Pizzeria Lauretano

I’ve lived here for 10 years and I have enjoyed their pizza from time to time. Its quality is a bit up and down, but generally good.
However, the service that we received tonight was pretty bad. The waitress didn’t really pay any attention to us, overcharged us, and spent more time talking with her friends at another table than to her customers. It was pretty disappointing and I won’t be returning. She did not even apologize or seem the slightest bit fazed when we were clearly not happy. She even came over (from her friends’ table) after we called her, having waited a very long time for our bill, she came over to the table and said «What.» Perhaps someone will speak to her and help her out. Disappointing dinner.

The pizza here is good although I don’t consider it the best in the Danbury area. They get high marks on the freshness and taste of the ingredients of the pizza, but the chances are good that a portion of your pizza will be charred. In addition, perhaps due to the moisture, thinness of the dough or the oil, the pizza doesn’t hang well together, so have lots of napkins. I’ve been rather disappointed, though, if I stray from the pizza, e.g., a $ 13 antipasto that was bland and beyond minimalist (and actually offensive at that price).

This is a really good pizza joint. Wood fired oven, pizzas have the right blend of flavorful sauce, fresh mozz, and creative toppings (esp when fresh veggies are in season), and a pleasant décor and music. The wine list carries some varietals from less commercial regions (try some of the wines from Alto Adige). The owner Michael is almost always there, and is a friendly/​approachable person who regularly checks in on customers. I would highly recommend for either couples or families for an upscale pizza night.

WOW. what can I say? … I usually go into a place hoping for the best, but being really skeptical, and most times being disappointed… What a relief!!! The pizza is crazy good! We ordered the margherita, and it was pretty fabulous. It was early lunch time on a Thursday so it wasn’t super busy… which was nice… Staff is polite and friendly, and the pizza guy is really nice. Prices are reasonable. The place is clean… I have absolutely NO COMPLAINTS… and if you’ve read my other pizza reviews you know I can be a bit of a bitch.lol.
They are not conveniently located to where I live, but definitely worth traveling out of my way for. I will make every effort to get back here, and drag some friends and family with me.

We moved here recently have been trying everything! Lauretano was the best pizza around! We stopped by on Sunday and they let us sneak in before a Jazz show they were having that evening. We had our two kids and the owner (pretty sure) was very friendly and accommodating. We will return! Did not give 5 stars because I would agree the setup is a bit awkward and well we all have room for improvement!

I would not go anywhere else in Bethel for pizza (though you are bombarded with options) if you are a true fan of wood-​fired pizza.
No, this is not the place to go if you want to have a grease smothered slice, and no this is not the place to go if you want an XL cheese pie for $ 10.
This is the place you go when you want to experience art in the form of food. Michael Lauretano and his team of pizza makers are artists. This pizza is nothing short of perfection every single time. The ambiance is simple and the service and wine list both sufficient for you to enjoy the true star of the show (the food).
Order a white pizza (any toppings you’d please– I like to rotate, mix and match veggies) ask for a side of champagne vinaigrette, and thank me later. If you’ve already experienced the pizza (on regular and whole wheat crust) try the paninis, soup or the meatballs. All of it is fresh and hand crafted on premise to provide the simplest form of dining in a euphoric state.
Thank you to Lauretano’s for showing this pathetic pizza town what authentic Neopolitan pizza should be!

Really good pizza, but incredibly over priced. The service, heat, and atmosphere is just all around cold. The place isn’t really friendly, and make sure to bring a coat or sweater.

TERRIBLE in every way! Went with a group of 6 to enjoy the live music for something different. We were all floored when the bill came that there was a $ 10 cover charge per person!!! Never have we ever seen a cover charge for entertainment while dining, and especially such a high one. Service was lousy, waitress and manager were extremely rude and the food was cold and bland. Amazed that they have survived this long. We will gladly take our business to those who are far more deserving. One star may even be too much

The best spaghetti and meatballs ever. I recommend this dish because it is a true Naples recipe. I thought I would never taste this type of meatball again. The sweet flavor of the raisins mixed with the pine nuts and fine cuts of meat made this dish a winner. Plus the hand rolled bread sticks to die for.

