Scoozzi Trattoria & Wine Bar

I came here for a birthday dinner. It broke the bank a bit, but the food was tasty and they had a pretty good wine list — being a wine bar, they should.
My husband had a a steak, and I had a seafood pasta dish. Both were pretty good, probably a 7.5 — presentation was a 10 though. They do a great job with that. His steak was cooked exactly medium rare, and my seafood was decently plentiful and not at all overcooked.
It did take quite a long time between having drinks dropped to ordering our food, but once it was all ordered, it did not take long for it to come out. I can’t speak on dessert, but everyone else that had it was pleased.
I probably wouldn’t go back unless it was a special occasion, due to the pricetag, but otherwise, it was a fun place.

Great atmosphere, friendly staff. Mushroom risotto is my personal favorite on the menu. Cesar salad is perfect.
Perfect restaurant to go out on a romantic date or out to eat with the fam.

There’s only one thing to order here: the truffle risotto. The waiter said it’s the only menu item that hasn’t changed in twenty years and I can believe it. It’s so rich you can hardly finish it, but so good you manage to find room. They mix in all kinds of wild mushrooms, different varieties depending on the season. They even have white summer truffle at certain times of the year. Their other menu items are good (except the blah bolognese), but nothing compares with the risotto.
This is the perfect place for a date or a work dinner. It’s upscale without feeling stuffy. They have a nice patio outside when the weather cooperates. On Tuesdays all bottles of wine are half-​off.

I had three courses and wine at this fine, Italian place.
Tasted quite nice, andput a smile on my face.
The decorations are so 80’s– neons and mirrors catch your eye.
The wait staff was great– got lots of attention and time.
Lobster crab ravioli was fab– the rest of my party was jealous!
chocolate cake was so rich, but the crème brûlée: simply delish!

Enticed by their seemingly posh design on my first visit years ago — disappointed by the food; 3^rd and 4^th visit — irretrievably disappointed as of old
Food (²⁄₅) beautifully displayed but alas of no use, memorable taste in a lousy way: balsamic reduction turned into salt water sour grape; nothing special about the Ravioli d’Aragosta; desserts can be good but there are plenty of desserts to be had in town
Ambience (⁴⁄₅) fine dining environ with a touch of elegance, sit outside on nice days and sunday brunch comes with a jazz band, live
Service (⁴⁄₅) nice staff; for the unmentioned 2^nd visit, went with the gals for desserts only one night and were served warmly, while snooty Roomba (one pays for the look not the taste; now out of business unsurprisingly) turned us down

I had a rather disappointing meal here last night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really any one particular thing that might have been remedied.
First off, though, a few positives. Our waiter seemed genuinely friendly and helpful. They have an expansive, modern-​looking patio out front, and the ambiance inside is fairly classy. Also, for whatever reason this place is listed as a ‘$$$$’ restaurant; we ended up paying only 60 $/​plate (including 20% tip) including drinks, appetizers, entrees and dessert (though we had one person who ate little). I’m not a huge jazz fan, but the live music was a nice touch, if a bit amateurish.
Unfortunately, the food is simply not up to snuff. My Caesar salad was somewhat interesting, with a whole anchovy fillet on top and some sort of caramelized doodads all over it. I don’t have a great desire to have it again, but points awarded for taking a risk there. Caesar salad dressing does contain fish, but this might have repulsed some. YMMV.
My entrée, the swordfish, was pretty disappointing. It was substantially overcooked and rubbery, and the tapenade on top (tomatoes and olives?) was a bit bland. There was a single baby carrot with the dish that was rather tasty, but the blend of corn and short-​grain rice under the fish was sort of oily and provided no contrast to the fish itself. Everyone else in my group was similarly underwhelmed.
By the dessert course, I was playing it safe, so I got the chocolate ice cream. It had a sort of chocolate & hazelnut crust, with a huge pile of whipped cream and a generous amount of a fruity, alcoholic sauce. The portion was about double what I could eat, and it was quite good, but it’s hardly a challenging dish to prepare.
Also, although friendly, I found the service to be a bit inattentive. It took nearly 50 minutes for the first bit of food to hit our table after ordering. Our water glasses spent a good deal of time empty. We were left to pour our own wine, and our wine bottle’s depletion went unnoticed by our server. Dishes often went to the wrong person at the table, and we were left to trade after the servers left. Service is not usually a huge deal for me, but I know plenty of people whom this would have offended.
In sum, although nothing about the meal was offensive, rude or inedible, but my overall impression was that someone had dressed up a chain restaurant.

