Felice
Port Chester

Now, I should confess something. I’m a menu person. A serious menu person. I had studied Felice’s menu the night before our reservation, mentally checking off everything I couldn’t wait to order. I arrived with a plan.

That plan lasted approximately as long as it took our server to describe the evening’s specials. Suddenly, everything was up for negotiation.

We began with a Cabernet and a glass of Felice’s own rosé. And then came what I had casually assumed would be a simple bruschetta. I couldn’t have been more wrong. What arrived was less an appetizer and more a little Italian masterpiece. Thick, gorgeous slices of rustic bread topped with ripe tomatoes, garlic, and fragrant basil. Alongside it, another slice of Tuscan bread generously spread with fresh ricotta, finished with figs, almonds, and a drizzle of spicy honey.

Sweet, savory, creamy, crunchy. Every bite was a reminder that sometimes the simplest ingredients, treated with care, make the greatest impression. There was officially no turning back.

For my main course, I couldn’t resist the evening’s veal scallopini special, generously adorned with mushrooms and a luscious cream sauce. Rich, indulgent, and exactly what I wanted. Across the table, sliced sirloin and branzino made for an equally memorable experience, the fish arriving almost like a gift waiting to be unwrapped. By this point we had stopped checking the time, ordered another sip of wine, and realized the evening had become something much more than a meal.

Dessert arrived in the form of Felice’s signature gelato creation: vanilla gelato, a delicate citrus infusion, compote, and candied pistachios. Elegant, refreshing, and just indulgent enough. And because I love a little culinary history with my dessert, here’s a fun bit of Italian lore: Bernardo Buontalenti, the celebrated Florentine architect and artist, is often credited with helping develop the creamy frozen dessert that would become modern gelato during the Renaissance. A little history, a little Florence, and a very sweet ending.

But here’s what I really want you to know about Felice. As wonderful as the food was, it was the people who made the evening. There’s an art to great hospitality. It’s knowing when to appear, when to disappear, when to offer a suggestion, and when to simply let your guests enjoy the moment. The team at Felice understands that balance perfectly.

And then there’s Fabio, the general manager, who somehow managed to make us feel less like first-time guests and more like people he’d known for years. By the end of the evening, he felt like family. That’s not something you can manufacture with a gorgeous dining room or an impressive menu. It’s that wonderful feeling that you’re not simply welcome, you’re genuinely wanted there.

Living in Greenwich, I’ve always appreciated how fortunate we are to have so many extraordinary communities right at our doorstep. Port Chester, just minutes across the border, offers a vibrant dining and cultural scene that deserves to be celebrated, and Felice Port Chester feels like a perfect addition to that story. It’s the kind of restaurant that makes a neighborhood feel more exciting, a weeknight feel like an occasion, and a dinner reservation feel like the beginning of something wonderful.

We arrived excited to try a new restaurant. We left feeling like we’d found an old friend. And that, to me, is the very best kind of dining experience.