Strega Bistro

My family and I ate here last night, first time for us since we recenbtly moved from Chicago and it did not dissapoint! Don’t let the fact that it’s in a strip mall fool you, once we stepped into this cozy spot we felt like we were in one of the many italian restaurants in Chicago. We had the calamari and the mussel special for apps-​mussels were oustanding!!! Hubby had the stuffed pork chop, which was excellent and I had short ribs w/​pasta, also delish. Large portions, so leave room for the nutella crepes-​soooo good. While the food was outstanding, I was even more impressed with the service, our waiter was great and the owner took the time to go to all the tables and make it a personalized experience. We will definitely be back.

This was our second visit to Strega. Its in a strip mall but looks can be deceiving. The interior is classy & understated. So much so that you think you are in a small city restaurant in NY or Chicago. Its not until you walk back out that you remember that you were in Berkeley Heights, in a strip mall!
The first time we came was on a Thursday. Hubby had the Seafood Cioppino and I had Short Ribs over Risotto. It was excellent. Highly recommend either dish.
This last time we went with close family friends. On a a Saturday night. Really crowded by several «regulars». They already discovered the secret!
Started with the Calamari, Meatballs, & Barrata. YUM. Hubby has the veal chop. Delish. Other entrees ordered were the Pork Osso Bucco, homemade pasta with slow cooked duck ragu, & the Lobster mac & cheese. All the entrees were well presented and very flavorful. The Osso Bucco melted off the bone and the duck ragu was marvelous. The only thing that could have been better was the Lobster in the Mac & cheese, a dinner special. The sauce was very rich & needed more lobster to balance it out. There were very few chunks in it. Tasty but was expecting more.
Our desserts were really well made & artfully presented.
Even with my alleged missing lobster chunks I still highly recommend Strega. We will eat here again and again.

What a nice find. Went here Saturday night for dinner. It’s a cozy little space and the food was very well prepared and the owner was very nice and accommodating in allowing us to move to a table for 4 in a better location when there was only 2 of us).
I would say that the appetizers shined much more than the entrees. Octopus, burrata, and meatballs were all excellent (portion sizes were huge – I could have eaten those for my main meal). I had the pasta with the short ribs and the pasta was over cooked, but my wife’s steak was perfectly cooked and delicious. We shared the frozen cappuccino for dessert and it was delicious!
When the restaurant became very busy after 8pm, the staff had a bit trouble keeping up with all the tables, but it didn’t detract too much from our experience.
I am definitely going to return.

Great place for authentic and upscale Italian meal. The food is phenomenal as is the staff. My only suggestion would be to space the tables a little further apart as on a busy Saturday night it can feel somewhat crowded. Other than that, it’s a sure win every time.

Everything from food to the ambiance was fantastic. The staff was very attentive and the owner was so wonderful to come over to our table to check on us. They even gave us a free crostini plate because it was our first time there. We had the scallops for starters and oh boy, was that delicious! The sauce was fresh and tasty, my boyfriend and I couldn’t stop eating it. For entrée, I had the Seafood Cioppino and my bf had a pasta dish that we enjoyed a lot. It was a big plate that we ended up having half of it for to go. Everything is reasonably priced especially for a big serving of food. It’s BYOB, but they have a wine list available but I suggest that you bring your own. My bf left our wine home so we came empty handed. We were gonna order a bottle from their wine list but one of the staff suggested for us to do otherwise. I really appreciate his honesty and he gave me a glass of leftover Merlot from last night’s dinner instead of having my bf run to the nearest wine store. Overall it was a great experience and it’ll be our Italian date night spot from now on.

Drove all the way over there and despite the advertised hours, they were closed Friday at 12:30.

Great food, great service and lovely ambiance. The calamari and buratta appetizers were amazing as was my roasted chicken main course.

