Over the 10+ years my wife and I lived in Hoboken, we probably ate at Margherita’s Restaurant at least once a week. Stopping in recently after a few years absence, it was nice to see almost nothing has changed at Margherita’s Restaurant, including the 90s throwback prices.

If you order nothing else, make sure to start with the fresh mozzarella salad. The stuffed mushroom appetizer is a close second, but you need four people to take down two apps at this place. (Portioning is insanely American.) We rate the mozz, sourced from Vito’s Deli next door (same owners) to be the best EVER. Make that a default order. The pastas and chicken dishes at Margherita’s Restaurant are reliably good, if unspectacular. You’re coming here to enjoy a great local spot that fills with laughter and conversation almost every night.

The pizzas at Margherita’s Restaurant also deserve some love.

I’d highly suggest ordering one entree and one pizza to avoid waddling out – our personal favorite is the Marchetto, which is essentially a kitchen sink of goodness tossed onto a 10 inch pie. The desserts are famous too, but I’ve honestly never had room to even think about ordering one. Godspeed if you can find the stomach share because they do look tasty.

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Margherita’s Restaurant is a small restaurant which fills up quickly and takes no reservations. Be prepared to wait across the street at the 8th Street Tavern for your table. Margherita’s Restaurant should get a cut of their business, because almost all of their traffic is dinner patrons waiting for their buzzer to light up. The least they could do is upgrade their $2 buck chuck house wine to something marginally drinkable. Perhaps the crummiest bar in town – shame too, given the location.

Back to Margherita’s Restaurant 20 years and still going strong – look forward to eating there with friends again soon! What a great slice of local Hoboken, still one of our favorite BYOs.