L'Andana: Now Open

L'Andana has now opened!

As I mentioned previously, L'Andana is a new Italian grille restaurant in Burlington. Famed Chef Jamie Mammano, who created the Commonwealth Restaurant Group, owns a number of exciting restaurants, including Mistral (French/Mediterranean bistro), Teatro (casual Italian bistro), Sorellina (regional Italian-Mediterranean cuisine), and Mooo (steakhouse). L'Andana is his fifth restaurant.

Chef David Blessing, who has cooked at Mistral and Sorellina, will be the chef de cuisine at L'Andana. It open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. It already has a listing on Open Table where you can make reservations. Though you cannot make reservations for dates before November 15. You can still call for reservations before that date. I should also note that L'Andana's website has little info currently but hopefully will soon.

I had dinner at L'Andana last night. As this was the first night it was open, you cannot expect perfection. They should still be ironing out matters. Generally, it can take up to 2 months for a restaurant to really get into the groove. Their menu will be subject to change during this time. Servers will be acclimating. Thus, allowances have to be given in any reviews.

I like the decor and style of the restaurant. It is elegant with a touch of rustic. The chandeliers look like they are made of a dark wood. There is a bar area, with about 8-10 seats at the bar and several tables for two. The bar seats may be a bit low for some people, maybe shorter people, and the bartender did seem cognizant of that fact. In the dining room, I am unsure whether some of the tables are too close together. As the restaurant was rather quiet, it was difficult to determine how it would look with a full crowd. Overall, I do think it presents a nice ambience.

The restaurant has a full bar, including a list of speciality drinks. The wine list by the glass is short, maybe five whites and five reds, a mix of regions. I would like to see a larger range of options for wines by the glass. Glasses range from $7-10 which is reasonable. I had a glass of the Dolcetto and it was a good wine.

The list by the bottle is fairly extensive, with plenty of Italian wines, including some less common choices. The list also has many California Cabernets and French wines. There are an assortment of wines from other areas as well. Prices tend to be on the higher end, though there are bottles for around $30-35. They also have a fair sized list of half-bottles.

The menu has appetizers, Charcoal Wood-Grilled entrees, a couple Saute entrees, four Pasta dishes (which can be had in two sizes) and two special Sides. Just note that this menu is still subject to change. In general, their prices seem a bit lower than the averages at Mistral and Sorrelina.

There are 10 appetizers, priced $9-18, with an average of about $12. These are salads, soups, mussels, pork belly, tuna and more. There are 8 Charcoal Wood-Grilled entrees, the stars of the menu, including salmon, swordfish, veal chop, several steaks and chicken. Prices range $22-42 with an average of about $35. The 2 Saute dishes include a Veal and a Cod, prices at $32 & 34. There are 4 Pasta dishes, priced at $12-14 for the small size, and $22-26 for the large size. You can get a Spaghetti and Meatballs, yet it is not the norm. The meatballs are made of American Wagyu and it has a Chianti sauce on it.

Before any of my food came, I was brought a couple pieces of bread, slices of a type of rustic loaf. The bread was warm and the top had been brushed with oil and herbs. The bread came with a dish containing oil, a tomato compote and a cooked, whole tomato. This was perfect for smearing on the warm bread and made a nice start.

I began with the Carpaccio: raw sirloin, amarena, gorgonzola picante, rosemary grissini ($15). This came out on a large oval plate which was covered by very thin slices of raw sirloin. Atop the slices were tiny bits of gorgonzola cheese and bits of amarena cherries (an Italian cherry). There were also two thin grissini, breadsticks. This was a tasty dish, the amarena and gorgonzola making a delicious pairing atop the sirloin.

For my entree, I chose the Veal Chop ($42), 16 oz. topped with a chestnut maple butter and with a side of sweet potato polenta. This was certainly a large chop, nicely grilled on the outside but not overdone on the inside. The meat was moist, tender and flavorful. The butter added an intriguing flavor as well. The polenta came in a black cast iron pot, though it seemed more like a pudding than the usually firmer polentas. It was very tasty, smooth and a bit sweet. And there was certainly a large portion of it.

I did order a side of the Truffle Parmesan Fries ($11). This was also a large portion and the fries were very delicious. Plenty of parmesan atop them, the fries were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft inside. Well worth ordering.

There was a list of desserts but my eyes zeroed in on the apple cider donuts with vanilla creme ($9). This consisted of three, home-made donuts with sugar coating them and a dish of vanilla creme for dipping. They were hot and decadently delicious. I was certainly quite stuffed by this point.

Service was very good. The only very minor issues were due to the newness of the restaurant. And they were all matters that I am certain will be cleared up very soon. For example, the menu has been changing so the servers still don't know everything on the menu. And I would not expect them to know the menu perfectly at this point. On any matter that did not involve the newness, they did very well.

Overall, I was very pleased with my experience at L'Andana. The food is plentiful and delicious. Service is very good and the ambience is pleasing. I also expect that matters will only get better and this restaurant is going to become a big hit. I will certainly return, for both lunch and dinner, to try out other menu selections. I definitely recommend that you check out L'Andana, and I expect that reservations will soon be essential.

L'Andana
86 Cambridge Street
Burlington, MA
Phone: (781) 270-0100