Laico’s

This place is one of the best hidden gems in jersey city! Food is delicious. Very friendly and service is always great. I love the food here! You must try!

not exactly the same as i remember growing up, but the dim, close-​knit atmosphere in the building is intimate, and if you don’t have to wait, you’ll definitely enjoy your dining experience.

One of my favorite places to go with my family — We go for almost every birthday. Ambiance itself is 5 stars. Fried calamari is better here than anywhere else I’ve ever had it and every dinner is fantastic. I’ve usually gotten the regular Italian dishes like chicken parm or fettuccine alfredo but this time I got the salmon with crab meat, baby tomatoes and sautéed spinach in a white wine sauce and it was the best I’ve ever had there. Salmon crust was cooked to perfection.
Ambiance is awesome and it is overall just a great place to really enjoy dinner. I could go on and on about this place but I’ll just stop here and say go find out yourself.

It was my second time to come here first i was really impressed with the service it was the white tall man who served us he was great! But the second time i came here with my mom to show her how great the place was we were disappointed with our service, the guy did not put our appetizer in for 1 hr. Then another server came to put it in for us. waited for 2 hours for the food and appetizer to come so we just decided to leave and have the food for to go! But other than that the food is really good. But im not coming back again, 2 hours for food is unacceptable. Too bad my mom felt sleepy while waiting i felt sorry for her coz our only off is once a week and we have to experience that. Kudos to the white tall man who served us before he is great!

Superb Italian Restaurant in Jersey City. Each dish is consistently delicious every time we eat at this restaurant. Service is very good. It’s definitely one of my favorite restaurants!

I’ve been visiting this area for many years and never came across this restaurant. I came across it today and was so surprised to see what looked like a nice restaurant. I had the lobster ravioli and it was really, really good. A hidden gem!

Off the beaten path in Jersey City but they deserve a visit if you’re in the area. Small. Cozy. Delicious Italian food!
All of the appetizers I had for lunch are worth a shoutout: Spicy calamari, Parmesan crusted artichokes, and their sausage (made in house) with broccoli rabe+chunks of garlic. Each app was FANTASTIC. Melt-​in-​your-​mouth and eat-til-you’re-stuffed kinda deliciousness.
The artichokes were the bomb. I cannot stress how delicious these were. Completely caught me off guard!
And please, don’t be shy. Eat all that delicious crusty bread they serve each table!
Ordered the filet of sole oreganato for my entrée and it was light and flaky, cooked perfectly, and flavorful. Slightly salty but perfect balance with the side of veggies.
A fantastic meal away from downtown JC. Can’t wait to come back!

Excellent! This is truly a hidden gem. It’s a restaurant in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Typical old school Italian vibe to it which is right up my alley. Zuppa de clams were super fresh as well as the octopus app. Veal picatta entrée was good as well. Definitely recommend this to others. Will be coming back for sure!

First time there last week!
I thought the food and service was excellent.
It had an old school jersey city hole in the wall feeling, everyone knew each other.
I like the modifications our server offered.
My only complaint was too much dressing on the caeser salad and I thought the tiramisu was «just ok»
The sole was delicious.
Escarole and beans was delicious.
Nice atmosphere
And j thought it was very classy that the server didn’t add on the tip since we were a table of 8
He got a better tip that way!
Definitely recommend

(bar service)…
our bartender wasn’t the friendliest but we made due. my knob creek and gingerale was yum so no complaints. but yo, the burrata was OUT OF THIS WORLD! i had to order this twice! don’t judge me-​i love me some cheese! if the apps were any indication of what the main menu can bring to my tummy… bring it! see you all soon! and A+++++ for valet parking! def needed on this quiet residential street (very odd for a restaurant yet very luring).

