On the recommendations from this board and a neighbor, we tried this restaurant a few days before Thanksgiving (2011). I really wanted to like this place as it was convenient, a short drive and a parking lot. We walked in and loved the atmosphere, the bread was good, and our appetizers, which I can't remember what they were, seemed good. Then came the main courses. My wife had lasagna which had pasta that was incredibly mushy and needed quite a bit of salt. I had the Frute de Mar (Pasta with seafood), and the pasta was also very overcooked, the sauce was very thin and also lacked seasoning. It was all edible and I wasn't gong to make a fuss over it, but when the waitress asked how the food was, I explained that although we were finished and ate it all, neither of us were satisfied and explained what we thought was wrong with the dishes. Both the chef and the hostess quickly showed up at our table to hear our concerns and offered a dessert, which we declined. They expressed their sorrow and asked us to come back at a later date. We agreed that we would give them a second chance. Any restaurant can have an off night.

Last week we finally returned. I started with a stuffed artichoke appetizer and again found it needed quite a bit of salt to make up for the blandness. Then I had veal marsala which was okay but nothing to write home about, also bland, and my wife had chicken abodanza (chicken with sausage, peppers, onions and other vegetables in a tomato sauce). She also felt the dish was incredibly bland. We finished our dinners, paid our bill and left...

We will not return. I'm sort of saddened by this as I stated before, this would be a great place for us to go, if only the food was up to the atmosphere, service and location.

I'll stick with our tried and true in Bayonne, Cafe Bello.

yet another mediocre restaurant to achieve Jersey City's "good enough" approval

Went there last night and was really dissapointed. The bread is awesome but it went downhill from there. The mussels weren't good and tasted fishy, the side of sausage was still frozen (we sent that back), the meatballs were fine but tasted like ones that you could get from the store. The lasagne was fine. Nothing to write home about. Really wanted to like this place and won't bother going there again. Well, unless I wanted to eat only the bread. I thought that the reviews on yelp were probably overly dramatic, but they were actually pretty dead on.

Great food and service A+++

Went there a few weeks back with my wife and kids. Appetizers were great, as was the service. Then came the entrees. On my wife's gnocchi - a huge hair. We discreetly told our waiter, and asked for a new gnocchi dish. Literally 2 seconds later the waiter comes back and hands my wife the EXACT SAME dish, except they removed the hair. Really? I told the waiter that was totally unacceptable and he gave me an attitude. No offer to bring out another dish, no offer to comp. a dessert, much less the meal. Too bad, because I really wanted to like this place. Never again.

Wow... not sure why the hate from jcitaliano. My wife and i have been here about four times. See above for my previous review. The last two times have been as good. We enjoy the food. We have tried many different dishes always come away satisfied. I am a bigger fan than my wife, but we both like it. It still gets stuffy in there (they have tried to make improvements by adding a fan to keep the smoke from getting into the dining room) but they make up for it with nice service. No horse in this race, since we have no relation to this place, but I think it is nice to see a family establishment in JC making an honest effort to please customers and improve the overall quality of life of city residents by giving us another dining option in town.

Recently ate here. Nice space and great brick oven pizza (though not as good as Paulus Hook Brick Oven). Definitely plan on returning to try the carbonara as that's my fave pasta dish. Only weird thing was the owner was there eating and he seemed a bit aggro (he was on the phone cursing out someone in the back room). Service was fine, too.

Had dinner at Abbondanza last night with a group of women. We all agreed it was a really nice evening. Good food, BYOB, great service--and even though we were the last group to leave they graciously waited for us. Will definitely be back--a great addition to our neighborhood!!

We have visited Abbondanza twice in the past month. The first time was a day or two after their opening. We had the carbonara and gorgonzola ravioli. The carbonara was rich and delicious; really top notch! The gorgonzola ravioli were one of the evening's specials. The gorgonzola flavor was strong, which was definitely a plus for us, and they were perfectly cooked. Can't possibly say enough good things about that dish. We came away really impressed with the food. Our server was a bit deficient, but not overly so. Overall, we were very impressed. Our second visit was about two weeks ago. The food was very good again. The second time around, the carbonara was not as great as the first time, but still solid. Everything we have tried is really good, and the portions are huge. The service was better the second time. Our only complaint/observation is that their ventilation system seems inadequate. The eating area can get a bit stuffy with smoke coming from the kitchen area. This may not happen every night, but it has happened to us on both occasions. Regardless, the experience is really good, the food is great and the place is BYOB. I just don't see myself ever going back to Presto's.

