Luigi’s

A perfect spot for consistently great Italian food. My favorite is the Rigatoni Arrabiatta… and their Clams Oregenata is excellent and so is the fried calamari.

This place is outstanding! Located in a strip mall, who would ever guess this little gem of a restaurant exists.
Ate here for the first time and was blown away. The recipes are very simple and the ingredients are fresh.
They brought bread and complimentary salad to the table minutes after we sat down.
My date had the home made fusilli «Moma». I had the chicken francaise.
Both to die for.
Family owned business and the owner was there to make sure everything was right.
Will definitely go back

Great food! And the staff is also great. Make sure to get the mushroom appetizer. The Homemade Cannelloni is always delicious but overall, been there a handful of times and enjoyed everything I have gotten, including the shrimp scampi!

Love the food here. Good variety. Nice paintings. Good service. Most importantly food is totally satisfying.

Came here for the first time to celebrate our anniversary. Ive passed this place so many times and always thought about going in but never got the chance to. The food was great. Not one complaint at all. The bread was fresh and crispy, and the food came out in excellent time. The service is what we had an issue with. Our waitress was unbelievably rude. She was on the phone right next to our table for a large portion of us being there. It definitely wasn’t a work related call because we heard her entire conversation! She was talking about how she was «mad about something» BOTTOM LINE, what waitress sits on the phone during service??? There was 4 – 6 other tables in the place besides us. It seemed like the bus boys were the ones doing all of the work for our table. By all means, they did a good job, but where was the server??? I also felt like because we were not regulars, we didnt get much attention. I dont know. This place rubbed me the wrong way. Honestly, the food was good, but for that price and bad experience — i wont be back.

Not what it used to be! Went for a special Saturday birthday; many of us left disappointed. The old bottle of olive oils no longer adorn the tables. The chicken liver app came out looking like soup; floating in sugary sweet brown broth the fried pieces were soggy and wayyyyy too sweet. Passed around the table everyone made a face — best comment was «no respect for the ingredient». Two ribeye steak «specials» ordered identically came out looking completely different; one had a decent sear and looked ok, the other was a floppy gray color and lacked that tasty crusted «Maillard» flavor a good steak should have. The crusted salmon had crumbs described as «stale». Clams over linguini lacked garlic punch. Only the lamb rack drew the normal Luigi glowing review.
Service was (amazingly!) poor. It the MANY times I’ve dined there that’s a first. Our waitress started out messing up a drink order, returned a few times and then was never seen again. For the rest of the meal we were tag-​teamed by several gentlemen. If they switched waitstaff no one had the courtesy of telling us.
BTW Luigi himself was not in attendance. Wonder if that”s why the level of care was so far down.

Food was italian done right. A dish you don’t see everywhere is the fried chicken livers with balsamic vinegar. My seafood salad was huge and had it was a main course. There were 8 in our party and every e loved their dinner. The derive could been a little better but fir a Sunday night it was hopping.

Wonderful mom and pop owned restaurant with a great selection of traditional Italian fare. Their specials are always to die for, especially their lobster special (whole lobster and a plate of linguine with garlic white wine sauce)! They serve a nice platter of seasoned marinated veggies and bread to start. The staff is very knowledgeable about each of the dishes, and we got to meet Luigi himself too.
A tip from Luigi himself: the lobster special is pretty popular, so call ahead to see if they have it. If you’re craving it though, you can always call early for a special request even if it wasn’t planned for the day — they’ll just get lobsters from a local supplier and cook them up special.

Nice family owned Italian restaurant. The owner greeted us on the way in and was very friendly and welcoming. Service was good. Food is great and the prices are fair for what you get. I had the lobster ravioli which was tasty and my wife ordered a grilled chicken fettuccine alfredo which was not on the menu but they made it for us anyway. The restaurant has a dining room side and a bar side.

Luigi’s is located in the strip mall with Santender Bank and 7/​11, ample parking and easy to find. We had a party of about 30 guest at the restaurant on a weekday night, restaurant was pretty busy and we were kept to one side of the restaurant. The service was good and the food was pretty average. Standard array of appetizers for an italian eatery and the entrée (veal with vegetables) was pretty good.

The food is great. I prefer to visit the bar. A small upscale bar area with alot of. the same faces. A warm friendly staff and its a great place to have a drink and some one on one conversation.

Just had dinner there last night and it was incredible ! I got the special which was pumpkin ricotta stuffed ravioli’ with coconut shrimp on top in a cream sauce tht had craisins, almonds, and apples in it. It was amazing ! Thr service is always excellent there and their desserts are unreal. I got the carrot cake and my friend got the tiramisu… both delicious. The carrot cake had cream cheese frosting, which I adore, as opposed to butter cream a lot of places put on carrot cakes.

