It's All About Family At This Italian Restaurant In West Caldwell

WEST CALDWELL, NJ — If you’re a fan of Italian food who lives in North Jersey, there’s a good chance the Mandara family name rings a bell.

Bergen and Rockland County foodies have been familiar with Michael and Mena Mandara for years. The wife-and-husband pair – who work alongside their daughters, Deeana and Natalie – are the owners of Pizzeria Mandara and Posa Posa, which they proudly declare to be “family friendly” glimpses into the cultural cuisine of Southern Italy.

Now the Mandaras are bringing their time-tested recipes to Essex County with a new restaurant in West Caldwell.

The family's newest venture, Mandara Ristorante and Pizzeria, is slated to open Feb. 1, 2019 at 40 Clinton Road in West Caldwell. The new restaurant will be the family’s 11th; they’ve been in the food business for more than 60 years.

“Whether they've never been to the Amalfi Coast, or have fond memories of past visits, we want people to have a sense of what it's like to vacation and dine in Positano, where our family's roots are,” Michael Mandara said.

Highlights of the menu – which will be similar to the Pizzeria Mandara offerings – will include:

• Brick Oven Pizza “with all the toppings imaginable”
• Arancini
• Pasta Mandara (rigatoni w/diced tomatoes, baby spinach, house-made mozzarella, crumbled Italian sausage + grilled chicken)
• Chicken Amalfi (chicken breast, roasted artichokes + hearts of palm in lemon wine sauce)
• Posa Posa (veal scaloppine + shiitake mushrooms sautéed in sherry wine sauce)
• Shrimp Fiorentina (battered shrimp w/wine sauce over sautéed spinach)

Nightly specials will emphasize dishes from the Amalfi Coast, with recipes by General Manager Pasquale Marino, a chef/restaurateur who hails from the region.

Desserts will be in the capable hands of pastry chef Deeana Mandara, Michael and Mena's daughter, a French Culinary Institute graduate who also oversees the family's Wyckoff location.

Mandara Ristorante's beverage program will be overseen by Luigi Tarantino, an award-winning bar professional and mixology mentor most recently at Sofia in Englewood and NYC's Employees Only.

Learn more about this local business here.

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Photos courtesy of Mandara Ristorante and Pizzeria