Sergio’s Bistro

Menu here is limited with a lot of unpopular choices. Good thing they had specials as I read the menu for 15 minutes and was having a problem picking something out. Ordered oysters Rockefeller and they were just «ok» and then ordered ravioli that had only 6 pieces but we’re so bad I only was able to eat 4 and not because I wasn’t Hungry. My friend had sesame tuna that was extremely salty and not very good. Apparently all the great ratings for the food are given by people that don’t get around much. I feel bad for them. Service was ok. No quality chef here just cooks heating stuff up. Will not return

I’ve been going to Sergio’s for the past 4 years, and it never disappoints. Date night, birthday celebration, girls night out, or just because, I always feel special there. The décor is so cute, the service is always impeccable, I feel like the owner is there evey time I go, he is extrememly Professional and friendly. The place is small but because it has high ceilings and mirrors it looks very spacious when you sit down. The food is very very good, they always have amazing specials, in fact I don’t remember ever ordering from the regular menu. They can modify your dish and never make a face, and try to accomodate you. I always end up getting dessert, the desserts are made there and very interesitng. Oh, and because it’s a BYOB, you can spend a little more.

Love Love Love this place! Sergio is the best in the business. and Oscar is on point with hospitality the food it crazy good!!! and the décor is fabulous!

Went tonight for the first time for my husband’s birthday dinner and LOVED it!!! We ordered the Parmesan soufflé to start (so good!) and as a main course I had the house made parpadelle with lamb and mushrooms and it was honestly the best pasta dish I’ve ever had! The lamb literally melts in your mouth and the sauce that’s on it was so flavorful without being too overpowering. Service was on point and loved the cozy feel of the restaurant. We’ll definitely be back!

The food was not bad except the experience was less than stellar. I reserved a group of 14 but 16 showed up. They had space but the waiters just squeezed us in the same space. I called twice ahead to request separate checks, the Spanish manager refused, so I asked for perhaps a check for each group of 4, he agreed. The service was less than attentive, they never check on if we needed anything after the order was taken.
1) Finally, we got one bill and they stuck us with a 20% gratuity to the bill (for terrible service), instead the customary 18% for a large group for very poor service.
2) The bill was written illegibly and with no itemized prices for anything (coffee…$ 16.50, you could not tell how many coffees, and that was the same with all the entrees).
3) and the bill didn’t tallied correctly. I was short $ 100 to pay the bill after all the monies were collected.
4) We waited forever for the bill to arrive (waited 15 mins), by now we were coming close to being late for a schedule show in Nutley. I had to walk to the back to clear this bill. The didn’t even deserved 15%. Had I not been running so late, I would have only agreed to 15% for terrible service and would have made them itemize that bill which would have probably proved that they stuck an extra $ 75+ to my bill.
Do not go there as a group, the integrity is questionable.

Amazing food!!! Great for a date night or a girls night. They always have the best specials and the pistachio cake is amazing

Second time coming here and I will have to say that I am intrigued by the atmosphere every time. The waiter was very polite and friendly. The food is very good, however, I did expect a little more from the Penne Vodka that I tried this time around. It is decently priced for what you get, however I do recommend changing up the dish given before placing the order with something people eat more of. The place is very small, so I highly recommend reservations and its BYOB. And I also recommend trying out there desserts. MMMMmmmmm lol

Best local spot in my area to have an amazing dinner. It’s very small, but well worth the wait. Don’t bother calling for reservations. It’s a first come first serve basis & they are slammed packed every night. Made some great friends here once. Very loud ambience, it takes time to get used to the volume, but it’s still an amazing place.

