Maria's Ristorante
Italian Restaurant in Bermuda
$$, Italian
UPDATE: The restaurant has closed down.
After running
Fresco's Restaurant successfully for 12 years, the owner Claudio Vigilante decided to close the earlier restaurant and create a new dining experience altogether. He renovated it completely and built an Italian Piazza in the same premises. Claudio is an Italian from San Remo.
His childhood memories of playing soccer in the Italy's village streets and mom's gnocchi have inspired him to turn this former Mediterranean eatery in to an Italian Restaurant. He has named it Maria's Ristorante in honor of his mother.
It's located on Chancery lane, off Front Street in Hamilton City. The new Italian restaurant Maria's Ristorante has a completely different look. The outside patio has been converted into a piazza with a fountain, shuttered windows and overhead washing lines. On the streets of Italy's villages, one can often see overhead washing lines. The same has been replicated here.
There are clothes designed by Bermudian designers that hang from the washing lines and are changed on a weekly basis. If you like one, you can even buy that. It's a great novel approach combining theme based shopping with dining experience.
The main dining room has golden and pale brown stucco walls. Upstairs the popular wine bar has remained the same with few more Italian dishes having been introduced. Overall the atmosphere is casual, relaxed and family friendly, but contemporary and youthful at the same time.
The main dishes include basic Italian fares like homemade pastas, gnocchis, risottos, tapinades, simple flavors of olives and sun-dried tomatoes, grilled fish with a bit of olive oil and fresh thyme, pizzas of different flavors and such. The restaurant also offer children's menu including items like pasta, pizza and more.
To Claudio this restaurant is an honest effort to recreate the type of homemade food that his mother prepared back in Italy. So everything here is simple and homemade. He even has a special pasta drying room in his restaurant. Caludio has brought in cooks and staff from different parts of Italy to make the dishes.
Update Sep 2011: Claudio has started offering early birds special at a very attractive price. This will enable the families to have sumptuous meals at very reasonable prices. But for that one has to come early between 5:30 - 7pm. The meal includes starters, main course and desserts. The typical dishes in the specials include mozzarella in carrozza, Caesar salad, soup, roasted vegetable, Spaghetti Bolognese, Roasted lemon chicken with herb and ice cream. And all this for a paltry $20. Great deal!! There are lunch specials available as well that costs only $13.50 and typically includes chicken Caesar salad, risotto carbonara, Italian-style burger etc.
Open Hours
Lunch 12:00 – 14:30 (Monday - Saturday),
Dinner 18:00 – 22:00 (Monday - Saturday).
The wine bar is open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Monday through Saturday.
They accept credit cards. Dress code is smart casual. Reservation preferred.
Location and Contact
Maria's Ristorante
2 Chancery Lane, Hamilton, Pembroke Parish (close to Reid Street)
Phone: 441/295-5058
Bus route: #1, 2, 10, 11 (all routes originating from Hamilton bus terminal)
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 By Raj Bhattacharya
Raj, a seasoned travel writer and Bermuda destination expert, has extensive global travel experience. This website reflects his profound insights, garnered over nearly two decades of dedicated findings and research on the island. Raj has assisted countless Bermuda-bound visitors by providing direct, personalized responses to their queries and imparting his wealth of knowledge through this platform. This site serves as an indispensable guide for those seeking informed and reliable insights into Bermuda's treasures.
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