There is a new Italian restaurant in Hoboken: Zero Otto Uno, located where Mamoun's Falafel used to be before moving a few blocks away. And I admit that it is a very nice addition to the city. We went there for lunch and dinner and each time had great meals with a nice service.
This BYOB place is service pasta and pizza, although, I do not think they make their own pasta, probably using the ones from Cecco as the packages displayed on shelves seem to indicate. I admit that I do not recall the previous decor, but I believe they totally redid the restaurant, with exposed brick and darker colors that give some warmth to the place. Food wise, they really have a good choice of dishes and it can be hard to pick. Here are the dishes we tried:
As an appetizer, we chose the parmigiana de melanzane that is fried eggplant with tomato sauce, parmesan and homemade mozzarella cheese. Very good, I loved the rustic presentation. The tomato sauce was so good that I could not resist dipping some bread in it...
They make Neapolitan pizza in their wood fire oven. We tried their Margherita that is made with their house made mozzarella.
The second pizza was the 4 formaggi, or 4 cheese, made with mozzarella di bufala, ricotta, gorgonzola, taleggio (one of my favorite Italian cheeses), basil and olive oil.
Both pizzas were delicious, the crust being crispy and nicely charred. My favorite was the 4 formaggi that had lots of cheese on it and good ones.
For pasta, we tried their bucatini all'amatriciana that is made with guanciale (pork cheeks), red onion, tomato sauce, chili and pecorino. This was delicious and quite comforting.
Last dish, less exciting is their insulate della Nonna or Grandma salad, made with mixed greens, gorgonzola, walnuts and pear.
Of course we could not not try their desserts, but only ordered their Grandmother cake made with a pastry cream with a hint of lemon, covered in pine nuts, almonds and confectioner's sugar. This was a nice way to end a meal, the cake not being too sweet.
Zero Otto Uno in Hoboken is a great place for Italian food. They have so many dishes on their menu that I would like to try that I am sure I'll be back soon!
Enjoy (I did)!
If you like this post, the photos or the blog, please feel free to share it or post a comment. Merci!
Zero Otto Uno - 502 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030