Top three restaurant in new haven, along with union league and pacifico. consequently one of my most frequented restaurants. love their bread basket, risottos, and tiramisu. such nice waiters who are actively wanting to improve your dining experience. i love the mirrors in the interior and that it’s sublevel.

Service was very good, food was average and wine prices were awesome on a Tuesday. All wines were half price! Most ½ price wine specials are limited to certain brands, but this place applies the special to all brands. Food was overpriced for the quality and taste. Seating is very tight, but overall atmosphere was positive. Will try again… no wow factor tonight!

I had been excited to try Scoozi since I moved to New Haven since the atmosphere looked so inviting! Went for restaurant week and was really underwhelmed by the food. Food was OK, but not delicious — and was overpriced even at restaurant week prices. The red pepper tomato soup tasted like tomato purée from a can — and all the other dishes were just OK. The service was good and attentive, though.
The atmosphere had potential but there were only three other tables filled in the pretty big space, so it definitely wasn’t energetic.

The service was good. Not overbearing, but attentive and knowledgeable. The seating was nice. The food had great flavor and the wine selection was great. Everything was carefully prepared.
The food was significantly overpriced and nothing about the whole meal really stood out other than the great company I was with. If I am looking for fantastic Italian cuisine in New Haven, I would prefer to go to Skappo.
Also, the group I was with closed the place down at 9:45pm on a Saturday evening. The final seating was around 7:30. When was the last time you saw that at a restaurant?

What a great menu & place to listen to live jazz.
Life just don’t get any better :-)
Looking forward to playing some jazz there my self …

I absolutely love Scoozi. My favorite place to take my girlfriend when I have a bit of extra cash. It’s a little above a student price range for a normal meal, but is not too expensive for special occasions. Looks beautiful after the remodeling, and even though they replaced my favorite dish, sweet potato ravioli, with pumpkin ravioli, I still love them and the replacement is equally as delicious. Don’t go if you think you want to save money because you will always be tempted by the menu to order some delicious appetizers. My favorite is the capreze.
The service is always great here, very friendly and it’s a quiet, cozy atmosphere.

They have an interesting menu, and their food is fresh. I didn’t want to run back for another meal, but I wouldn’t hesitate if someone asked me to go either. Service was good, the location is great, and when the construction is finished, they will have their terrific outdoor patio back, which is reason enough to go!

Scoozzi should be amazing Italian and its menu has so much promise with intriguing flavor combinations, but it’s far too overpriced, the service is meh, and the food, unfortunately, is just not that great. For Italian in downtown New Haven, I’d recommend Basta or L’Orcio over Scoozzi, and of course there’s always Wooster Square.
I’ve been here a few times, and my most recent visit was for their pleasant jazz Sunday brunch with a live jazz band. I had the eggs benedict with bacon, and my friend had the same with smoked salmon. It was a solid eggs benedict, served with some forgettable potatoes and alleged black truffle carpaccio (no truffle taste, unfortunately) topped with the correct amount of hollandaise. But again, for eggs benedict you can have better at Bella’s or the Pantry.
The time before that, I had a rather mediocre and overpriced seafood pasta dish while my friend tried a very dry chicken dish. Clearly my big issue with Scoozzi is how overpriced it is for food that’s worth about a third of how much it costs. If you’re eating on someone else’s dime, there are many other places in New Haven to try. Scoozzi just isn’t worth it.

