For nearly four decades, Spaccarelli’s has held down Millwood’s stretch of Saw Mill River Road as the local red-sauce standby. This month, the longtime Italian restaurant reopened with new ownership, a refreshed dining room and a slight name tweak to Spaccarelli’s by Zuppa. The chicken parm and other red-sauce staples are still in play, but the space and wine program have been polished up, and regulars are calling it more of a careful tune-up than a full-on remake.
New owners, same neighborhood spot
Spaccarelli’s reopened on Feb. 12 and now operates as Spaccarelli’s by Zuppa, according to the restaurant’s own site. The homepage of Spaccarelli’s displays the new name, reflecting its place under the Zuppa Restaurant Group, which already runs Zuppa in Yonkers along with Tramonto and Mima Vinoteca. Zuppa Restaurant has been a Westchester fixture for years, and the group frames this latest move as an effort to keep a neighborhood classic in circulation.
Renovated dining room and updated bar
Inside, the new team knocked out columns and a wall to open up the dining room, then layered in fresh paint, new chandeliers and noise-reducing panels. They also carved out a small wine cellar and swapped in a quartzite bar top with mocha-brown velvet stools. Dana Santucci told lohud to “consider it a rebirth.”
Menu and the dining experience
The kitchen is leaning into classic, seasonal Italian plates and handmade pastas, backed by a wine-focused list and cocktails designed to match, per the restaurant’s OpenTable listing. OpenTable also carries the current menu and hours, showing a mid-range price point and a lineup of antipasti, pastas and composed entrées that tip a hat to the restaurant’s longtime favorites while tightening things up for present-day diners.
What this means for Millwood
Spaccarelli’s had been a Millwood staple for close to 40 years, according to lohud, and its revival fits into a wider Westchester pattern of established operators stepping in to refresh neighborhood institutions. Local food writers have noted that these kinds of projects try to preserve what people already love about a place while quietly updating the experience for modern expectations, as described by Westchester Magazine.
Reservations are live through OpenTable and the restaurant’s website, and the dining room is taking bookings for both weeknight and weekend dinners. Diners can check the OpenTable listing for current hours and to reserve a table, and find additional details on the restaurant’s site or its OpenTable page.
