Dining review: DeLullo's Italian Bistro

An oven baked pasta dish from DeLullo's Italian Bistro in Westfield. (Credit: Joe Vitti)

Iced tea is poured from a gallon plastic jug. Diners bring their own wine. Parking is on a grassy lot. And the owner-chef takes the carryout orders over the phone, runs the kitchen and even delivers his creations to your table. He seems to know everyone who walks through the door.

"If I don't know you when you come in, you're a first-timer," says Dan DeLullo, who spent seven years in the kitchen at Palomino in Downtown Indianapolis. "I know everybody by name and exactly what they like to eat."

In less than 2 and a half years, he's  grown what was once his sister Kay's place, in a 100-year-old, two-story building five miles west of downtown Westfield, into a promising, value-priced Italian bistro.

Kay started Mama DeLullo's in 2002 and sold it in 2005 to another restaurateur who lasted only six months. Now she works for her brother, in addition to owning and operating the nearby Wild Feather Farm, growing organic produce and herbs, some of which are ingredients in DeLullo's recipes.

With only six pasta entrees ($8 to $12) -- from pesto ravioli to lasagna -- the menu is small but mighty. Pizzas (with 31 topping choices), appetizers (including killer bruschetta) and salads are also offered.

And DeLullo says he's not done yet.

"Unfortunately, when we first started out, people had no clue what prosciutto was or buffalo mozzarella, so we focused on pizzas," he says. "Now we're continually adding more of the bistro-type items like the prosciutto-wrapped asparagus salad. We're going to be adding a lot more to our menu soon."

A hint: Ask about dessert. Although not listed on the menu, sorbet, gelato, carrot cake and lemon meringue pie are offered.

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