On Saturday evening, I had the opportunity to dine at Orazio’s Restaurant in Clarence, New York.  Orazio’s  is a small, quaint restaurant that has been a Western New York staple for over 20 years serving some of the best Italian, Sicilian, and American cuisine around town. As soon as I walked in, I felt comfortable and at home as I was welcomed by staff that were courteous and attentive. It’s obvious that they live up to their motto—“It’s Not Like Home…It Is Home”

What makes Orazio’s even more impressive is their old style cooking tradition of creating everything from scratch featuring made-on-premises breads, pastas and desserts by a creative and talented team of chefs including the owner, Chef Orazio Ippolito Jr.

The menu is full of choices for any palate and includes wonderful Italian and Sicilian dishes that reminded me of my own Italian Grandmother and her Sunday family dinners. Foods like pasta dishes, seafood, hearty chicken and veal dishes.  To start, we were served Orazio’s home-made bread that was warm, crusty and smelled as though it came directly from the oven along with a fine whipped butter.  Our appetizer was Oysters on the half shell served with Orazio’s own cocktail sauce and wedge of lemon. Although this choice was risky since Oysters are out of season, I must say they were delish and did not disappoint. For those that enjoy shellfish, Orazio’s offers all you can eat raw clams and mussels (June thru August), for a very reasonable price. If you are looking for me in the summer months, you’ll know where you can find me—Orazio’s!!!

The main menu has an extensive offering of some classics as well as some creative dishes by Chef Ippolito. For an entree we tried several selections to include the Broiled Scallops, The New York Strip Steak, Veal Abruzzo and Mahi Mahi—the fresh catch of the day.   The Broiled Scallops were served with melted butter and were so tender.  The New York Strip Steak may have been one of the best broiled steaks ever had.  As for the Mahi Mahi-one word—Perfection!   The Veal Abruzzo, which is a breaded veal cutlet topped with eggplant, cappicola, and mozzarella with a red sauce was more than generous and worth… every… bite!  The presentation of each entrée was not only beautiful and precise, the portions were overly generous.

 

As for dessert, we were treated to Orazio’s Cannoli’s—a pair of flaky pastry shells with a duet of creamy sweetened ricotta cheese fillings: Light orange citrus & chocolate almondine.  The cannoli’s were light and flavorful and wonderful for sharing.

If you are looking for a nice evening out without breaking the bank, take your family and friends to visit Orazio’s Restaurant!

When you visit Orazio’s, take a look at Chef Ippolito’s other offerings such as:

Salads:

• Spinach Salad – fresh spinach topped with crisp bacon, mushrooms, hard-boiled egg and garlic croutons. Served with hot bacon dressing.
• Insalata Italienne – Sliced plum tomatoes and fresh mozzarella in a basil vinaigrette.

 Starters:

• Babalucci –Helix snails simmered in your choice of tomato or garlic sauce.
• Bruschetta – Homemade bread topped with chopped tomato, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, baked and sprinkled with Romano cheese.

Pastas:

• Ultimate Baked Meat Lasagna – Layers of homemade noodles, ground beef and pork and ricotta cheese filling, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and then baked.
• Fettuccini Alfredo – Fresh fettuccini tossed in a rich butter, cream and Romano cheese sauce.

Entrees:

• Veal Abruzzo – Breaded veal cutlet topped with eggplant, cappicola, and mozzarella, then baked in red sauce with a side of linguini.
• Pork Chops – Center cut pork chops, broiled to perfection, with djon mustard butter.

Desserts:

• Whipped Cheesecake – Creamy whipped cheesecake, frosted with a whipped cream cheese frosting and garnished with chopped walnuts.
• Italian Parfait – Crème de Menthe and whipped cream served over vanilla ice cream

Desserts:

• Whipped Cheesecake – Creamy whipped cheesecake, frosted with a whipped cream cheese frosting and garnished with chopped walnuts.
• Italian Parfait – Crème de Menthe and whipped cream served over vanilla ice cream.

 

Award Winning Dishes:

Pasta con Vodka – Prosciutto, onions and garlic sautéed with tomatoes, basil, cream, Romano cheese, finished with Vodka ,then tossed with a penne pasta

Peanut Butter Pie – Chocolate swirled peanut butter pie with an Oreo cookie crust

 

 

Orazio’s is located at 9415 Main Street, Clarence, New York 14031 Phone: (716) 759-8888

 

 Kitchen hours:

Closed on Tuesdays

Monday –Thursday: 3pm-10pm

Friday-Saturday: 3pm-11pm

Sunday: 12pm-9pm

 

 

Website: CLICK HERE TO VISIT ORAZIO’s WEBSITE

Facebook: CLICK HERE TO VISIT ORAZIO’s FACEBOOK

 

UPCOMING EVENTS AT ORAZIO’s

St. Joseph’s Feast—March 18^th & 19^th

Easter Brunch from 10am to 2pm

East Buffet from 2pm to 8pm