ITA Italian Kitchen in Jersey City

Searching for a restaurant serving delicious Italian food in Jersey City, look no further than this establishment located 682 Bergen Ave where some of my fellow Yelpers enjoyed a wonderful meal at an Elite event tonight thanks to Sara and her team. Listed as #3 on NJ top 100 places to eat, ITA Italian Kitchen honors old-world Italian roots, lifestyle, and food with a modern touch. Upon arrival, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, cozy and energized ambiance. Our 5 course family style extravaganza menu started out with insalata (farmer, kale caesar, bruschetta) followed by antipasti (meatballs, fried calamari, crisp potatoes), pasta (spaghetti alle vogole, cacio e pepe, spicy rigatoni), pizza (margarita, prosciutto Di Parma), finishing up with tiramisu. Each meal prepared with fresh ingredients, great presentation and tasted wonderful. Mark (owner) did an amazing job at making us feel welcome and his passion for what he does shines through the experience we had tonight. In the end, we left with a happy stomach while making new friends. So if you’re looking for a nice dinner with a great ambiance and fantastic service, do yourself a favor and stop by this gem as we can recommend it.

I had the pleasure of attending an event at this establishment and I was so looking forward to trying this restaurant out and am so greatful to be choosen to do so. When I arrived I parked on the street nearby. I walked in and was greeted. The restaurant was decorated so nice and the owner Lazaros was behind the bar making drinks. I started with a sangria and it was tasty and then had an espresso martini which I loved. We all sat and I met some new, great friends. The food then started coming out and there was so much. I had the squid ink pasta and the calamari and the garlic bread and everything was so good. The chocolate tiramisu was a great dessert option. I want to thank the owner Lazaros and his wonderful staff. I will definitely return!

We came here after the liberty science center for my sister’s birthday dinner. Parking was hard to find but we managed to loop a few times and find a spot within 10 minutes of being there. We were a large group, bread is not free, as it’s focaccia bread at $5 a basket, my husband said it was good but not great. Everyone enjoyed their food and it came out lovely. Just when mine the gluten free pizza came out, 10 minutes after everyone else’s and then was completely burned and when my husband asked them to remake it the waiter made it seem like I was being an inconvenience to them for wanting a not burned pizza - which by the way - costs more than the regular pizza and is extremely thin. The waiter said it would take so long and they could just remove it from the bill and I got upset for being an inconvenience to them (or taking it that way) but my husband said no you need to remake this. Ultimately it was a good pizza once it was cooked properly but for me I just didn’t have that grand of an experience, whereas my family did. So that’s why I removed only one star. So if you have a gluten allergy just beware your food may come out 10 mins later than everyone else’s and also not be cooked properly and possibly will make you feel like crumbs for their mistake.

The environment was very clean and pleasant. However, the calamari was fried a bit too long, making it somewhat dry and salty. On the other hand, the pasta was delicious, and the pizza had a fantastic taste. The service was exceptional, and it was surprising that all the staff members were friendly. I was highly satisfied with the service and will certainly return. Keep up the excellent work!

A lot of dishes here are hit or miss. As a lot of the other reviews state, the food is overpriced and under seasoned. I believe this restaurant has the potential to be great but the entrees and some of the apps are consistently missing the mark.The pasta has no flavor and is over cooked. The shrimp has no flavor. The chicken parm has no flavor. The chicken Alfredo has no flavor.My favorite dishes here so far are the pepperoni pizza, crispy potatoes, and Mussels and clams. I don’t think I will ever order another entree here.And I’d rather get wings from Carvao.

We ordered our starters and meals at the same time and the starters came out after about 5 minutes. We weren't sure how they could have been prepared so quickly but we're guessing that the starters are pre-made and kept warm. We had the Crispy potatoes and the calamari. They came out hot and didn't taste like they had sat long so that was a relief. I had a hard time choosing a meal. I'm not into much carbs and should have gone for a salad, mussels, or scallops but decided on the Funghi pizza, which was prepared well. Overall, this is a nice place to have a meal, but I feel like it may be a little over-priced for the neighborhood.Parking: Street parking, if you're luckyKid-friendliness: Has a variety of pizzas, just not sure if the options are for a child's pallet.Wheelchair accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. No steps.