Tonight my boyfriend, his parents, and I had an amazing dinner at Strega. It was a Tuesday night and a slow evening so we were seated right away. The relaxed ambiance and wonderful waitstaff of Strega made me feel at home as soon as I walked in the door.
We ordered a pitcher of Red Sangria to start. The sangria came out in 4 large wine glasses along with a FULL pitcher of sangria as well, and may I add that it was absolutely delicious. The waiter did mention before we ordered the sangria that they do allow BYOB and they do have wines for sale, but aren’t very good. (I was happy he was honest but the sangria was really out of this world)
Moving onto my favorite part of the evening, the absolutely amazing food! WOW! We ordered the calamari to start along with the meatballs with homemade ricotta cheese. The calamari was dressed with a delicious balsamic dressing and came with sausage and peppers mixed in with the calamari as well. The meatballs were delicious as well and came with a hearty scoop of homemade ricotta cheese (my favorite part of the dish) along with toast points on the side.
For my entrée, I had the seafood risotto, my boyfriend had the salmon, and his mother had their special pork tenderloin. All of which, were absolutely TERRIFIC. My risotto was made perfectly along with the delicious array of seafood that came with it. Compliments to the chef, the food was phenomenal!
Unfortunately, we were too busy licking our plates to realize they had a delicious dessert menu as well. We were too full to get any this time but we will definitely be back to try some of their imported Italian gelato! YUM!

*BYOB*
I just ate here with my wife for a Friday evening dinner. Based off Unilocal reviews (which were glowing), and it being right in Berkeley Heights nearby, we figured we’d give it a shot. We were NOT disappointed, and the reviews definitely do Strega justice…
It’s located in a tiny strip mall in BH, and like many other places, it’s surprisingly a gem for a good meal. Strega has an awesome vibe — modern, but classy. The staff was very welcoming and attentive to us. We were seated, our BYOB Merlot was cracked open and poured quickly (which I am a huge fan of).
+Appetizer: Calamari Strega.
WOW. Calamari done modern, while keeping its Italian roots. This was HUGE, filling; and delicious. The calimari was covered in a great vinaigrette-​type sauce, with sausages and sweet pepper slices. Absolutely delicious, and a unique way to do calimari.
+Entrée: Tortellini Michelle
Delicious. This was a convo of tortellini, shrimp, and scallops in a Cognac cream sauce. Again, a very good portion size and filling. (I didn’t even finish mine). Creamy sauce, and the seafood was cooked very well (especially the shrimp — cooked beautifully).
The portion sizes were definitely filling and more than I could handle, but fine well nonetheless! An affordable; REALLY good Italian place in the area, Strega is 100% a recommendation Id give to anyone asking.

I was introduced to Strega last night for dinner and I must say. Thank god for that.
Everything from the décor to the food and the service to the staff was impeccable — I didn’t want the meals or night to end! I highly recommend the Strega Calamari as a starter and if you’re a big steak guy as I am, follow that up with the Steak Frites. Phenomenal.
Make sure to leave some room for the Nutella Crepes at the end! It’s a Nutella delight which you can never go wrong with.
Come hungry. Trust me.

The good ratings for this restaurant are quite surprising. The service was poor and awkward. The waiter forgot my appetizer despite asking him several questions about it. My wife ordered the ravioli special which was bland and unimaginative. The chicken giambota was terrible and the lobster pasta was equally as bad. The waiter was totally inattentive and didn’t seem to be interested in doing his job. There are way to many restaurants locally that are far better then Strega… don’t go!

We have eaten here twice in the last couple of months. The food is excellent as is the service in what should be an intimate setting for dinner. Unfortunately the ambient noise level when the place is more than half full is very high. It dramatically reduces the overall dining experience. The noise level could easily be reduced with some decorous sound suppression baffles in the ceiling and on the walls, and I hope the owner will make the effort. I am not sure I will risk another evening in the cacophony this place can become.

Always my go to place at home. Little tough to get a reservation but well worth the effort. BYOB which is great. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Service is always attentive and on point.

