Carrying on the Family Name in Commack

Sal Sorrentino will carry on his father's vision in Andrea's 25 – a centrally located Commack restaurant dedicated to merging traditional Italian flavors with Sorrentino's own ideas and creations. 

For 20 years, the Sorrentino family has been satisfying the appetites of Italian-food lovers at Matteo's Ristorante, which first opened in Howard Beach, but has since expanded to numerous locations on Long Island and as far away as Florida.

Sorrentino, whose grandfather Sal, father Andrew and uncle Matthew, started Matteo's, is carrying on the family tradition in Commack. On Oct. 27, Sorrentino and cousin Peter Campisi opened Andrea's 25, at the former location of the Red Dish Grille.

Sorrentino started working at the Bellmore Matteo's about 10 years ago and now, with Campisi, decided to run his own restaurant and Commack seemed to be the perfect location.

"My father always wanted to open up a restaurant in Commack," Sorrentino said. "Me and my cousin, we talked about this for the last three years. This is something we really wanted to do even before my father passed away."

The named "Andrea's 25" is a tribute to Sorrentino's father since Andrew is "Andrea" in Italian. The "25" comes from something Andrew Sorrentino kept repeating while suffering from brain cancer, which claimed his life about a year ago.

"It was something that was stuck in his head. We don't know why," said Sal Sorrentino.

The number turned out to be an omen. Andreas 25, held a night for the family on Oct. 25; the restaurant is located on Route 25 (Jericho Turnpike). Also, Sorrentino points, out, if you add up the numbers 63 (the first two numbers of the address 6300 Jericho Turnpike) as well as the Commack zip code of 11725 individually, it adds up to 25. 

"Anybody I asked about the location, they told me it's a good spot," Sorrentino said.

Sorrentino describes Andrea's 25  as very family-oriented. "The staff is all like a big family and we like to make the customers feel like they're our family as well. That's the big thing we've done over the years," he said. 

Andrea's 25 serves traditional Italian dishes as well as some of its own specialties. Sorrentino has brought the success from Matteo's to his restaurant while also mixing in some new ideas. But the goal, no matter whether it's in each of the Matteo's locations or the new Andrea's 25 in Commack, is the same — to keep people happy and coming back. 

"For me, it's all about when they love your food," he said. 

Check out the restaurant review here.