Benvenuto's — Restaurant in Town of Carmel

My family and I stopped here while driving from NYC to Stockbridge, MA, just did a Google Map search for restaurants and saw this got five stars and was just off the Parkway. When we parked, we thought we had made a mistake. This place is nothing to look at from the outside. Its small, and you go through what looks like a back door to get in. Once in, they have a large array of pizzas by the slice to choose from, and all are quite excellent. They also have pastas, subs and usual Italian fare. We only ordered the pizza by the slice, so that is all I can comment on. The slices are quite large, more than enough to fill up the typical person. And, you can get quite the array of toppings. The normal slice is very thin and not crispy (just how I like it), but they also have Sicilian options. When you order the slices, they warm them up in the oven and you can have a seat in their dining room, they will bring it out to you. Their dinning room is small, but nice painted walls to make it look like if you are in an Italian street. You won't forget where you are, but it helps give the restaurant a nicer atmosphere. We ordered four slices of pizza for the four of us, my kids split a cheese pizza, my wife got Sicilian and I got a chicken Parmesan. My wife and I made the mistake of eating the cheese pizza first, it was pipping hot and extremely tasty, one of the best we've had (I stay prefer Italia's Corner Cafe just south of Baltimore). We then ate our other slices unfortunately, they were only lukewarm at that point, as the extra toppings on mine and thickness on hers made them not as hot to begin with. The chicken parm pizza was ridiculously packed with chicken, in a good way. I was stuffed and couldn't even finish it, but it tasted like a great piece of chicken parm! We liked it so much, on our way home from Canada a few weeks later, we decided to go this way just to stop for pizza. Now, our original plan was to order a whole pizza so it would be pipping hot, but we were running late. So, we ordered slices again. Unfortunately we had the same issue with it not quite being hot enough (I will add that both my wife and I love our pizza extremely hot). This is the only reason I gave it four and not five stars, had I asked them to make it extra hot, I'm sure I'd be giving it five stars. But know, this is worth the stop, worth even a detour to stop here. Its the best pizza north the Mason-Dixon Line! Just remember, if you like your pizza super hot, ask for...

This is your classic neighborhood pizzeria and casual Italian restaurant. In this context, it’s earns a solid 5-star rating.

The food is very good, as is the service. The portions are simply enormous for the price. The various chicken entrees cost about $17,+/- $1. For that, you get two very large boneless chicken breast pieces, a side of pasta or vegetables and a salad for a first course. The salad and the side pasta alone would be a solid lunch. This place must give out a huge number of doggie bags.

All dishes are made-to-order, and the presentation is that of a much fancier establishment.

Owners are very appreciative that you chose to dine there.

If you head upstate via the Taconic State Parkway, and like to eat dinner on the way, without going out of your way, make sure Exit 23 - Bryant Pond Road is bookmarked in your mind. It’s literally less than 1/2 mile off the exit and you’ll pass a Mobil gas station nearby to fill up your...

This little gem off the Taconic State Parkway falls somewhere between a small pizzeria and a formal Italian restaurant. The first thing my wife and I noticed when we pulled into the rather small parking lot out front, was a constant flow of people walking out carrying pizza boxes. That in itself is very reassuring. The dining room is a bit small but the service is outstanding. Believe it or not, my wife and I had pizza for an appetizer and it was really awesome. For entrees, I had the veal marsala and it cut with a fork. My wife had the chicken parmegan and the sauce wasn't sweet at all. Dessert and espresso and we were all set. Prices are very reasonable. Will definitely return....