If you’re looking for authentic Italian cuisine, you’ll find it at Fiorello Ristorante Italiano in Hayes.
Tucked—almost hidden—at the far end of the White Marsh Shopping Center, the restaurant is co-owned by second generation restauranteur Giacomo “Jack” Bertuglia, who greets each guest at the door with a thick Italian accent, the sound of amore and famiglia. Indeed, the restaurant has a family feel as Bertuglia skips from table to table, often greeting customers by name with a hug and occasionally, if they speak his native language, conversing in Italian. And the love…well, the love is evident in every dish.
Bertuglia’s partners, Ricardo Bacelar and Marcelo Bacelar, are the brains behind the dishes.
The Fiorello Ristorante Italiano is quickly becoming my go-to when I’m craving good, Italian comfort food. I stumbled upon Fiorello’s last summer just a few months after it had opened in March 2023 in the former Wild Horse Country Cafe. Bertuglia, who lives in New Kent, makes the drive to deep Gloucester County six days a week because he wanted to return to the Middle Peninsula where his local restaurant story began. Bertuglia moved from Sicily to Long Island, New York, in 1968 where his family had an Italian restaurant. When he moved to Virginia in 2005, he opened Pelican Cove in Mathews. In 2008, he opened Doraldo’s in Midlothian and also owned Fiorello in Newport News.
“Since I had my first restaurant in Mathews, when I heard this was available, I took the opportunity to get back close to there,” said Bertuglia, adding that about 50% of his customers were regulars in Mathews and Newport News.
I know what keeps them coming back—high quality, consistently good food and hefty portions. Ricardo, Bertuglia’s stepson, graduated from the Italian Culinary school, Alma, in Brazil and opened his first restaurant in Rio De Janeiro before moving to New York in 2001 and then to Virginia in 2005. He takes pride in every dish.
I joined my husband, my dad and stepmother there a few weeks ago for another rave-worthy dinner. Although the restaurant has a full bar, we bypassed the pre-dinner cocktails and dove right into the appetizers. Our first choice was a colorful caprese salad with thick slices of fresh mozzarella and—to my surprise for this time of year—tender, ripe tomatoes drizzled with a balsamic glaze. Our second choice, crostini, was a blend of crabmeat, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, onion and a chipotle mayonnaise toasted on focaccia bread. The chipotle mayonnaise actually gave each bite a hint of sweetness instead of tang, which was a pleasant surprise for my sissy tastebuds.
Our waitress Brook had barely cleaned our empty appetizer plates off the table when she emerged with warm garlic knots and an olive oil dipping sauce, followed by a large salad for the table to share. Each entree comes with the shareable salad.
Appetizers, salad and garlic knots left us all full and regretting our huge entree choices….well, until we saw them that is. I indulged on fettuccine asiago, a blend of chicken, sweet sausage and mushrooms in a sweet vodka sauce over homemade fettuccine. My husband’s veal Montecarlo included two large pieces of fork-tender veal topped with eggplant and sweet fire-roasted peppers, smothered in mozzarella and marsala sauce over pasta.
My stepmother chose from the evening’s list of specials, a few of which are offered frequently because, according to Brook, they are customer favorites. Her dish of shrimp and scallops pasta came served in a butter garlic and white wine tomato cream sauce over fettuccine.
I only ate half of my entree in anticipation of one of Fiorello’s signature desserts, my favorite is a table-sized portion of tiramisu’. It comes in a medium-sized trifle dish and an addictive mix of house made Mascarpone cream, raw espresso and softened ladyfingers. The seven-item dessert menu also includes coppa profiterole, limoncello flute, chocolate tartufo and cannoli. They are all decadent and almost too pretty to eat.
The pasta dishes have been my mainstay but every time I’ve visited Fiorello I see nearby diners feasting on one of the signature pizzas. Guess I need to return to try one of those.
