Pulcinella Italian Restaurant

I love it

“Pulcinella” has the best Italian food in Virginia Beach—bar none.

They make the pasta there, they make the sauces there, they make nearly all the entres and even many of the ingredients right there. How many restaurants do that any more? The Spaghetti Bolognese is zesty, beefy and tomatoey— yes, I have to make up a word to adequately describe it. There is an abundance of meat in the sauce. If you’re a meat lover, like me, and you want even more meat, you can order a meatball or two and they’ll plop it right in the middle of the pasta for you. The meatballs are made from scratch too—fluffy, aromatic.

But I’m making it sound like it’s just a spaghetti joint; far from it. This is authentic Neapolitan cuisine. Try the Tortellini Pulcinella: cheese tortellini with carmelized onion, peas, and mushrooms in a white sauce. Pollo Alla Francese is a sautéed and lightly battered chicken breast with lemon and white wine sauce, topped with artichokes. Pizza Margherita is another customer favorite, even though it’s so simple: tomato sauce, basil, and fresh mozzarella. Some people come just for their bread, baked fresh everyday.

Non c’e abbastanza spazio per parlare del antipasto, insalata, lasagna, pianni, vino, o dessert. Even if you just get a side of spinach it’s, like, the best spinach you ever ate! How can that be?

The chef, Gaetano, told me that their approach to the food is “simple recipes, but with the best and freshest ingredients.” Which brings me to the family. Gino and his wife Pina are the owners. Gaetano, their nephew, is one of the chefs. His twin sister Rita is the waitress. Their grandfather makes the sausages by hand and creates the cuts of meat. Gino came to the United States from Naples a while back. He worked in one Italian restaurant after another, all the while thinking to himself, “This isn’t really Italian.” Eventually, it became his goal to create a place where real Italian food would be served in a space that would be just as if you stepped off the sidewalk and into a street-front restaurant in Naples. And that’s how Pulcinella Italian restaurant-deli-pizzerria was born.

There’s so much more to tell, but if you’ve read this far then I’m wondering WHY HAVEN’T YOU LEFT FOR PULCINELLA YET? 1255 Fordham Drive #106, Virginia Beach, VA 23464. In Kempsville of all places! We’re so lucky to have a real Italian restaurant like this in Kempsville.

One more thing to consider, more and more I hear Italian-speaking people at the tables here. I mean people who only speak Italian. It looks like maybe they’re here on vacation, visiting family. Whatever the case, if Italian-Americans are bringing their relatives from Italy to eat at Pulcinella, then you know it’s good Italian food.

Pulcinella: Real Italian food made by real Italians.