Far too few people are aware of the young adult hub that is Stamford’s Harbor Point. While it has quietly sprung up independent of Stamford’s main downtown area, Harbor Point itself is anything but quiet. It’s inhabitants mill the well-lit streets, parks, and of course, restaurants. One restaurant in particular, Fortina, has been all the rage lately due to the grand opening of its surf-club-themed roof top bar. This is quite the addition to a restaurant that only opened this past fall. If you aren’t already impressed, wait until you hear about the food.

Abby Bushell

Right when I walked in, I was encompassed by a very loud and upbeat atmosphere, and I began humming along to a song playing from early 2000’s. The place was absolutely packed with people aging from approximately high school to mid twenties. However, that is not to say there weren’t families with children scattered throughout the two floors of indoor seating.

Fortina’s Italian menu has something for virtually everyone. Whether you’re feeling like a classic pizza, a hearty pasta, a light salad, or a serving of their famous meatballs, they won’t disappoint.

I ordered the wood-fired paccheri, which was rigatoni béchamel “a la vodka” with baby veal meatballs. My plate came out still sizzling, proving just how freshly made it was. The rigatoni on top were slightly crusted and topped with seasoning, and the piping hot vodka sauce and soft noodles were just below. Weaved in between the pasta were baby-soft mini veal meatballs, bursting with flavor, I might add. The tangy blend was the perfect combination of crunchy and softness.

Accompanying me was Liisa Balazs, who ordered vegetarian options. She started off with giarduniera (seasonal picked veggies) and had the burrata salad for her main course, which consisted of peas, pea tendrils, vino cotto, and brown butter. While she said her appetizer was just average, her salad definitely made up for it. Atop the toasted bread was the burrata and its toppings, which she let me try. It was probably the sweetest and creamiest burrata I’d ever tasted.

For dessert, we shared a Nutella pizza, which, yes, tasted as good as it sounds. The gooey Nutella and marshmallow infused pizza was topped with powdered sugar, and was all around a delight.

The only downfall to an otherwise flawless night was a small hiccup in the service. Liisa’s food was accidentally delivered to the table next to ours, who ate it thinking that it was on-the-house, because it just so happened that they were friendly with the owners. It was an honest mistake, and the servers were very apologetic. We even got a laugh out of it because Liisa and I hadn’t stopped commenting on how great their food looked.

While the roof top bar is 21 and over, they did let us have a look. Between the neon splatter painted walls leading to the deck and the pretty hanging lights outside on strings to light up the night, I had never wished I was 21 so badly in my life!

All in all, I was very satisfied with my experience at Fortina. I will definitely return soon to enjoy the lively atmosphere and outstanding food.