We went here on Saturday night and had such a good meal that we went again on Sunday night. If you go I'd try the pizza, tre colore salad, caprese salad, any of the parmigiana entrees (veal, chicken, or eggplant), and the veal osso buco. The osso buco was by far my favorite entree that I tried. Dessert options looked good but we never had room for dessert. Happy to have an alternative to Presto's to go to. Much nicer atmosphere, GOOD SERVICE with delicious food to boot!

I ate there last weekend with some friends and the place was packed. The food is very good and portions are huge. I'm told the name means abundance so it lives up to its name.

The margherita pizza was really nice and you can easily hang out for the the pizza. Nice place and I wish them well.

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PROTIP: Hi restaurateurs, spamming a message board with recommendations from new users makes people less likely to go to your restaurant.

This place is awesome, get there.

Pizza is on a separate menu, but you can still order it on the "restaurant" side of the place. I went there twice, the first time the waiter gave us both menus, the second time the waiter did not give us the pizza menu until we asked for it. But yes, you can get pizza.

Early verdict after a couple of tries is good food, nice atmosphere, and reasonably priced. And I'm very happy to see something moving into the Liberty Harbor North retail spaces!

Its been open only a couple of weeks and I've been in 4 times, twice for dinner and 2 for the brick oven. The Brick Oven is on the right side as you walk in and the dining room on the left side. Overall, really love the place. Service was good for the most part and the food (I've had chicken parm and lasagne) is excellent. And the brick oven pizza is easily the best pizza in JC. Great addition to the Lib Harbor neighborhood

Had dinner here the other week (first week they were open). They were pretty busy (which was interesting since they haven't yet widely advertised).

The food was very good. The menu is classic red-sauce Italian, and all the dishes we tried were very strong renditions of those classics. Not sure if the pasta was fresh or dried, but either way it was cooked very well, and the meat dishes we tried were also very good.

Service was great when we first arrived but slowed down a bit as the place filled up. Considering they had only been open a few days things were pretty smooth though.

Prices are very reasonable and portions are big. The value is actually pretty impressive, as many of the dishes are enough for two full meals and most of the entrees are $15 or less.

The outdoor sign mentions brick oven pizza but when we there there there was no pizza on the menu. Maybe it's for takeout only, or maybe it's coming soon.

Either way it's a nice addition to the neighborhood and we'll definitely be back.

City Hall is the problem. They've been waiting on final town sign-off, (I think C.O). Since beginning of the month. I was in there then, and tables were actually set, and all employees have been hired (or identified).

i just heard from the owners this will open in a week or two but who knows. i wonder what the holdup is

Signage appears to be up. I'm pretty excited to try this place whenever it opens (2013?).

dont know yet...when we are close everyone will know...remember plenty of free parking

When is opening day?

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ditto on that one! Presto's is the only place I've found that's good good quality italian food at a sit down restaurant in the area... And it's a bit of a walk.

I can't wait to go here.... Keep us updated, I'll be there on opening night!! :9

It is definetly authentic Italian....Just waiting for permits from city to start working...

I can not wait for this to open!! I love Milanos!!! Now I'll be able to get Milano's authentic Italian food in a nice restaurant setting!!! Downtown definitely needed REAL italian food!

i think this is the place that the owners of milano's deli on montgomery and greene are opening.

Keys words in that descriptiojn:

moderately priced
Italian
byob
family style

Thank you, thank you for not turning another restaurant location into an asian fusion place.

Can't wait to try it. Please, please let it be at least 1/2 as good as Laico's.

BYOB, Moderately priced family style Italian restaurant..Brick oven pizza...Plenty of free parking Abbondanza Trattoria 257 Grand St Jersey City, NJ 07302 http://jcguide.com/item/abbondanza-trattoria (201) 516-0900
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