Candela Cucina

Mouthwatering meatballs that rival all others….

“This is the best meatball I've ever had.”

Picture perfect mozzarella sticks.

“You're gonna definitely get the Instagram shot of the 10 inch long cheese pull on those sticks.”

And sensational slices.

“The pizza has a really thin texture that's crispy with a great fluffy crust on it.”

Italian cuisine has taken over the South Coast at Candela Cucina.

Located in New Bedford, Candela Cucina is a cozy spot set inside the downtown’s historic Candleworks Building.

“We are in one of the oldest free standing candle works buildings in the United States.  The low ceilings, the stone work.  This is all stuff that's unique to this building. And you really couldn't build this today if you tried and it just has a history to it that is so front and center when you come into the space that we decided it was great way to tie into the name and the Italian word for candle is Candela.”

That’s Chef Josh Riazi.  He’s created a menu of dishes that spans Italy using local ingredients.

“The cuisine in Italy is so rooted in kind of the ingredients that are around you, and the culture and the climate. One of the fantastic things has been being able to apply that here to the culture and climate in New England and in New Bedford, where we have really fantastic seafood. The produce here changes so seasonally.  We’ve really leaned into the entire breath of Italian cooking and applied that to the menu.”

Candela’s menu features all of the Italian starters you love.  But elevated.

From tender fresh littleneck clams soaking in broth and served with focaccia to the absolutely indulgent mozzarella sticks.

“They're very thick, mozzarella sticks that we fry.  They've got a good amount of cheese in each one.   Excellent cheese pull.  It's a really crave-able dish.”

But an Italian restaurant is only as good as its meatballs- and at Candela, they make them just like nonna does only better.

“Everyone's fussy about their meatballs. Everyone's grandmother makes the best meatball. But here we believe that we've really hit it out of the park. We have a pork and beef mix. We put Parmesan cheese and pecorino in the mix. We use a little bit of egg and some breadcrumb.  The fun thing for us is that we make this as a giant meatball.  Gets served over creamy polenta, and we put a crispy basil leaf and cheese on top.”

Sharing one of Candela’s Naples inspired pizzas is another great way to kick off a meal, with options that range from a classic pepperoni to the unique shrimp and artichoke pizza topped with lemon zest and Calabrian chilis.

“It has a great balance between the lemon zest, the shrimp, the artichokes, the arugula. It's just a fun, different pizza that we could put on the menu that really represents the type of cooking we do here.”

Since they’re seconds from the ocean, seafood is something Candela takes pride in.  With big bows of Seafood Fra Diavolo presented over housemade bucatini and perfectly seared scallops with creamy risotto.

“We sear scallops and put them over a spring pea risotto, and we garnish it with a little aged balsamic and it really helps tie together the sweetness of the peas, the richness of the risotto and the scallops.  We saute asparagus. We also put crispy prosciutto, which is kind of a fun play for us, on a bacon wrapped scallop in the Italian Candela version.”

But it’s the Lobster Ravioli that really impresses.  Because rather than hiding that sweet meat inside the pasta, it’s presented right on top.

“A lot of people anticipate the lobster inside the ravioli. And for us, we thought it would be great to present that really prime ingredient on top of the ravioli, so it's both in the sauce, and you get that beautiful presentation of the lobster tail.”

For an Italian take on an American classic, try the Candela Burger.

“We have a really great eight ounce burger patty that we grill, we put crispy prosciutto on that. We make a sauce that has a great balance of herbs and vinegar and salt.  There's provolone cheese.  It definitely checks the box for burger lovers, but it's very true to what we do here at Candela.”

And for a classic Italian comfort food dish, Candela’s Chicken Parm always hits the spot.

“We pound it thin. We bread it in panko.  We use stracciatella cheese.  We use provolone. We bake it with vodka sauce on it, and then serve it with our traditional pomodoro and rigatoni. It’s something really, really special.”

And lasagna lovers will crave Candela’s 100 layered version, a tasty take on a classic.

“We thought if we put a lot of layers of the best parts of the lasagna together it would kind of transcend.  So what you end up with is this multi layered pasta that gets sliced, pan seared and then served on its side so that all of the layers are presented. And it has that great texture of crispy cheese along with the soft pasta and really rich sauce.”

And when it’s time for dessert, check out the Chocolate Hazelnut Bomboloni; a fluffy Italian donut filled with Hazelnut Chocolate.

“You have the crispy texture of the outside of that donut, the fluffy dough, and then also the richness of the hazelnut filling. It's the perfect way to end a meal.”

And from Parms to Pizzas.

Meatballs to Mozzarella.

You’ll find timeless flavors in a space that has spanned time at Candela Cucina.