Great mixologist... cocktails were delicious. Everyone was so friendly and attentive. Great atmosphere... food was delicious. Calamari, meatballs, and pasta were the best! Pizza is pretty good... I want to rate it high... but I'm so particular when it comes to pizza, but it's definitely worth trying. Desserts and espresso to finish it off! I will be coming back to try more things!

I had a very good time at the ITA Italian kitchen. The food here is spectacular with many dishes to choose from. I loved their bread, meatballs, spicy rigatoni, calamari and they have such delicious pizza.You really can’t go wrong with whatever you order since it’s all very delicious!

An Italian gastropub joins the food scene of the McGinley Square area at Jersey City, New Jersey. The owner, Maksym Rudenko stated that his love for Italian cuisine is what inspired this restaurant. With an expertise in Italian cuisine, the head chef Dylan Golden also expects to utilise his experience working at Michelin starred restaurant. ITA boasts of using fresh and local produce for all their dishes, so you can expect one of the best dining experience.With the new outdoor dining regulations due to COVID in mind, they have set up some tables with patio umbrellas following proper social distancing guidelines. They have a special brunch menu on the weekends and the regular menu on weekdays. The bartender Kevin suggested us his favourites from their seasonal special cocktails menu and we decided to go for the “Italian Black & Tan” and the “Summer Tonic”. Within no time our drinks were ready and we absolutely loved them both. The Italian Black & Tan is a beer infused cocktail and perfect for a warm sunny day. The Summer Tonic as the name suggest certainly beat the heat with a sweet orange/hibiscus taste.For appetizers, we got ourselves the Crispy Potatoes with Salsa Verde and the Stracciatella and Peaches Salad. The Crispy Potatoes were an absolute banger of a dish. The garlicky kick of the salsa verde flawlessly complimented the crispy potatoes. On the other hand, the Stracciatella and Peaches Salad had a sweetness from the fresh peaches but the Stracciatella and the generous amount of EVOO didn’t let it overpower the salad.For mains, we were really excited to try their authentic Neapolitan Pizza and their in house made pasta. Among the huge list of pizzas we went for the “Pizza Rossa”. The sauce, the crust and the toppings were all on point and we can’t stop raving about it. Next up, we got the “Chicken Parmigiana” which is served with a hearty portion of spaghetti. Firstly, the spaghetti was simply outstanding and the breaded chicken was nice and juicy.Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience at ITA and would definitely recommend this place for anyone looking for some authentic Italian cuisine and exquisite service.

Great JC gem here. Definitely recommend to stop in to try if you like pizza and pasta.We are from Downtown area and had a group dinner with 5. We were seated with no issues. Cute intimate atmosphere. Very friendly service from Gina who was attentive and accommodating throughout making sure we it was a great dining experience.Started with apps and calamari was a standout, tender and fried to perfection. Mostly shared dishes doing more a family style type of dinner which the entree portions allowed Including the squid ink pasta and the recommended spicy rigatoni which both were excellent and we will be coming back for. The two pizzas, McGinley and Prosciutto Di Parma were also well done - tasty, light or hearty respectively as expected and not charred or burned like current trend. Some reviews mentioned salt level but food was perfectly salted for us. The limoncello and the tiramisu martini drinks we had that were made by Lazaros were delicious and refreshing. Lastly, the homemade tiramisu, already mentioned in other reviews, is amazing.We will definitely be coming back for an encore and support this starting business. Recommend highly to check out.

