Alforno Trattoria • Bar • Pizza

Alforno is a neighborhood Italian that focuses on housemade pasta, carefully tuned sauces and pizzas with a marble-crisp edge.

The dining room is cozy and lively; service is consistently praised for being friendly and professional.

Frequent highlights from reviews include the tagliatelle Bolognese, veal meatballs, and a pizza crust that readers call airy, crisp or perfectly chewy.

Desserts like pistachio semifreddo and classic cannoli complete meals with a restrained, Italian touch.

The menu leans on handmade pasta and pizza, with frequent praise for Tagliatelle Bolognese, veal meatballs and the restaurant’s signature pizzas.

Reviewers point to a crisp, airy thin crust on cheese and pepperoni pies and an excellent Napolitano style pizza.

Starters such as fried calamari and the house bread and olives recur in reviews, as do desserts — pistachio semifreddo, key lime pie and flourless chocolate torte — plus gluten-free pizza that diners report as crisp and well executed.

Connecticut, particularly New Haven, is renowned for its unique style of pizza known as 'apizza,' which is pronounced 'ah-beets.' This variation features a thin, chewy crust with charred edges resulting from coal-fired ovens and uses minimal cheese, often just a sprinkle of grated pecorino Romano. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, opened in 1925, is credited with pioneering this style, and its white clam pizza has become an iconic dish that draws culinary pilgrims from around the world.

Alforno Trattoria sits quietly in a retail strip but reads like a small, practiced Italian kitchen devoted to reliable comfort.

Diners repeatedly mention handmade pasta, focused sauces and a pizza program that gets the crust right — airy and crisp on the edges with chew in the center.

Service is noted as attentive and friendly, adding to the overall feeling of a well-run local spot.

Reviewers single out a few items: calamari breaded and fried to a light crunch, meatballs that show up frequently as a must-order, and the Tagliatelle Bolognese that many call outstanding.

One guest summed it up with simple awe: "Alforno's has the very best pizza I HAVE EVER EATEN, bar none," — C H K.

Another praised the gluten-free pie: "The gluten free pizza was delicious!

The crust was crisp and nicely done," — Harrison Green.

Dessert also draws praise, including a pistachio semifreddo "drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt," — Lisa Steele l Fresh Eggs Daily.

The overall impression is of familiar Italian cooking done with care and consistency, a place locals and visitors return to for dependable flavor.

New York City is home to the first licensed pizzeria in the United States, Lombardi's Pizza, which was established in 1905. Located in Manhattan's Little Italy, Lombardi's began as a grocery store selling tomato pies before transitioning into a dedicated pizzeria. Today, Lombardi's continues to serve traditional coal-fired pizzas and attracts visitors eager to experience a slice of pizza history.