Normally I do not have a review theme. However, today I am inspired by the movie the Good, The Bad, and The Ugly that was on Encore the Sunday morning after my Saturday dinner here.
First the Good. It is the food. A solid overall 4 for the food. We started with several appetizers and salads and most were very good. Most notable was the Ahi Tuna Crudo. The Burrata was also a fine dish. We ordered the Calamari Strega, one with sweet peppers and one with hot peppers. The sausage served with the calamari was an added taste bonus. Both calamari dishes were very tasty but they also both tasted the same. I could not discern between the hot sauce and the sweet sauce. The crostini was OK but for $ 11, it should have been more.
Their version of the Caesar Salad was also very good. My wife knows her Caesars and said this one was a hit. The beet salad was a disappointment in that there were only 4 slivers of beets.
I had the Fusilli Beneventano for my main course and I loved it. The Seafood Pappardelle probably need some garlic or other seasonings as the broth had too much of a seafood taste. The Seafood Risotto was another hit. Two in our party ordered the Veal Parmigiana and while Gary loved it, Mike thought it was too tough.
Somehow, we managed to have room for dessert and you should try to too. The Molten Cake, the Frozen Cappuccino, and the Ice Cream were all excellent.
Now, the bad. The service was spotty. Our waiter tried but he was the only waiter for the restaurant. It is not a very large place but its food and price points demand a better service experience. It was annoying that we had to keep asking and asking again for things like water refills and bread. It also took him quite a while to get to our table and take our order. I am not sure why management does not have more floor staff.
Finally, the ugly. Our table was partially under a ceiling with barely any headroom to stand. Quite confining and unheard of. I guess they are trying to squeeze parties into every available space.
An outstanding food experience but they need to step it up a notch on service. And that table… You have to be kidding!

How bout an update?
This small place continues to amaze and impress. We came on my birthday this year, July 3 and the place had just a few tables filled. Mot certainly due to the upcoming holiday weekend.
Pete took care of us during the evening. Like dining in someone’s home. «I can prepare it this way»… «Or I can prepare it this way.» The cooking is imaginative, the specials reveal a good degree of thought.
Calamari and tuna tartare to start. Our fifteen year old enjoyed fishing out the balsamic glazed sausages from my Calamari. My wife’s tartare was splendid. Nice and fresh with homemade chips for scooping up the Tartare. Nice.
Main courses? One duck special medium rare, one hanger steak with Chimichuri sauce rare and one steak frites medium rare. Everything was prepared beautifully, admired briefly and then, eaten with gusto.
For dessert we ordered the molten chocolate cake and the Nutella crepes with chocolate gelato. Very tasty!
We brought a fine bottle of Billecart-​Salmon Rose Champagne. A great accompaniment to an excellent birthday meal.
Strega is highly recommended.

Everything was delicious! Their take on calamari is unlike any place I’ve been to before and the short rib was very tasty

Strega never fails to disappoint. I have multiple dishes here and all have them have surpassed my expectations. This place is a hidden gem to say the least, comparable if not better than the restaurants that I go to with my clients and partners in NYC. Very reasonably priced and BYOB too

If I could give this place 100 stars… always amazing food & great service! The calamari appetizer =heaven! The short rib dinner, mouth watering! Make sure to make a reservation because it’s so good that it is always busy! Worth the wait tho!

Meet some friends for dinner for the first time. The service was nicely passed food was fantastic, meat balls for app as well as the awesome calamari salads were all I had the house with beets, pear and goat cheese. When the main courses came we were happy with the size and presentation. We will be back the only negative is it’s a little loud, some sound reduction would be nice. But highly recommend.

I don’t understand how people give this place five stars. Maybe they are related to the owner or people in this area don’t go out much. The food was average, service was nothing great, bread was cold, and tables were on top of each other (about 6 inches apart). Consequently, the place was EXTREMELY noisy. I could not hear the person in front or next to me. Not a very enjoyable meal. I’ll drive ten more minutes to Millburn or the Basking Ridge/​Bernards area for much better dinner service and meal. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.