Joe Pesce

I have to say this one of the best places I’ve ever had seafood at ! The grilled romaine salad was amazing. I got the Sea Grill. The shrimp was so large it had to weigh close to 6 ozs. I will return for sure

One word. Amazing. The food, the staff, the décor & location. We started with seafood stuffed tomato AND grilled escarole topped with crabmeat. Main course was almond topped Mahi Mahi with grilled shrimp and a side of risotto. As immensely full as I was, a slice of ricotta cheesecake was placed in between us for dessert. OMG. The citrus infusion and drizzle set off the ricotta and there was an explosion of flavor. I seriously cannot rave enough about the restaurant.

First time there last night. Delicious dinner. Started with the grilled romaine salad and lamb chops. both perfect. I ordered the bronzino and my husband got the veal Sinatra. Both meals did not disappoint. The fish was cooked perfectly and to be honest, didn’t even need a topping. The homemade cannoli for dessert was the perfect ending to our meal. Will definitely be back again!

This is a fun restaurant. The staff and owner are very friendly. The service was great. Now to the food, after all that’s why we are here. You will not be disappointed!
Started with a nice bold cab that I byob. got to love this place. Two apps. signature salad and crazy lobster.excellent. My selection was the salmon from some place where i have never been or plan on going in the near future.BUT.who cares, it was prepared in a way that will bring me back soon.wow.others in my group had the monk fish, snapper and cheerios (she was only 18 months and loved them. everyone commented on how they were treated to a great meal. They were right. I did treat them. CYA SOON at JP

Just returned from Joe Pesce’s and will definitely return. I went with a cynical outlook, based on past reviews. Most were outstanding, but I wanted to acknowledge the less than stellar reviews.
First, let’s address the service: I have no idea what caused a couple of others to denigrate the service, because it was exceptional. It was very caring yet unobtrusive. We were never able to pour our own wine at this BYOB (even having our wine aerator used for the bottle that needed it) and a fresh glass was used for each wine. Yes, I realize that this should always be the case, but it often isn’t, even at the top rated city restaurants.
The food was outstanding for each of the three of us. I admit that my whole fish preparation was a bit too heavy handed re: the roasted garlic, but everything else was spot on.
Chris was extremely attentive, yet not overbearing. We will not hesitate to return asap.

I’m not surprised they closed this place. Came here on a Sunday afternoon… the place was completely empty and yet service took forever! The food was certainly nothing to write home about.

We live in Collingswood so we go out to eat at the many restaurants quite often.
Joe Pesce is one of my favorites.
The fish special, typically a white fish (bronzino) is delicious. The atmosphere is nice a cozy and the wait staff, particularly the owner is very nice.
They a bit price compared to the other options, but if you want to treat yourself, go here.

Very pricey, but a good meal.
Will go here when I can spluge again and am in the mood for some great seafood.

Wow this place was incredible. The manager sat us and let us know it was byob. which we didn’t realize as we were looking for a different restaurant and he sent us down the street to grab some wine. When we came back he told us about all 7? additions to the menu that evening.
All sounded incredible. We began with a flatbread topped with toasted shrimp and scallops and a separate order of seared scallops over a dijon aioli. The seared scallops were served in a pair and were HUGE and sooooo delicious. Prepared perfectly.
For our main courses my boyfriend and I both got specials. He ordered the mahi mahi topped with roasted fennel
And I ordered the branzino, which our server deboned in front of me (an impressive touch) it was seasoned and prepared once again perfectly. I’m usually not big on fish and this place blew my mind.
We ended the meal with cannolis and tiramisu. 2 bottles of wine later and we left full and happy.

Don’t Go!
We were looking for a lite meal out, so we thought we try Joe Pesce’s. Not a good idea! When I recieved my Sea Grill with sea scallops, shrimp, and lobster tail over Arugula there was a problem. First it only slightly annoyed me that my $ 29 meal contained 1 shrimp, 2 small scallops, and a petite tail, but after biting into the lobster tail I experienced a strong taste and odor of ammonia.
I never tasted seafood with an ammonia taste before so I caught my waiter and informed him of this. Instead of acknowledging the tail was spoiled he told me it was the lemon I squeezed on it. It was only when I got home and googled «lobster ammonia smell» did I learn I had eaten spoiled fish!!! After I brought this to the restaurant’s atttention, we were merely given our bill — promptly.
All this after having the rubbery $ 18 grilled Octopus appetizer!
My wife’s Lobster & Shrimp Francaise was served over mashed potatoes (which was the major portion of her $ 30 plate). Really?

Admittedly going in, we knew we wanted something small and were satisfied with our meal.
HOWEVER
Snarky comment about Collingswood’s tap water after we chose that over bottled water.
Tables too close together. Waiter’s butt hung over our table while serving the next table
When room is full, noise level intolerable
Overheating occurs as the room fills
Not too pleasant to carry home the smells of the kitchen, perhaps ventilation needs adjustment if one cooks right in the dining room
Five minute discussion of specials rather overwhelming how about a photocopied supplement to the menu.
Excessive attention to whether we enjoyed our meal

Unbeknownst to most historians, Sir Thomas Malory, while penning Le Morte Darthur and languishing in a dungeon for forcing one Hugh Smyth’s wife, originally chose Collingswood as that mythical, idyllic venue before settling on the more colloquial Avalon. And rising up from the sea like the Lady of the Lake, waving a spatula, is Joe Pesce.
The paisans here know how to cook up one mean branzino, served with my choice of sauce. I opted for the siciliano in honor of that other Joe Pesci, served with diced plumb tomatoes, olives, and capers. Filleted table side, you can’t do bronzino better than this. We also enjoyed grilled romaine salad and crab mac & cheese.
The cannoli was a let down, so in this case at least take the gun and leave the cannoli. Also, this is a fish joint people, so come expecting to order one of their fresh fish selections, preferably the branzino. Under no circumstance should you cling stubbornly to a red meat preference like Bedivere clutching Excalibur. Cast it off, and Joe Pesce will bring you to your own Avalon in the guise of a brilliantly prepared fish.