Took my wife here for Valentine’s Day dinner and, in so little words… «One of the Best Italian Restaurants I’ve ever been to!!!»
For an appetizer, we ordered the Pan Fried Oysters on a ½ shell and they were so good! They were served in a mango sauce topped with crispy wontons. My wife ordered the stuffed Pork Tenderloin and it was incredible! I ordered the Zuppa Di Pesce, diablo style and OMG! Probably the best seafood combo dish I have ever had! The sauce was on point, the fettuccini was cooked to perfection, and it was chock filled with seafood! I couldn’t have asked or picked a better place for dinner.
It’s a very small restaurant, about ¹²⁄₁₄ tables, so don’t think you can just walk in here on a Fri/​Sat night and get a table… Reservations are very recommended! The attention you receive is what you’d expect (I think the manager and/​or owner asked us 4 times how our food was lol) and it’s also BYOB… Priced right as well… They did up the price on their entrée’s, but I think every establishment does that for Valentines Day…
Bottom line: We’ll be back for damn sure for dinner in the future… Highly Recommended and great experience!!!

Awesome Valentine’s Day meal. Restaurant is romantic and cozy inside with candlelit tables. We shared a fried oyster appetizer with mango and horseradish sauce. Heavenly. We could have licked the plate. For dinner I had the stuffed pork loin with mushroom risotto. Delicious and a huge portion. My husband couldn’t have picked a nicer place on a freezing cold Valentine’s Day night.

Tonight was our third time at Sergio’s. The meal was great as it had been the first two times, but it ended leaving a sour taste in my mouth. My girlfriend and I had an 8PM reservation for our anniversary and Valentine’s Day. We ordered three specials and our bill was given to us without us asking for it. Five minutes after the bill was paid we were asked to leave to make room for another couple. I was still enjoying my coffee and my girlfriend had yet to finish hers and her last glass of wine. We had been there less than an hour and a half and there were similar parties still there who had been seated prior to us. We have family and friends who frequent Sergio’s and will be recommending they not return. Very disappointed, we just moved to the area and had looked forward to making this our regular place.

I’ll just say this, we have been here many times over the last few years and never talk about it with any of our close friends. We have tired our best to keep it a secret!

Everything about the restaurant is perfect.
Food, atmosphere, service, and price are just unbelievable perfect.
The breads were served straight out of oven and it was very soft, warm, and tasty.
People next to us told me just order the specials and it was right on.
Looking forward to have another dinner here again.

Wow! Amazing Italian food all within the center of Clifton. The atmosphere was great with attentive staff members and Sergio (the owner himself) engaging with customers. The prices are also great for the size of the entrees and its BYOD so make sure to bring a bottle of wine. I will def. be returning to try the additional items on the menu!

Some of the best italian food I’ve had in a long time! When you walk in Sergio’s its clearly eclectic with different antiques, art work, and lighting. The menu itself is extensive with one delicious option sounding better than the next. I recommend not to order anything off their menu… cause the specials are beyond amazing.
We started off with a butternut squash/​sausage in a pumpkin appetizer — this alone I could have eaten as my meal, I’m drooling just thinking about it. We also got the fried calamari and the pork flat bread which were also delicious.
For my main meal I got the seafood/​pasta special which had clams, shrimp, mussels, and salmon over homemade pasta in a pink sauce… wow so good!
Everyone at the table was beyond happy with their meals, cannot wait to go back! FYI this place is BYOB so don’t forget the wine!

The food is delicious and the place is BYO.
The bread was warm and crusty. The olives it came with were surprising– spicy and yummy.
The fried calamari was cooked perfectly– served in a potato chip bowl (so there were no soggy pieces) with a tasty marinara and also an interesting ginger soy balsamic sauce.
My mushroom ravioli were smothered in the best vodka sauce I’ve ever had. And my husband’s chicken dish was also very good-​covered in prosciutto, mozzarella, and a brandy cream sauce. (I wasn’t a super fan of the sauce.)
We also had dessert, even though we were incredibly stuffed. One of the specials was a coconut banana tart in a freshly made shell.
The waiters were also great.
We will definitely come again.

