Sal e Pepe Contemporary Italian Bistro

I was looking for a local Italian spot with stuffed pastas and Sal e Pepe did NOT disappoint! Brooke, my server, was sweet and quick. The Chicken Cannelloni was superb and the fresh bread was mouth watering!!

The family dinner tonight was perfect! Everyone enjoyed their meal. We are so thankful for the staff continuing to take the time to care for the residents of Newtown durning this terrible time.

A charming, friendly place with a varied menu and some nice craft cocktails. Works for a family or for a date. Recently went there with a group of friends and got great service even though they were busy.

Beautiful classy decor. Staff is all friendly. Fresh baked bread is amazing! Salad was delicious. Meals were delicious. Would definitely recommend.

All the boxes were checked . Close to home , fair price , excellent food , service, atmosphere , and quiet. Honestly it’d be tough to improve on except a little heat in the restroom

We ordered the family style chicken parmigiana dinner to bring home, which includes everything you need for the perfect dinner, and a side of garlic bread, everything was absolutely delicious. We also purchased a jar of the Sal e Pepe’s Sunday Gravy to make something special at home on another night, can’t wait to try it!

My husband and I dined there with friends. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. The wait staff is the best I’ve seen in a long time!

Everything we ordered was delicious! From appetizers to our main course ending with dessert was absolutely amazing!

We love Sal n Pepe! The staff is amazing! The food is amazing!

The staff here were so accommodating, it felt like we were eating with family. The food was great and we had an amazing time on the patio with our two pups. We’re definitely making the trip to come here again.

Great food and atmosphere. The staff was very attentive and friendly. Will definitely go back

I had seen Sal E Pepe featured on numerous “best restaurant” lists for Connecticut, particularly in Fairfield County. At first, I thought the hype might be exaggerated, but I decided to take my mom there for her birthday, along with my sister and my 18-month-old nephew. I’m so glad we did! Almost as soon as we sat down, my nephew had a full-on meltdown. My sister was mortified and initially wanted to leave, but the staff was beyond kind and accommodating. They immediately brought over a basket of toys to help distract him and later even let us move to a quieter, empty section of the restaurant so we wouldn’t have to stress about him crying or wandering around. Their thoughtfulness and hospitality alone deserve an 11/10. As for the food, it was just as impressive. We started with a beet salad that was unlike any I’ve had before—it featured green beans and fried gorgonzola, and it was absolutely delicious. They even split it into three portions for us, which was a nice touch. My sister also had a creamy chicken soup that we could not get enough of. For our entrées, I had the Sunday Sauce, my mom had the lobster ravioli special, and my sister opted for the penne alla vodka with chicken. We also ordered meatballs and French fries for the baby. The Sunday Sauce was fantastic—a generous portion that tasted like something my grandmother would have made. The lobster ravioli was packed with seafood and well-balanced in flavor. My sister felt the vodka sauce was fairly standard, but she raved about both the chicken and the meatballs, calling them some of the best she’s had at a restaurant. To top off the meals we had some desserts. I had the pistachio pie (which was highly praised by the waitress), my mom had creme brulee, and my sister had the Nutella mousse pie. As well, we had some espressos and I tried the biscotti liqueur. They were all very good. The pistachio pie was so light following such a heavy meal. The creme brulee was a bit runny for our liking but the flavor was good. The Nutella pie was so good. I was worried it would be too rich since it comes with a lot of chocolate and candies however it too was relatively light. And the espressos were perfectly made. I never had biscotti liqueur but it was very good! After this experience, I completely understand why Sal E Pepe is considered one of the best. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and the service is outstanding. Not to mention, the prices were more than reasonable! I’ll definitely be coming back!

We had a wonderful meal (no surprise there). When my mother went to grab her coat off the coat rack, it wasn’t there. Not only did management call the customer they suspected had accidentally taken it, they dropped it off at her house that night after the customer kindly brought it back! She was quite touched and grateful. Now that is customer service!

