Eatery brings taste of Italy, Boston's North End

While authentic Italian cooking might not be the kind of cuisine you expect to find around Tomball, the North End Village Bistro has been bringing a slice of Italy to the area for more than a year.

The venue is owned by the Iacoviello family: Rocco, Maria, their son and head chef, Dan—all full-blooded Italians—and daughter-in-law Ashley. Rocco said the inspiration to open the bistro was that there were not many options for good, properly-made Italian food in the area. The restaurant gets its name from the North End of Boston, where Iacoviello grew up.

"The North End of Boston is like Little Italy in New York," Iacoviello said. "It's all small, family owned restaurants. That's the mood we're trying to recreate here."

The whole family is involved in designing the menu, Iacoviello said. However, when it comes to actually creating the meals, Dan is the culinary expert.

"Chef Dan makes everything from scratch—the pasta, pizza dough, meatballs and all the sauces," Iacoviello said. "What we do is the opposite of fast food. You don't want to speed up Italian cooking."

The owners at North End Village Bistro recently revamped the menu with particular attention paid to the pizza selection. One new item, the Bistro Supremo, takes the House Special and adds grilled chicken, mushrooms, peppers, onions and black olives. Pizzas are a whopping 18-inches in diameter, but patrons can also create their own 10" personal pizzas.

The atmosphere of North End Village Bistro is relaxing and familial, similar to the restaurants Iacoviello frequented in Boston. The walls are decorated with pictures of Boston's North End as well as Italy.

"We have a loyal following who love Dan's cooking," Iacoviello said. "I think people are tired of chain restaurants, so we're happy to bring something different."

Owner recommendations

• Jake's Italiano—ham, salami, hot and sweet cappicola, and mortadella with provolone cheese, tomato, lettuce, basil and hot peppers. ($11)
• House Special Pizza—Neopolitan style thin crust 18" pizza with Italian cheese, house sauce with meatballs, pepperoni and hot Italian sausage. ($18)
• Village Lasagna—Fresh pasta sheets layered with ricotta, fresh mozzarella, marinara, crumbled meatballs and sausage, topped with the house blend cheese mix. ($12)
• North End Antipasto Salad—Boston lettuce, ham, salami, prosciutto, provolone cheese, pepperoncini, olives, house dressing. ($11)

Customer comments

"Everything is homemade down to their noodles, which really does make a difference in the quality." -Carol L.

"The food, the atmosphere and the service are all very good. I like their eggplant parmigiana." -Amy G.

"Their pizza and lasagna are good, and I like the relaxing atmosphere." -Maria A.

Wine Dinners

Although North End Village Bistro is closed to the public on Sundays, the owners host special reservation-only wine dinners, usually once every other month, from 6–8 p.m. Those interested in making a reservation for a future event can do so by calling the restaurant.

• Each event showcases a different cuisine or cooking style from a particular region in Italy, or somewhere in Europe, such as Spain or France.
• Dan Iacoviello, the bistro's head chef, studies the regional cuisine beforehand and orders special ingredients that are indigenous to the area.
• Ashley works with wine vendors to find regional wines for each event to pair with the food.

North End Village Bistro, 24179 Hwy. 249, Ste. G, Tomball, 281-516-3330, www.letseat.at/249bistro

• Tue.–Fri. 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
• Sat. 12–9 p.m.
• Closed Sun., Mon.