Nolita may be attached to an East Hartford Ramada Inn, but the owners of the restaurant inspired by the fashionable Manhattan neighborhood are hoping guests will enjoy the experience and spirit of the district without the two-hour train ride.
The neighborhood, which takes its name from an abbreviation of “North of Little Italy,” was where co-owner Vishal Sharma found himself frequently when he was living in New York. Sharma, an East Hartford native, frequently spent time in the area, searching for ideas and influences for his restaurant project.
At one point, Sharma mulled opening a restaurant in the city itself, but competition and surging rents made him reconsider, and family members urged him to give his restaurant concept a shot back home. Sharma’s uncle once owned and operated Al Fresco’s on Burnside Avenue, he said, and that restaurant’s former executive chef, Greg Janus, is now heading the kitchen at Nolita.
In May, Sharma and his partners, cousins Varinder (“Tony”) and Harpreet (“Happy”) Singh, celebrated the grand opening of the 200-seat eatery on Roberts Street. Sharma calls the Italian-influenced restaurant upscale casual, with housemade fresh pasta, thin-crust pizza, sandwiches, small plates and larger secondi entrees among the menu’s highlights.
“We’re offering the entire Nolita district experience in one restaurant,” he said.
Sharma said he’s taken cues from a few landmark restaurants in the New York neighborhood, including Rubirosa on Mulberry Street and the venerable Lombardi’s Pizza on Spring Street, for culinary inspiration. He estimates about 85 percent of Nolita’s pastas are made in-house, including pappardelle, linguini, fettuccine and various ravioli. Eventually, they hope to make that a full 100 percent. “There’s no comparison,” he says.
Pizza ($8 to $20) is a big draw at Nolita, where pies are fired in a brick oven at 600-700 degrees and feature gourmet combinations such as shrimp scampi with sun-dried tomato and lemon aioli, and spicy buffalo with a hot sauce-blue cheese spread, grilled chicken and chives. The Nolita 5 Borough is a best-seller, with meatball, Italian sausage, bacon, ham and high-quality Rosa Grande pepperoni. Calzones are also popular, stuffed with housemade ricotta and a variety of meat and veggie toppings.
Entrees ($18-26) feature steaks, seafood and chops with fresh seasonal preparations – recent specials have included pork sugo, grilled Angus ribeye, pan-roasted bone-in chicken and seared diver scallops with balsamic-truffle reduction. A forthcoming spring menu will feature Dijon-herb crusted lamb chops and a beet salad with Mandarin oranges, pickled red onions, candied walnuts and goat cheese.
With an active bar crowd coming in for two dozen craft beer lines and imaginative cocktails by bar manager Matthew Pierce, small plates and appetizers ($6 to $15) are another focus. A sampler combines three of Nolita’s top-selling snacks: black tiger shrimp Disaronno with amaretto aioli, pepper-stuffed and bacon-wrapped “cherry bomb chicken” and arancini with marinara sauce.
Truffle-Parmesan fries, zucchini fritti and a trio of sliders (cheeseburger, eggplant and buttermilk fried chicken) round out the list, and a new plate called Drums of Heaven will join the menu shortly, featuring crispy chicken “lollipops” with sweet chili sauce and five-island slaw. Happy hour runs from 3 to 6 p.m. daily, with $5 small plates, beers, wines and well drinks. .
The kitchen also continually experiments with new flavors for its “colossal” wings, with mandarin chipotle and Angry Orchard cider-sriracha among the more unique sauces. A newer, super-decadent creation combines that same amaretto aioli with sizable pieces of candied bacon, and Sharma said these have begun selling nearly as well as the classic buffalo hot.
Nolita has also seen success with its “made to order” desserts, where the kitchen prepares tortes, cakes and creme brulee from scratch at the beginning of the diner’s meal. A phyllo-wrapped molten chocolate purse is a big seller, along with the carrot cake served alongside a glass of chai tea and housemade carrot gelato.
The restaurant has also set itself apart with its comprehensive delivery service, employing several drivers and partnering with GrubHub to bring orders to all of East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, South Windsor and Glastonbury.
“I’m very particular about it,” Sharma said. “We have really good relationships with residential towers in Hartford; with hotels…we understand their needs. We deliver high-quality food and we’ve mastered it.”
Sharma hopes to attract new clientele with the soon-to-launch spring menu, as well as offering fresh new dishes to those who’ve become regulars. The owners are grateful for the encouragement they’ve received in its first year.
“My family’s lived in East Hartford for a long time,” Sharma said. “East Hartford has shown us a lot of support.”
>>Nolita, 363 Roberts St. in East Hartford, is open open Sunday, 10 a.m. to midnight; Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.; and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Information: 860-222-9000, nolitaristoranteeasthartford.com.
