Anthony's was years in the making

Oct. 6—ENFIELD — After 12 years of running a restaurant in Marlborough, Dmitri Patetsos returned to his home in Enfield with Anthony's Restaurant Pizzeria and Full Bar at 74 Palomba Drive, which opened last year.

For 12 years, Patetsos said, he owned Village Green Pizza and Restaurant.

Anthony's Restaurant Pizzeria & Full Bar

Address: 74 Palomba Drive, Enfield.

Hours: Tuesday-Thursday: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Menu: Pizza, seafood, pasta, gyros, wraps, burgers, and more.

Contact: 860-698-6330; www.anthonyspizzaenfield.com

"I always had a successful business, but my dream was always to come back to town," he said. "I grew up here."

Patetsos and his family moved to the United States from Greece, settling in Enfield in 1986.

It was in Greece, he said, where he started learning the restaurant trade.

"I was helping my parents at their tavern in Greece until I came here," he said.

Here in Connecticut, Patetsos said, he started working at Anna's Pizza in East Hartford, where he stayed for nearly 18 years before getting his own place in Marlborough.

"It was always my dream to have my own restaurant," he said, "I like the challenge I guess."

Four years ago, he started looking for a place closer to home, buying a space in the plaza at 74 Palomba Drive.

"It was offices here," Patetsos said. "I bought the building four years ago."

While running Village Green Pizza, he started to renovate the office space he purchased into a 100-seat restaurant plus a 60-seat outdoor patio.

"I was pretty busy there," he said, "then COVID happened.

"It was crazy to open a new restaurant in the middle of the pandemic," he said. "Everybody was asking, 'What are you doing opening a restaurant?'"

Though there was doubt by people close to him, Patetsos persisted.

"I believe in this country, this is why I moved here," he said, selling Village Green Pizza and going forward with Anthony's.

The restaurant's dining area has newly renovated booths with pictures of Greek seascapes decorating the walls.

"We have pretty much everything," Patetsos said of the menu. "Italian, Greek food, American food, seafood. We have lunch specials and dinner specials."

Though the primary pizza offering is a medium sized Greek crust pizza, Anthony's also offers gluten-free pizza and thin crust pizza.

"I like to give people choices," Patetsos said. "Over the years we create our own recipes."

He said they offer a variety of special dishes, including a mini meatball soup with vegetables, cut spaghetti, and beef broth.

"I make my own creamy garlic dressing," he said. "Nobody else has it."

His favorite dishes, he said, is their seafood dishes and their variety of pasta dishes, including the chicken Alfredo, chicken cacciatore, and veal francaise.

He said customer favorites include chicken Alfredo, chicken parmesan, fish and chips, baked stuffed cod, whole belly clams, and shrimp.

The most popular pizza, he said is the house special, made with pepperoni, peppers, onions, mushrooms, hamburger, and sausage.

There are 22 specialty pizzas on the menu, with some of the favorite pies being the meat lovers, with pepperoni, hamburger, bacon, and sausage; the variety of chicken pizzas; and the taco pizza.

"It's already successful," Patetsos said. "People are coming back over and over. Everything we do here is homemade food. Nothing is frozen. Our meats never go to the freezer."

"I love it," said Peg Grey, who was eating a chicken, bacon, and ranch burrito with her friend Peg Lenegan, both of Enfield. "I'm really impressed. The staff is wonderful. I'm a customer service geek and I think their customer service is great."

"Their food is so fresh," said Lenegan, who was eating a beef taco burrito. "The ground beef is not greasy. The lettuce is fresh."

"I like the atmosphere," she said. "I'm dying to get out on the porch."

For coverage of local restaurants, cultural events, music, and an extensive range of Connecticut theater reviews, follow Tim Leininger on Twitter: @Tim_E_Leininger, Facebook: Tim Leininger's Journal Inquirer News page, and Instagram: @One_Mans_Opinion77.