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    Laico's

    4.2 (337 reviews)
    ModerateItalian
    Closed 3:00 pm - 10:00 PM

    Laico's Photos

    LAICO'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Laico's

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    Branzino
    Linh N.

    This seems to be a popular mom and pop place but it feels overhyped. You can expect American Italian cuisine (not authentic Italian that I was hoping for). The pasta noodles tasted overdone and the marinara sauce was quite bland. For the branzino dish, the tomatoes, olives, and capers were overpowering the branzino itself. The tiramisu came with a dent on the corner. Sloppy presentation. The server just said the piece broke off, seemed unbothered and did not offer a new piece. Underwhelming place. Will not be back.

    Tiramisu
    Rochelle 'Shella' T.

    It was great to be able to spend time with our family at Laico's. They are made to accommodate large groups, like ours (12 people). I enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere and friendly staff. When ordering, check out the soup of the day and their specials. I had the clam and linguini dish. It was very filling, but not overwhelming. Their food comes in very big servings to take that into account when ordering. I would recommend the Octopus as an appetizer. But I'm not sure if they always have it on the menu. You can also ask your server. They're very accommodating and make very good recommendations.

    Birthday  Dinner
    Fjames R.

    Every thing we order was delicious ,staff was on top of everything.The pork chops were the most tender I ever ate,we ate family style,so we had the pork chops,steak and chicken parmigiana,the side linguine with white claim sauce was perfect .It was the perfect Birthday dinner .I read about Laico's on line,and it didn't disappoint.My daughter who lives in Jersey City,said she heard it was very good but had not eaten there,we are so happy we checked it out.If you haven't been there,you need to go

    Chicken Rollatini
    Brittany F.

    This restaurant was on my must try list. I am so happy with the experience! It really is an old school Italian restaurant in the best way. The food was great (bonus points for the bread and salad to start). We had a large party of 11 and the staff was attentive to our needs. The ambiance is perfect for a date night.

    Complimentary Salad & Breads
    Kenji H.

    We have lived in JC over 30 years, but didn't know about this restaurant until recently. I happened to find that the restaurant was voted by NJ residents on Facebook as one of the best restaurants in JC. So we went to check it out. It was a little bit hard to find a parking spot nearby the restaurant because it's located in very condensed residential area. The Food was very good overall. All vegetables in salads were very fresh. Loved the Italian dressing. Spicy sausage Pizza was excellent. Very tasty with a touch of spice. Grilled octopus was very good with generous portions. Shrimp Fra Diavolo was good and loved the spicy taste in their red sauce. Italian Cheesecake was okay, nothing special about it. We Liked their cozy family warming atmosphere and the servers were very nice and quick service. We will come back to try out more..

    Interior
    Patricia M.

    This places feels like a relic, and should be treated as such. This restaurant sits in a residential neighborhood and offers free valet parking which was a big relief for us. You walk in to and immediately see a large bar filled with regulars enjoying their beverage of choice. We eat in the back of the restaurant, which was beautiful and surrounded by brick. Our service was very good! The waitress brought us hot fresh bread which was absolutely delicious. It was like pizza dough bread, thick and heavy. We also got for free the house salad, and the dressing was absolutely delicious. For mains, we got the eggplant parmesan and fettuccine alfredo. The fettuccine noodles were thin and perfectly cooked. The alfredo sauce could have been thicker, but was perfect for dipping that fantastic bread in. It also reheated perfectly when I brought home the leftovers, which I had a ton of. The portions were generous. My only piece of feedback is that there are limited vegetarian options. I felt like for mains I could only get the fettuccine or the ravioli which is not a lot considering how large their menu is. I would go back here, definitely makes a good date night. I wouldn't go with a party larger than four based on the seating I saw.

    Menu
    Kristin A.

    Visited Laicos for dinner on a Friday night with my friend who dines here often. She drove and is familiar with the valet parking situation - definitely need to valet since it's on a residential street with very limited street parking. We arrived a little after 7 pm and there was no wait for a table for 2. We opted to sit in the back area which was a little bit more quiet than the front by the bar. The restaurant is in an older building and it definitely has that old-school Italian vibe. To start, we tried the baked artichokes appetizer special which was covered with tasty bread crumbs and a decent portion. For our mains, we shared the rigatoni Bolognese and the chicken parm. House salad and Italian bread are complimentary as well. The chicken parm was tasty; smaller chicken portions than the restaurant I usually order from in Hoboken but also cheaper. The Bolognese was underwhelming - the sauce was more watery than I'm used to. We also shared a piece of Italian cheesecake for dessert. It was so fresh that it was still warm. I wish it would have been cooler but it was still tasty. Service was pretty good throughout the meal and they definitely don't rush you out of there which was nice. We had a good time catching-up. I'm not sure if I'll be back here anytime soon just because it's a bit of a drive for me from uptown Hoboken and there's better options closer to me but I'm not opposed to eating here again.