This was a terrific night out for my husband and I and our first visit to Lauretano and it was fantastic. We shared all three of our dishes starting with the fresh veggie soup which tasted like it came out of the garden that morning. We then had the walnut and cranberry salad which was delicious and we shared a delicious pizza with too many veggies to count. It was all delicious and we ended up with a few slices of leftovers. For the atmosphere and the owner on hand to answer questions, it was a terrific date night out. The prices didn’t bother us at all as it was so fresh and yummy… we will be back for sure.

Very good brick oven pizza. Cooked well and very tasty. Very fresh and flavorful. A tad pricey for portion size.

Great pizza! Expensive! Great crust! I understand this to be New Haven Style pizza. It’s good, not for kids.

My wife and I have been coming here for several years now. I think the Puttanesca pizza is 1 of the best best pizzas I’ve ever had. And yes, I’ve been to Pepe’s in New Haven, I’ve been to Sallys in New Haven, I’ve been to Modern in New Haven, I made the rounds in New York City and this is one of my favorite places to get pizza. We have actually run into the owner at the local farmers market buying tomatoes for his sauce. He imports flower directly from Italy where he learned to make pizza.

Best wood fired Pizza I’ve had since leaving NYC! And I’ve tried too many to count over the years in CT. Love their white pizza with very fresh ricotta cheese and excellent mozzarella. Also love any pizza with proscuitto, so we add it sometimes and a generous amount is always added, fresh and sliced properly thin. The argula is always fresh on the pizza some of my family likes best, and the crust is thin, but not too thin, with crispy crust and just perfect for my taste. I also love that the bottom is not burned as it sometimes is at other wood oven pizza places.

Never again, $ 8.50 for a small glass of wine, $ 15 for a individual pizza. Wife and I shared pizza, 1 wine each and a salad for $ 48 what a joke. Never again here.

First off, a one star review for this place seems pretty darn harsh! If you didn’t like it I get it but I personally reserve that for places that serve a dirty Band-​Aid on the salad or the waitress puts a slur on your receipt… but that’s just me I guess. To be honest I would say that I don’t like this place as much as Stanziato’s in Danbury which is a pizza place with a similar concept if a little different execution (and better beer which is a plus 1 star in my book).
I have been coming to this every couple of months since it opened and I’ve never been disappointed. If people are looking for a regular takeout pizza counter then there are a LOT of options in Bethel. Lauretano offers something a little different. Pizza’s are individual sized only (or get a few salads and split a pizza) and wood fired with a very nice charred crust. Atmosphere is nice with a simple, modern kind of vibe accented by local art. I have been here for event nights when they have artists and musicians in and its very nice. The service has always been good to very good in my experience and the owner is a very nice guy who really invested a lot into his business. They have some basic beer choices by the bottle, wines by the glass and foxon park soda which I love.
On this last trip my wife and I were in need of a light dinner so we got an anti-​pasta platter (the cold grilled veggies don’t bother me, I’ve had it this way many places) and a salad and then split a white grilled chicken pizza. The white pie is a little less flavorful than some places but personally I don’t like a ton of garlic. I do wish they would include some nice chunks of Parmesan on the anti-​pasta platter but otherwise its a very nice presentation and very tasty.
I would recommend the white pizza with onion and pine nuts or the steak pizza if you want something a little different. All of the salads are very good.
So in conclusion; if you don’t want to leave Bethel but you want to try something a little more upscale in the pizza category give this place a shot.

The food in this wood-​fired pizzeria is excellent and should get 5 stars. The Quattro Stagioni, the Margarita and the broccoli rabe pizzas are among our favorite. The beet salad is great. Wine list is small but good.
The décor is plain (and brings down the rating a star) and there are often local artist paintings on the wall.
Has live jazz every Sunday.
Prices are very reasonable and service is friendly (if a little slow).

