Casa Dante

Not only closed, but replaced with an Indian place, Vaibhav, The Jersey Journal reported on its reopening.

Food was great. Service was terrible. There’s FREE valet parking right outside, you pay tip only.
I came here enticed by the Unilocal check-​in deal. They take either, not both. I only learned this after asking about three waiters– the first two had no idea it even existed.
Inside, we were seated right away. My immediate thought was «Dammit, I’m under dressed». The décor is old school Italian glamour — minus the glamour, makes sense? The maitre’ d was suited up and so were the waiters. Then I looked around and saw a woman in her scrubs and other people in casual clothes, so I immediately relaxed.
The menu is overwhelmingly packed with options on end, so it took me a while but I decided on a safe dish — shrimp francese. My boyfriend ordered the shrimp fra diavolo. Both were spectacular: great portions and packed with flavor.
The service, however, was a joke. The waiter was too nonchalant and laid back. Any question we asked he’ll reply «ehhh whatever you want, just pick one» Really? That’s your response when we ask to recommend the best salad? When we ask which red wine do you recommend?
I know it’s whatever I want. I’m paying therefore it IS my decision but you are the waiter and therefore you should provide the service. He would disappear and then when we finally located him chatting with the other waiters, we’d wave him over and he’d give us the «hold on» finger — clearly not busy at all. I was annoyed and his tip reflected this.
When we asked for the check and provided the Unilocal deal, of course the check came back discount incorrectly. We had to explain their own deal to them and they adjusted the check.
What a nightmare, I’m not returning.

The fam and I came here for dinner after a nice long day in New York. It was the perfect ending to such a great day.
The atmosphere of Casa Dante was fabulous. Old school elegant Italian dining. And the thing I usually hate about elegant restaurants is the small food portions, but not here! I ordered Chicken Rollatine and they brought out three huge pieces of chicken wrapped in big pieces of prosciutto stuffed with cheese and spinach and smothered in a sauce that was out of this world. It filled me right up, and we got their famous rofutu for dessert. A ball of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream dipped in dark chocolate cut in three. Couldn’t have asked for anything better. The service was fantastic and accommodating.
Overall, great little restaurant tucked away in Jersey City. Highly recommend!

We had heard such great things about Casa Dante, and I must say, we were fairly disappointed. We were seated in the back room for the live jazz music, and the décor reminds one of a very tacky wedding venue. Streamers, disco lights, rice paper lanterns with plastic beads hanging from them, you get the picture.
Our server did not speak English very well, and clearly did not know what was on the menu, because there were several miscommunications during our ordering process (eg he kept insisting that all dishes came with a side of potatoes, which turned out to be mozzarella sticks). The menu is quite substantial, but if they are going to be charging what they charge, the wait staff needs to know it like the back of their hand. Our server also did not understand our initial request for the bill, and so we had to wait over 30 minutes before he finally reappeared and said, «Oh, do you want the bill?»
The food was good. Not great, not stunning, not memorable. Not worth the price tag.

We reserve in this place for New Year eve for my entire family, 16 of us. When we got there we realize we were not seating together instead on separate tables, yes, across to each other but we were all separate. We asked why couldn’t they join the tables together but we did not really get a valid answer. The service was horrible, everything was slow and I even had to asked for menu at least 5 times. My mother and sister and her family had to seat in a separate table and the same for my brothers. The food was good but not a lot of choice that night, i guess because they were having a bigger party. we were all very disappointed and they even included the tip which was a little too high considering the horrible service we got. We will never organize any family even at at this place

