Dining Out at Café Pesto
- jfitts0
- Feb 20
- 4 min read
By Natalie K. Pollock
Staff Writer
Paulo DeRocha, who owns Elizabeth’s restaurants in Rocky Hill and East Windsor, opened Café Pesto in Farmington about a month ago at the corner of Farmington Avenue and Brickyard Road, taking over the former location of Sugo Trattoria from Tony Camilleri, its owner.
Although the corner spot has little parking available on premises, determined customers have an opportunity to sample Italian food with a Brazilian and Portuguese touch. DeRocha has roots in both countries. He is leasing the property from Camilleri, who continues to operate Toro Mexican Street Food in West Hartford.
Camilleri had opened Sugo Trattoria, after operating Toro Loco for several years in Farmington in the same location, to fill a void in Italian cuisine after Cugino’s restaurant closed. The same location was also formerly the home for The Keg and Wood-n-Tap.
DeRocha had outgrown his Café Pesto location in South Windsor and began looking for a larger space. He worked for several years at Tumblebrook Country Club in Bloomfield in the kitchen and catering.
Having grown up on a farm in Brazil, he still owns several hundred acres of a ranch land there. DeRocha started working in the restaurant business after moving from Framingham, Massachusetts to Rocky Hill in 1989. In total he has worked in 11 restaurants, learning the business from the dishwashing sink and to the cooktop.
“After six months cooking in the kitchen I became part of the management group. My brother John works at J. Copperfield’s. At Tumblebrook I met a lot of young chefs and fell in love with the culinary world,” he said.
DeRocha then went to Café Reston in Rocky Hill, and later took over Hot Tomato’s with a friend who changed all existing Café Pesto restaurants to Hot Tomato’s. It was then that DeRocha opened his first Elizabeth’s, which serves a mix of American, Italian and Portuguese food. He sold that business to a cousin and thought about retiring at age 53.
“Portuguese food is like Italian but without the pasta. It’s mostly fish, seafood and potatoes. Brazilian food is known for its beef and lots of rice and beans,” said DeRocha.
He has a business in Brazil and was about to leave for a visit there, when a friend from Joey Garlic’s told him that the Farmington location had come up for sale. DeRocha called Camilleri to set a meeting which led to his leasing the space.
The back of Café Pesto offers a large deck overlooking a pond lined by trees. Inside there is a window wall of dining room seating flooded by natural light and a separate bar area with a lounge. A comfortable, informal and cozy environment, the new restaurant attracts a diverse customer base that appreciate the delicious scents emanating from the kitchen.
A few questions for Paulo DeRocha
Q. What is most popular dish atCafé Pesto?
A. The most popular dishes are the pastas. Also, the baked stuffed salmon. We have a lot of sauces but they are different types. At Elizabeth’s we are famous for sauces, and there, but not here, we serve Giabotto, [which combines] chicken, veal and hot sausage with brown sauce and a little tomato sauce. Pasta a la Mare is popular, and stuffed sole, plus paella because there is none in this area, and chicken parmigiana is still #1. It’s an American favorite. We’ve added sandwiches [that people like instead of a big dinner]. Thursday through Saturday is very busy here so we have the full meals plus 2 or 3 sandwiches which are popular. We also serve chicken wings in the bar and quesadilla.
Q. What cookbook, show or online series is your favorite?
A. My recipes come from my background and not from television or cookbooks.
Q. What is the one cooking technique that everyone should know?
A. You take a heavy pan and make it hot then pour in oil and make that hot. The heat brings out the flavor. You sear the meat and then add garlic. Any seafood, paella or fancy fish dish takes 3 to 4 minutes to cook, but beef takes 20 minutes.
Q. What herb or spice best describes your personality and why?
A. Salt and pepper. Maybe I have ADD because I cannot stop doing. I am quick, fast and a straight-shooter. I can joke but I also can be serious at the same time.
Q. What do you like to cook at home?
A. I cook dinner at home every night. I have an ex-wife and a 25-year-old son. I buy my own vegetables and I cook fish and seafood, vegetables and pasta.
Café Pesto, 1274 Farmington Avenue, Farmington (860) 404-2216