This wonderful gem is a beautiful to go with a staff that truly cares about their customers. Even with a slight few hiccups their owner Lazarus will definitely accommodate the guests. He is wonderful and if he insists you should definitely trust his judgement.The baked mussels and clams are recommended because it is my favorite. In addition the sauce that accompanies the dish it is tasty.The scallop pasta dish was nice the scallops were perfectly pan seared. The risotto was cooked well to perfection.In addition the spicy rigatoni was cooked to the perfect texture in al dente. The portion size was well curated.Definitely rating this restaurant wonderful because of the attention to detail. Ask for the tiramisu cocktail (hope I got the name right), it should be accompanied with the lemon drop cocktail.

***3 1/2 stars***For me at least, ITA did not meet the hype. I stopped by here for an early dinner yesterday with my chum the Shanimal around 5:30pm. I've noticed several other reviewers have mentioned that this isn't a restaurant you can really walk to - having walked here from the Liberty State Park & Ride, I can tell you that what that actually means is that you'll have to stroll past some low-income housing and a few possible chop shops. It's honestly not something I'd recommend when it's dark out (the sun was going down on my way back and there was definitely an uptick in groups of people swigging out of airport bottles of vodka on the street), but it just seemed rundown when I went through. And I noticed multiple cars blasting Daddy Yankee, which was honestly a bit of a selling point for me. Anyway.I love the vibe and interior. The Shanimal was happily drinking a beer at the bar when I came in, and I had no issue staying right there. It's weird to describe a bar as spacious, but it really is - the bar counter is super wide, with I think a marble top. Very comfortable, and I'm pretty ambivalent about eating at the bar (I do think you tend to get better service, depending on how crowded it is).One of the reasons I wanted to come was to take advantage of their March free app deal on Yelp, so we ordered the calamari (normally $16 I think). Delicious, and the highlight of the meal for me. Cooked perfectly, great seasoning, and since the Shanimal apparently has moral qualms about eating them due to a poignant documentary she watched, I got all the octopus ones. Would absolutely get that again.I was famished, fresh off a long hike earlier in the day, so I went with the Rigatoni Bolognese ($27). It was very solid, though honestly not the best I've had. The selling point for me was the meat, which was flavorful and also cooked perfectly (that seems to be an encouraging theme). I also liked the generous inclusion of the pecorino, which I think always adds a nice zip to a pasta dish. Personal palate-wise, I'm not crazy about chunkier tomato sauce, and that is DEFINITELY this; it literally has halves of baby tomatoes in there. I'm probably in the minority on that one, but I ate around a lot of the tomato chunks and focused on the meat chunks, which I feel good about in hindsight.The cocktail situation was unfortunately a little underwhelming. I was intrigued by the Love Bomb ($14), which I believe included mezcal and hibiscus. The presentation was indisputably top-notch - you can see per the attached that this is one of the best cocktail pics I've ever gotten - but I don't think the flavors paired well at all; it ended up tasting sort of like a leathery sweet tart to me. And while the egg white foam works visually, in this instance it's too overwhelming. Inevitably you end up with half of your sip being the foam with the actual cocktail ingredients fading into the background. I'm a big proponent of adding egg whites to cocktails, but it DOES have a stronger scent that you need to be super cognizant of so it doesn't become too dominant. I would definitely cut the foam situation in half, at least.The service was pretty good for the most part. We both really liked the bartender, who was very personable and clearly knew his way around the mixology table. I don't recall having to wait a particularly long time for anything we ordered (and in fact, when he realized I was very hungry, confirmed that it was okay to bring all of the food out at once). The only issue was at the end, when we paid the bill. We gave both of our credit cards, with the intention of splitting the bill, and he didn't notice the second card right underneath and just charged mine. Not a huge deal (God bless Venmo, etc.) but a little annoying/inconvenient, especially since it wasn't a $20 charge, it was about $90.Definitely not a bad experience but I can honestly think of at least two other Italian restaurants in Jersey City that I prefer over this.

Come for the food, stay for the drinks!!! We had the Focaccia, caprese, spicy rigatoni vodka, fettuccine alfredo, and the fungi pizza. All were absolutely incredible (no time for pics for the food lol) and the drinks are out of this world. Atmosphere is wonderful, great customer service, and overall awesome time. Make sure to get the tiramisu cocktail, you will NOT be disappointed!! We will be returning! Thank you Lazarus for the hospitality!

