Rita & Joe’s Italian Restaurant
“The rest of my family got the puttanesca, baked ziti, and lasagna, and it was all delicious and satisfying.”
“The Vodka sauce was the perfect amount and wasn't too heavy or oily.”
Rita & Joe’s Italian Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Rita & Joe's lacks the ambience of a typical JC hip and happening restaurant, but makes up abundantly with it's food. And by abundant, I mean HUGE old school style portions that will have you swimming in pasta!
Everything we had was excellent, fresh and delicious. From the apps, the shrimp in garlic sauce and bruschetta came out tops.
I enjoyed my Pasta Primavera in a lite cream sauce, while my dinner companions dug into the Lobster Tortellini, a Fish special of the day – the Nile Perch Oregon which was excellent and Stuffed Shells pasta (a cheesey wonder!).
Had some of the best Italian food here in ages and can't wait to go back. And oh yes, they also have parking!
Being part Italian you have to be pretty good to impress me. Rita and Joe's does that. Have been there a couple of times and have never been disappointed. I know someone that will drive from PA just to come here for dinner.
Good food and very nice staff. They have a back room for events/large parties and gatherings, and accomodated us nicely. The ambiance is a little run down and the outside of the building looks downright terrible, but the food is worth going for!
After a two year love with Rita & Joe's it is clear now that she's not the most beautiful lady in town. The food varies from three to five stars. Some things are very good, others are fat and heavy Italian-American boring dishes. The atmosphere is local and comfortable. You will be welcomed as if it was you're a regular. Staff is very friendly. If you come here enough times you will fall in love and have fond memories. But I can't kid myself anymore: the food is not five-stars, but I am a fan and they make the best seafood salad in Jersey City.
Like Stephanie Y. said, "Eat here if you live in Jersey City". Indeed, do that.
I really enjoyed my experience at Rita & Joe's.
Went to the restaurant on a Thursday evening and was so glad that I did.
Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted right away which was great. Unfortunately, and surprisingly, sometimes you walk into a restaurant and you're not greeted & it's just awkward! Really sets the tone!
As we were shown to our table, I was pleased by the cleanliness of the restaurant. The restaurant almost has a classic, rustic style with beautiful wooden floors.
We were given warm bread right as we sat down and I really have to give the staff a big thumbs up! I almost felt like we were in the South! Meaning, that the staff was very attentive and accommodating, especially our server. She was a pleasure to work with.
We ordered the calamari salad as an appetizer which was delicious and huge! I thought it was basically the size of an entree. Easily shared between 3-4 people. We also had chicken soup (tasted home-made!) and a salad! Both were delicious!
We also ordered the "Salmon and Shrimp" on a bed of broccoli rabe. Overall, I thought it was quite tasty. I have had many encounters where, sadly, my salmon is not cooked through properly but they cooked it quite well. It was well seasoned and moist. The shrimp was good too but I thought the name of the dish "Salmon and Shrimp" was a little misleading since the salmon was pretty large (probably 7 ounces) but then there were 3 tiny shrimp next to it. I was envisioning a more even distribution. Also, one of my shrimps was not deveined so that was a bit of a turn off. The broccoli rabe I thought had a buttery taste too.
Additionally, we ordered the steak which was huge! It might of been around 9+ ounces. And it was moist and well seasoned!
They even surprised us with a cookie each after the meal (we were too full to order dessert!). You will definitely get your money's worth here! And likely will be taking doggy bags home.
All in all, we were very pleased with our experience and will definitely be going back!
Came for dinner on a Monday. Unlike most places in Jersey City, it has it's own parking lot across the street. When we walked in, I immediately noticed that the place smelled like mildew. Service was OK. The waiter seemed annoyed with any questions we had about the menu. A server also made a bit of a spill while pouring water. According to our waiter, the menu changes seasonally.
I ordered the chicken cardinal with ziti on the side. The chicken was not over or undercooked, and the shrimp/prosciutto went well with the mozzarella and sauce. Ziti was in plain tomato sauce, nothing special. The ambiance of the place reminded me more of a bar than a restaurant.
Thanks, Yelp, you didn't let me down. We were staying in Jersey City and having arrived late, we were hangry. We got a dinner salad, pasta fagioli and baked ziti. The salad was a nice size and I loved the creamy Italian dressing. The soup was good, although the pasta was a touch soggy. The ziti was amazing and a huge portion. Loved the sauce and there was a ton of melted cheese on top. Great dish to share( as we did). Loved it.
Came in for lunch buffet with coworkers for our boss' birthday. Very friendly staff. Food was delicious and authentic Italian. Prices were good too but this is purely based on lunch buffet prices. Nice restaurant. I'd recommend