The Italian Kitchen
I don’t ever remember being inside this restaurant, but I know we would order take-out pizza from here when I was a kid. The Italian Kitchen opened in 1934, and this first ad is from a 1936 Transcript booklet published during the town’s 300th anniversary celebration. The second ad appeared in the Transcript in 1986. The two ads are strikingly similar considering they were printed 50 years apart.
Here’s a post card from the 1940’s, which is pretty much how I remember the place. The second pic shows the empty lot as it looks today, next to Gilbert’s package Store on the “Providence Pike.”
Dedham Tales 
May 21, 2010 at 9:50 pm
My aunt worked there for years!
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May 21, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Do you have any pics of the old Rte.1 rotary before the cut-through section was built? I remember there was an American station with a giant neon sign similar to the Kenmore Sq. Citgo sign. I also never set foot in the Italian Kitchen and remember being underwhelmed by the White Dove(?) the one time I visited. I recall enjoying Washington Gardens where the Midway now operates.
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May 22, 2010 at 6:17 am
I do have a great aerial shot of the square and the Rte 1 rotary from 1947- I’ll be posting that later this week. I’m also looking into the statue that used to be there- it was a soldier, maybe a marine, maybe in honor of Korean War veterans. I was told it was removed to another town for safekeeping while the Rte 1 roadwork was being done…
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February 17, 2016 at 7:13 pm
The marine statue was moved to Washington St. in Norwood near the post office. The move was organized by my brother-in-law, Jimmy O’Sullivan, who was Commandant of the Marine Corps League at that time.
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July 25, 2011 at 11:21 pm
In the 60’s my family would pick up a take out order of spaghetti and the spaghetti and sauce would be put it in rectangular cardboard boxes that were lined with reflective foil. By the time we reached home there would always be spillage but no one cared because we would be in for a gastronomic treat! I have never had anything close to the taste of the Italian Kitchen tomato sauce. Even 45 years later I can still remember the taste. I would travel anywhere to eat spaghetti like this again. How sad to have lost that ability.
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January 14, 2014 at 10:03 am
Ah yes, the “It Kit”
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February 26, 2014 at 9:57 am
I was talking with one of our daughters and recalled this is where I proposed to my wife of almost 46 years. I was only leave from Navy having returned from an overseas deployment. The snow fall was heavy and we were one of the few couples in the restaurant that night. I was going to present her the diamond I had bought from the dealer in the Jewelers Building in downtown Boston. When she realized what I was about to do, she got all nervous and told me not to do it in the restaurant. So we went out to her car and I proposed and she accepted. It was New Year’s Eve 1968. I did a search for the Italian Kitchen and was happy to find this item on Dedhamtales. Thanks
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July 16, 2017 at 4:31 am
When did this place close? I remember there being some restaurant or cafe at the corner of the circle, at the end of the old bridge (before the replacement was done like 2007), though I never had the opportunity to go in there. Did this place last until the early 2000s?
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May 21, 2019 at 2:56 am
I loved the cheese ravioli served in delicious chicken broth!
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February 6, 2021 at 10:32 pm
I had lunch and or Dinner there many times. My family owned a plumbing business which my Brother Michael continues to this day.
We knew the Civil family and carried out maintenace and other forms of plumbing service there for many, many years.
The food and the service were great! The Civita’s were always cordial and the kind of folks that you respect and treasure as business owners and customers.
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