Reliable and well executed, classic Italian food at Luigi’s. I have eaten dinner at Luigi’s about a half a dozen times and always leave satisfied. Luigi’s is classy inside, yet not uncomfortable, and is the perfect place for any occasion. The menu is traditional and there are always plenty of specials. There is a full bar and the service is always top notch. Luigi himself is a good guy. Be sure to check out the key to Morris Plains and newspaper article on your way in. Luigi was recognized by the borough for risking his own life to save a stranger involved in a serious car crash on Route 10 back in 2008.

This place over a 25 year span of going there has never let me down. Consistently great Italian food. I can’t recommend a dish because I always get something new and am never disappointed. Luigi himself is very friendly owner and if he is there always comes by to talk for 5 minutes. I love going here, although it is not as often as it used to be, it still is IMO one of the best around.

Consistent Italian fare at a touch too high a price point. 3.5 stars
They never seem to have an off night with their food. While not outstanding, the food is always on point and very tasty. They offer fresh seafood everyday as well as a variety of specials that, while never fancy, allow for the menu to have a bit of diversity. They’ve done an exceptional job over the years of modernizing the menu with vegan, low calorie and gluten free options, while maintaining the quality of their traditional fare. The menu is extensive, offering a wide array of pastas, chicken, meats, etc. They are also very accommodating if you’d like a particular dish but wish to make a substitution. For example, I love the Tre Funghi, a Marsala type dish with a slightly sweeter and nicely reduced brown sauce, but I prefer the chicken to the veal. This is never a problem. Other entrée highlights include the fettuccine aragosta done with fresh chunks of tender lobster and a extraordinary light white wine tomato, a rendition of chicken savoy utilizing boneless chicken that captures that balsamic flavor without the intense acidity of the version originated and perfected at the Belmont Tavern. I also very much like their Caesar, done in a bit of a creamy dressing with the addition of sundried tomatoes that add a level of originality to the version.
Adding to the charm, Luigi is often on site making the rounds and always is friendly, social and engaging.
Where they fall short is in décor. The restaurant is set in a strip mall. While this in and of itself isn’t terrible, the décor in the main restaurant could really use a facelift. It hasn’t changed in years and continues to feel dated. In contrast to the main dining room, the bar/​lounge area actually has a more modern and inviting feel. Perhaps that’s because this section is much newer. It’s time to overhaul the dining room.
Service is friendly, and much of the staff has a long tenure. It is very nice to return and feel recognized. It just adds to the comfort of the experience.

Solid Italian fare. Like the friendly staff. Reminds me of good Italian home cooking.

LUIGIS has great Italian food. I love the clams oreganato

I never read other people’s reviews!
(OK, that’s the first lie. I always read the other reviews so I can get a sense of the range of stars and gain an understanding of varying expectations.)
But, in this case, I really didn’t read the reviews because I already know Luigi’s from numerous family parties and dinners there.
Here’s what you need to know about Luigi’s:
1. Yes, it’s in a strip mall but, really, who cares? It’s highly accessible with no icy stairs to negotiate during the cold NJ winters.
2. Yes, the food is not exactly like the food I’ve had in restaurants all over Italy. But, really, who cares? If I were in Montalcino, I couldn’t get Chicken Parm. On the other hand, Luigi doesn’t offer Ravioli Gnudo. But that’s OK. East Hanover isn’t exactly Santo Stefano Belbo so why expect that kind of food?
3. What you can expect:
A. A welcoming and comfortable environment where you can actually converse without having to scream over everyone else.
B. Italian comfort food, prepared with care and delivered by an attentive staff.
4. What I missed:
A. A wider selection of fish. Salmon no longer cuts it for me in any form except smoked. I really could have used some Sole the other night, or maybe some Snapper Livornese. I think Luigi might try a couple of new additions: maybe making them specials for a few weeks running and see what the reception is. Recently, one of our party had the stuffed artichoke and it was fantastic.
We were there with some folks other night. Among other dishes we had:
Rigatoni with vodka sauce: excellent!
Chicken Parm: excellent!
Eggplant Rollatini (one order cut up in four as an appetizer): amazingly good!
On the whole, we were very happy with our food and dining experience. Our wait staff was very, very accommodating, and a nice bar area, too.
We’ll be back in a few weeks to try some of the dishes we missed during our past few visits.

Meeting clients who live close to the restaurant — a haul for me.
Came here after seeing big food scores (24) on a restaurant only rating site. That same site gave a poor ambience rating (18), perhaps due to the location in a strip mall.
Our group’s experience was more of the reverse. Ambience was comfy and the décor was a tradional old world italian style. Food was OK, but at least abundant. Service was good. One of our group ordered well off the menu, and they were pleasantly able to accomodate.
Started with a traditional mozzerella and tomato appetizer, and then one of the pastas from the special list. Wine list was decent, but focused more on California than Italy.
We all had fun, and left full, but no one will rush to get back.

Overall good experience with nothing overwhelming on the menu side. I thought prices were above average for some of the pasta portion they serve but there’s so many things to choose from everything looks good. They serve a mean bloody mary. The location is much nicer once inside but the dinning area is cramped. I may just grab my stuff from the bar next time.
Business hours: They open at 5 for dinner.