9 Hidden Italian Markets In Connecticut You Probably Drive Right Past

Ever driven past a small grocery shop for years without giving it a second thought? Then one day you discover what’s inside and wonder how you managed to overlook it for so long.

Italian markets can be especially interesting that way.

Across Connecticut, lesser-known Italian markets offer traditional food specialties that can make an ordinary grocery trip surprisingly memorable.

I love the thought of finding a shop where the shelves hold ingredients you don’t usually see at a big supermarket.

And for anyone who enjoys Italian cooking, discovering a good source for familiar favorites can be genuinely exciting.

There’s something appealing about smaller food shops that have their own character rather than looking exactly like every other grocery store.

A few of these places might be closer than you’d imagine.

Of course, you don’t need to be an experienced cook to appreciate a market filled with interesting foods.

Sometimes curiosity is enough to turn a routine errand into an unexpected discovery.

1. Liuzzi Gourmet Food Market, North Haven

Cheese runs deep at this North Haven counter, with a family tradition that started in Noci, Puglia, back in 1886. That’s a lot of mozzarella under the bridge.

Liuzzi Gourmet Food Market traces its North Haven business to 1982, and today a fifth generation is part of the family tradition. Its award-winning cheeses remain a major part of the market’s reputation.

You can choose from more than 200 cheeses here. House-made burrata, smoked mozzarella, whipped ricotta, and caciocavallo share space with imports like Moliterno with black truffle paste.

Hungry right now? The sandwich lineup covers meatball, eggplant parm, chicken cutlet, Italian combo, and Parma prosciutto, plus wraps and ciabattas.

Keep an eye out for the porchetta, a braised pork shoulder that’s been on the menu for 30 years. Recipes don’t stick around that long by accident.

An Italian pizza maker turns out made-to-order pies daily, including thin-crust options. Meanwhile, the butcher counter handles certified Angus beef, pork, poultry, and veal.

Save room for the bakery case, where you’ll spot almond cookies, ricotta pies, torrone, and panettone. The shelves also hold the market’s own balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Need to feed a crowd? Antipasto platters, party subs, and hot entrees are all part of the catering menu.

Plan your trip carefully, since the market is closed on Sundays. Monday through Saturday, though, you’ve got from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. to make cheese decisions.

Address: 322 State St, North Haven, CT 06473

2. Sorrento Importing, Fairfield

Few delis can say they rose from the ashes, but this one actually did. A fire destroyed its Bridgeport home in August 2018, and the shop reopened in Fairfield in January 2019.

The story starts in 1966, when Giuseppe and Gaetano Milazzo, two immigrants from Sicily, opened the original store. It spent more than 50 years on the corner of Capital Avenue and Main Street.

Today, you’ll find Sorrento Importing on Black Rock Turnpike, stocked with olive oils, vinegars, fresh and dried pastas, and coffees. Fresh and aged cheeses sit near cold cuts and cured meats.

The butchers make stuffed porchetta, chicken pinwheels, and sausage fresh on the premises daily. That’s the kind of thing that makes a weeknight dinner feel like Sunday.

Then there’s the sandwich board. Try the namesake Sorrento sandwich, or go for Tuscan chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, provolone, and basil-infused olive oil.

Pesto fans can grab basil pesto chicken with fresh mozzarella. On the cold side, the Sorrento Signature Italian Combo holds things down.

Too tired to cook? Oven-ready trays of eggplant rollatini, meat lasagna, and tortellini with blush sauce are ready to take home.

Hosting a party soon? Heroes like the Chicken Caprese Hero and big antipasto platters can handle the hungry crowd for you.

One tip: it closes at 4 p.m. most days and at 1 p.m. on Sundays, so late lunches need planning. Mondays are off the table completely.

Address: 1838 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield, CT 06825

3. Angelo’s Specialties, Norwalk

A Brooklyn pork store from 1948 is the great-grandparent of this Norwalk deli. Angelo Competiello started working at A&S Pork Store in 1972, long before his own shop opened.

The Norwalk store arrived in 1992 under the name A.S. Specialties.

It’s been family-owned and operated ever since, and a second location has opened in Monroe.

Cold cuts, dry-cured meats, and imported Italian cheeses get sliced to order. The kitchen also makes its own sauces, soups, mozzarella, and burrata in-house.

Meatball makers, take note. The meat department sells a ground mix of veal and pork made for meatballs, plus homemade sausage and fresh lamb, veal, and beef.

Sandwiches arrive on fresh bread baked in the Bronx, which feels fitting for a shop with New York roots. Look for names like Calabria, Hot Stuff, and Bella Mozzarella.

