The waitstaff is training, the wood-fired oven is warming up and the beers are ready to pour at Nolo, slated to open as soon as this weekend at 687 State St. in New Haven.
The expansive new restaurant features a full menu centered on a massive wood-fired oven, along with craft beer made on-site. Chefs will grill pizzas in the oven, along with a full range of proteins like burgers, chicken and seafood.
Owner Derek Bacon said the menu will also feature four or five scratch-made pastas a day, along with salads and small plates. In addition to the beer and a full cocktail menu, Nolo has compiled a wine list of 150 mostly organic vintages, 12 available by the glass.
Bacon and partner Daniel Parillo have retrofitted the former Jet Cleaners building, working since 2016 to design and outfit the space. The pair are also behind Da Legna, a casual pizza and small-plates restaurant further up State Street.
“We wanted to keep the general facade of Jet Cleaners but modernize it a little bit,” Bacon said. “After every turn there was something new we could do to enhance it.”
With 160 seats, Nolo features plush crushed-velvet booths downstairs and a bar that stretches nearly the length of the building. Most unique is the upstairs mezzanine level, which houses six intimate mini-rooms with couch-style seating, available by reservation only. “If you’re on a date, or have friends from out of town, there’s a nice element of privacy,” Bacon said.
A major highlight of the new eatery is fresh beer by Erector Brewing Collective, founded at the nearby Erector Square complex. Brewer Justin Maturo will tend the five-barrel system at Nolo, and he expects at least three beers to be ready for drinking by the restaurant’s opening. On tap will be American Flyer Electric IPA, Home Slice dry-hopped lager, a stout brewed with cereal milk and possibly a pale ale.
“The concept is awesome,” Maturo said of Nolo. “There aren’t that many many breweries that are in full-scale restaurants, where you have pizza, the woodfired grill, seafood — there’s everything foodwise. It makes it easier to hang around and eat and drink beer.”
Restaurant week coming soon
Time to make reservations for the fall iteration of New Haven Restaurant Week, a chance to sample to fare of the finest eateries in town for $17 at lunch and $34 at dinner. From Nov. 4 to 9, each participating restaurant offers a fixed-price, multi-course menus as part of the promotion — the trick each year is getting a table.
More than 30 restaurants are participating this year, including Adrianna’s, Barcelona, Harvest Wine Bar, Heirloom, L’Orcio, Miya’s Sushi, Olea, Roía, Shell and Bones, Tre Scalini, Zinc and Union League Cafe.
For more information on New Haven Restaurant Week and reservation links, click here.
Valley hosts ‘Restaurant Hunt’
New Haven’s Restaurant Week coincides with a similar event in the Naugatuck Valley: the Greater Valley Restaurant Hunt. Taking place from Oct. 15 through Nov. 30, the Restaurant Hunt involves both dining and a treasure hunt with prizes. Participating restaurants include One Twenty One in Oxford, Focaccia’s in Shelton, Copper City Bar & Grill in Ansonia, Il Palio in Shelton, Tea with Tracy in Seymour, Crave in Ansonia and Sherman’s Taphouse in Derby.
More info on the Greater Valley Restaurant Hunt here.
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