Gretchen A. Peck

Some of the best Italian restaurants in Philadelphia are those you’ve never heard of. They have a small footprint, are intimate and cozy, with just a few tables. I’ve found that’s usually a good gauge of a great restaurant—symbolic that the focus is on quality rather than volume. They’re local-favorite spots, where families cook recipes passed down generations, and the vibe is spirited, familiar and comforting—like you’ve met up with some friends from the neighborhood to have a bottle of wine and some delicate handmade pasta ladled with Sunday gravy.  

That type of culinary experience has eluded us since moving from Philadelphia more than a decade ago, until my husband and I discovered Paul’s Pasta Shop, right on the shore of the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut. 

Though it was acquired by TyMark Restaurant Group in 2023, the restaurant still carries the name of its founder—Paul Fidrych. Partnered with his wife, Dorothy, Fidrych opened the restaurant in 1988, with a mission to deliver “fresh cooking and warm customer service.” Under the new ownership, the restaurant still makes good on that promise.

The dining room is tightly packed with green vinyl-covered tables, and there’s a covered deck out back, overlooking the Thames River. The menu is simple. They’re known for homemade pasta, simple green salads and a tempting dessert case. My husband tends to opt for the nightly specials, like linguini with shrimp, artichokes and sundried tomatoes. I tend to go for the house-made ravioli. You can order cheese or meat filling, or a few of each. It’s a great meal paired with a half-carafe of table wine, a basket of garlic bread and a simple house salad with the perfect amount of honey poppyseed dressing.

Their specialty is “spaghetti pie”—an enormous wedge of pasta, vegetables, cheese, sausage, pepperoni and sauce, baked in the oven until it develops a crust. I’m not brave enough to order it. It’s massive and requires a commitment. I’ve seen entire tables of Navy and Coast Guard service members order them and tap out halfway through. Makes for good leftovers, I bet. 

The marinara sauce varies a little each time, but that’s how it goes in the kitchen, after all. Even precise recipes are subjected to variables, like the quality, season and sweetness of the tomatoes. 

Is it the best marinara sauce I’ve ever had? No. But I’ve been spoiled on South Philly Italian; it’s an extremely high bar. But it’s a decent sauce; you’ll want to sop up any extra with the garlic bread. 

The restaurant is approachable, unpretentious, homey. Locals wave to one another as they come through the front door. It’s particularly comforting to sit in the bustling dining room on a cold winter’s night, when you’re glad for the fellowship. 

The staff is flawlessly friendly, and the service is quick. Pro tip: If you want cannoli for dessert, order them with your meal. They sell out fast. 

Not long ago, we pulled off the highway and stopped in for dinner, and on our way out, we paused at the front of the store, where the manager, Mike, was making fresh pasta. We explained how we’d gotten into making pasta by hand at home, and he gave us some tips on dough and showed us how the commercial ravioli maker worked. 

There’s limited parking behind the restaurant—right on the river, with views of the Gold Star Bridge, the State Pier, bustling with wind turbine industry, and the new Coast Guard Museum under construction in New London. 

As we strolled to our car one night after a fair-valued perfectly satisfying meal, my husband declared, “It’s the closest thing to South Philly.” That’s a high compliment.