    Miss P.

    Hidden gem! Amazing Italian food hidden in back streets of JC. Came to celebrate birthday, reservations highly recommended. It's a small family restaurant and it was packed Friday night. Simple ambiance, nicely sized bar area, parking valet only. Food was absolutely delicious.

    Spinach n provolone pie...in an old-school Italian joint? F yea.
    Louis R.

    Hmmm... I used to love this spot for the food and local ambience. This last time I visited, although the mushroom pizza was still delicious, the octopus was very very very chewy which was unfortunate as this used to be my favorite appetizer. Did management change? Seems a bit off... I may not revisit anytime soon.

    Eggplant Parmesan
    Michael J.

    Repeating your past is a dangerous game: you might end up providing living proof of why the rest of the world moved on. Laico's is a textbook red-sauce joint, belonging firmly to the part of New Jersey that specializes in the unironic export of the no-apologies working-class culture from a bygone era. But Laico's isn't stuck in the past so much as it's eternal. And they deserve to keep on trucking. One bite of the eggplant rollatini was enough to convince me that I was not dealing with some kind of overhyped Olive Garden cousin. Crispy and soft by turns, complemented by a herbaceous, acidic marinara. (Upon reflection, I think good marinara is the secret to a red sauce joint.) The free Italian salad and garlic bread were the best I've had, and maybe a good indication of the emphasis Laico's places on quality. It was all served family style, but I kept hoping more would land on my plate. I was full by the time my eggplant parm entree arrived, but it was quite good. Again, the marinara was the star, but good cheese and well-cooked eggplant worked well together. The portion sizes are a dare, a challenge, like the agitated person on the train hoping somebody will make eye contact. Just give up and ask for a doggy bag when you're ready; no need to be a hero. But save room for the heavenly tiramisu: delicate espresso flavor, the right amount of sponge. Should you be eating this much cheese and carbs on a weekly basis? Would it get tiresome if you had it more than twice a year? No and yes, respectively. But it's an experience worth having.

    Pork chop
    Louis L.

    This place is a classic hidden gem, and great Italian spot with the best pork chop. I could stop there, but that wouldn't give it enough credit. This is the kind of old-school Italian you really only see in NJ. Hidden on a residential block, you walk into a small room with a bar and seating, with additional seating in the back. Usually the first staffer to see you will try to seat you or tell you how long the wait is. There isn't a formal process for seating. You get the feeling you're showing up to a family dinner. It's pretty cool. We started off with a dirty martini and beer, then switched to a bottle of wine with dinner. The selection is limited but satisfactory. For apps we got the spiedini alla romana, and the baked clams. All entrees entitle you to salad with homemade dressing and bread. The dressing was good, and the bread was nice and crispy. My friend got the pork chop. It was juicy, delicious, and quite large. I had the linguini with white clam sauce, and that was also good. It's a dish so few places do well, but this was a good representation. We were too full for dessert, but we walked/rolled out happy.

    Pork chop parmigiana
    Rosie B.

    Amazing restaurant! The food, the staff, the ambiance was top notch! Everyone enjoyed their dish! I'm not a fan of octopus and I went back for a second bite! the espresso martini was delicious! Adding this place to my monthly rotation! GO!

    Adam B.

    I've lived in JC for 5years and recently discovered this place by accident which is 5mins drive from my house. The experience was great, the service was excellent and quick, the long time patrons are like family to the staff. They provide you with a shared house salad and bread before you order. For starters, we shared eggplant rotallinni, and for dinner, we had lobster ravioli, shrimp scampi over linguine. Whit wines were our choice of drinks; Sauvigon Blanc and Pinot. The dessert was on point. The tiramasu was exactly how I liked it with a cup of cafe and my love had Italian cheesecake, which was also good. Our meals were affordable and had the perfect ambiance for date night. Small parking lot but there is also street parking. I saw a sign for valet parking but did not inquire.

    Octopus

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    Local gem that never disappoints. I've never had a bad dish at this place. Some place are just timeless and this is one of them.