This was the best Italian food I've ever had. The Bolognese sauce and gnocchi was delicious. My husband loved his seafood risotto as well. I wish we lived here so that we could eat hear often!

I liked how we were offered a free dessert without us saying anything when our dinners were taking a while. This was our first visit to this restaurant. The food tasted great and the service was excellent. I really enjoyed the chicken scarporiello.

I have been going to Sal e Pepe for many, many years and have always had a great experience! Their food is consistently delicious. This visit in particular was Mother's Day. Everything was perfect! Staff and food were exceptional as usual! On this occasion I also had the pleasure of speaking with the Mrs (owner), who is lovely!

What an outstanding restaurant! My wife and I dined there last night for the first time and it was phenomenal. From the apps to desert, excellent! Service was superb. The dining experience is great. Not rushed. You actually have time between your app and entree which was nice. The owner, I presume, brought out the food and you can tell his love for this place. We cannot wait to go back - SOON! Thanks Sal e Pepe for doing it RIGHT!

The Women's Club of Brookfield had our Holiday Dinner last night at Sal E Pepe. All I can say is "WOW". Everything was perfect. The room was lovely, the service was exceptional and the food was totally delishes. Thank you for making this event one to remember.

Sal E Pepe never disappoints! The food is always excellent and served hot and fresh. Any server we have had has been upbeat, professional and attentive. The owners are very friendly and visible, rolling their sleeves up and helping out the staff. We have also catered food for special occasions which is done perfectly. Their curbside pickup is wonderful too because they add all the little touches you get when eating in such as hot bread, and their unique dip that goes with it. We have been going there for many years and it is consistently excellent and our favorite restaurant!

We were impressed as our waitress took our order and didn’t write anything down and when our food came out, everything was as we ordered it. We tend to order food with either exceptions to what is on the menu, so to have everything served as requested by someone other than the waitress who took the order was very impressive. My steak was a little overcooked but it was tender and very good. We frequent this establishment due to the quality and atmosphere! Great experience.

Everything was wonderful. The food, from appetizers to dessert was excellent. We had the shrimp scampi pizzetta, which is delicious. I had the Sunday Gravy dinner, and I can’t wait to eat my leftovers on Sunday! All of your waitstaff is the best! They are all extremely attentive, friendly, and polite. We are fairly new to the area, and have enjoyed your food quite a number of times. We brought our kids for the first time and they were very impressed. We’ll be back very soon!

I recently ordered catering from Sal E Pepe. It was a great experience from placing the order to enjoying the delectable food! The filet mignon was cooked to perfection and the risotto was out of this world! My guests also truly enjoyed the Chicken Scarpariello and the Salmon Picatta. I've never eaten at the restaurant itself but if the catering is as good as it is, the restaurant experience must be amazing! I'm looking forward to visiting with the family. I'm sure many of my guests will be doing the same! Thanks for a great experience!

Their eggplant parmesan is the best around. And the pistachio cream cake is amazing. I'm very fond of this place. I love the big booths. And the staff is very friendly.

We have been dining at Sal ePepe Contemporary Italian Bistro for almost 20 years. The food and service has always been top notch and would recommend anyone looking for a great meal. Their homemade pastas are very delicious and they start out with a basket of fresh bread with oil and garlic Parmesan. If you want a great dining experience, you won’t be disappointed at this fine Italian restaurant.

Aye t̾e̾r̾p̾y̾fam ya guy finally slid up on S-é-PCIB..so how was it? Overall it was good for a Sunday lunch w/the family. And would have gotten 5stars if nit for service. Tbf our waitress seemed to be handling every table seated so it was a bit busy for her but, seemed to favor certain tables more which was a little weird. (Its not a large dining area) Apps were good, bruschetta was served warm (different but not bad) and the arancini werent overly cheesy. Their red sauce leans on the sweeter side so no heartburn issues there, no complaints there really and the meatballs are housemade and good quality all around. All pasta dishes were toothy and not over cooked (another plus) and food came out relatively fast. Would come back but just not on a Sunday when waitstaff is minimal. Food is solid and they have a lot of options.

