Abbondanza Trattoria & Brick Oven Pizza

Yes, I know exactly where you are, as I am from NJ and have lived in JC for thirteen years. The Lafayette neighbors includes Lafayette Park and we are indeed a mile or less away. We are within spitting distance of LSP light rail. We hope that as our neighborhood gentrifies you will either choose to deliver here or we won’t need you to do so.

Free parking lot. Attentive service. Half moon pie was super the first time not so great the second time we tried it. We returned because of that dish and it just wasn’t the same. Must’ve been a different cook that day. The crust was hard & chewy and instead of ricotta oozing out of the inside crust, it was rubbery mozzarella. We were sad.
The lunch specials are pricey but the portions are large. You will definitely take some home. I always look for consistency in a restaurant and will give it another shot to see what happens.

Ordered in for delivery and my food was just okay. For more quality take-​out pizza in the area I’d suggest Rustique or Helens, but I’m still curious to dine-​in and try some of their entrée options.
I went with a small sausage and broccoli rabe pizza and a caprese salad. The pizza had entirely too much crust and barely any cheese. It was also sort of hard. Luckily, there was a plentiful amount of toppings, but it still wasn’t good enough to make me want to order again.
The salad was also pretty lackluster. The pieces of fresh mozz were fresh and thick, but the tomatoes were hard and green and there was no balsamic vinaigrette or dressing served on the side.
Between ambiance and entrée selection, their dine-​in reviews sound great. Plus, it’s BYOB. I’ll definitely have to come back for some chicken parm or another classic. I just don’t think that order delivery pizza again.

Great BYOB Italian in jersey city… Food is excellent, and good portions. Highly recommended. Can’t beat it!

Wanted to give a quick update. I got to try the complimentary garlic knots this time around, SO GOOD! My appetizers were both yummy too… burrata was excellent and so was the stuffed mushroom appetizer. Both were so fresh and the stuffed mushroom had amazing flavor, whatever that brown-​ish sauce was, I loved.
Also, I would like to give a shout out to Jim who was so friendly and accommodating and got us a table on a busy night when we didn’t have a reservation. It really makes such a difference when the face of the restaurant is pleasant, inviting and just all around super nice.
I’ll be back Abbondanza!

Used to love this place, but unfortunately it’s really gone downhill. Food was tasteless and service was poor. Sad to see this neighborhood joint lose the charm and delicious food it once had

Utterly standard, utterly unoriginal red sauce Italian. The atmosphere is pleasant, but the owner or manager (big bald dude manning the register) is a moron/​jerk, the pizza is terrible, and you can find a better version of this style of Italian at any number of places in JC (e.g., Prestos, Laicos, etc).
Happened upon a Groupon for take-​out and seeing as I’d never had the pizza AND live right around the corner, I bought it with the idea of testing out their pies. When I got there, not only did the manager proceed to argue with me about how it wasn’t valid (he was wrong and finally relented), but he then proceeded to tell me he didn’t want the type of people who would come with a Groupon. I don’t think I need to elaborate further on the ridiculousness/​cluelessness of this comment, given the circumstances. Plus, if there was ever a circumstance in which Groupon could actually boost business, this was it.
Anyhow, I’m sure this place will crawl along for awhile more, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s gone in a year or two. That’s what having no idea about how to effectively run/​manage a business, plus mediocre food, gets you.

They seemed understaffed forest seemed like a typical Sunday night crowd. I had to flag people down for water repeatedly, as well as parm for the pasta.
Caesar salad was fine (underwhelming) and the stuffed portabella was one portabella shell under a mound of spinach (pretty good, but not as advertised). The ‘fettuccini carbonara’ was not a carbonara at all — it was alfredo sauce with prosciutto in it.
The first time we came here, it was great. But this time left a lot to be desired.