Classic cravings get covered too, with chicken parm, meatball parm, and sausage and peppers. Fresh ravioli, tortellini, stuffed shells, and manicotti fill out the pasta options.

Got a tiramisu plan? The shelves carry mascarpone, lady fingers, and espresso, so you can build one at home.

Or skip the effort and order mini pastries like cannoli and sfogliatelle. Italian cookie platters and cheesecakes are on the dessert list as well.

Unlike several shops on this list, it stays open seven days a week. Sunday hours run until 2 p.m., which makes it a handy weekend stop.

Address: 120 New Canaan Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850

4. Public Market of Newington, Newington

Hot or sweet? That’s the big decision at this Newington market, where the Italian sausage is house-made and stuffed by hand.

Joe and Antoinette Lenares started the business in 1968, and it’s stayed in the family since. Joe came from Canicattini Bagni, Sicily, arriving in 1953.

The first Public Market actually opened in Middletown. It moved here in 1978 and grew into its current 6,000-square-foot space in 1983.

That’s a lot of room for olive oils, balsamic vinegars, jarred antipasti, and imported pasta. Canned tomatoes and specialty sauces round out the pantry aisles.

At the deli, prosciutto, capicola, and soppressata get sliced fresh to order. Boar’s Head cold cuts are in the case too.

Sandwiches and grinders are made by hand. Ask to have yours grilled hot if you want it toasty.

The meat department is full service, with fresh-cut steaks, chops, and freshly ground sirloin. Custom roasts come seasoned and oven-ready, which is basically dinner with training wheels.

Shopping for someone else? Custom gift baskets stuffed with deli items and Italian imports make a tasty present, and gift cards are available too.

Catering covers business lunches and family dinners with sandwich platters, side salads, and hot menus. Summers bring one quirk, though, since the market closes on Sundays in July and August.

Address: 437 New Britain Avenue, Newington, CT 06111

5. Battimelli’s A&S Italian Fine Foods, Fairfield

Carmine Battimelli was just 13 when he started working in a Brooklyn butcher shop. By 21, he had opened his own store in Stratford.

The business moved to Fairfield in the early 1990s. In 2021, his sons Donny and Giovanni joined the family operation.

Carmine’s parents came from Agerola, near Naples, and that town shows up on the shelves. Look for sfogliatella, dried soppressata, and salsiccia secca, a dried sausage.

Serious steak people should head straight to the butcher counter. It carries Certified Black Angus and Certified Prime Angus dry-aged beef, plus poultry, pork, and veal.

Then there’s the sandwich called Carmine’s Special. It piles chicken cutlet, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, arugula, and roasted peppers onto seeded Italian bread.

The Burrata BLT adds homemade burrata to bacon, lettuce, and tomato. Classic picks like chicken parm and the Italian combo are there too.

Fresh pastas include cavatelli and baked manicotti, alongside hot and cold entrees, soups, and salads. Daily specials have featured dishes such as chicken Marsala and cavatelli with broccoli.

In 2022, The Best of Gold Coast named it Best Butcher in CT and Best Deli in CT. That’s a double win most shops would happily frame.

Online ordering works for in-store pickup or delivery. Gift baskets and kits are also on offer for the holidays.

Live out of state? The market ships food throughout the United States, so relatives far from can join in.

Address: 2079 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield, CT 06825

6. Nica’s Market, New Haven

Before it sold paninis, this Orange Street storefront was the Prime Meat Market, dating back to the 1920s. Food has been the main event here for about a century.

Giuseppe Nica Sabino, an Italian immigrant, opened Nica’s Market in 2002. His children, Tony and Rosanna, now co-own the shop.

Giuseppe already knew the business, having opened his first grocery store in Italy in 1989. He later co-owned Romeo and Giuseppe’s Gourmet Shop in New Haven.

Pizza by the slice is a big draw, and Connecticut Magazine once ranked it among the top five unusual places for pizza in the state. Try the Sorrentina, with fresh tomato, ricotta, eggplant, and basil.

Feeling adventurous? Mashed Potato and Gorgonzola pies sit right next to Margherita and Chicken Pesto.

The sandwich called The Flag stacks fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil, a nod to Italian colors. A chicken cutlet with fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers on focaccia is another standout.

Hot food includes porchetta roast, meatballs, sausage and peppers, and eggplant parmigiana. Grab a jar of the family-made sauce on your way out.

Those sauces have trophies, too. The organic garlic and basil and organic marinara took first and second for outstanding organic at a 2008 Connecticut Specialty Food Association competition.

