Would you like to experience a delicious, creative gourmet meal prepared by an award-winning chef in a beautiful Italian restaurant in Downtown Pensacola? Well, there’s only one place we know that checks all of those boxes: Angelena’s Ristorante Italiano!
Angelena’s is part of Great Southern Restaurants, a local company whose portfolio include The Fish House, The Atlas Oyster House, Jackson’s Steakhouse and Five Sisters Blues Cafe.
From the minute you are seated at Angelena’s you can sense that the staff wants you to have a great experience. The atmosphere is welcoming, and straddles the perfect balance of being comfortable for an everyday meal and elegant for special occasions too. Several banquettes along the wall add a romantic touch. The walls are adorned with hand-painted plates from Sicily and vintage framed photographs.
The company’s president, Collier Merrill, is well-known locally as a real estate developer, restaurateur, and community leader. He’s Pensacola Proud through and through.
Coming Home
Angelena’s Executive Chef James Briscione and his wife Brooke Parkhurst (who is Angelena’s Wine Director) are Pensacolians who left town for NYC more than 20 years ago. They both enjoyed successful careers in the restaurant industry. Coming home to Pensacola was not something they considered because, as Chef Briscione says, “When we left in 1998, downtown was not anything to come back to. There was not much here at the time. People didn’t come downtown very often.” Over the years, when they would come home to visit, the couple noticed things changing for the better. They knew that they wanted to get in on the revitalization of downtown before it was too late. So when they had the opportunity to be a part of Angelena’s they were all in.
Merrill spared no expense to design, build, and equip Angelena’s so that Chef Briscione could have the perfect backdrop to showcase his talent and enthusiasm for fresh flavors. Creating a menu they like to call authentic Italian with Gulf Coast roots.
Chef Briscione’s menu is a nod to classic Italian cuisine with surprising southern touches throughout. It’s not your Mama’s Italian. You’ll find traditional meatballs on the menu, chicken Parmesan and pizza but also innovative dishes that take full advantage of the fresh Gulf seafood Pensacola is known for.
Fresh. Pasta. Every. Day.
The pasta is handmade fresh every day and elevates any pasta dish you order. Chef Biscione took Elizabeth and me to the kitchen to see his imported pasta maker in action while he made a long wavy-edged pasta called Mafaldine. And we saw the involved, multi step process just to make a dozen fresh stuffed ravioli.
The pasta is showcased in a special pasta tasting menu — three courses paired with wine. Another cool shape, called Campanelle, which means ‘little bell,’ is made with squid ink and forms the base of the Southern Shrimp Ragu including Cedar Key clams, bacon and Calabrian tomato sauce.
The Dish That Beat Bobby Flay
Also on the menu is Crawfish Tortellini. This is the dish that scored Chef Briscione a victory over Iron Chef Bobby Flay when he competed on the Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay series this past March. The dish is a brilliant blend of tortellini filled with andouille and leek, served with Louisiana crawfish tails, brown butter and lemon. Chef Briscione is no stranger to the Food Network. He’s the only chef to win the Chopped series twice.
Wood-Burning Oven
The wood-burning oven surrounded in blue tile at the rear of the restaurant is where the magic happens. In goes freshly made dough, sauce, and your choice of toppings, including homemade mozzarella, and out comes a perfectly cooked crust dotted with wonderful random charred bubbles. Rustic and refined at the same time.
Have You Ever Tried Arancini?
I used to live on Long Island and my upstairs neighbor was born and raised in Rome. Every Sunday she would make a delicious dish called Arancini. She described it as fried rice balls. They were so delicious that I search the menu for them whenever I go to an Italian restaurant. I’m happy to report Angelena’s offers arancini and the dish is just as I remembered. Angelena’s has two versions of the risotto croquettes: Short Rib and Truffle and Tomato & Mozzarella and both are worthy starters for sure.
The day we dined one of the appetizers on the menu was Chef’s famous Gulf Crudo, a flavorful plate of yellowfin tuna, smoked tomato jam, pickled chilis, and crispy prosciutto.
Extensive Wine Menu
As mentioned earlier, Chef’s Briscione’s wife Brooke is the Wine Director at Angelena’s. She’s scouted the best reds and whites from each region of Italy. Her impressive wine menu includes a handy map of Italy to show you the origin of each bottle. Angelena’s large inviting bar is a great place to meet your friends downtown to enjoy a crafted cocktail, glass of wine, or small plate.
La Dolce Vita
The old restaurant adage to ‘save room for dessert’ really rings true at Angelena’s. Pastry Chef Maxine Kasper creates all of the desserts in house. We chose the popular Limoncello Cheesecake with Crème Anglaise. The cheesecake was light and not overly sweet. But the pièce de résistance is the tart and tangy Limoncello sauce poured over the top. Lip smacking good!
Elizabeth’s Take
“Angelena’s has one-of-a-kind homemade pasta dishes and authentic Italian pies, along with so many other fabulous dishes. We are so lucky to have this homegrown, amazing chef and his creations back in Pensacola. The bar vibe and kindness of the staff is also a huge plus for me!”
Ali’s Take
“You had me at house-made pasta! A visit to Angelena’s is like taking a little trip to off-the-beaten-path Italy. I enjoy the delicious dishes that Chef Briscione and his team create and look forward to more one-of-a-kind creations”
What Makes Angelena’s So Special
Each week we ask our restaurateurs what makes their place special
Great Southern Restaurants president, Collier Merrill, says, “Pensacola has a lot of great restaurants. Angelena’s is very unique. We have a great team of people offering a great dining experience in downtown Pensacola. And if you disappointed, we want to hear about it. We want to make it right. We’ve gone to great lengths fitting what people want but still being creative enough to offer an authentic Italian experience. Chef Briscione has done a great job.”
Angelena’s Executive Chef James Briscione says, ”It’s special things like our pasta tasting menu. It’s the ten to twelve hours a day that I and the crew spend here. We make our own spaghetti. We make every single thing here. We’re unique in this area. No one makes things from scratch to the level that we do.
Good to Know
Angelena’s Ristorante Italiano
101 East Intendencia Street
Downtown Pensacola, Florida
850-542-8398
https://angelenaspensacola.com
Hours: Monday – Saturday 4pm – until close (please call to confirm)
- Angelena’s has an Aperitivo Hour Monday – Saturday from 4pm-6pm with 1/2 price drinks at the bar only.
- Angelena’s offers free parking validation in the Southtowne garage directly across from Angelena’s with your meal.
- Super Tuscan Tuesday offers any pizza with a select bottle of Tuscan wine for $25.
- Angelena’s has a supper club that offers a series of food and wine events each month themed around Italian traditions.
- Dogs are allowed outside.
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