We checked this place out for an early dinner one weekend night. It’s in the basement of a brownstone, right off of Grove Street, so it has limited windows and is sort of dark overall. They accommodated us fairly quickly which was nice and free garlic knots were waiting for us, which is always a good way to start. It’s BYOB which is always a major draw as there aren’t many BYOB places in downtown JC.
Service was ok, not great. They wanted our whole order at once and the meal did feel sorta rushed. The table next to us had some issues with getting a waiter and at one point, they said their table was «falling» (due to the weight of wine) and I noticed they were holding the table up themselves for a few minutes before management and waitstaff came to help.
Huge portions for the money! Food was fairly standard Italian but good nonetheless. For appetizer, we split fried calamari which was a good portion and fairly good calamari. I got the farfalle al pesto which was a huge portion for $ 15.95. It was fairly standard Pesto sauce (though not too creamy) but good portion, good seasoning, and flavorful. I had plenty to take home for lunch the next day. My boyfriend got Zuppa di Pesce which was a bunch of seafood over linguine. Also a huge portion and good selection of seafood for $ 20.

I booked this place for my rehearsal dinner, but let’s back track for a second. My husband and I went to eat before we booked and I have to say, it is one of the best place to go for Italian food and pizza! I love Italian food and this is as close as you can get to having that real fresh pasta taste. The pizza comes fresh out of the oven and onto your plate! We ordered the linguine with clams and the prosciutto arugula pizza! The pizza was fluffy and just the right amount of sauce/​cheese ratio. The pasta was fresh and perfectly seasoned. We knew we were sold, and the service was impeccable. It’s located near downtown jersey city, right by the beer garden and it’s this quaint restaurant on the bottom of a brownstone. What’s even better is that THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PARKING LOT!!! In my book for Jersey City restaurants, that’s major bonus points.
For our rehearsal dinner, everything was exquisite. We chose from the party menu, and Jim was ever so sweet in accommodating everything for us. We had about 20 people and they were able to accommodate us comfortably in the back area. We brought in our own wine/​alcohol, and everything else was taken care of. I had a budget in mind, and Jim worked with me on meeting that budget — which I thought was so genuine. He even went as far as accommodating me on dessert choices (which EVERYONE LOVED so much, they wanted to pack every single thing home!) For me, all I cared about was everyone having a great time with food and good wine, and that’s what I got. The staffs were so kind and they seemed to genuinely happy that we chose them to celebrate a joyous time in our life, which made me feel good about giving them business. We loved it so much that we recommended this place to everyone, and one of my friend also ended booking them for their rehearsal dinner as well!
It’s a great place intimate place to host parties, or a good honest Italian meal for two or with friends. Whatever you chose to do, you won’t be disappointed. Also, I should add it’s BYOB!

Not happy with the management of this establishment. II have been talked rudely to for the last time. I like the food and the ambiance but the final essential component for me when I patronize any eatery is the way I am treated. My money will spent elsewhere.

Great, steaming hot plates of Italian American dishes, friendly and efficient staff — what’s not to like? The owner, or the man who seemed to be, welcomed regulars with an Italian warm greeting (eurokiss) and escorted us cheerfully to a table. Great friendly vibe and great food.
We didn’t know it was BYOB, so we gave our livers a rest. :)

Best pizza that i have had so far! Complimentary bread is soft fresh and delicious, just like their pizzas. Courteous and attentive staff!
Good collection of desserts.
* A vegetarians perspective

I live almost on top of this restaurant haha, and I have been wondering why this place seems to be crowded all the time. And it has very spacious parking lot, which I dont think you can find that in many places in jersey City. I was always hesitant to dine here, partly because I live right there and it’s kinda odd to dine out at a place right next to home, and also i got turned off as they put cheap fake flowers as for their decoration around the fence. I love plants and trees, so I hate people doing that. Getting some real flowers like most ligit places do !!!
So one day we ordered a pizza from this place as they have discount. It’s mediocre, the crush was mushy, the pizza is somewhat flavorful and fresh. It’s a good try, but I’d pick another option next time

Decent place for Italian food. My boyfriend and I came here for date night. We haven’t had Italian food for a while and we were craving for it. We Unilocaled this place and found out it was a 3 minute walk from our apartment. The restaurant looked very small from the outside. Very minimal seating outdoors, but when you walk inside, it is massive. Very spacious and open room. The décor is really nice here, which I find a huge plus. Because the restaurant is below the first floor, it’s very dim, which makes it a nice date night, romantic-​esque setting.
As for the food, it was pretty meh. I have high expectations for Italian food and this just didn’t meet it. I ordered the Chicken Parm. The pasta was delicious as is the sauce, but the cheese was a huge overkill and the chicken parm was so bland. A little salt wouldn’t have hurt at the very least. My boyfriend had the Chicken Saltimbocca. He said it was alright, nothing too special. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t that memorable either. Portions were plenty though. Service was pretty good as well.
Overall, it was an okay experience. The atmosphere and service was good, but the food was a miss. I won’t be rushing back here any time soon.