Soooo Good!!! A neighbor stopped by this place and I was looking for a place to go with my dad and was so happy to see this opened. We went on a Saturday at like 5:45 and it was pretty crowded but we got seats at the bar. With in 30 mins it was totally packed. I had the charred romanesco salad which was amazing and my dad had the kale sausage pizza which was divine! Bartender was courteous and prompt - can't wait to go back. So happy this is in the neighborhood!!

I was not having a good day, I didn't want to come here, but my wife forced me to go. The fungi pizza... I dont know what to say, I couldn't stop smiling, I think my eyes even became a little watery and maybe making the cook uncomfortable, mind you I was not having a good day. First pizza I have never had to put any condiment on. I was there on a Tuesday night. The appetizers and the cocktails were great. And the ricotta pear dessert...DONT GET ME STARTED!

Rigatoni was a perfect Al dente coated with ample sauce that was rich, savory, and balanced flavors of beef and tomato. The calamari was soft on the inside with crispy breading and pleasant pairing of two sauces. Calamari and mains are reasonably priced compared to other JC pasta sitdowns.Wheelchair accessibility: Restaurant at street level.

My entire experience at ITA was amazing. The pasta, pizza and calamari were outstanding and the cocktails were the best me and my girlfriend have had in a long time. Lazarus (the owner) did an amazing job at making us feel welcome and his passion for what he does shines through the experience we had tonight.Thank you so much - we will definitely be back! If you’re thinking about trying ITA, don’t think twice and give it a shot - you won’t be disappointed.

I've only ever ordered delivery from here but I've ordered a few times and been VERY impressed with the food (specifically the spicy rigatoni vodka) so I have ignored the insane prices - $26 for a tiny portion of pasta (photos attached, average size fork for reference) with no protein, $22+ for 12" pizzas etc. But this time the spicy rigatoni was mediocre (it wasn't even spicy this time), and with the price and portion size I would hope at least for consistently delicious food. Furthermore, I ordered the $15 arugula salad with a $5 side of grilled chicken and again the portion was so tiny, it might be 1/2 chicken breast (again see photo). I did leave 2 stars because while the pizza is, in my opinion, overpriced, it is delicious, and the spicy rigatoni has been phenomenal in the past.

We just had the best experience here tonight! The staff was so attentive, kind, and helpful…and we LOVED the food! You have to order the squid ink malfaldine pasta; it’s unbelievably delicious and was perfectly cooked. We loved the bolognese, kale starter, and mussels/clams as well. Lazarus surprised us with a tiramisu like cocktail and limoncello to end our night; both were beautifully made, not syrupy or too sweet, and well balanced. We haven’t been able to eat here in person in a long time and tonight made us excited come back as soon as possible !

First time dining here, and it did not disappoint! Came in on a Sunday for dinner, sat at the bar, and ordered a salad, the rigatoni, and a random rose that turned out to be delicious! The salad was plentiful and could have been a great meal on its own if I had added chicken. The rigatoni is apparently house made, and it shows! It was cooked perfectly al dente, and the flavor was wonderful. I got the tiramisu to go and look forward to trying it later. The icing on the cake was the bartender Lazarus who checked on me regularly to ensure I had everything I needed and even shared some samples of the tasty cocktails they have on special. The strawberry limoncello pictured on the right was my fav. I will def return to try the wood fired pizza and just enjoy the general good vibe. The other folks sitting at the bar were good company. 😊

Visited with a friend and her kids.We were greeted and seated immediately.We placed our food orders and while it may not be ideal for kids, their drinks were brought out in glass cups. We gathered the empty water bottle, knives, extra plates and glasses and put them to the side. When our waiter returned they were ignored, more plates were added to the table causing massive clutter and a smaller eating space. Overall, the it was a nice time but the attention to detail was lacking.

