Sarelli’s

The first impression, nice waiters, nice restaurant, sangria was mediocre, but service good, appetizers, fried calamari and eggplant rollantini, nothing special, but decent. Entrees: large platter of cubed chicken with sausage, potatoes. flounder, swimming/​drowning in brown sauce, we had to ask for that to be drained. the last entrée HORRIBLE, suppose to have been veal franchese, 3 gray pieces of meat, yes gray, the breading was falling off, one of the worse dishes I’ve eaten, sides were almost invisible, a tablespoon of vegetable and 2 or 3 cubes of sweet potato croquettes. Dessert was good, homemade italian cheese cake, wouldn’t go back, have no idea what that meat was but it wasn’t veal and it wasn’t franchese

Few people when I went in early afternoon, so I was a little worried, but service was good and food was better. Tried the eggplant rollitini, mussels and rigatoni Nonna, and all of them were great. Will definitely be coming back here again.

It was a Friday and I worked late so I decided to stop and grab something on my way home. My first thought was to order from Mojito Tropical, but they were closed. So I stopped at Sarelli’s instead. I have never eaten or been there before.
It is nicely decorated, no TV, and very cozy.
I ordered one of their specialties just to find out 5 minutes later that they were out. It did not bother me at all, it was Friday and all I got was time and a margarita.
I ordered with the bartender and she was very professional, and nice. She did not make feel unwelcomed at all. There were very few customers in the restaurant. and the bar was very quiet.
It took them 35 to 40 minutes to bring my food, but It was worth the wait.
Let’s start with the drink. I had a margarita, while I was waiting for my food. The margarita was very refreshing, and well balanced (not too tequila, not too sour, and not too sweet).
I had the a Penne ala Vodka with shrimps and chicken for take out. It came with a good size of bread, some spinach with almond, and a desert.
I was nicely surprised by how good the food was.
Pros:
* Nice, clean, and quiet place
* Very friendly and professional people
* good proportion
Cons:
* It took too long for them to bring the food. But, I prefer that to uncooked meal.

Wonderful! All the dishes where delicious. Great atmosphere. Good for romantic dinner or family gathering.

After reading reviews that the food was good we decided to try this location. A nice soft and big piece of bread came over and it was good. We shared a salad and you can taste the dirt, wasn’t cleaned right. We both ordered chicken parm dinners, hers came out warm and mine was burnt. Horrible… would never ever eat there again.

Great atmosphere and bread. Fresh baked. Me and my daughter visited here for a night out. The rigatoni with eggplant is amazing. We also had the calamari which is crispy and tasty.

Bayonne is filled with pizzerias that have amazing Italian food, as for sit down restaurants this is my fav local place to go. It’s a few blocks from my parents house. It’s usually quiet during the week. Street parking is easy.
I love so many of the apps I rarely order the entrees, but I do love those little croquettes they give you with the entrée. Their vodka sauce is the perfect amount of creamy-​ness and delicious. Penne vodka with fresh mozzarella added can be done… they will make anything you ask too, which I love. My fav apps are the eggplant rollintini –it’s smothered in cheese and pink sauce, you barely know it’s eggplant and of course the beef carpaccio, they are not stingy with the beef and it’s a perfect combo with the lemon, arugula and parmesan shavings.
They used to give you pieces of bread with olive spread and parmesan on top when you sat down but they didn’t do this last time I was there :/​
Be patient, everything is made to order and your usually there for quite a bit.

Terrific staff, very accommodating. Mushroom risotto is fantastic.

We used to dine her once a week. We stopped going about three months ago after we noticed a Cockroach running down the wall next to our table. I didnt bring this to the attention of the owner who I believe is the woman who walked past our table 10 times and didnt acknowledge us.
This Restaurant took the same concept from another Restaurant in Bayonne called Denoi. Try Denoi first, these people operate a clean Restaurant and always seem so welcoming .
I agree with the other review that if you want to get totally intoxicated and act like a 20 something when your actually a 40 something THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!!!

Great food great atmosphere. I really don’t understand the bad reviews at all.
I have been going there for the past 3 years and never had a bad meal yet.
The service has always been good and often get asked if I want an after dinner drink on the house.

I don’t understand the bad reviews. Went back last night for my 2^nd visit and had the seafood risotto. That and my cappucino were both very good and the service was just as good as the first time around. If it was Manhattan, with Manhattan prices, m y review possibly would be different – but its Bayonne. Hello!

We found Sarelli’s last week completely by mistake, and were a little afraid to go in as it was nearly 10:00pm on a week night. But we walked in and were very warmly received and seated. The dining room is large, well appointed and comfortable. The staff was quite friendly and very eager to please. The menu is full spectrum northern Italian, and there were several specials that night as well.
We started with the calamari — fresh, tender, lightly floured and delicious. We had the fish special, and the vegetable lasagna — both very good.
The price is more than fair, and the service superb.
Tonight we went back for a second time, purposefully. Started with the goat cheese and walnut salad, followed by a steak, although I was really tempted by the ravioli special. Another delightful meal at a local restaurant that will quickly become a favorite of ours!

Sarelli’s is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Bayonne. It’s not pricey or fancy but a great place to have a good meal. Staff is extremely friendly and will accomodate requests that are not on the menu. The penne and vodka sauce is one of my favorites, along with the eggplant rollatini. YUM. Always get after dinner drinks on the house.

If you’re just looking for a place to sit and get drunk with nice staff this is it. But if you want descent food, go somewhere else.
A friend told me this place had good Italian food. I’m very leery of Italian restaurants, well because I am Italian and most of time I can make it better myself and part of the time they don’t even serve authentic italian food. So considering my friend was Italian herself, I thought it would be a worth a shot. I was wrong.
They only thing worth having there is the eggplant parm. Thinly sliced not over fried or greasy. Otherwise don’t bother with anything else. My friend ordered fusilli pasta, and received tricolor pasta. That right there would be enough to walkout. I ordered chicken breast in a brown sauce. Okay when you tell an Italian brown sauce that means tomato sauce with meat cooked in it. They gave two chicken tenders smothered in canned turkey gravy with was I thought was frozen shrimp. So disappointed.
Otherwise the service was very friendly and outgoing, the people seemed to be enjoying themselves, and there was a full bar.

From the made-​wrong martini that was spilled in my lap to the poorly– prepared food, this place should be put out of it’s misery. Bad service, a bartender who didn’t know what a Manhattan was, and poorly-​presented food that lacked flavor, this is a train-​wreck.

Perhaps the reviewer in June 2009 had a great experience, but 1 year later I can report that if you like mediocre food, terrible service and bad bar drinks prepared by a bartender who isn’t even old enough to drink, then you will be very happy at this restaurant. I wouldn’t go back.