Came here last night with my wife expecting a good meal as last time. Things have gone tremendously downhill from last time 2 months ago.
It was a busy night where we waited 10 minutes to be seated. We ordered the prosciutto e melone, meat lasagna and chicken parm.
First red flag was the prosciutto with melon. The melon was much smaller than last time, but I was still able to somewhat enjoy it.
Then further downhill. I say it’s busy not because of the 10 minute wait, but because there were a good number of people and we waited 40 minutes after our appetizer. Server was very kind and acknowledged the long wait and came to our table, even gave us another basket of bread at my request hence the two stars instead of one.
However, I was highly upset once I saw the chicken parm. I am sure they used to serve two pieces, but she told me it’s been one piece of chicken since she started. For sides I had 1 small head of broccoli and 2 pieces of potato, which was what they call their side of vegetables. The calamari orders I saw on other people’s tables were also significantly smaller so I’m glad I dodged that bullet. Meat lasagna was expected, but hard to enjoy anything after the down-​sizes and long wait. Cursing from the old folks behind me who were also upset about some dessert wasn’t helping either.
To charge the same giving less? Food was adequate in taste, but the downsize in portion and long wait… Highly advise coming here when it’s not busy, if you don’t mind paying more for smaller portions of italian.

I came here for the first time about a month ago. I’ve walked past it a number of times but, the outside never beckoned me to come in. Finally I decided I needed to try it out of curiosity as to whether it would be good. I was really surprised by how good the food was and even more so with how good the service was. The waiters were extremely helpful and even helped to choose both of our dishes. I had the fettuccine bolognese which was some of the best pasta I’ve ever had and my husband had a pizza that was recommended to him. We both left full and happy!
The byob nature of the restaurant is also nice for a date night! We will definitely be back. I’m looking forward to trying the Tuesday night pasta deal!

Poor poor service. Asked for a bread basket four times as the food was taking long and my 2 yr old daughter was really hungry. The waitress was outright rude.
Food was average. Pasta barely had any sauce. Pizza so so.
This is in contrast with my previous experience here last year. The food was very good so willing to give it another try in the future.

I came here with a group of 6 with no reservation and magically a table was created for us! We ordered a ton of different dishes and then shared family style. The portions are large and in charge.
The strangest part of the meal came at the beginning when the guy wouldn’t take our order for appetizers unless we ordered the entrees first. Our party wasn’t fully seated yet but were walking back from Cool Vines (since the restaurant is BYOB) so we wanted to get the table started for their arrival. c’est la vie.
The calamari was good, chicken parm was legit, the lasagne like dish was delicious, spaghetti puttanesca enjoyable… the only thing I didn’t like were the baked clams.
Somehow after the food coma that started to set in, we ordered dessert. Wow! They do not mess around. I opted for the lemon sorbet because I thought it’d be light and refreshing. Correct, duh. The presentation was fantastic inside a lemon! The tiramisu was perfection in a glass cup and the chocolate coffee caramel bombe was ridiculously rich and amazing. If you can, save room for dessert!

A group of 5 of us just popped in here because Tacqueria was slammed…
SO happy we did — and Im not sure why I didnt know about this place before!
Its BYOB — so get your bottles from nearby CoolVines or your favorite little shop. The Sopranos-​extra looking character that greeted us was friendly and gruff… very Italian, and had a table set up for us in a blink of an eye, even though the place was pretty busy.
We had calamari, a ceasar salad, a large Abbondanza pizza (sauage, broccoli rabe, sundried tomatoes), a pasta carbonara, chicken parmigiana and chicken piccata.
Lordamitey we ate it ALL. The calamari was a bit oily, but we were absolutely starving (it took FOREVER to come out). Once the food started flowing, the pace was wonderful, new plates were brought out so we werent using the same little bread plate for everything… and they kindly brought us complimentary bread parm cheese chunks and olives.
We were so stuffed, but just had to finish it all off (with the exception of 3 pieces of pizza, which was the last thing to come. We took those home and it was tasty the next day).
Thank you Abbondanza for fitting us in on a Friday Night during prime time! We will be back. very soon!