetizer. Pasta is one of the cheapest foods out there and this place couldn't even give a modest serving. Would I return, absolutely not. There are way better established Italian restaurants in the area. read more

For some reason there are three 5 star reviews that Yelp says are "Not Recommended" but are obviously written by real people. Anyway, like they did, we had a wonderful meal at Il Pellicano. We went for my birthday dinner and I felt very welcome and the food was great. We loved each course and the wine our waitress recommended was perfect. I can't wait to go back! read more

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Nothing good to say about this place. It was our first time there and our last. While my party did not have a reservation, we were seated right away. About an hour into our meal, the stares started from the front stand. Not one, not two, but from three people. The waitstaff was coming up to us about every ten minutes after asking if we were done. As soon as our plates were taken away, the host/manager asked if we could finish our wine at the bar as there was another party waiting. We were barely there for an hour and a half! Don't agree to serve someone dinner if you can't provide the time for a party to finish their meal. I just got off the phone with the manager of the restaurant to express my disappointment and told them I'd be writing a review. "Do what you gotta do" he said. Done! Fly away from this restaurant folks! read more

Just went here for the first time last night, a busy Saturday and was so disappointed. The service was honestly insanely slow/ non existent. Our waitress looked like she either hates her life or hates her life. We ordered drinks and it was at least 20 min until we got them. Then we ordered food and it actually came out great pretty fast (the food is ok, and way overpriced) three mini metal balls $17! I know inflation has been the name of the game in the US but come on! After our food, we didn't see the waitress again until we had a question on the bill. We lost our waitress for 45 min, which the restaurant was getting busy (we where a table of 5) so the guy running the front comes over and ask if we want dessert we said yes. He rushes us to take our order (they now needed our table) mind you our waitress no where to be found! We get our dessert and honestly again mediocre the ice cream is not gelato it's ice cream and the tiramisu I make better at home. Then we have a question on the bill, and the waitress magically shows up. Gives a strong eye roll when we ask what something on the bill was then takes our card. Honestly, pasta is fresh portions are small, service is trash. read more

IL Pellicano - Italian Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

The service was very good. The host very welcoming. The tables are too close together & too small, the plates barely fit, very little elbow room & too close to next table with conversations being distracting. The entrees were expensive but small. No bread offered. Salads are extra which seems to be the trend. No extras ( would think this would be part of offering with the prices & small portions). Not very generous. The flavors very standard and nothing particularly special for the cost. The staff really tried & were very attentive & friendly. But the food just didn't wow. In the end we had a large bill for the two of us. But the flavors were not enough to bring us back. read more

The food was spectacular. Service excellent. My only complaint was a cup of tea was $8. There may have been a written dessert menu, but we asked what was available and then requested tea so we didn't see one and I didn't anticipates it would cost so much. (Perhaps it was something special, I found it bitter.) But the meal and service and wine list were all terrific and I look forward to returning read more

Excellent service, food, bar. Highly recommend, really great bar, the bar stools are truly comfy.

Just had dinner. Sat at the bar. Overall, great place. Bartender was sweet and engaging. Made my wife a great margarita. Burrata and rice balls were really good. Salmon- for $34 was extremely small (the kitchen should have caught that). Just not worth it. It was also a little fishy. (Hard for kitchen to catch that, maybe). One other observation. All the wait staff and hosts all dressed great, nice jackets shirts , looked the part. Oddly enough the guy who seemed like a manager (I could be wrong) wore a t-shirt. To that guy- set a better example. I'd go back. But expectations will be high. read more

I wanted to love this place. The ambiance was so great and the service was decent. The food was not good...plain and simple, not good at all. For the amount of money we spent I would have thought at least one in our party of 4 would have been satisfied. This was my first and my last time at this restaurant. Too many other places to choose from in Fairfield county, I don't recommend this place unfortunately. read more

Liked the atmosphere and service was good. Very good burratta appetizer. You don't get any bread unless you order a $10 olive oil sampler (found this to be a negative). I had Caccio e Pepe for an entree and it was wonderful. My wife had the NY Strip and steak is not a core competency of this restaurant. Most people stuck with the pasta and we can see why. Will go back again and we'll also stick with the pasta. read more

We dined on a Saturday night at 5:15. The restaurant was empty when we went in and the service over the top. By the time we finished at 7pm you had to ask for someone to visit the table. The food was excellent which is why we probably keep going. read more