Came here for a brunch, but I ate off the lunch menu since everything on the brunch menu had eggs in :(
Food was very good; I was surprised to get food this good in NH. Excellent aglio & olio pasta. Insalata caprese was o-​kay but not great, ‘snickers’ gelato was similarly o-​kay. Definitely high-​end food here — fresh, tasty and delicious, but not /​quite/​amazing. Wine recommendation fitted the meal very well.
The only strange thing is the location — it feels like you’re sitting in a cave.

The food here is good, but it wasn’t what I expected. People told me that this was one of the best Italian places in New Haven, but nothing was make-​you-​jump-​out-​of-​your-​seat awesome. The atmosphere is good, and very upscale, and I caught an air of pretense. Overall, I had a better-​than-​average experience. 3.5−4 stars.

I’ve been here a couple of times taken by my coworkers, but been really disappointed each time.
Positives: The ambiance is great, you can spot Famous People™ if you peek around. Right in the middle of Chapel, New Haven’s fancy neighborhood. Great for grabbing a bite before or after some theatre.
Negatives: The food is quite drab. Pasta overboiled, meats flavorless, etc. I could cook better Italian at home. Chef Boyardee could make a better sauce.
Warning: Parking is impossible on Chapel on Friday-​Saturday night unless you find a pay lot.

It’s between a 2.5 and a 3 rating — it’s a 2.5 on the gourmet scale and a 3 on a regular scale. Scoozzi is trying to be gourmet & fancy (upscale ingredients, etc) but it falls flat. However, it could be a very good higher-​end regular restaurant. It also didn’t really have any vegetarian-​friendly items.
The ingredients were fresh but the flavor wasn’t there. The service was very good (esp. considering half of our party was late) and the atmosphere was festive (but quiet enough for us to have a conversation).
In the end, we probably won’t be going back though.

First let me say that I’m happy to see that the other reviewers ALL gave Scoozzi 5 stars. I really want this place to rock. Unfortunately for me, it doesn’t.
Starting with the service I can tell you each time I’ve been there the service has been pretty awful. In fact one night after sitting the bar for about 20 minutes and not getting so much as a «I’ll be right with you» we got up and left. The host and manager stood there and watched us leave. No apology and no good bye. It wasn’t even busy. Even during lunch the service is slow and unattentive.
I’ve eaten here for lunches mostly. Lunches are somewhere in the vicinity of $ 12 – 15 so my expectations are consistently good food, and this isn’t. And while the items on the menu always sounds wonderful they miss the boat a good perecntage of the time. How can tiliapia BE that dry? I’ve had the rissotto a couple times and sometimes it’s great — sometimes not so much. On the contrary the bolognese is consistently quite good and if I ordered that everytime I’d be a happy customer. And, I’m the first tto admit that my knowledge of wine is weak. But I try and I do know a nice glass of wine when I have one. I’ve tried many of the wines by the glass and have yet to try one that I like. At $ 10 – 12 a glass they should be able to serve something less pee-​pee like (like the Pinot Noir!).
The patio is Scoozzi’s strongest asset. Last time I was there (April 2008) Yale seems to have done to the patio what it does with so many great New Haven hot spots. Destroy it. According to our server Yale decided this cute little patio needed to be more like the style of the building next to it. So instead of a garden dining with wysteria and lighted trees we now have a stark WWI like shell with no trees or light. Oh, and stop letting cusomters smoke out there!

Oh Scoozzi, how I love thee…
My Father took me here for a birthday brunch when he broke tradition and didn’t take me to Bill’s. And I almost didn’t forgive him for that, except that the food was delicious, the service was spectacular, the band played me Happy Birthday and they gave me a wine tasting.
Since then, I’ve been back a few times and every time has been wonderful (well except for that one date…). The paella risotto was superb, the desserts are always delicious and beautifully plated, and the wines are always paired properly.