Pellana’s: Big City Fine Dining Close to Home

Pellana Prime Steakhouse

Owner: Dan Mammola/Peter Pantezelos

Operations Manager: Daniella LaRosa

With knowledgeable servers who are unpretentious but precise, a superior wine list and high-quality menu selections, Pellana Prime Steakhouse has become a favorite for restaurant goers on the North Shore.

In just under five years, Pellana’s has won “The Best of the North Shore” distinction by Northshore Magazine and an “Award of Excellence” from both Zagat and Wine Spectator.

For 31-year-old Daniel Mammola, restaurant ownership is in his blood. Mammola, who trained as a chef in restaurants all over Boston, grew up watching his family run the popular Natalie’s Restaurant on Route 114 in Danvers. (Incidentally, John Mammola is looking – it closed several years ago.)

Peter Pantezelos has owned and operated several food related businesses on the North Shore. He and Daniel Mammola teamed up and decided to open Pellana’s, their first fine dining restaurant, in 2006. With Mammola serving as head operating chef at Pellana’s, the partners appear to have a recipe for success.

What makes Pellana’s so special? According to Operations Manager Daniella LaRosa, who has been with the restaurant since its inception, there’s nothing else like it on the North Shore. Tucked away off of Sylvan Street, accessible but still very private, Pellana’s is a destination driven restaurant, according to LaRosa.

“Pellana’s Steakhouse has been called the North Shore’s Boston experience because we’re a more local flair. We have a ton of regular local customers, but we’ve built our reputation on people not having to go into the city to get the same great food as you would find in Boston,” she said.

Pellana’s serves only prime grade, wet-aged steaks, placing its dishes in a selective group – only 1-2 percent of all meats are graded prime in the United States.

“I would have to say our best dish is the prime rib eye, which is a 24-ounce bone-in steak with beautiful marbling. The fact that it’s on the bone gives it a lot of flavor, and it’s a number one favorite, especially for the men,” said LaRosa. “The women tend to go for the Filet Oscar, which is a petit filet topped with a lobster tail filled Portobello mushroom cap and finished with a béarnaise sauce and white asparagus spears.”

Although there is certainly a strong focus on prime meats, Pellana’s strives to offer the freshest local seafood each day as well, butchered in-house, along with pork and lamb dishes.

According to LaRosa: “Our Colorado lamb is a domestic lamb, which has a more tender profile and is not as gamey as the more commonly used New Zealand lamb. It’s thought to be the best of the best.”

Pellana’s has two private dining rooms for special events. The first, known as the Board Room, houses the wine cellar and is set off by its fireplace; the Vault Room was designed with Old Hollywood as its inspiration, with curved booths and dark mahogany paneling. Both rooms can accommodate up to 75 guests.

“We see a lot of corporate and business dinners, but the rooms are also perfect for birthdays, wedding showers and rehearsal dinners,” LaRosa said.

An extensive wine list, with samplings from all over the world, similarly offers North Shore patrons that fine dining atmosphere without venturing into Boston.

“We have a full bar, but our wine is the focus,” LaRosa explained. “With over 400 choices on the wine list, we stock over 5,000 bottles in our temperature controlled wine cellar, and the choices span the entire globe.”

“Nothing comes close on the North Shore – it’s what you would find in the city, but in a much more accessible location and plenty of parking,” she said.

Pellana is located at 9 Rear Sylvan St. and opens at 4 p.m. nightly. Dinner is served until 10 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, 9 p.m. Sunday to Monday.