Husband-wife team, executive chef Michele Iuliano and Anisa Iuliano, who own Ovest Pizzoteca and the Gnoccheria in New York, took over the space formerly Shore Pub in Westbrook.
Susan Braden
The 1960s Vespa that will greet customers in the lobby at the new Da Andrea Trattoria Pizzeria in Westbrook.
Susan Braden
Husband-wife team, executive chef Michele Iuliano and Anisa Iuliano, who own Ovest Pizzoteca and the Gnoccheria in New York, took over the space formerly Shore Pub in Westbrook.
Susan Braden
Memoribilia from Italy that will soon adorn the walls at the new Da Andrea in Westbrook.
Susan Braden
Husband-wife team, executive chef Michele Iuliano and Anisa Iuliano with their son Andrea at the new Da Andrea Trattoria Pizzeria in Westbrook in the space of the former Shore Pub in Westbrook.
Susan Braden
Husband-wife team, executive chef Michele Iuliano and Anisa Iuliano, who own Ovest Pizzoteca and the Gnoccheria in New York, took over the space formerly Shore Pub in Westbrook.
Susan Braden
WESTBROOK – Guests will soon be greeted by an eye-catching aqua 1960s Vespa parked in the front lobby of the new Da Andrea Trattoria Pizzeria, a gift from Martha Stewart to co-owner Michele Iuliano when he appeared on “The Martha Stewart Show” in the early 2000s.
To honor Stewart’s support, the executive chef created “The Martha,” a white pizza with mozzarella, prosciutto and truffle pâté, topped with a balsamic glaze, according to Bite of the Best, an NYC food blog.
Article continues below this ad
Though that pizza won’t be served at the new Westbrook restaurant when it opens this month at the former Shore Pub, a number of his other pizzas will.
Veteran New York restaurateurs, husband-wife team chef Michele Iuliano and Anisa Iuliano, who own Ovest Pizzoteca and the Gnoccheria East Village in New York, took over the space at 110 Boston Post Road in March.
Stewart met Iuliano when she visited the Ovest Pizzoteca on First Avenue, said Anisa Iuliano.
Article continues below this ad
“She fell in love with his pizza,” said Anisa Iuliano. “His method of cooking is different. It’s really authentic and that’s what she liked. And they always remained friends.”
The public can try it for themselves at the June 10 grand opening where there will be tastings and a ribbon cutting.
“It’s exciting and we’re going to have a few surprises,” said Anisa Iuliano.
Article continues below this ad
Before Shore Pub, the Westbrook spot was home to five restaurants in the past 14 years, after the longstanding Marty’s, open for more than 40 years closed in 2012.
Michele Iuliano will bring his own twist to pizza here – a traditional square pizza made in his Naples, Italy. It is not Sicilian pizza, but a “refined Napoletana style,” he said.
“I make new recipe, like a ‘grandma pizza,’” he said, which is the nostalgic Italian-American name of the pizza baked in sheet-pans in Italy.
Iuliano’s signature pie is known for its crust – crispy on the outside, but airy and chewy inside with a little sweetness. Its thickness falls somewhere between a deep-dish Sicilian pizza and the thin charred crust of New Haven-style, he said.
Article continues below this ad
The pizza dough is the same as their bread dough and takes eight to 10 days to make, as the chef also uses his own homemade yeast.
Uncooked San Marzano tomatoes from Italy make up the red sauce on the pizzas, seasoned and cooked directly on the pizza dough in a super high-heat electric oven.
Da Andrea will also offer the “Tris Gnocchi Specialty Dish” for two, featuring classic potato gnocchi in three sauces – pesto, four cheese and sorrentina, a simple Neapolitan red sauce. Iuliano’s Gnoccheria was recognized as one of the first restaurants in New York to focus solely on fresh homemade gnocchi, he said.
“We specialize in it,” said Anisa Iuliano. “We hand roll every day. They’re vegan, so they’re light and fluffy, no eggs.”
Article continues below this ad
The couple also plans on offering gnocchi-making classes here, just like their popular ones in New York.
“Those classes are always fun,” Anisa Iuliano said.
Da Andrea will serve mostly authentic Italian dishes while offering a couple of Italian-American entrees, such as chicken Parmesan and eggplant Parmesan, Anisa Iuliano said.
“My husband was born and raised in Italy, Napoli,” Anisa Iuliano said. “His creativity is infused with classic Italian, not American-Italian, classic home-cooked Italian meals.”
Article continues below this ad
They were able to move into the space in less than three months, she said, because of their long restaurant experience. At one time before the pandemic, they had 11 restaurants operating in the New York area but culled it down to three, including this one.
“That’s easy when you’re experienced and you know what to do,” Anisa Iuliano said.
They spent the past few months painting, redecorating, refurbishing the original Marty’s and painting the huge deck, a vivid blue.
Article continues below this ad
“The place was just ready to start working,” she said. “We just needed to refresh it.”
Dining and Cooking