Fantastic Italian food, excellent service and setting. The best new restaurant to open in Fairfield in years. MUCH more than the typical local Italian fare; this restaurant is exactly what you'd find on a side street in Rome. Fine dining and service, excellent wine list, and the best espresso I've had since last the time I was in Rome. read more

Long overdue review but we've become regulars at Massimo's now not so new gem in Fairfield. Great atmosphere, killer cocktails, creative dishes and a wonderful host always. One of our favorite spots in Fairfield and we had our daughters "night before rehearsal" dinner there and the whole extended family had a great time... read more

We came here a while back, they had been open about 6 weeks or so. We had reservations for 2 and were seated in main dining area upon arrival. The bar was pretty full, the dining area where we were about a third full. The busser came by and did his job with water, then it just unfolded in such a bad way.... The lady waiting on us dropped menus, we planned to order a cocktail first. She literally came back in 30 seconds to take drink order, even after we said we needed to look at cocktail list. (Seriously-why bother offering a list of craft cocktails and not allow people to view it??). Ordered a couple of Negronis... it's a rocks glass with an artisan ice cube and the booze is up about 1/3 - 1/2 of glass. Sorry, but if you're charging $15 or $16 for that drink, at least do a decent pour. Drinks on table, not even a chance for a sip or ? Waitress back for food order.... Once again (feeling rushed for no reason). I explained that I haven't had a chance to look at menu and she replied that I should have a sip of my drink and she'd return for order. Not good. (Restaurant is still 1/3 full). Food comes - a carpaccio with so much grated (not shaved) Parmesan that it was nearly inedible. The proportions were so out of whack, and who puts grated cheese on this dish (no less a 1/2" layer)? A kale salad was overdressed to the point of being laughable. Entrees (no bread for our table for some reason even though we saw it served at others). A pappardelle pasta with a ragu of short ribs sounded good, but when it arrived, the undercooked (chewy) pieces of meat were cut into chunks the size of a half dollar. Just a terrible rendition of what this could have been, not to mention a complete waste of an expensive cut of meat. I had the "double cut" pork chop, which was not. It was probably an inch thick (so why call it 2x cut)? It's a pork chop, that's it...and it's not worth the $36 you are asking for it. Cute space, terrible service (restaurant still 1/3 full when we left), food was literally a half a star. Not worth giving a second look with so many other great places in town. read more

The place was packed but never felt crowded. The staff is wonderful and the food is delicious. Definitely going back!

i went w/my friend because she said that it was so enjoyable atmosphere & food wise..& she was sooo right! Loved the pasta w/mushrooms, caesar salad, the fish special & a few more dishes-all were really good read more

We came for my birthday and had a 7 pm reservation. Our table wasn't ready, but the hostesses said 5-10 minutes to wait... if only that had been the case. A member of our group is 82 and walks with a cane. After waiting for 20 minutes we asked them for a chair for him- the hostesses smiled and nodded and did nothing. We asked again a few minutes later- nothing happened. We asked the manager and still no one did anything. We stood in the entrance for 45 minutes waiting. Never once did anyone offer us a drink, even water, or a seat for our elderly friend. We got fed up and demanded that they give him a seat in the back (where there had been a two-top available the whole time that they could have offered him). He sat and they brought us a drink and finally asked the table we were waiting for to leave. I have worked in many restaurants and I have never seen such stupidity and lack of care from the manager and host staff. Waiting for a table to leave is one thing, but expecting an elderly person with a cane to stand and not offer even water is just rude and shows how little they understand hospitality. For our troubles, they gave us two drinks on the house. Pretty sad excuse for an apology. Not a great birthday thanks to their front-of-house staff. The food was good. Not the best, but we loved the starters (also we were starving by then so who knows). Our waiter was very attentive and the food came out quickly. The atmosphere is very nice and even though it was a crowded Saturday night, it was not too loud. read more

What a disappointment our New Year's Eve meal was!! Servings were small and food was lukewarm. The price was outrageous!! We will never eat there again!! We have been there for lunch twice and were very impressed. But after last night we will never return. NEL read more

Very enjoyable night when spent at il pelicano. The service is great and the food is delicious. One of the best bolognese dishes I've ever had. Pasta is very fresh. Love the olive oil flight too! read more