This place is everything I want from an Italian restaurant: ultra glitzy, cozy and a warm welcoming. The walls are lavishly adorned with giant saint statues, gold plated mirrors and long flowing curtains to really make you feel like this isn’t Clifton anymore. I arrived early and Sergio came to shake my hand, introduce himself and open my wine with charisma oozing out of his pores. His charm carried over to many other patrons that came in greeting him with big hugs and lots of wine!
Our server did a great job of not only memorizing a GIANT daily specials list but of also faking a fabulous Italian accent. We started with the friend calamari which were EXCELLENT! The presentation alone is worth ordering them; they come in a bowl made of potato chips (which we devoured). As my entrée I ordered the Cavatelli Alla Boscaiola ($ 18), cavatelli with chicken sautéed with onions, green peas, portobello mushrooms in a Madera cream sauce. I had never had Madera cream sauce and was pleasantly surprised at its sweetish undertone.
My friend had the penne vodka, which was good but not fabulous. My other friend had the pollo sorrentino and loved it.
So why not 5 stars? Well the food took FOREVER to come out, giving it the ultimate european feeling. Our reservation was for 7 PM, so we were already hungry by the time we arrived, and sat waiting 45 minutes for a calamari appetizer was a bit ridiculous. Then we thought, well maybe the entrees will come out quickly since the appetizer took so long, nope, another 30 mins despite having ordered everything at once. Needless to say we finished a giant wine bottle in the meantime, so thank god for heavy pasta to soak it up or else I wouldn’t have been able to drive home.
Make sure to make reservations because the place is tiny and fills to capacity quickly, we saw couples literally wait for an hour to be sat, probably because everyone really takes their time eating and drinking when they’re here. It is a great date night place because it is all dark and romantic, but with lots of life and laughter from good food and wine. Overall a nice place, I would go back, but not on starvation mode.

This place is phenomenal. Whenever we’re craving a savory, filling and guaranteed excellent meal, my fiancé and I head to Clifton. The restaurant is often filled with regulars who are known to the owners, giving it that truly authentic local feel.
It’s a BYOB, which is always a plus. The comically lengthy presentation of specials never disappoints. My better half likes the chicken parmesan so much that he’s ordered it all three times we dined here! My favorite is the mushroom ravioli in vodka sauce. Delicious! Of course I wish they had more vegetarian options, but the existing few are worth the trip.
A+!

I have so many mixed feelings about this place, but overall I think it deserves 4 stars.
First of all, the place is tiny and does not really honor it’s reservations. We had a reservation at 8 pm last Friday and got there right at 8. They told us the table was finishing up coffee and asked us to wait outside. We waited out in the cold for 45 minutes before they finally called us in.
Once we got inside the experience got much better. It’s a byob so we had the wine that we brought and they gave us warm bread with olive oil and spicy olives that were fantastic. Then the poor waiter told us about 300 specials that they had that night. I ordered the stuffed pumpkin appetizer and it was one of the the best appetizers I have ever had. It was so creative and delicious. It was a pumpkin stuffed with sausage, mushrooms, butternut squash and cheese. A bunch of us ordered it, and we were all blown away. One order is definitely big enough for two people.
Then for the entrée I had the cedar plank salmon. It was good, but not worth the $ 28 they charged for it. My friend got the chicken sorrentino. Again, it was good but nothing special.
So, all in all, I would say it’s probably better to come here on a week night when it’s easier to get a table. Make sure you get the pumpkin if it’s on the specials list, and don’t expect anything too crazy for the main meal.

I’m going to round up here but i would give this place a 3.5
We had reservations for 8 people at 8pm. We did not get seated until 845, and since there is no waiting area, we were told to wait outside. Suppposedly the people were finishing up their coffee when we got there, but it should have taken almost an hour for them to finish.
They did apologize about it, but it was still annoying to wait outside.
They had a long list of specials. It would have been nice if they were on paper b/​c it was hard to remember them all but they all sounded great. A few of us did get the pumpking appetizer which was AMAZING!!! Its probably the reason why i’m rounding up to a 4 instead of down to a 3. My meal the chicken sorrentino was good, but nothing extraordinary. My one friend got the pizza that was on special and that was also fantastic. So it seems to be that the specials are the way to go at this place.
It is BYOB which is also great.