Bar Sugo – Simple Italian Food with Extraordinary Flavors

Denise de Castro

9 years ago

Located in Norwalk, Bar Sugo is a fantastic restaurant with a menu that features six different types of meatballs, house made pastas and pizzas. The food philosophy is sourcing local purveyors and keeping a fresh and Italian mindset when it comes to utilizing each product to its full potential without masking its truest flavor. The menu changes with the seasons, and depending on what ingredients are available. We were recently invited to sample the latest East Meets West additions to the menu, all of which were amazing.

What do we recommend?

To get your appetite whet, try the rich, aromatic Prosciutto Wrapped Truffle Fries garnished with parmigiano and parsley. Chef Pat nailed it by adding the right amount of truffle oil to the fries.

Prosciutto Wrapped Truffle Fries garnished with parmigiano and parsley

Get a couple small plates, or Cichetti, like the Octopus or Burrata. The octopus is a wonderful light dish with smoked sunchoke puree, gochujang aioli, ‘nduja, and torched grapefruits. The octopus is tender and the flavors of the dish are rich and comforting. The Burrata is unlike anything we’ve ever had. Served with a brown butter and walnut vinaigrette, charred broccoli, cured cherries, and tobiko. Everything about this dish was fantastic, from he sweetness of the cherries and vinaigrette, saltiness of the tobiko, the texture and taste of the charred broccoli, and the creamy burrata.

Octopus with smoked sunchoke puree, gochujang aioli, ‘nduja, torched grapefruits

Burrata with brown butter & walnut vinaigrette, charred broccoli, cured cherries, tobiko

The Roasted Honey Nut Squash was a hit. Think of them as mini butternut squash – about the size of your hand. Though small, they have a lot of flavor. They’re sweet, nutty, and the flesh slips right out of its skin.

Roasted honey nut squash

The pasta at Bar Sugo are all handmade. We enjoyed the Farro Radiatori, a hearty, comforting dish perfect for the cold season made with smoked pork belly, broccoli rabe, cheese, and pepitas.

Farro radiatori

We’re big fans of Pat’s pizza, even going back to when he ran Pizzeria Rosso and Cortina Pizzeria several years ago. We knew pizza at Bar Sugo wouldn’t disappoint, so of the 8 types of pizza available, we tried the Sausage Pizza with broccoli rabe, ricotta, pepitas. Delicious. Chewy crust. Amazing flavors. One of my favorite pies in CT.

Sausage Pizza

Alas, dessert came – the Chocolate Budino, a decadent chocolate custard that was the perfect ending to a great dinner.

Chocolate Budino

Bar Sugo is open Monday – Thursday 4:00pm – 10:00pm, Friday – Saturday 4:00pm – 11:00pm, Sunday 11:00am – 3:30pm for brunch and 3:30pm – 9:00pm for dinner. Happy Hour happens on weekdays from 4pm to 6pm with half price drinks (btw, try the Amari Manhattan. For more information, visit barsugo.com.