THE GIST: Opened in 2017 by Midwest-born, Manhattan-bred Brad Kitkowski, Isola is a year-round Shelter Island eatery offering crowd-pleasing, slightly Calabrese influenced Italian fare. Perched on Grand Avenue in Shelter Island Heights, the 135-seat restaurant sits in a historic, vintage farmhouse building, complete with a covered porch and outdoor seating. Italian for “island,” nautical themes run throughout the interior and exterior of the eatery, offering an effortless, unpretentious approach to simplh prepared Meditteranean food.
THE VIBE: Enter via a brick path along the right side of the building to a little wooden deck with French doors that open into a foyer. Here you’ll find the hostess stand and, to the right, a lively, 12-seat bar, opopostie a row of four high-top tables. To the left is the simply set dining room, with its white walls and hardwood floors. There’s a large, 12-seate wooden table, which, in the chillier moments of the year is warmed by a working fireplace. Two small partitions divid the seating areas, one that affords a peak at the kitchen’s wood burning brick oven; the other anchored by two large bay windows that overlook the lovely al fresco front porch and a view onto bustling Grand Avenue.
A self-proclaimed foodie Brad Kitkowski’s Isola elevates Italian American dishes to a high level. (Photos by Doug Young)
THE FOOD: While the menu boasts familiar Italian-American favorites, there’s also a keen focus on local seafood and lighter riffs on beloved classics. That being said, if you feel like a burger with truffle fries, a steak with mashed potatoes, or an order of wings with Calabrian garlic, they have those, too.
Chicken parmesan A breaded cutlet is topped with a healthy ladle of housemade tomatoe sauce evenly blanketed in mozzarella cheese and baked until browned. Shingled atop a mound of bucatini tossed in that same excellent sauce, a little of shave of parmesan and whole basil leaves help add a little salty, herby kick to this classically decadent super satisfying dish.
Gnocchi con fungi These pillowy handmade ricotta gnocchi are sauteed in a toasted sage and brown butter sauce. Unexpectedly balanced, they sauce is brightened by a generous glug of white wine and squeeze citrus while the mushrooms and bright green peas provide a welcome, fresh earthiness.
Clockwise from top left: Chicken parmesan, gnocchi con fungi, Caesar salad, cioppino, marghertia pizza. (Photos by Doug Young)
Cioppino A true celebration of the fruits of the sea. Piled high in a bowl, jumbo shrimp, clams, mussels and thick-cut calamari are deftly cooked and tossed in a slightly spiced-up version of the house pomodoro and pleasantly tangled up with a handful of bucatini pasta. No rubbery tentacles here, each piece is sweet and tender with that little bit of brine to cut through the robust richness.
Caesar salad This rendition shows restraint and risk simultaneously, and in a really smart way. All the traditional elements are present and accounted for. Chopped romaine hearts are gently tossed in a light, not-too-creamy, super bright dressing. Instead of croutons, the salad is flanked with
Margherita Housemade pizza dough is rolled out into individual size pies and cooked in the resto’s brick oven. It’s all about the dough here, as the secret recipe, which Kitkowski and his staff “take a lot of pride in,” has honey in it, acting as both a vigorous fermentation source for the yeast and a contributing factor to the whisper of sweetness in the golden crust. It’s thin, crispy and wonderfully chewy in all the right places.
Isola
15 Grand Ave., Shelter Island Heights, 631-749-9036
@isolashelterisland
Hours Open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.
Good to know Live music and/or karaoke happens every week all year long.
