What was the corkage policy?
Osteria Giotto is BYO – so $0 corkage at all times. It is a very good casual place. Often hard to get a reservation.
GP’s in Hamilton Park (Jersey City) is great Italian at a decent price that will allow you to BYO - $15 corkage. Would recommend it based on the skimp wine list available. I know there are plenty of Italian options in this area, but based on my previous visit, I would go out of my way to go back there. Some unique menu options, great apps and solid entrees. Had the grilled scallops, my wife had their Pappardelle w/ Duck Rago (awesome!). The restaurant itself is beautiful, food and service were great. Great neighborhood. A step up from the original in Guttenberg from what I have been told…
A new 9 week old BYO, in Ramsey, NJ. A wine buddy invited my wife and I, and unfortunately, Paul Jaouen to join them for dinner on the 19th. We knew if John loved the place, it would be a winner, so we my wife and I snagged a table for two last Saturday night. We did not do the tasting menu because we didn’t even know they did one. But, we had some outstanding dishes from apps to dessert. This is a TOP NJ restaurant and certainly one of the top 5 BYOs. Honestly, we felt it to be better than Lorena’s, which is outstanding. It is a must go restaurant.
Local Seasonal Kitchen. http://www.localsk.com/ Wow, just wow. It is that good. 
Went there Tuesday night during the heat wave. Had a beautiful outside table with a view of the park and the setting sun. Beautiful night and excellent service. I’d describe our food as quite good rather than great though. Pappardelle was stuck together which made the dish difficult to eat. But I’ll definitely revisit.
Glad you enjoyed it. Sucks about the pappardelle. Hope they keep things together there now that they have had some time to get past the initial launch and now maintain the establishment. Haven’t been back but we are due for a visit!
Had a great brunch at GP’s yesterday. Ricotta Pancakes were superb as was the cured meat platter. Excellent coffee. You can skip the Bellini and the ham and not miss anything. Really the best brunch I’ve had in Jersey City and I’m including Thirty Acres in that.
Thanks for the tip - we haven’t been there in a while and mentioned it to my wife. Looks like we’ll be there this Sunday ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Dinner at Culinariane in Montclair last night, food and service were both excellent. Nice stemware. No corkage, all BYO. This was our second visit in two months and we’ll be back again soon, both have been memorable meals. Great recommendation from this thread.
Last night they had a sauteed soft shell crab special that was out of this world. Fried oyster and beef carpaccio appetizers have been great both times. I also really enjoyed my bacon wrapped rabbit loin. Delicious desserts as well. Can’t seem to go wrong with any of the menu choices.
Promising place opening soon in Jersey City Heights, Orange And Olive Caterers and Chef’s Table. 10 course tasting menus will be offered and it’s BYO.
Hmm, looks like closest public transport is a 15 minute walk from the 9th St. Light Rail? Difficult location to get to though it certainly sounds interesting.
It’s a 5 minute walk from my house.
There are buses and even jitneys, if you’re so inclined.
Ate at Osteria Giotto two weeks ago and found it to be patently average across the board…food, service, etc. I was surprised at how hard it is to get a reservation there. I find that there are numerous places in Montclair that I enjoy more.
Let me know when they open and I’ll update the first post accordingly.
Will do!
Also, please note that Thirty Acres has had a wine list for a while now. I have yet to visit them, but I plan to soon. I believe the corkage is $20.00.
I highly recommend them for the food. Just don’t try and make a reservation or expect special treatment if you become a regular. I still haven’t been back since that debacle.
I’ve eaten there maybe a dozen times and the food is wonderful. Reservations can be made for 5 or more, but those aren’t easy to come by either. I’ll probably revisit soon, bring a bottle and have some wine by the glass as well.
Good news and bad news. First the bad.
From Soul Flavor’s site
“After over 6 years of trading in Jersey City, it is with great sadness that on October 27th we’ve had to announce the closure of Soul Flavors. When Superstorm Sandy hit last year, we lost all our food in the kitchen with the power outage, along with the whole of our inventory stored in the basement refrigerators and freezers and store cupboards due to the flooding. Although we have tried very hard for the last 11 months to get back on our feet, unfortunately we have not managed to do so. Although Soul Flavors restaurant is closed we will be continuing with our catering business . Thanksgiving is around the corner and we wanted JC to know that we are taking orders now and can be reached at INFO@SOULFLAVORS.COM. Thank you so very much for being our loyal patrons, we have appreciated your business and could not have come this far without you all. Would you please post this and forward to your database. Thanks so much for all your help now and in the past.”
Now the good. Orange and Olive Caterers has opened in Jersey City, in the Heights.
They offer a chef’s table 10 course tasting menu that’s delicious.
It’s a BYOB with decent stems.
I went a few weeks ago and I’ll be back again this Saturday.
Seating is limited to 12 people.
http://orangeandolivecaterers.com/
I’m still in mourning over Soul Flavors. I’ve been eating there since they first opened and it was my favorite JC restaurant.
Without a car Orange and Olive is not easy to get to.