Early risers win here, since the doors open at 7 a.m. daily. An outdoor patio with free WiFi gives you a spot to eat.

Address: 603 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511

7. D&D Market, Wethersfield

Ninety-plus years and a fourth generation behind the counter is quite a resume for a neighborhood market. Vito D’Aprile, an immigrant from the Bari area of Italy, opened D&D in 1932.

It began on Windsor Street in Hartford and moved to Franklin Avenue in 1961. The shop landed at its current Wethersfield address in 2014.

Beef here is strictly USDA Prime and Choice. The butchers custom-cut steaks, pork cutlets, and veal chops, and they grind hamburger in-house throughout the day.

Planning meatballs this weekend? Ask for the ready-made mix of ground beef, pork, and veal, or grab freshly ground chuck or sirloin.

The specialty aisle is where things get fun. D&D’s Famous Olive Salad sits alongside octopus salad, stuffed banana and cherry peppers, and marinated white anchovies.

Bakers can pick up almond paste for holiday cookies. Imported pastas, sauces, and olive oils come directly from Italy.

Short on time? The foods-to-go counter offers fresh sandwiches, homemade soups, and a rotating lineup of hot entrees made daily.

Readers of the Hartford Courant noticed. In the 2023 poll, D&D won Best Local Market, Best Tapas, and Best Gourmet to Go.

It also finished first runner-up for Best Deli. Not bad for a place that started as one family’s shop in Hartford.

Fresh produce arrives daily, with local and organic options when available. Sign up for the weekly emails if you want to know the specials.

Address: 675 Wolcott Hill Rd, Wethersfield, CT 06109

8. Cappetta’s Italian Imports and Pizza, West Haven

People call this West Haven spot Little Italy, which is a big nickname for one storefront on the Boston Post Road. The menu works hard to earn it.

Aniello Cappetta and his wife Palma came to America from Acerno, Italy, in 1970. They ran a restaurant in Ansonia before opening Cappetta’s Italian Imports in 1989.

It began as a deli focused on Italian food items. Pizza, more specialty foods, and catering came later, and son Donato now owns the business.

In 2019, Aniello was named West Haven’s Italian American of the Year. Few honors fit a family business quite so neatly.

Pizza fans have choices to make. Escarole and Beans, Penne Vodka, Clams Casino, and Pizza Mariella with arugula, prosciutto, and ricotta share the menu.

Paninis come on fresh-baked focaccia, pressed on a real panini grill. The Godfather keeps it simple with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella.

Hot subs run from veal parm to broccoli rabe with sausage. Dinner plates include lobster ravioli, baked ziti, lasagna, and shrimp scampi.

Then there’s the shopping side, with a curated selection of Italian specialty imports. Stock up on pantry goods after your slice.

Keep an eye on the road, too, because the business runs a food truck. Delivery reaches within four miles, and online ordering makes pickup easy.

Hours run late, until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Sundays are a day off, so plan your pizza cravings around it.

Address: 188 Boston Post Rd, West Haven, CT 06516

9. Angelo’s Market, New Britain

An Italian opera singer founded this New Britain market more than 60 years ago. Talk about a showstopping opening act.

Joe Tropea, who came to the U.S. at age 11, learned the trade from that founder. He took over at just 21 and has been part of the business for 46 years.

The deli does a lot of its own work. Ham and turkey breast are baked in the store, the roast beef is seasoned in-house, and the sausage is house-made.

Those meats turn up in sandwiches like the Italian Supreme, with mortadella, Genoa salami, capicola, and provolone. The Black Forest Ham and Brie is a fun change of pace.

Pizza comes thin-crust, including a Neopolitan Special topped with tomatoes, ricotta, and eggplant. Stromboli fans can pick from Milano, Philly Steak, Sausage and Pepper, and more.

Spot the word scachatta on the menu? It’s a spinach, potato, and sausage option worth asking about.

Prepared dishes are made on-site, from lasagna and penne arrabbiata to spaghetti pomodoro and risotto. Hot gourmet soups show up seasonally.

Shelves hold imported cheeses, handmade pastas, olive oils, and freshly baked bread. Homemade cookies and premium chocolates make easy add-ons at checkout.

Catering is available too, with Italian dishes made from scratch for events. Dine-in and pickup are both options.

Finish strong with tiramisu or cannoli. Delivery reaches Newington, Bristol, and Cheshire, so part of central Connecticut can get a taste without the drive.

Address: 349 W Main St, New Britain, CT 06052