Tonno: A Compelling Italian Seafood Restaurant in Wakefield

One of my most anticipated restaurants of 2018 was Tonno, an Italian Seafood restaurant which eventually opened in Wakefield. Tonno was to be located only a short distance from my home, and I already respected the Chef/Owner Anthony Caturano very much. Back in 2000, Chef Caturano opened his first restaurant, Prezza, situated in the North End of Boston, and it has become one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Boston.

Last Spring, I wrote about the forthcoming opening of Tonno, noting: "I also have much faith in the culinary skills and knowledge of Chef Caturano, and feel secure that his new restaurant will be impressive. I rarely dine at the other Italian restaurants in Wakefield, finding most of them to be of rather average quality. However, I expect I'll be a regular at Tonno when it opens. So, before you dismiss Tonno as just another Italian restaurant, do your research and understand its differences, and the reasons why you should anticipate its opening."

In 2016, Chef Caturano opened his second restaurant, Tonno, in Gloucester, highlighting Italian seafood dishes. "Tonno," which is Italian for “tuna,” is also the name of the chef’s boat. Last year, he decided to open a second location of Tonno in Wakefield. The concept of Tonno is to feature "coastal Italian seafood and other treasures from land and sea. The culinary program is designed to showcase Italian seafood classics, with nightly specials that reflect the catches of the day from the local waters."

I've now dined at Tonno multiple times and found it to be consistently excellent, for food, drinks, and service. I love the variety of dishes that are always offered, as well as the various specials held on different nights. Prices are reasonable for the quality and quantity you receive. The house-made pastas are killer and they certainly know how to prepare a compelling seafood dish. Chef Caturano has created another top-notch restaurant and it's great to see it in the suburbs.

Tonno has a full bar, so you can begin your evening with a beer, cocktail or glass of wine. They carry a few Italian beers, as well as a number of local beers, from breweries like Night Shift and Bent Water. They have a dozen of their own inventive cocktails, and certainly can make most any other cocktail you might desire. One of my favorites is the Black Manhattan ($13), pictured above, which is made with Putnam Rye, Zucca Rabarbaro, and Carpano Antica Vermouth. The wine list is about 75% Italian, the rest being domestic wines plus a few Champagnes. There is a nice diversity of Italian wines, with a fair number of bottles costing under $50 as well as some high-priced splurge wines.

The regular Food Menu is broken down into Sfizi (about 15 choices, $2.25-$16, Shrimp Cocktail to a Meat Board, Arancini to Crostini, Olives to Crudo), Primi (8 choices, $10-$14, Mussels to Crab Cake), Homemade Pasta (4 choices, $20-$24, Tagliatelle Bolognese to Bucatini Alla Carbonara),
Secondi (9 choices, $25-$38, Grilled Tonno Steak to Ribeye, Grilled Swordfish to Boneless Half Chicken) and Desserts (3 choices, $6-$8, Tiramisu to Biscotti). Plenty of choices, even if you don't like seafood.

Although the regular menu has plenty of options, Tonno also has a daily page of Specials, which nearly doubles your choices. The Specials menu adds Raw Bar items, Appetizers, Entrees, Sides and Desserts. Much depends on what is fresh and available. This means that every time you dine at Tonno, you'll find something new on the menu to tempt your palate. Some other local Italian restaurants have the same menu, day after day, and it gets stale quickly.

In addition, Tonno runs a number of other daily specials during the week. There are Gravy Sundays, which showcase red sauce dishes like Chicken Parmigiana, Eggplant Parmigiana and Gnocchi with Tomato. A new addition is their Grill Mondays, presenting dishes such as Grilled Stuffed Calamari, Grilled Salmon Burger and Grilled Seafood Skewer. On Tuesday, they offer Spaghetti & Clams with Oregano & Garlic while on Wednesday, you'll find Spaghetti & Meatballs. For Thursday evening, from 4pm-5:30pm, they have a number of inexpensive bar specials, such as Meatball Slider ($3), Veal Milanese Slider ($4), Roasted Red Pepper Crostini with Mozzarella ($3), Fried Oyster Po'boy ($3), and Shucked Oysters ($1). And on Friday, you can find Cacio e Pepe.