Restaurant is located in a strip mall in Newtown, CT. Our party of 9 people enjoyed the food and beverages with no notable complaints. The salad was super fresh and excellent. Food plating was pedestrian and the portions were modest. Service was excellent but the restaurant was eerily empty, even for a Wednesday evening. Seating was comfortable and uncrowded. The restaurant is divided into two sections with one section for large groups and the other with smaller tables and the bar. The sirloin tips and lasagna were excellent, but overall, I would not go out of my way to dine here since there are some many other options.

Mel is great in the bar, drinks are delicious. My fish was overcooked halibut I think it was, I ate it because I was super hungry but def disappointed. Time before this I ordered seafood medley over pasta I was astounded at the size of the clams, way too small for the price that’s being charged - that was disappointing. I like the place but when you’re charging top dollar be on your game.

Our waitress miss casey was wonderful the only thing was my wife’s gluten free pasta with bolognese sauce was only fair the pasta was overcooked and the sauce was not great but it is typically always like that for her

I don’t understand all the negative reviews. We enjoyed our meals — started with Nonna’s meatballs which were delicious and then the lasagna which was unique and tasty. The tiramisu was my favorite part of the meal. Two meals, appetizer, dessert, and a bottle of wine cost $100… not sure why people say it’s expensive that’s extremely reasonable. I agree the service was a bit chaotic (why I’m only giving 4 stars). We were served the wrong meal twice and never received the bread and oil until we asked 3x. Otherwise great food for a great price.

We were there for New Years Eve. First let me say that the food was really good. Best in the state, no, but still very good. There were four of us, and everyone enjoyed their meals. The service, on the other hand, was really frustrating. I understand that holidays are challenging for busy restaurants, but this was over the top. We were seated promptly, but then it was 15 minutes before a server (not our server) came to take drink orders. After at least 20 minutes more (didn’t really look at the time), our server came over. No welcome, introduction, or anything, just “are you ready?” Our appetizers and salads came out fairly quickly and were good, but our server didn’t return for quite a while to see if we wanted more drinks. She didn’t come back while we were eating to see if everything was ok or if we needed anything else. We were in the restaurant for a total of 2 1/2 hours. I don’t mind relaxed dining service, but this was a bit much.

The food is okay at best. We started with the calamari(which cane out very quickly after ordering) and it was chewy and parts of it were not even hot which was odd that one plate of food was two temperatures. We had one dish from the pastapalooza option. Its a cool idea but the execution fell short. The homemade pappardelle was good but again the food was barely warm. We also ordered the rigatoni which was just lacking in flavor. We decided to go there because that day I saw them post on FB about pistachio cream puffs which sounded great, unfortunately when we went we were told they were no longer on the menu but they had pistachio cream pie. The pie was good but nothing I would rush back for. The bar seating is comfortable and they have a nice cocktail menu.

Ate here many times in the past and was always pleased with the food quality, this time the food quality was not on point, ordered two different calamari dishes that were tough(overcooked) and the main entrees have become small almost children sized dishes. Best part of the meal was the desserts. Waitress was attentive and polite on an evening the restaurant was fairly quiet I expected a better meal for the price point.

Usually excellent food. But tonight salad was tasteless and added salmon had no seasoning at all. Disappointed.

We came here for the first time this week to celebrate our anniversary. I had been wanting to try this place out for a while and this was the perfect opportunity. We were seated quickly and taken care of quickly. We ordered our appetizers soup and entrees and then we felt like we both sat there forever without seeing our server again for quite a while. Eventually our entrees came out but we never received our appetizers or our soup. At this point we also still have not seen our waitress so we relied on the manager to get us our dishes. The biggest saving grace was Maddi, she was not our waitress but was floating around the room doing a little of everything and she was a complete delight! The food itself was incredible, I just wish we had received better service for the price. Maybe someday we will give it another try.

