Sal E Pepe Contemporary Italian Bistro — Restaurant in Newtown

I had seen Sal E Pepe featured on numerous “best restaurant” lists for Connecticut, particularly in Fairfield County. At first, I thought the hype might be exaggerated, but I decided to take my mom there for her birthday, along with my sister and my 18-month-old nephew. I’m so glad we did!

Almost as soon as we sat down, my nephew had a full-on meltdown. My sister was mortified and initially wanted to leave, but the staff was beyond kind and accommodating. They immediately brought over a basket of toys to help distract him and later even let us move to a quieter, empty section of the restaurant so we wouldn’t have to stress about him crying or wandering around. Their thoughtfulness and hospitality alone deserve an 11/10.

As for the food, it was just as impressive. We started with a beet salad that was unlike any I’ve had before—it featured green beans and fried gorgonzola, and it was absolutely delicious. They even split it into three portions for us, which was a nice touch. My sister also had a creamy chicken soup that we could not get enough of.

For our entrées, I had the Sunday Sauce, my mom had the lobster ravioli special, and my sister opted for the penne alla vodka with chicken. We also ordered meatballs and French fries for the baby. The Sunday Sauce was fantastic—a generous portion that tasted like something my grandmother would have made. The lobster ravioli was packed with seafood and well-balanced in flavor. My sister felt the vodka sauce was fairly standard, but she raved about both the chicken and the meatballs, calling them some of the best she’s had at a restaurant.

To top off the meals we had some desserts. I had the pistachio pie (which was highly praised by the waitress), my mom had creme brulee, and my sister had the Nutella mousse pie. As well, we had some espressos and I tried the biscotti liqueur. They were all very good. The pistachio pie was so light following such a heavy meal. The creme brulee was a bit runny for our liking but the flavor was good. The Nutella pie was so good. I was worried it would be too rich since it comes with a lot of chocolate and candies however it too was relatively light. And the espressos were perfectly made. I never had biscotti liqueur but it was very good!

After this experience, I completely understand why Sal E Pepe is considered one of the best. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and the service is outstanding. Not to mention, the prices were more than reasonable! I’ll definitely be...

A romantic dinner for two mature adults on a Saturday evening in July was not quite what I had come to expect from this restaurant, which I have been frequenting since it belonged to George. I chose this restaurant, again, because there is no where else to get good Veal in the area, in a nice atmosphere with classy feel. And, true to form, the veal was excellent. We both had it. Unfortunately, that is where the praise ends. Our waitress, who I will not name, was in over her head, all before the place was half full at 6pm. She was unable to keep our wine glasses full, bring refills of bread, water, or properly ensure the order. She was also unable to keep from rolling her eyes when second requests were made, despite such requests being solely her fault, having forgotten the first requests. Instead of capellini, which I specifically requested, I got spaghetti. Interestingly, so did the table next to us, with the same server. After employing the help of the bus staff to refill wine, bread and other amenities, we finished a $146 meal. We ordered no dessert, and instead had coffee, and again, a request for a certain type of sweetener (splenda) drew another roll of the eyes. I could see it on other tables, so it clearly wasn't an outlandish request. I remain in the dark as to cause of such disdain. And then the coffee came. A half full mug. Clearly, my large bill, padded with a lot of wine and scotch was too much for her to bear. Perhaps we were dressed inappropriately, me wearing a tie and my partner a cocktail dress. To be fair, I did ask to see a manager, asking the hostess to point me in the proper direction. I was told that the manager was on vacation. I asked then for whomever was in charge, and she said, "No one". As sad as that was, I had no trouble believing it. I will give out a shout to Wendy, the other server, who stepped in and tried to right the sinking ship. But there was little...

Aweful food. And Small portions. I had the chicken francais and my husband got chicken scarpiello. Mine had a thib liquidy strong lemon juice flavor and consistency. The scarpiello had a similar thin liquid lemon juicy sauce. The chicken we had was super thin and barely half a breast. Dissappointed at the small portion and inability to know how to make a thickened sauce that does not use soo much lemon juice! The bread dipping sauce also was a lemon mixture. The waiter never came by to ask how our food was after we started eating it. He was helping every other of his tables and never came by from the initial food delivery. We were hungry and we ate half our food when finally we got his attention. I then told him my dish was horrible. I asked for some brown sauce/marsala sauce so I could see if its better and eat it with the rest of my chicken. It took another 15 minutes to get and he brought some pasta and a thin liquidy brown sauce. I waited too long so I just packed the rest of my chicken and that small dish of pasta and new brownish sauce. On the reservation I noted we were there for our anniversary. There was never a mention the whole night from them. All in all the only good thing we ate was the fresh cut italian bread. We asked for butter instead of using the gross lemon dressing dipping sauce. We were last here about 10 years ago. It wasnt good then either but figured we would try again. A piece of advice for the restaurant owners…hire chefs that can cook authentic Italian food, not the one’s you have now. Learn how to thicken sauces. Dont serve thin soupy liquid. Make larger portions so people can get full and their...