It’s not unintentional that the 50-seat Italian restaurant on the corner of Boston Post Road and Fenimore looks like someone lives there — because the moment your appetite crosses the threshold, you may as well be in Angelo Merenda’s kitchen. Vintage paintings and lively Venetian masks stand at attention on the walls, while a long scroll of paper in the main dining room sings tales of the evening’s specials. “The restaurant is built around our family,” says Merenda, who named it to carry the torch in memory of his incredible cook of a wife, who once helmed Rosa’s La Scarbitta just down the road on Halstead Avenue as the eponymous chef. “Our customers should feel that in every detail.”
Greeted at your table with warm bread and garlic on a toothpick for grating, you’ll be as hard-pressed as the fresh olive oil to make an easy decision on your entrée. The polio alia Rosa (thinly sliced chicken breasts breaded in Parmigiano cheese in a lemon sauce), Maine lobster ravioli (order it with the Cardinale sauce, trust), hearty eggplant Parmigiana, and the simple grilled-buttery branzino all make veritable choices.
The desserts are made on premise, boasting a secret tiramisu recipe that you simply need to try to believe. The affogato is served with a nip of Grand Marnier for a decadent nightcap to accompany the fresh, complimentary almond biscotti. “If we don’t make it in-house, then it’s imported from Italy,” says Merenda. “We’re very proud of that.”
“The restaurant is built around our family. Our customers should feel that in every detail.”
— Angelo Merenda
Rosa’s biggest strength is found in simplicity — there is no playing with flavor profiles, no experimenting with acids or juices. The dishes that leave the double kitchen doors are the comfort that many of the Italian American population of Westchester grew up with, executed with boundless adherence to tradition and a depth of flavor that pulls you by the nostalgia and doesn’t let go.