Cafe Mangia Hartford

Within Cafe Mangia’s deep orange walls, servers cart around steaming plates of hearty Italian food, piled high with fresh basil and traditional recipes. In the evenings, platefuls of fresh grilled salmon or new york strip steaks grace the granite tabletops inside the softly lit dining room, or out on the wraparound porch. Chefs top steaming pastas with traditional pink vodka and white wine butter sauces, and can swap out standard noodles for whole-wheat or gluten-free ones upon request. They also warm up griddles for crepes and pancakes at Sunday brunch, and stuff grinders and sandwiches for lunch.

On certain evenings, Cafe Mangia breaks out the grape-tasting bibs for wine dinners that pair a five-course meal with complementary libations, like most sommelier-run dating services.