Old school Italian restaurant located in the midst of a very residential neighborhood. When pulling up, I definitely thought it could but right but it was. Laicos is smack in the middle of a bunch of houses and appeared to be the only non residential establishment nearby, kinda odd. Its valet parking only, don’t even bother trying to find a street spot yourself, you won’t. The inside of Laicos has that old school, comfy feel. Bar and some seating in the front, followed by additional seating in the rear of the restaurant.
The prices here are pretty reasonable and Laicos is very generous with portion sizes. I had the shrimp & calamari for my appetizer and it was tossed in a spicy sauce, delicious. The spiedini all romana was the other appetizer, which was pretty good but I probably wouldn’t order it again. It was a very heavy dish and I didn’t want to spoil my appetite. All entrées come with a choice of pasta, potato or veggie and a house salad served family style. I ordered the grilled prime pork chop with long hot peppers. The pork chop itself was excellent, cooked to perfection and so juicy. Unfortunately there were no hot peppers in site, instead it came with a ton of mushrooms and what appeared to be a marsala sauce. It was still good but the description on the menu with the hot peppers sounded 10 times better, oh well. For dessert I treated myself to the homemade pound cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and what tasted like homemade whipped cream… OMG, soooo good. This is a must try. The pound cake was warm and melted in my mouth. The service was pretty good throughout the length of my visit as well.
Overall Laicos was a successful and enjoyable dining experience. It’s definitely worth a visit if you can find it!

This is a strange neighborhood, for sure. It definitely builds up suspense before you arrive. We parked down the street and walked up — it seems like a nice neighborhood. We were even greeted by a friendly couple who were passing!
We were told to sit where we wanted, but were quickly approached by a waiter. He was very attentive. We ordered an appetizer and two entrees, which ended up being a HUGE amount of food after we got the salad and bread as well.
We are waiting to go back soon!

I have been here a couple of times and this is quite a gem in Jersey City — the best Italian restaurant. It is no question here that the food is great. They taste good and serve dishes in generous portions so even though it is expensive it makes up for it.
The only thing about this place is that it is small. It’s basically your gourmet, hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant, a great find in a very crowded neighborhood. The area is residential so there’s barely any parking. They do have valet parking but even the lot is small. It is tricky to try to get here to eat when there’s snow and ice on the side of the already narrow road.
The inside of the restaurant is also quite small since this is a house turned into a restaurant. It’s so difficult to even get to the back where the restroom is located because the path is narrow, sandwiched between the bar area and the chairs of the people dining.
Great place with great food and service but you need to avoid on a very busy time like holidays and weekends because you will have a hard time looking for parking and waiting for tables.

Laico’s left me very impressed. I was going to tell the Über driver he was lost because we were in the residential area, when he told me we had arrived. Much to my surprise, the restaurant even offered valet parking.
Laico’s has been open for about 40 years now and it has that old school feel. The place is super cozy, good bar space, clean, and great service.
*Restaurant week! Salimah RSVP’d for table of 9 and it was all ready for us when we arrived. The restaurant week menu offered an app/​entrée/​and dessert all for $ 38. After receiving all three plates — they were not stingy on the portion sizes. This was a great deal. It gave me a good idea of what to order the next time I am back.
App-​Fried spicy shrimp & calamari: Delicious, nice kick to it.
Entrée– Grilled salmon & asparagus w/​choice of pasta or vegetables on the side. The salmon could have used a bit more flavor. This was my least favorite plate.
Dessert– Italian pound cake with ice cream: amazing… so so good.
I had a great time at Laico’s. There’s a reason why places like this are around for many many years!

So I’ll let you know know that I’m biased when it comes to Laicos… I’ve been coming here since I was young and the thing I love it about it is that it’s just as good now as it was then. I just hit this place up again for the first time in 10 years and I was scared that the nostalgia was better than the actual experience… But it was just as awesome as I remember.
The calamari was a thing of beauty… Tender, crispy, and dare I say succulent (DARE I?!?). I’m a fan of the tentacles opposed to the rings and more often than not they’re overdone and a little rubbery but Laicos does it right and I was in tentacle heaven.
Besides that I got the veal parm and it was cooked perfectly… Fork tender and perfectly cooked. My wifey had the gnocchi bolognese and they were awwwwesome (earns everyone of those extra letters)! They were like little pillowy dough clouds of deliciousness and the bolognese was killer.
People complain about parking but they have a valet out front that is hustling like a champ… While the valet is free the guy works his tail off for tips.
Overall, I love this place even more than I used to and can’t wait to go back.

