Oregano Pizzeria & Ristorante

Oregano Pizzeria and Ristorante is a family friendly restaurant that serves both Italian food and Lebanese food. Owned by Claude and Laura Elias, a wonderful local couple that have built a menu inspired by their Lebanese (Claude) and Italian (Laura) heritage.   Located in a historic downtown Newburyport building, the restaurant has a charming ambiance with high ceiling and exposed brick walls, a beautifully framed bar and open kitchen.  In warm weather, the outdoor patio is great place to enjoy your meal.

In addition to offering authentic Italian and Lebanese food, Oregano is very well known for serving exceptional brick oven pizza.  They prepare many delicious Italian entrees such as Chicken Saltimbocca, Scallop Risotto, and Braised Lamb Shank.  And for those who enjoy Lebanese food, the Lamb Kabobs and Falafel are not to be missed!  Oregano can delight the adults and satisfy the kids with a delicious selection of pizzas or the option of the kid’s menu.  If you leave room for desert, the Pizza Cookie is a must.  Served with vanilla ice cream, the Pizza Cookie is a warm chocolate chip cookie baked in the pizza oven.  Try it once and it will become a tradition!

One of the unique features of this Newburyport Italian and Lebanese restaurant is their oven, which was imported from Genoa, Italy.  This special oven heats up to 1400 degrees and can bake a pizza in three minutes.  Because the base plate of the oven is cut from one piece of Lumina stone, it helps the pizzas to cook evenly.  What does this mean for customers?  It allows the pizzas created at Oregano to be crispy and chewy at the same time.  Owners, Claude and Laura Elias believe strongly in using top quality ingredients.  San Marzano tomatoes are used to make the pizza sauce and marinara sauce as well as many other dishes, such as the braised lamb shank.  San Marzano tomatoes are grown in volcanic soil in the foot hills of Mont Vesuvius and known to be the highest quality most expensive tomatoes in the world.  The combination of the climate in this region and the volcanic ash make San Marzano tomatoes sweeter and less acidic than other tomato varieties.

Oregano is a terrific Newburyport restaurant choice for those who appreciate the option to pair great drinks and food together.  They not only serve crafted cocktails and high quality wines, but also offer imported and local craft beers.  The drink menu at Oregano features an extensive selection of wines by the glass.  Try a Malbec, Super Tuscan, Montepulciano, or the Lambrusco, a sparkling chilled red wine.  Stella and Peroni are always on tap, as are a rotating selection of craft beers from the greater Newburyport area.  Red sangria is offered all year and they also serve a refreshing and crisp white sangria in the warmer months.  The bartenders at Oregano create exceptional sangrias with the perfect balance of wine, fruit, and other ingredients.

Owners, Claude and Laura Elias are very customer focused, and with their two sons Zachary and Sami they do many things to give back to the greater Newburyport Community.  They are very involved with some of the large local nonprofits such as The Newburyport Education Foundation, The Newburyport PTO, Boys and Girls Club, and Anna Jaques Hospital, but they are unique in that they also contribute/donate to every small fundraising request that they receive. The list of organizations that receive support from Oregano is truly amazing. Claude and Laura try to help as many local nonprofit organizations as possible.

If by chance you haven’t dined at Oregano, it is a must on the to do list and if by chance you are one of those regulars that has never tried the Lebanese food, pay a visit soon. Although Oregano does not take reservations, they do accommodate call-ahead seating.  Give them a call or stop in to add your party to the list.  Take a walk around town or relax while the kids enjoy the Inn Street Playground and Oregano will send you a text when your table is ready!