From the moment we walked in and were greeted by the staff we knew we were in store for a wonderful evening of culinary delights and fantastic service. That is what we got!!! An amazing experience of food favors and fun! Make a reservation NOW! You won’t be disappointed.

We have dined at Joe Pesce’s a few times and have thoroughly enjoyed our meals. For me, the branzino was a standout, and it would justify a trip across the river anytime it is on the menu. Found the table-​side deboning utterly fascinating, BTW. The crab mac and cheese was the highest and best use of crab imaginable. We dream about that dish. Agree with reviewer David S. about the Caesar salad. Although we are not huge dessert eaters, our dinner companions loved the chocolate cake. Can’t wait to return. Reservations are an absolute necessity.

I had been here before with my family, and had a great meal. Prices a little on the high side for South Jersey (about $ 20 – 30 for an entrée), but that was ok. HOWEVER, on a recent visit with my husband, the server told us the specials. They sounded good, so we both chose one: he opted for the veal chops, while I picked the monk fish. The food was good, although not quite up to par with what we had on our prior visit.
The real horror was when we received the check. His veal chops cost us a whopping $ 47, while my 3 tiny pieces of monk fish entrée was $ 43. Our dinner total came to about $ 150 for the two of us. The waiter SHOULD have specified the prices, ESPECIALLY if they were so out of line with the cost of the other dishes. And of course, In hindsight, we should have asked… However, it’s obvious that this little act of deception is deliberate. Outrageous! We will not be going back again.

Make a reservation. Especially for prime dining hours. One of my favorites for seafood in the area. Have been here several times and always left full and happy. This another place that you should wait for the specials. If they have the home made ceasar salad, order it. it is fantastic! They also recently started offering lunch service. BYOB

My husband and I had 8:00 p.m. dinner reservations and were promptly seated; first time diners here. The ambiance was quite nice and small. It was very, very hot inside, though. I have a pet peeve about candles being burned out on my dinner table, especially at the peek of Friday evening dining, and we had to ask three times for a new candle. Small detail, I know, but I’m a lighting person.
I think they have a three tier serving staff — there was Chris who sat us and was very pleasant, then a mid-​range server, then a busser. The second tier server came over after our wine was opened and said «ARE YOU ORDERING THE WHOLE FISH?» Kind of an abrupt opener… after how smooth Chris was when we sat down.
We had the grilled romaine which we swore we wouldn’t do because, come on… salad? I’m glad we gave into peer pressure because it was very good — there was a tremendous amount of crab meat and several shrimp. My romaine heart was a little gritty, but it wasn’t the end of the world.
The Shrimp Joe’s were amazing — I don’t even like BBQ sauce.
For dinner we had a full order of Pesce Combo and I can honestly say it was the best scallop I ever ate. The tilapia was boring, but the shrimp were huge and perfectly cooked so I got over it. My husband and I always share so we ordered a half order of the shrimp and crab scampi and crab macaroni and cheese. Forget the scampi, the shrimp were again huge, but overall it was very bland… the mac and cheese was extremely good — loads of crab meat. I’m a sucker for orecchiette.
Over all, it was a great meal. We’ll definitely go back.

We went here in hopes to finally find a good seafood place.
Well, we were severely disappointed.
Here’s why…
The menu looks very promising, but fails WAY short in terms of quality and taste — shrimp was badly overcooked; lobster was too chewy and rubbery, almost like it was pre-​cooked earlier in the day and served hours later and the main course? well it was so forgettable that I am not even sure what special I ordered…
What’s worse, the service was horrendous, we had to constantly catch a waitress to ask for water refill or more bread or what not… and it’s not as if the place was busy, besides our table I think there were only 3 or 4 more tables… On top of that, there was certain negative attitude from the wait stuff when you’d ask for something…
To make things worse, we ended up paying around $ 150 for dinner for two WITHOUT alcohol… and got quality on par with Red Lobster…

Went for the first time on Friday, 6÷11÷2010. Arrived for dinner around 7:45 without reservations and were seated about 8:15. Worth the wait for sure.
One of the owners Chris explained the specials too us which all sounded awesome! We started with the grilled romaine, I cant put into words how good this was. WOW! I had the shrimp & crab scampi. Delicious! Plenty of shrimp & crab. My girl friend had the whole fish special, the dover. Again delicious!
By 10:30 we were finished eating and were sharing conversation and wine with Chris the owner and two other guests. Chris had pulled up a chair at the table next to us.
This is a great place I highly recommend. Chris brings some real south philly character to Collingswood, and I dont mean that in a bad way at all.

My new favorite Collingswood restaurant.
Like all restaurants in my town, it’s BYOB, which makes it a cheaper excursion than the Philly version. Went for a birthday dinner with a good bottle of wine – I had a salad to start, and a ½ pound lobster for the entrée. It was the best lobster I’ve ever had – so buttery, it just melted in my mouth. My DH had the Zuppe di Pesce, which had incredibly fresh seafood – minimal broth, but very tasty. For the entrée, he went with the 2 soft shell crabs special, which he said was good, but not as good as the soup. The one criticism we had was of their bread – and while you don’t normally expect Italian bread to be great, theirs was more-​than-​normally tasteless.
Will be back for more, for sure!