I’m sorry to say that Lauretano’s has apprently considerably declined since if first opened in Bethel. While the wood-​firing of the pizza definitely covers for many sins, it simply cannot cover for all.
Where shall I begin?
Perhaps, with the antipasto platter, which was bland and devoid of flavor. The wood-​fired artichokes were ice cold, the salami was of a quality found in any deli stocking Boar’s Head, and the mozzarella – sin of sins – was bland and tasteless. The local grocery store (Caraluzzi’s) carries far tastier brands, with milky, creamy textures. The mozzarella on the antipasto platter, on the other hand, was barely a step above Polly-O’s. The other things – marinated mushrooms, olives and eggplant – were ICE cold and also tasteless.
The other appetizer we ordered was broccoli rabe and sausage. The sausage was actually good in flavor, but the broccoli rabe was BLAND, as though it had been merely blanched, and a bit of chopped garlic added after the fact. No taste of sauteeing in fine olive oil (the proper way to serve this Italian appetizer), no warmth, no salt, no pepper… omg, how hard is it to make a nice, sauteed broccoli rabe? (Not hard at all!!)
The pizzas were nice, being wood-​fired. I had the puttanesca, which was packed with flavor, but another of our party had spinach and sausage, and that pizza suffered from the same bland problems as were found in the broccoli rabe.
And then one of us had calzone with a side of «sauce.» As it turns out, that «sauce» was crushed tomatoes, dumped from a can, into a bowl! I asked the waitress to be sure that I was indeed correct and, rather than being forthright and helpful, she tried to cover by repeating, over and over again, that this was indeed their «sauce» which also went onto the pizza. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. To clarify: It’s okay to put plain, crushed tomatoes on a pizza (or even fresh tomatoes), because that pizza is then seasoned and oven-​fired, so the «sauce» is made even as the pizza cooks. But to dump crushed tomatoes from a can and then DEFEND that as the accompanying «sauce» to a calzone? C’moooon…really?

I actually thought I was getting somewhere when she offered to bring us a «pasta sauce» until she said we’d be charged extra. For sauce. For the calzone. We turned down that (cough) kind offer…
On top of all this, the ambience was dark and dingy, and the service overall was abrupt. Our plates and drinks were dumped on the table like they were the dog’s food dish (this BEFORE I ever questioned her about the «sauce.»)
For our experience, for 3 of us, there was an $ 81 bill. Not too much for a good meal, surely? But for bland, cold antipasto dumped on a plate without flavor, and crushed tomatoes from a can masquerading as «sauce» AND abrupt service?
I don’t think so!
Avoid this one. Go to SAL’S PIZZA down the road. Far less fancy, but SUBLIME pizza and calzones and an attiude to please to boot. I learned my lesson, and I wrote this so YOUR lesson won’t be as expensive.

Love this place! Along with Stanziato’s in Danbury, this is where to go for pizza in the area. They have a great selection of pizza’s and every one I’ve ever had has been wonderful. The pies are small and I sometimes get one for myself, but a pizza and a salad (walnut cranberry is the way to go) can definitely satisfy two.
The ambience and the waitstaff are both great. I’ve never had a bad experience with service and the waitresses have always been attentive and helpful. On Sunday’s, Lauretano hosts a jazz night that can be pretty popular, so I advise getting there early.
Lauretano isn’t as good as any of the famous New Haven joints, but it’s one of the best pizza’s I’ve had in Connecticut outside of those. If you live in the Danbury area, or are passing through I can’t recommend this enough.

I have to agree with Vic J on most of his review. I usually like Michael Stern’s reviews, but man is he ever waaay off base on this one! The pizzas are limited in size due to the oven, which is fine, but the quality of the pies are not that good; all of the pizzas are way too mushy with too much EVOO. Also the pizzas are way over-​priced. I love the interesting toppings and would pay for them, but the Puttanesca, which I have had on numerous occasions has a whopping four tiny anchovies and only a few Calamata olives.
Never take out any of their pizzas! Even with a hot bag, they are always cold and mushy by the time you get them home.
The service is really pretty bad and I think it comes from the top down. I have had to wait for the servers, who weren’t that busy, to get to my pizza as it sat on top of the oven. When I have dined in, I get a wet, drippy pie and they make weak excuses. When the owner isn’t around, they have to make change out of the accumulated tips at the counter.
I know that most are trying to relive their glory days in New Haven with wood-​fired pizzas, but over done and soggy pizzas are unappetizing and over-​priced. Never going back here on a bet!