A new Italian restaurant is officially opening its doors on Kinderkamack Road in Oradell as ORA will hold its grand opening on June 12 with a ribbon-cutting and cocktail party for invited members and a hard launch for the public the next day.
Co-Founder and Executive Chef Tom Silvestri, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and also an Oradell resident, is rooted in knowing how to prepare classic Italian dishes from experience cooking at established New York City restaurants such as Wall Street Kitchen & Bar and Wall Street Club. ORA, which opened on May 20 with a soft launch, is described as a mashup between those dishes and new American approaches, according to ORA’s Marketing President Nader Ashway.
“These new American approaches is all about fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, taking from lots of different styles and regions, and applying it to traditional Italian flavors,” said Ashway.
An example of this is a classic tuna dish, “how it is usually served in an Asian style with wasabi and cilantro or the California style with Mango and guacamole, but our chef takes the raw tuna and he does it with traditional Italian dishes like eggplant, basil, green olive oil and pine nuts. It’s a classic example of taking a new American approach and adding Italian flavors,” said Ashway.
“This is an absolute dream come true, and I can’t wait to open the doors. The food is about excellent local ingredients, well-prepared, and presented in an elegant environment that still feels very relaxed,” said Silvestri in the ORA opening press release.
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Other unique menu items include a “savory cannoli” which is called the caviar cannoli. The cannoli itself is made out of parmesan and instead of a sweet cream is a chive whipped mascarpone and then instead of chocolate chips it is rolled in royal Ossetra caviar.
The wide selection on their menu goes even further. Starters include calamari, meatballs, salads and what Ashway calls the highlight of the small plates, the octopus served with smoked potatoes, fennel, lemon and a celery-leaf pesto.
The Italian restaurant features a wood-fire oven at the end of the bar where a half-dozen pizzas will be cooked with a light and soft texture. There will be a margarita, white pizza and a roasted mushroom with caramelized onions and truffle honey to name a few.
Some entrees include a list of six pastas, swordfish Milanese, day boat scallops, cauliflower steak, roasted half chicken scarpariello and whole roasted orata. ORA will dry age steaks and chops in house with traditional rib eyes, filets and New York strips and rotating specials including lamb chops, pork chops and a Tomahawk ribeye.
ORA will present a daily special for each day of the week, but in limited quantities. Some examples of the specials are braised Wagyu short ribs on Thursdays and a 100-layer Lasagna Bolognese on Sundays.
The extensive beverage menu contains original craft cocktails made from a mixologist. Local and international beers are served on tap and non-alcoholic mocktails are offered at ORA. A selection of wine is also on the menu with “Wines for the Table,” priced at $60 a bottle.
ORA will be Oradell’s largest restaurant, according to the press release, with a two-story building that contains a main dining room, bar area and rooms for private events which can hold more than 250 combined seats. An additional outdoor dining area will be right outside the eatery during spring and summer months. The main dining room holds 70 seats, about 50 in the bar area and between 120 and 130 for the private event area. All different types of events from communions, bridal showers, small weddings and more are welcomed at ORA.
An architect from Garrett Singer Architecture and Design that helped develop the restaurant said the place is “designed in the style of a modern farmhouse, with double height ceilings, exposed beams, and design finishes that evoke the Italian countryside.”
ORA was approved by Oradell’s zoning board back in May of 2021, but a few setbacks on construction caused a delayed opening. The building of the restaurant took twice as long as it should have because the footprints of the previous site, Cool Beans Cafe, were not stable enough to build their new structure, according Ashway.
Reservations are recommended and can be made on their website through the application Toast.