I had a high hopes based on the reviews of the food esp Pizza for me to skip the Newport avenue joints in grove st .Had a crispy potato and a vegan pizza. The vegan pizza had no taste at all ! Veggies, stick to Margherita.The crispy potatoes were kinda burnt .The atmosphere is good and the location is upcoming , find a right street to park as some streets around here are run down.Service is good and staff seems good too but the service staff was like listening for the sake of listening and not really interested in the customer and their feedback . At any other place they would have not charged me for the pizza after the feedback.Wine starter pizza and water + tip = 69$ ( 1 person ) A bit pricey for McKinley sq .Wish the pizza was as good as other people found it . Better luck next time - but I doubt I will return.Maybe just high expectations based on the reviews !

Lazaros is a great bartender. Very responsive to client needs and takes your order right away!Restaurant as a a whole is great-very good people and the owner walks around and checks on customers individually. Really happy to have a place like this in the neighborhood. The food is excellent and I order the sausage and kale pizza at least twice a month.

This place is one of those hidden gems , where you stumble through and beyond happy you do! Can’t express how amazing the staff & service, Gina and Laz are our absolute favorites! The drinks as seen below, are types you can’t get anywhere else . This place is special . The food is mouth watery. The ambiance is unique. Classy , yet fun. Try every drink and menu on the item ! Won’t disappoint! Of course you will see the warm welcome I am speaking of , ask for Gina who is a doll and Laz you make these fabulous drinks !

Had high hopes for this to be our new go to spot after hearing rave reviews from a foodie friend and reading reviews online. We were so disappointed by the service, slowness , chaos and flavor. Apps came out before drinks and then waited 30+ min. Between apps and entree for this dry chicken parm to come out. No melted cheese or tomatoes like the photos online. The chicken seemed reheated and pasta was cold. What a shame, we were so excited for this place.

I'd like to tell this directly to the owner, so if I get a response I will delete this review. Your chef is seriously oversalting the pasta. And I want to preface this complaint by saying I LOVE salt and am usually only person at the table salting anything. So, for me to complain means that it is beyond excessive. It happened more than once otherwise I wouldn't make an issue of it but I have to wonder how many other customers said nothing because they don't like to complain. I ended up taking the leftovers home and mixing them with unsalted pasta and that solved the problem. The sauce was good, it was just the pasta that appeared to be cooked in water from the dead sea.

we have been a bunch of times whether to sit down or take home pizzas. The food is always delicious and the service is extremely kind. Even when sitting at the bar waiting for our pizzas to finish to take home, the bartenders would comp us with a shared soda or let us try a mocktail they were testing out.This place is worth traveling to.

We visited as part of JC restaurant week and we were surprised at every turn. The staff was so welcoming as soon as we entered and got us seated right away, the restaurant has such a nice and comfortable set-up that is different from the norm. The calamari and crispy potatoes were perfectly cooked and the portions were generous for sharing. I was pleasantly surprised by the fettuccine Alfredo having mushrooms (my favorite 😁) and that along with the pomodoro tasted amazing. The drinks were the perfect complement to the meal; you can tell their signature cocktails were crafted with love and the flavor balances made for a wonderful close to a great evening. We will definitely be returning to explore their pizza and wine options. Thanks for a great new spot to add to our date nights!

Every dish we tried here was incredible. Had the Rustica pizza, a garden salad, and clams along with some wine and cocktails. Felt like they could have used an extra server on staff, but we had a great time. FYI the pizza comes out of the oven fast, so you may want to ask to have your appetizers salads come out first. We asked for it to come as it was ready, since we were hungry, and the pizza came out very quickly since it is brick oven cooked.

The only bad thing that happened was I forgot to take pictures of all the stuff we ordered!!The service was great from the moment we stepped in til we left. We were immediately greeted the moment we stepped in. We called ahead so they had a table set up for us, but when the staff saw that we have a baby in the stroller, they moved us to a table where we would be more comfortable.The server was attentive and checked on us multiple times.The food was great. I will fall asleep tonight dreaming of the spicy rigatoni vodka. SO FREAKING GOOD! I would definitely come back and definitely recommend this place.