As a Newtown resident of 25 years, I've always heard good things about Sal E Pepe's. Sadly, I have no idea what these people are talking about. The food itself was okay, but for the price and lack of service, I won't be returning or recommending it to anyone. The seafood risotto included large pieces of shrimp and plenty of bay scallops, but the clam chowder left much to be desired. The soup had a reddish, orange tint to it and tasted more like a corn chowder than anything. Our waitress was kind, but not very attentive. I found it funny that another patron was not let in for wearing jeans, but the bus boys had long flowing hair and looked straight out of a punk rock band. At the end of the day, there are plenty of superior Italian offerings in Fairfield county with better quality, prices and service.

Disappointed. I've heard good things. Service was slow. Had to ask for drinks after being there for about 10 minutes. Always had to get waiting staff attention to get anything. The picture had asparagus. See the tiny green round things..cut stems 3)16" thick no tops. Tops saved for different menu items I guess. Bland and over priced for what we got. Not returning.

It’s not high quality Italian food. Atmosphere isn’t great, could use a renovation. The service was fine.

After hearing rave reviews about this place for years, we decided it was time to finally to make the trek up 25 and pay a visit to Sal E Pepe. Walking in, the interior felt ever so slightly depressing and dated. After being seated, it was a solid 15 minutes before a server even approached our table. Bear in mind, the restaurant was nowhere near crowded at this point. Once our server did eventually arrive, they were neither knowledgeable of the menu nor very accommodating. Our drinks sat empty for at least 20 minutes until they eventually came back over… and even then, they almost rushed off again before we even had the chance to order anything else. The food was overall mediocre. The fried calamari appetizer was strangely pale and sadly chewy to the bite. The chicken was a bit rubbery. The lasagna was well made but the supposed Bolognese sauce was oddly sour and had almost no meat in it. Eventually we ordered dessert and cappuccinos. The pistachio cream pie was DELICIOUS, but we were long done with it by the time the server came over and told us that the restaurant was completely out of milk and couldn’t possibly make a cappuccino. Pretty wild for a restaurant to run out of milk in the first place, but it would’ve been nice to have some sort of coffee to wash the dessert down with instead of waiting around in vain for it for 20 minutes. Overall, a waste of time and money. You are better off staying home and making an Italian meal yourself.

My sliver of salmon , served with store bought barbecue sauce, was served on a lunch plate My children finished the three tablespoons of fettuccine served in a cereal bowl. Very disappointing and the service was incredibly slow. If you eat here, make sure you’re you have a snack first .. so many great restaurants in the area. This isn’t one.

Aweful food. And Small portions. I had the chicken francais and my husband got chicken scarpiello. Mine had a thib liquidy strong lemon juice flavor and consistency. The scarpiello had a similar thin liquid lemon juicy sauce. The chicken we had was super thin and barely half a breast. Dissappointed at the small portion and inability to know how to make a thickened sauce that does not use soo much lemon juice! The bread dipping sauce also was a lemon mixture. The waiter never came by to ask how our food was after we started eating it. He was helping every other of his tables and never came by from the initial food delivery. We were hungry and we ate half our food when finally we got his attention. I then told him my dish was horrible. I asked for some brown sauce/marsala sauce so I could see if its better and eat it with the rest of my chicken. It took another 15 minutes to get and he brought some pasta and a thin liquidy brown sauce. I waited too long so I just packed the rest of my chicken and that small dish of pasta and new brownish sauce. On the reservation I noted we were there for our anniversary. There was never a mention the whole night from them. All in all the only good thing we ate was the fresh cut italian bread. We asked for butter instead of using the gross lemon dressing dipping sauce. We were last here about 10 years ago. It wasnt good then either but figured we would try again. A piece of advice for the restaurant owners…hire chefs that can cook authentic Italian food, not the one’s you have now. Learn how to thicken sauces. Dont serve thin soupy liquid. Make larger portions so people can get full and their moneys worth.