Three generations are pictured in Santino’s restaurant: Giacomo Bottoni and son-in-law Joe Bonfonti stand near a portrait of Santino Bottoni that hangs in the entrance. (Staff photo by Myles Ma.)
By Myles Ma
A new Italian restaurant in Robbinsville is a family business, in the truest sense.
Santino’s Pizza and Restaurant is named for the late patriarch of the Bottoni clan. Santino Bottoni, who passed away in March, was a man who knew food.
He worked as a butcher in his native Italy in the farm town of Ripi, located 90 minutes south of Rome. Bottoni’s portrait and a mural of Ripi hang in Santino’s Pizza and Restaurant.
Above his portrait, in Italian, is Bottoni’s advice for anyone who wanted to live 97 years like he did: enjoy a glass of wine every day. In many ways, the character of Santino’s restaurant is like Bottoni’s wine: authentic, Italian and homemade (although the restaurant is BYOB).
Santino’s restaurant is owned by Giacomo Bottoni, who is Santino’s son, and Joe Bonfonti, Santino’s grandson through marriage to granddaughter Carla. Together, Bottoni and the Bonfontis run the restaurant, a split between a pizzeria with counter service and a sit-down restaurant with room for 80 diners.
The restaurant is located in Bottoni Plaza in Robbinsville, owned by Giacomo, and many of the tenants are family.
The restaurant opened in early September, but business has been brisk, said Carla Bonfonti.
“We’ve been blessed because we’ve been very busy,” she said.
Her husband attracted a small following from his previous post at Vito’s Pizza in Cherry Hill, where Joe worked for 30 years. Bonfonti said six of her husband’s old customers showed up at the opening for Santino’s, and some of them have continued coming every week.
Part of the draw at Santino’s is the restaurant’s take on traditional Italian dishes. For example, Eggplant Giana is classic eggplant parmigiana, but in vodka sauce. One of the more radical – and popular – dishes also involves eggplant. Eggplant Stacked is an appetizer of fried eggplant, stacked up and topped with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. And for the centerpiece, Carla Bonfonti said, “We get a steak knife and stab it in the middle.”
But Santino’s also plays to tradition. Rigatoni Ripi, named for the hometown of the restaurant’s namesake, is rigatoni in red sauce with pork sausage and meatballs.
Santino’s prides itself on its meatballs. Bonfonti said many customers come in claiming that the restaurant’s meatballs can never hope to match their mother’s meatballs, but quickly convert upon trying them. Santino’s also serves meatballs as an appetizer with a side of romaine salad.
Part of that just-like-mom-made-it taste comes from Bonfonti’s mother, Michelina Bottoni, contributing to the dishes. Capellini Michela, which is capellini pasta with tuna, zuchini and anchovies, is a Mama Bottoni original.
The family connections don’t stop there. The seven paninis on the counter menu are named after Giacomo Bottoni’s grandchildren, Giana, Julianna, Matteo, Giacomo, Sophia, Gabriella and Santino.
Santino’s serves everything in big portions. Bruschetta is complementary with each meal. The bread is delivered fresh from Brooklyn.
As for the pizza? Bonfonti said Santino’s couples the best ingredients with her husband’s 30 years of pizzeria experience.
“We only use the best products,” Carla Bonfonti said. “We don’t skimp on products.”
The Bonfontis are right at home at 1240 Route 130 South in Robbinsville. They have called the town home for the last 20 years, and this month, they’ll be sharing Santino Bottoni’s legacy with the town.
Nov. 1 is Santino Bottoni’s birthday, and it is Santino’s Day at the restaurant. From 3 p.m. until closing time, the restaurant will feature live Italian accordion music, complementary birthday cake and 10 percent off for anyone dining in the restaurant section.
Diners can bring their own wine and celebrate with Santino’s family, as the man himself would have wanted.
For more information, call (609) 443-5600 or visit santinosristorante.com on the Web. Prices for entrees range from $10.95 to $22.95.
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