I didn't take notes and photos on a couple of my visits, simply enjoying the experience. Thus, the following is but a sampling of dishes I and my dining companions enjoyed. I will note that there wasn't a single dish on any of my visits that disappointed.

A sampling of Tonno Tartare, compliments of the kitchen, and each spoonful was a silky delight, with rich tuna enhanced by fruit and spices.

On another occasion, we received these Seared Tuna slices as another compliment of the kitchen. The tuna was cooked perfectly, with that lovely rare tuna surrounded by a nice sear. The tuna was silky and tender, such a tasty treat. I've also enjoyed their Grilled Tonno Steak with White Beans ($29), which was also cooked perfectly, rare with a nice sear. When you name yourself after tuna, you better make sure you can deliver on excellent tuna dishes, and Chef Caturano succeeds well in this regard.

The Scallop Crudo ($14), with blood orange puree, spiced almonds, cucumber tsukemono, candied citron, and Gloucester sea salt, was a delicious blend of flavors and textures, from the tender scallop slices to the crunchy almonds, with tasty citrus accents. The thinly sliced, pickled cucumbers were mildly flavored, with a nice crispness to them. Highly recommended.

This was one of their daily specials, a Burrata dish, with orange slices and nuts, and it was delightfully creamy, balanced with the crunch of the nuts and the grilled bread. Simple but tasty ingredients.

The House Crostini ($10) was made with honey ricotta, cherry mostarda, toasted pistachios, and coppa. Once again, ⁣the chef created a well-balanced dish, in both flavor and texture, and this was absolutely delicious, being sweet, creamy, salty, and crunchy.

The Arancini ($10) have a light, crunchy coating, with a creamy and cheesy interior, and sit within the rich tomato sauce. I enjoy Arancini and these certainly fit my idea of what an excellent arancini should be.

The Fried Calamari with Cherry Peppers ($13) is another very good example of an iconic dish. The calamari is very tender, with a light and clean coating, and will please any calamari-lover. Even one of my dining companions who didn't normally eat calamari enjoyed these.

The Chicken Parmigiana ($24) is a common dish at many Italian spots but this is one of the best examples you will find. It has a scrumptious crispy coating, not the softer coating you too often find elsewhere. The chicken was tender, enhanced by the plenty of melted cheese and tangy red sauce. Tonno is not just about seafood, and has plenty of other dishes to offer.

The Braised Pork Shank ($32), with barley risotto and clementine mostarda, was a hearty dish, and the pork easily fell off the bones. It was tender and flavorful, and the risotto was rustic, with a savory kick.

The Veal Milanese ($26), covered with arugula, sliced tomatoes and parmesan, was cooked like the Chicken Parmigiana, with a nice crisp coating, surrounding tender veal. It was an ample dish as well, though I made sure I ate every last piece of veal. Highly recommended.

The Grilled Ribeye ($38), with rabe and roasted potato, is a nice and flavorful piece of steak, and carnivores won't be disappointed.

The Eggplant Parmigiana is another ample dish, almost resembling a large piece of lasagna as it is stacked so high. Tender and delicious, you'll enjoy this dish too.

One of their special Desserts, was the Semolina Cake ($8), with laurel leaf syrup, blood orange coulis, toasted pistachios, and whipped cream. The cake was light, with an almost savory taste, but sweetened by the syrup, coulis and whipped cream. A nice ending to our dinner.

The more traditional Tiramisu ($8) is very good, the right blend of flavors.

Tonno receives my highest recommendation and Chef Anthony Caturano has another winner in his culinary group. I'm always telling my readers to eat more seafood and Tonno is definitely a place to find plenty of delicious seafood dishes. In addition, you'll also find excellent Italian cuisine, from hand-made pasta to crisp veal milanese. Tonno is such a great addition to the suburban culinary scene and you should check it out.