Andiamo, Haworth, NJ

Restaurant link:

Andiamo Restaurant

Lisa's Review:

It's been a while since Fred and I wrote our last restaurant review, and we've been wanting to get back to it. When we thought about which restaurant to review next - the answer was obvious - our favorite Italian restaurant in Bergen County, Andiamo. This review will be a write-up of several visits since we go very regularly. One weekend after Christmas, we even went twice! I think the staff might adopt us! 

It's hard to pin down just one reason that Andiamo is our favorite Italian place - but two key reasons are consistently good food - we've never had a bad, or even an average meal, and the ability to have the kind of experience you are looking for - whether it is a quiet dinner for two or a place to go for casual pizza.

A quiet dinner for two

While Andiamo is a busy restaurant, they seem to have a number of areas that provide a quiet, romantic feeling. Our favorite is a closed-in porch near the bar. It's quiet and romantic, but you can also watch the busy happenings of the restaurant. Since Andiamo doesn't take reservations for small groups, it's best to arrive early if you want to be seated there. 

The quiet closed-in porch

The menu at Andiamo is extensive with a full array of pizza, pasta, meat and seafood dishes, yet on top of their extensive menu, they also have a specials board that is updated daily. On my second visit to Andiamo I had an amazing pasta dish made by chef Linda....I've been looking for it to be repeated as a special ever since and I'm yet to see it again - I can only hope.

At our last quiet dinner for two, I ordered a fairly typical meal. I often start with a salad, and the one I ordered was from the Daily Specials - anything with poached pear or caramelized pear and I cannot resist it! The salad was full of flavor and light enough not to overwhelm my appetite for the main course, which I've had on at least four occasions; pan-seared Branzino with sautéed spinach and a side of fries. The fish is perfectly cooked - this is not a restaurant that overcooks or undercooks fish, and the sautéed spinach and lemon caper sauce it rests on both compliment it well. I was thinking of trying to pretend those fries are Fred's, but I know I'll be opening myself up for his dry wit so I am just taking responsibility for them now! Let's just say, they are worth running at least 8-10 miles before we go there, which I often do before going to Andiamo. I tell everyone I'm training to run a half marathon in April, but I'm really running for Andiamo!

Ready to eat!

Delicious special salad with caramelized pear

Pan-seared Branzino

Lisa's Fries!

We are often full after our appetizer and main course, and it's rare that we have dessert. However, on one occasion we did, and as you can see from this photo.....we liked it! I think it took us about 2 minutes to finish it. 

Chocolate Layer Cake - A Rare Treat!

...And it's gone!

A casual place for pizza

We have only fairly recently discovered that Andiamo is also a great place for casual pizza. For those of you that know us well, you would know that it takes a lot for us to bypass the Eggplant Pizza at Brooklyn Pizza, but a visit from our grandson Rowan afforded us an opportunity to try pizza at Andiamo for the first time (and we have since been back for a second time for their pizza). I have honestly never seen a pizza that was this big and tasted as good as it did. The pizza you see here is Linda's Special with an extra thin crust, scallions, two types of cheese (but light on cheese), fresh basil and crushed plum tomatoes. Everyone loved it! Including Rowan. Not pictured is a meat-lovers pizza that I got very little of. While Rowan and I were transfixed on the big pizza, Fred was quietly noshing down on the meat lovers pizza. 

Thin crust, delicious and huge!

It didn't last too long though!

A great place to bring our grandson, Rowan

One aspect of Andiamo we can't review for you is the extensive wine list. Fred doesn't drink, apart from a glass of bubbly every now and then, and I can never seem to make it past a cosmopolitan. I have seen many tables review the extensive wine list, have deep conversations with Don and Alan about the best bottles available and the wine list is well represented in local awards.

They do a very very nice Cosmo!

The English translation of Andiamo is "Let's Go!" It's a great name for a restaurant that we find ourselves wanting to go back to, time and time again.

