Leeanne Griffin March 13, 2025
Once again, Strega owner Danilo Mongillo is celebrating a prestigious honor for his authentic Italian fare – but this one means more, he says.
Gambero Rosso, an Italian authority on food, wine and travel, awarded Mongillo’s New Haven restaurant a “due forchette,” or ‘two forks” designation in a recent ceremony in New York City. Restaurants are honored with a rating of one to three forks, similar to Michelin star ratings.
“Forks" are bestowed to fine dining restaurants, with adequate service, menu and ambiance, both in the more creative and more traditional cuisine, according to the Gambero Rosso International website.
Gambero Rosso previously honored Mongillo’s first Strega restaurant with a two forks nod for its food and service, along with a “Due Spicchi” (two slices) designation for its pizza. The original restaurant first opened in Branford in 2016 and moved to Milford in 2021.
Mongillo is particularly excited about the most recent honor, he said, because his New Haven restaurant is less than a year old. He opened the fine-dining Italian spot, with about 24 seats, in the former Basta Trattoria space in June, and said he didn’t expect to be considered for a Gambero Rosso nod for another year or two.
Unlike its Milford counterpart, the New Haven restaurant has no pizza oven, and instead offers a carefully-crafted and constantly-changing menu of antipasti dishes, pastas and seasonal main dishes like salmon fillet with creamy dashi sauce, cod amatriciana and stracotto di agnello, or slow-cooked lamb leg and shoulder served over sunchoke velouté with broccoli rabe. Strega also offers tasting menus with wine pairings.
“I want to let New Haven people know that Italy is here in Connecticut, in New Haven,” he said. “I’m proud to give this gift to the city.”
Mongillo said the honor for the Elm City restaurant is special, because of New Haven’s growing worldwide visibility as a pizza destination – even though he chose not to bring his Neapolitan-style pies to the new restaurant. He found the “right spot” in the small Chapel Street space, he said, and its size allows him to change the menu frequently.
“I’ve got good customers, good people. They understand, they travel a lot…It's easy to reconnect to a journey to Italy with them,” he said. “It's easy to reconnect to their home recipe, or their own wine. It’s really, really nice. They fill me up. I’m motivated every day to try something new, pairing wine in a good way.”Though Mongillo isn’t serving pizza within New Haven’s city limits, Gambero Rosso has praised the Milford restaurant’s pies in past years.
“It is possible to have a delectable pizza even in Connecticut,” Gambero Rosso wrote. “Located in Milford, the credit for one of the most authentic restaurants in the United States goes to Samnite Danilo Mongillo, who moved here for love. His high-quality pizza is the result of a proper balance of flavors and a very soft and airy dough; the other courses are just as good. The raw materials are imported with uncommon rigor and passion. The location is sleek and the service very attentive. It is definitely worth the detour.”
Strega’s New Haven location was the only Connecticut restaurant on the list of honorees, according to Mongillo. Greenwich’s Bianca Restaurant & Bar earned a two-fork nod in 2023. Bianca co-owner Rosario Procino’s restaurant Ribalta in New York City’s East Village was awarded a “Tre Spicchi” (three slices) designation for its pizza, and its sister restaurant, the seafood-focused Amo, also received a “due forchette” award.
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