Andreoli Italian Grocer Makes Old-School Italian Exciting
Andreoli Italian Grocer
Andreoli is the kind of place that forces you to be a little more Italian. I don’t know how to explain it, but whenever you’re there, you’ll just start ordering stuff and talking about it. Loudly. Sometimes with people you don’t even know. And you’ll see stuff on other tables and order more stuff. And when you’re done you’ll think, “If I take 1/4 pound of prosciutto and a bottle of wine home, could I recreate this experience?” The answer is no, but you should get the prosciutto and wine anyway. And maybe a sfogliatelle.
Scottsdale - 8880 E Via Linda
Awards + Accolades
James Beard Awards
2024: Outstanding Hospitality - Semifinalist
2022: Best Chef (Southwest) | Giovanni Scorzo - Nominee
AZ Central
2024: 100 essential restaurants
2023: 100 essential restaurants
2020: Dominic Armato’s 100 Essential Restaurants
2018: Dominic Armato’s Top 100 Restaurants
Eater
2024: The 38 Essential Restaurants in Phoenix
Phoenix Magazine
2024: Best Italian Sandwich: Scottsdale
2023: Best Neapolitan-Style Pizza: Scottsdale
2022: Best Upscale/”Fancy” Italian
2020: Best Authentic Italian
2019: Top 100 Restaurants
2019: Best Authentic Italian
2015: Best Place to Knock Out Several “Best Of’s” At Once
2014: Best Italian Christmas Feast
Phoenix New Times
2024: The Top 100 Restaurants
2023: Best Italian Restaurant
2022: Best Italian Restaurant
2021: Best Pasta
2013: Best Corner Italian Restaurant
2012: Best Corner Italian Restaurant
2010: Best Corner Italian Restaurant
2009: Best Calamari
2008: Best Italian Deli
2007: Best Italian Deli
Reviews
For more than three decades, Scorzo has built a reputation as the Valley’s resident hardliner for traditional Italian cuisine. Only recently, however, has he achieved a level of popularity long enjoyed by his contemporaries. One might assume it’s a classic story — a lifetime chasing a level of mastery that could finally stand out from the crowd. But the truth, in this case, is the other way around.
- Dominic Armato, AZ Central
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Giovanni [Scorzo]. That’s my favorite Italian restaurant in the country, Andreoli. I love it. I can’t go there because I eat too much, but I talk about him every chance I get. Everybody who comes to Scottsdale, I always tell them, “You have to go to Andreoli,” because it’s spectacular.
- Scott Conant
What to Get
Cornetto al Cioccolato
I spent half of October in Italy, only to return and have the year’s best cornetto in Phoenix.
- Dominic Armato, AZ Central
Gnocchi alla Romana
But to my mind, the best of the best Italian comfort food — the crème de la crème you might say if you were blasphemously speaking French at a moment like this— is the gnocchi alla Romana at Andreoli Italian Grocer.
- Nikki Buchanan, AZ Central
Penne Strascicate
Giovanni Scorzo pretty much makes whatever he feels like, and that seems unlikely to change. But one dish you can always count on finding at Andreoli is the penne strascicate – pasta with bite dressed with a hefty layer of gorgeously rich, tomato-infused veal ragu. Bonus: It’s a deli, so there’s charcuterie and bread.
- Dominic Armato, AZ Central
Patatine Fritte
Who orders french fries at an Italian restaurant? Not me. They had to foist them on me after I declined the recommendation three times, and I’m glad they did. The patatine fritte at Andreoli are some of the best fried potatoes anywhere, bar none, cooked hot and crisp in olive oil with shattering slivers of fried leek and chef Giovanni Scorzo’s remoulade-like “tartar sauce.” In addition to being perfectly prepared, they actually taste like potatoes, an all too rare phenomenon.
- Dominic Armato, AZ Central
Potato Gnocci with Castelmagno
Giovanni Scorzo’s handmade pastas are ethereal. One such endorphin-inducing dish is from Northern Italy – cloud-light potato gnocchi draped in ivory Castelmagno, a Piedmont formaggio with protected designation of origin (DOP), which develops a mild, tangy blue cheese taste as it ages. Topped with roasted hazelnuts, this plush wintertime wonder transcends mere marinara dishes with its angelic simplicity.
- Gwen Ashley Walters, Phoenix Magazine
Sfogliatelle
Scorzo's sfogliatelle are stuffed with ricotta and candied citron. Some sfogliatelle in America are filled with a more éclair-style cream. Not here. It’s soft-but-dense ricotta all the way under the shell. The candied citron are the same as the colorful flecks you see (and taste) buried in Sicilian-style cannoli. They add this wildly fragrant and elusive flavor that I can only describe as one of my favorite tastes in the world.
- Chris Malloy, Phoenix New Times
Trippa alla Fiorentina
But, oh, my, it's delicious and blessedly simple: two kinds of tripe -- the smooth, flat pianina and the honey-combed centopelle -- braised with Italian tomatoes, onion, and a bit of carrot. Served in a shallow bowl and sprinkled with grated Parmigiano Reggiano before service, it's ultra-rich comfort food, best mopped up with a hunk of Scorzo's excellent house-made bread.
- Nikki Buchanan, Phoenix New Times
Vitello Tonnato
The Italians have their own ingenious ways to beat the heat, one of them being vitello tonnato, an irresistible summer dish that doesn't look or sound half as good as it tastes. It's an unlikely combination of cold poached veal, served in slices and smothered in a homemade mayonnaise-based sauce that bears the taste and faintly granular texture of canned or jarred tuna. Yep, tuna. Weird, right? Weird and strangely delicious, bringing together the richness and delicacy of veal with a sauce that bears the briny tang of the sea, both nicely offset by a smattering of salty capers.
- Nikki Buchanan, Phoenix New Times