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    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - Laico's

    Do they do take out from here if I call and order over the phone? Or only if it's not busy?

    I order takeout frequently and have never been told they were too busy.

    Would this be a good place for 100 guests?

    This is one of my best ever restaurants, but unfortunately it might seem a little small for 100 guests

    Would you recommend coming here for your 30th birthday dinner?

    I would give them a call and ask. Ask Louis or Jimmy

    Is this a good place for a baby shower of 50 people?

    They have a front and back so, yes.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    "Would you like some lemoncello? Orangcello? Anythingvello?"…read more Angelo, one of the owners, is talking to the table next to us, but already I know I've found a second home. "You won't want to cook anymore" he tells us a bit later. He's not wrong. I had the fish special, cod, served puttanesca, with mash potatoes and spinach. He had the rigatoni bolognese. Perfectly cooked pasta. "Everything is homemade," Angelo explained later. Smart and fairly well-priced wine list. We asked why the 2020 Carparzo Brunello di Montalcino was so low priced, and learned the wine has been priced the same since their father closed their Upper East Side location and the kids opened in Newark. "New York food at NJ prices," Angelo explained. "I've never had tiramisu I've liked better", husband told me. "I've never had flan Ive liked better" I told him. (It is coconut flan.) Great service. Wonderful spot. And Bon Jovi has been in twice, most recently he brought his wife. Enough said.

    We were driving around Newark looking for a place to eat and wow did we get lucky with La Fiamma!…read moreAs soon as you walk in, it is a step back in time in all the best ways. If you loved Moonstruck or Godfather movies, this is your place. Theres a long bar with high seats, small tables, and old school booths so you have great choice of seating. We were seated at a table and instantly impressed by the friendliness of the waiter and visit from the pwner. The menu is classic Italian food (no pizza). They bring out a plate of bruschetta on crostini bread which was fresh and delicious. For food, we had Veal piccata and Chicken Francese. My son had Pasta bolognese. Definitely prefer the chicken over the veal, and my son ate his whole,e bowl ao Id say the bolognese is really good too. Veal was just a little tough but the sauce was totally on point, saved the meal. We will absolutely come back to try more dishes. Homemade pasta will def be next visit. Excellent ambience and great friendly staff. Love it.

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    Corto

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    4.2(361 reviews)
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    Stopped by for dinner. Ordered the ricotta and honey toast plus the smoked mortadella to start. The…read moretoast was delicous. The ricotta cheese was really good. Paired with the honey and peppercorn were *chefs kiss*. Just a perfect shareable app. The mortadella was also good but smaller than I anticipated. I'd maybe pass on this next time. Honestly this would have paired perfectly with the toast but it was brought out after the toast was finished. We ordered two pastas: the rigatoni and the malfadine. Both were great and cooked perfectly. The quality of ingredients were a standout in both of the dishes. Pork pampanella was the most tender pork I've ever had. Basically melted in your mouth. Very fatty and heavy (a little too heavy...) but delicious. 4.5/5 overall. Some of the dishes were missing a little something to take it all the way but I'd still recommend this spot tho. Also it's BYOB!

    Made an 8:30 reservation on a Thursday. The first dish was out in 15 minutes. I highly recommend…read moregetting the rutabaga leek appetizer ($16) while available. This was creamy, fresh, and absolutely delicious. The now classic honey ricotta toast never disappoints ($14). They currently have my favorite, the Malfaldine with speck, grana padano, and black pepper ($22) - Get this. They no longer have the baccala and potato skin with chive ravioli. This was a fun play on potato skins. Some of the pasta had the baccala while others had the potato mascarpone. Although entertaining, it was less memorable than the other dishes. The smoked paprika pork shoulder was a dish that could feed 4. It's a massive cut of meat. While I did enjoy this, I needed more of polenta or a sauce. As anticipated it was very meat forward ;) For dessert I highly recommend their classic olive oil cake. This was moist and had a small Tablespoon of a guava sauce. For $10 don't miss this. The salted chocolate cake was a bit dry, but satisfied the sweet tooth. This went well with a double espresso. We stayed until closing and in fact were seated 15 mins past closing. Our waiter was kind and charming. He gave us his recommendations. Despite the menu being small and rotational, it always feels like there is something new and exciting to try. The Rutabaga and leek was that for me this time. I assume this is a winter dish. I recommend trying this before they move to a Soring menu and I wouldn't miss it!

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    Ricotta and Honey Toast

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