WELCOME TO AMICI
WELCOME TO AMICI
Our menu is compromised of dishes that represent every region of Italy – from Abruzzo to Tuscany. While many Italian restaurants specialize in one type of cuisine, our kitchen knows no limits and sources the finest seasonal ingredients available. While we are known for our seafood, pasta, and steak staples; Amici also creates seasonal specials and rotates our menu every 6 months to keep the options fresh and exciting.
Join us in our dining room or year-round private patio space to indulge in the rich culinary history of Italy. For those special events in your life, we also offer private dining events, off-site catering, and our newly opened banquet Bella Festa, located at 306 Kresson Rd. in Cherry Hill, NJ.
A New Home
Constructed in 1859, this Farmhouse has been a landmark of Cherry Hill and has hosted a variety of notable restaurants. Now, over 150 years after its initial construction, Amici is breathing new life into this property & investing back into the community that has supported us for the past decade. The entire building has been restored, renovated, and reinvigorated. Owner and executive chef, Alex Daku, has transformed the space to create an environment that matches the quality and attention to detail given to each dish.
Our Chef
Through hard work and dedication over the years, Executive Chef Alex A. Daku has experienced all facets of life in the professional kitchen. The man now at the helm of the Amici as an executive chef and owner has been bringing quality Italian food for nearly tow decades. His menus extend beyond the territories of traditional cuisine and incorporate continental influences to appeal to the tastes of a broader reception.
Alex’s passion for cooking first emerged during adolescence. His earliest lessons in the culinary arts came when working in a busy restaurant owned and operated by his family. It was there that he learned the foundations of a strong, successful kitchen which compelled him to make skillful food preparation a lifelong pursuit.
At age seventeen, Alex pursued a culinary education in Torino, in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, studying classic Italian and Mediterranean disciplines. He worked his way through various European kitchens, honing his craft and learning new techniques while carrying a full course load. Before opening his own Amici Restaurant, he cooked at a number of fine dining establishments in New York City such as Il Molino, Aqua Blue, Tech Villa and Midtown West’s CPS, Brownstones in West Paterson before landing at Le Jardin, earning him a lot of awards.
Alex is known for his innovative and personal take on classic cuisine. A self-proclaimed gastronome, he believes in incorporating the flavors and techniques from different cooking philosophies into innovative interpretations. He describes his Italian cooking style while utilizing classic and avant-garde disciplines. He is inspired by quality and freshness of ingredients, and highly values the art of presentation to create dishes that are memorable. He approaches each dish as an opportunity to make a connection with the client and to affect the way they experience food.