Fred's Review:

As Lisa mentioned, Andiamo has now become our favorite Italian restaurant in Bergen County, which appears to be consistent with the results of several online dining polls. And this is really saying something considering you can find an Italian restaurant on just about every other block in northern NJ. In fact, there's one within walking distance of our home that has always been quite popular despite its very mediocre food. And there's another that's maybe 5 minutes away by car. The front page of their website boasts: "Truly one of the best restaurants in NJ", although they never attribute that claim to anyone. Since the menu is rather limited and mundane, and the quality of its food is just about average, I suspect the quote is from one of the owners. Andiamo clearly has both of these restaurants beat. 

Which is why I selected it on Super Bowl Sunday several weeks ago when Lisa uncharacteristically left it completely up to me to decide where we would go for dinner that evening. She said I could choose anyplace I wanted and she wouldn't object, no matter how far away, what the cuisine, or how unhealthy the food. (I knew the last attribute held for her the greatest potential for regret.) Wow, what a rare treat for me! What did I do to deserve this? And where should we go? There are so many gastronomically decadent places we haven't been to since Lisa adopted her fit and active lifestyle that includes clean and healthy eating. Which one of them should I pick? 

But in the end I didn't choose any of our old haunts that I used to overindulge at, where a typical dinner might consist of a deep fried grease appetizer, followed by a huge plate of fat coated in oil with a side of carbs as a main course, and finished off with a dish of artificially sweetened gluten for dessert. Perhaps due to the subtle influence that Lisa has been having on me recently to eat healthier, I decided to forego all that and instead just have pizza at Andiamo. We had ordered it there only once before, when our grandson Rowen was visiting, and I was anxious to try it again. Admittedly, pizza is not a particularly healthy choice by Lisa's stringent standards, but I thought it would be a reasonable compromise. Hey, it is thin crust after all. 

So off we drove that Super Bowl Sunday evening for an early dinner at Andiamo. When we arrived about 15 minutes later, just after their normal opening time, we couldn't help but notice how empty the parking lot was. Great, I thought. It will be quiet since we're the first ones here. Little did I know how literally true that was. We were indeed the first ones there, which included an accounting of the staff, who would likely not be arriving until the next morning. A note on the front door indicated that the restaurant would be closed that day. We later learned that there are only two days of the year when Andiamo is not open, and Super Bowl Sunday happens to be one of them. After sacrificing all that scrumptious cholesterol and all those savory calories that I could have chosen for dinner, this would be my reward.

Despite the temporary setback, the following Sunday we returned even more determined than before to consume Andiamo pizza. As we entered this time, I immediately noticed balloons. Oh no, I thought. This means there's either a children's party going on, in which case dozens of screaming children will be running around, or instead a wedding or baby shower, and so for at least an hour we'll have to listen to a chorus of awww's every time a gift is open. But my fears were unfounded, as we were ushered into the cozy and quiet inside porch area away from the main dining room. This part of the restaurant has become our favorite, although we have not yet tried their al fresco dining option. 

Along with the salad special that we shared that afternoon, we of course also ordered pizza, in fact two of them. To avoid leftovers, we chose the smaller size of each, although nearly all their pizzas come in a larger size as well, a nice option. As before, one of our choices was the Meat Lovers Pie with sausage, meatballs and pepperoni, which I finished nearly half of before Lisa had a chance to grab a slice. But for the first time we also tried Don's New Favorite with prosciutto, tomatoes, caramelized onions and cheese. And it was delicious as well. Not only is this one the favorite of the restaurant's owner, Don, but I think it may now be Lisa's too. 

One thing I really like about Andiamo, besides the more than adequate portion sizes, is their extensive menu. Even someone with tastes as unadventurous as mine can find at least a dozen acceptable menu items, instead of just one or two, as is often the case for me at restaurants that Lisa and I have gone to lately. And so far, everything I've tried at Andiamo has been excellent, including the Caesar Salad followed by the Chicken Parmigiana with a side of pasta, which is my usual dinner choice there. 

Happy at Andiamo

Caesar Salad

Chicken Parmigiana

Yes, as you drive around Bergen County, you're likely to see an Italian restaurant just about every few blocks. But if you want to dine at an exceptionally good one, then I think you should pass those by and instead drive the extra blocks it may take you to get to Andiamo.