Memorable | One of the Best
Lorenzo’s
Review by: Michael Stern
*This restaurant is permanently closed*
Just a few minutes’ drive from I-84 in a Sandy Hook residential neighborhood, Lorenzo’s is a trip back in time. It was opened in 1926 as a waterside refreshment stand selling hot dogs and ice cream and also offering rental canoes and cabins. We know these facts because we can see exactly what it was like by looking at the photo on the cover of the menu. It shows Lorenzo’s as it was; the current staff will tell you that it was grandpa who started things. It’s still a family-run operation — a restaurant with a genuine personality.
Locals now know Lorenzo’s mostly for its homey Italian-American food: lasagna, ziti, spaghetti and other macaroni dishes, plus a full repertoire of pizza. The pizza has a thin crust nearly as brittle as a Saltine cracker, sturdy enough that it maintains its crunch even under cheese, sauce, and multiple toppings.
Beyond Italian fare, Lorenzo’s does a great job serving meat-and-potatoes square meals. We like coming for steak: a big, pillowy sirloin preceded by a bowl of crisp iceberg lettuce topped with gloppy blue cheese dressing and accompanied by a stuffed baked potato.
At the end of the road all alone, Lorenzo’s is a totally charming restaurant, like a kind of summer-camp cabin for adults. The front room is a bar, where those waiting for take-out meals knock back a few; and the back is a wood-paneled sanctuary with dim lighting and high-back wooden booths.
One word of caution: everything is made to order, and even when Lorenzo’s isn’t crowded — it can get very busy late weekend nights — you will wait a good half-hour for your meal.
Finally, please note the limited hours of operation: Wednesday through Sunday, dinner only.
Directions & Hours
Information
| Price | $ |
| Seasons | Summer, Fall, Spring |
| Meals Served | Dinner |
| Credit Cards Accepted | Yes |
| Alcohol Served | Yes |
| Outdoor Seating | No |
What To Eat
Lorenzo’s Recipes
Discuss
What do you think of Lorenzo’s?
3 Responses to “Lorenzo’s”
Susan
June 24th, 2023
It’s closed since last year
Branden
June 26th, 2023
Thank you I have updated the review.
John Tricarico
March 5th, 2007
Lorenzo’s is an absolutely fantastic place to go for a good, solid meal at a very reasonable price! You need a GPS to find the place but thanks to good local knowledge we were able to find it the first time around. Walking inside is like taking a trip back in time to the Humphrey Bogart era. Tall wooden booths, small tables, dark paneling… absolutely fantastic!
The pizza is super thin and could use a little more oil in the dough, but the sausage is made on premises by the owners and makes up for what the dough lacks in taste/flexiblity. The toppings are surgically placed so that each slice recieves each of the specified toppings. Overall an excellent pie.
The lasagna is fanatastic! Again, homemade on premises with ground-daily beef and sausage. The steaks are juicy and cooked as requested. The owners are not only the chef but are also the waitstaff. Super friendly, and they remember your name each and every time you go back. My fiance and I have been back twice so far and we’ve added it to our list of reliable places to go.