Back to
 The
News-Times/Carol Kaliff
Mafalda Roma, seated,
and her chef-husband Armando, in toque, run an Italian restaurant in Bethel
with their sons, from left, Christopher, Michael and Armando Jr.
Photofile1:0415ck04.jpg |
You may have passed this small restaurant without noticing it, but its customers know exactly where it is — in the small shopping center across from the Seven-Eleven store on Route 6.
"I deal in repeat customers," says owner-chef Armando Roma who opened his restaurant in 1985 and runs it with the help of his wife and three sons. Many of his customers have been coming here for Italian food at reasonable prices for two decades.
On a Tuesday evening, we found the dining room quiet and serene.
"Usually, I come here on Friday nights and the place is mobbed," a friend said as we made ourselves comfortable in a booth upholstered in the same soothing shade of mauve as the restaurant's walls.
 The
News-Times/Carol Kaliff
Look for
Armando’s restaurant in the small shopping center across from the
Seven-Eleven store on Route 6 in Bethel. It’s been there since
1985.
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The dining room seats 68 and is divided by a partition — booths on one side, square tables and a few booths on the other.
"This used to be two stores and we decided to leave the wall dividing them but cut it lower so you can see over it – just for architectural interest," Roma says, speaking over the telephone a few days after our dinner.
Decor here is simple. Tables are flanked by black-lacquered chairs; large green linen napkins are set at each place. Walls are hung with paintings of Italian lake scenes. All in all, the dining areas have a polished look.
Reservations are not necessary but it's best to call ahead if you need a table for four or more. Attire is casual. Major credit cards are accepted.
Bathrooms do not have accommodations for persons with disabilities. Those using wheelchairs should know the front entrance may be hard to negotiate. The owner suggests you call ahead and the staff will help you enter the restaurant.
Parking fronts the restaurant.
Tasted and recommended
Our meal began with a starter that was a meal in itself, Bruschetta Romana ($3.95).
A medium-size loaf of Roma's handmade Italian bread is split in half lengthwise, then the cut part of each half is brushed with olive oil and placed under a broiler until it's crisp.
The bread is then topped with fresh tomatoes, basil, and Mozzarella cheese and placed under the broiler again until the cheese just begins to melt. Our loaf was sliced into eight large servings.
"This is a pizza," my friend observed. Call it what you like, it was scrumptious. A couple seated behind us asked to see our bruschetta, then ordered it with glasses of wine, downed it, and left.
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| Don't forget! Armando's is right on Stony Hill Road across from Target and in front of Miracle Graphics, just minutes from I-84 exit 8. Parking is available in front & back. |
My entree was lasagna ($9.95), wide hand-made lasagna noodles layered with ricotta cheese, ground beef, Mozzarella, and marinara sauce – a hearty but tasty combination of flavors and textures.
Portions here are more than generous, and we both wound up taking half of our entrees home. Mine made a wonderful lunch the following day.
The salads included in the price of our entrees were a mixture of very fresh romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, with a choice of dressings.
For dessert, there was Chocolate Mousse Cake ($3.95), four layers of decadence, velvety and addictive.
The menu
For a small restaurant, Armando's has a lengthy menu that includes 15 appetizers, 30 pasta entrees, and numerous seafood, chicken, veal and steak offerings.
Chicken Artichoke looks appealing — chicken breasts sauteed with artichokes, garlic cloves, capers and olive oil, and topped with the restaurant's brown sauce, which is flavored with white wine.
Filet mignon prepared with sauteed onions, mushrooms and Marsala wine also looks enticing.
Seafood offerings include shrimp scampi, and stuffed filet of sole. Or you might try Seafood Combo — sauteed clams, shrimp and mussels over linguini with a choice of red or white sauce.
Many of the entrees served at dinner are available at lunch at a lower price.
Pizzas are available at lunch and dinner, as are grinders. There is also a children's menu with offerings such as ravioli or baked ziti, each with a meatball.
Wine
Vintages of California and Italy dominate the wine list. House wines by the glass are $4.50 to $4.95. The restaurant has a full liquor license.
Service
Service is friendly, efficient and unhurried.
Prices
Our dinner for two, including a shared appetizer, entrees, salads, a shared dessert and two cups of coffee, came to $31 before tax, tip and wine.
Entrees at dinner are $13.95 to $17.95 with some seafood dishes priced slightly higher. The entree price includes include a salad and a vegetable or side dish of pasta.
Pasta dishes at dinner are $8.95 to $12.95 and include a salad.
Pasta dishes at lunch are $6.95 to $7.95 with one shrimp dish priced slightly higher. Pasta at lunch does not include a salad.
Children's entrees are $5.95.
What's a bargain? Just about everything on the menu, but especially the chicken, veal and seafood entrees at lunch, which are $8.95 to $9.95 and include a vegetable or side dish of pasta.
About the chef
Armando Roma, 50, grew up in Frosinone, a town just south of Rome, and came to this country in 1967 with his parents and seven brothers and sisters.
The family settled in Manhattan and Roma, who was 13 and had loved working in bakeries after school in Italy, quickly began working for a bakery in New York.
When the family later moved to Connecticut, he worked for the Neufield Bakery in Bridgeport, honing his bread-making skills. Later he joined the kitchen staff of Ettorucci's, an Italian restaurant in Stamford, where he worked for 15 years and learned to make classic Italian fare.
During this time, he often came to the Amerigo Vespucci Lodge in Danbury to play in bocci tournaments.
"I wanted my own restaurant and this area, in the mid-1980's, was economically very healthy," Roma said. When he heard a small restaurant on Stony Hill Road was for sale, he purchased it and launched Armando's in 1985.
Today, he runs the restaurant with the help of his wife, May, and sons Armando Roma Jr., who is 28 and does much of the cooking, and Michael Roma, 24, who helps his mother run the front of the house.
Another son, Christopher, 14, sometimes helps out in the dining room on weekends.
The family plans to open a new, larger restaurant, also on Route 6, this summer. It will have a dining room seating 90, a banquet room and a cocktail lounge.
"We've watched the town of Bethel grow up," Roma says, "and we're growing with it.
Armando's
Stony Hill Road
Bethel
TELEPHONE
(203) 794-0563
HOURS
Lunch
Monday through Saturday
11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner
Monday through Saturday
2:30 to 10 p.m.
Sunday
3 to 10 p.m.
Jonnie Bassaro eats anonymously and pays for her food at the restaurants reviewed in The News-Times. She calls the restaurant after her visit to gather additional information used in Corner Table.