For appetizers we had the MeatBalls– they were alright… Not impressed
The main course was off the hook. I had the Shrimp and Scallops a la Puttanesca. I am very pleased!
We also had a bottle of «Shiraz» at $ 35/​bottle. In my opinion is a bit pricy as it was nothing to brag about. I am sure we can find the same Wine for $ 10 at BuyRite.
Overall, the food is good and we will return to Laico’s.

3.5 stars
*mussels in white sauce (OMG!!! These mussels were huge and super juicy. The garlic sauce was absolutely delicious!!! A little on the salty side, but the heavy garlic and fresh herbs were on point. Don’t let that sauce go to waste, you better use up all your bread to soak it up)
*pork chop in marsala sauce (this pork chop was cooked so perfectly!!! super juicy thick cut of meat; the sauce didn’t overwhelm the meat at all; the portion size is quite large and I could only eat half of it; this is worth your money and I can totally see why they are known for this dish)
*hazelnut gelato (I wonder what company they get this from because I really enjoyed this; they put two scoops in a large plate decorated with chocolate sauce and whipped cream; I could have honestly done with just two scoops in a bowl haha)
This place is small but rather cozy. The parking in the area is horrendous so thankfully they have valet parking free of charge. Service is decent. I’d come back to try more.

Came here on a saturday night around 8pm with 3 friends. This place is small and pack. It looks like a house thas renovated into a restaurant. Its pretty cool that its in the middle of residence neighborhood.
We waited for 30 to 40 minutes before we got seated. The thing is theirs no waiting space to wait & were blocking the door so when theirs people going in its kinda annoying to keep on moving to the side. Servers are nice but the food takes forever to come. We ordered 4 types of food. For us it taste okay but nothing’s really special. I’m still happy I tried this spot because my friend from nj highly recommend this place.

Amazing service and awesome food.
They welcome you with warm bread, butter and a salad with homemade dressing.
Appetizer: muscles in white/​red sauce.
Entrée: Shrimp in white wine sauce with vegetables is infused with so much flavor.
Dessert: cannoli
No complaints at all. :)

One line verdict: The food may not blow you over, but the cozy ambiance, warm service and unique old school experience certainly will.
Details:
It looks very obscure from outside, but don’t let that fool you. On a Saturday night, Laicos was buzzing at the seams and what’s more everyone seemed to be having a blast. The burst of energy as soon as we set foot instead took us by surprise, as it looked more like a haunted guest house from outside ;)
Are there better (and better priced) Italian restaurants in JC? Yes, probably. But Laicos is a vintage gem that must be nourished. Since the place is not BYOB, the average cost per person with apps and drinks is approximately $ 40 per head. If that sounds like a lot, I suggest you stop by for just apps and drinks or choose your courses wisely.
We got the Fried Calamari and Baked Artichoke hearts with bread crumbs to start with. The calamari with the fresh marinara sauce on the side was great — crunchy, and just right. The artichoke was moist and delicious — a good accompaniment to the calamari.
For the mains we opted from the specials of the day — Branzino with spinach, garlic and beans, Filet of sole and Fettuccine with mushrooms and peas. Everything was great and plentiful — suggest eating Italian style and sharing the mains if you can as the portions are more than generous.
For dessert we got the pistachio gelato and they gave us extra scoops to share among the four of us. That’s so generous and thoughtful.
Our waitress was Grace and she has spent a lifetime at Laicos — she was delightful through out the evening. All in all, it was a leisurely, relaxed meal that we’ll remember, recommend, and be back for sure.
*Valet parking*