Having lived in Concord for many years, my wife and I have been to almost all of the local restaurants. Concord will never be known as a haven for foodies since there’s more chain restaurants than anything else. That said there is one that we think stands above the rest as the best in Concord.
Angelina's is a small Italian restaurant at the bottom of a building on Depot Street in downtown Concord. This treasure only became known to me after my wife who had been there several times before announced that I needed to experience the food for myself. Well that was several years ago now and we’ve since dined there on many occasions and we really love the place.
The space is tiny but it’s also very quaint with small tables throughout covered with white linen table clothes. Candles flickering in a darkened room make for a nice romantic evening. A long line of wine bottles add to the essence of how an Italian restaurant should look and feel.
About a month ago, my wife made a reservation and so began another wonderful meal. If you decide to try Angelina's we recommend that you do the same at 6032283313 as there are a limited number of small tables that fill up very quickly. You should ask for table number 12 because it is the best one in the house that sits in a small oval and gives a bird’s eye view of the entire restaurant.
We settled in for the evening and after ordering a couple of drinks started munching on their bread with olive butter. This is one of my wife's favorite parts of dining here. Grab some bread, cover it with their spread and add some freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.
We looked over a familiar menu and for our appetizer we decided on the fried mozzarella. These were two large pieces served with marinara sauce. They were outstanding and one that we have ordered a number of times in the past.
We moved onto selecting our dinner entrees. Since my wife was on a chicken marsala frenzy lately, she ended up selecting that as her main entree. A classic Italian dish she was not disappointed and enjoyed the subtle flavor of the marsala wine. Her dinner came with a choice of pasta or mushroom risotto and she chose the risotto which was fantastic.
I went out on a limb and tried something a little bit different. The Pollo Angelo had Italian sausage, chicken along with onions and I love it all. It also included pepperoncini and I am not a huge fan of spicy foods but I hope like me that you are always willing to try something out of your comfort zone. This was not hot at the start and then deceptively so later on. Just enough spice to give a kick but not so much that you need to drink a jug of water.
Before moving on you should know that the entrees include your choice of a salad or soup. We always order the minestrone soup since this is one of the best we have had. Filled with little meatballs and vegetables it is not watered down like some we have had at other restaurants. This has a thick strong flavored dark broth.
Our server did a good job. Everything was timed perfectly. One quick suggestion to make the wait staffs job easier is that they might want to consider purchasing larger water glasses. The one's they have are extremely small and makes it seem like an endless effort by all to ensure that they are kept full.
Last but not certainly least we were presented with the dessert tray which includes a variety of tasty treats including red velvet cake, cannoli, and pot de crème to name a few. Having had the pleasure of dining here before, we knew which dessert we would split and that was the tiramisu. We strongly recommend that you try this as a sweet end to your meal. This may be our favorite version of tiramisu we’ve ever had.
Chef/Owner Richard Denison has developed a gem of a restaurant in Angelina's and in our opinion the best in Concord. We can't guarantee that you will agree but we’d be shocked if you don't have a nice experience. And don't forget that they serve lunch during the week. What is your favorite restaurant in the Capital Region?