It’s a cold and ice winter Sunday night and our party of 7 is starved. The group choice was Casa Dante — a old Jersey City favorite from our college days. We were greeted by efficient and courteous valet parking (a must in this part of the world). Inside, our hostess was equally warm and friendly — experience and a good customer service esthetic was obvious. Our seating — in an old world corner booth with a wrap-​around high, cushioned seat back — was perfect. We had plenty of room and we were far enough from the TV over the bar to enjoy quiet conversation. The entrees on the several page menu are right out of the classic «pasta and red sauce» playbook and everyone who selected one of the classics reported that the pasta was done to perfection (harder to do that you imagine) and the sauce was flavorful and hot (also hard to do consistently for large groups). My wife shared her chicken entrée and it was wonderful — tender, flavorful. The potato side was too greasy for my taste but it did have a lot of flavor (no fat, no flavor, as the chefs say). All in all, the main dishes were good. The meatball appetizer was interesting — very similar to way my mother from Naples made them. They were small and expensive but we all liked them. The fried zucchini was a disappointment and not recommended. Dry, oily is how most described the dish, despite the side order of tomato sauce that came with it. The cold appetizer plate was unimaginative and despite a full table of hungry people, there were quite a few bits left untouched — also a disappointment and not recommended. The huge bread basket had decent Italian rolls but lifeless and flavorless bread sticks — most left untouched. Sadly, some of the bread was at the limit of freshness — a result, perhaps of a late Sunday serving? I foolishly ventured into the specials menu and ordered risotto and shrimp. The shrimp were clearly quite fresh and cooked well but the risotto was not made to order — the only way to really do it right. Mine was mushy with an oatmeal like consistency. I picked out the yummy shrimp and left most of the rice (I really can’t call it risotto) behind. We didn’t have dessert — we were all so full as the portions are generous.
The plusses — wonderful, old world service. Classic red sauce over pasta dishes are done well. Comfortable atmosphere served by experienced and professional restaurant people. Also, the people who had wine by the glass were impressed with the quality of the house wines.
The minuses — some dishes missed the mark. The cold antipasti and fried zucchini were a disappointment. My risotto special should have not been on the menu — too ambitious I feel and I blame myself for ordering it, thereby encouraging them to keep offering it. Next time, I would order a steak, pasta dish or the chicken.
I can see how this could become a family favorite if you ordered carefully from the tried and true offerings on the menu.
I give it 3 to 3 ½ stars — could have been 4 stars if I had ordered a pasta dish and passed on the risotto.

This place has great service but the food was just mediocre. I had penne a la vodka and it was nothing special. I feel like you can get the same dish at a diner.

I come bearing a mixed review.
If I were to review this place on food alone, it would probably be a 4. However, the service was just so terrible.
We came with a large group. Upon first arriving, they couldn’t find our reservation and scared me half to death. They kept asking me who I spoke to and what time I had called. I hadn’t exactly memorized every detail of my reservation.
They finally found my reservation and we were seated. Our server, almost immediately, was incredibly pushy. Some of our party had went to the bathroom, but he kept berating us as to what we wanted to drink, although we wanted to wait to look over the menu. He hung around and waited for the rest of our party to sit down, and then asked them as soon as they sat. They, obviously, felt a little overwhelmed since they didn’t even look at the drink menus or long wine list just yet.
I guess our server got tired of waiting so he left. When he came back to take our appetizer order, we were ready to order drinks. However, he refused to take our drinks and said he would come back for them. So, now we have our appetizers coming out and no drinks on our table. Very, very backwards and unprofessional.
It seemed that every appetizer we ordered, although we ordered one appetizer per person, wasn’t «enough.» He kept asking if we were sure we didn’t want to order more. Obviously our $ 400 bill wasn’t enough for the restaurant?
Our appetizers were all well-​executed and good. I especially enjoyed the Stuffed Figs. Stuffed with Gorgonzola, it was a nice combination of sweet and salty. The Tricolor Salad was bitter but once mixed, was enjoyable. The Shrimp Cocktail was also good and a nice portion.
My drink of choice was a Cucumber Martini that was supposed to come garnished with cucumbers, but did not. I enjoyed the drink and really wanted to try another martini on the menu. Unfortunately, I was never asked for a second round and our waiter actually, literally, left the building. Sometime around the time when our entrees hit the table, my husbands’ aunt said she saw our waiter, dressed in his street clothes, leaving the restaurant.
I didn’t think this was true. He hadn’t informed us he was leaving, nor informed us anyone would be taking over our table. Sure enough, our plates were cleaned by random people. And we waited, and waited, and waited for our check, or even any kind of acknowledgment. We finally flagged someone down, after waiting probably 45 minutes for a check or some kind of life form to come over to us. They confirmed that yes, our waiter did leave. I find it completely unprofessional and uncalled for we weren’t even told of this. We were celebrating a 60^th birthday, spent quite a LOT of money here, and were treated incredibly poorly. For this reason, I will never return.

This place. The olé ball and chain has been wanting to go here for years. It’s a wee bit pricey so I’ve always been a bit standoffish. For those prices, we can head to NYC and do it up right. But, bday weekend calls and Friday night we class it up and head here for some dinner and drrrranks. This place is such a gem. It is expensive, but if you’re looking for a legit night out in Jersey City where you feel some old world charm and how Jersey City might of been 10 – 50 years ago. This may be it. By no means is this hip and you will not be finding any molecular gastronomy here, this is just some fine Italian cooking with some great old school service.
The place is pretty empty on a Sat night. I like it. «It’s really nice in here,» are the first words that pop into my brain. Very clean, great plush booths, white table cloths, great lighting, waiters in the tuxedo garb and!!! There’s an and. A live jazz trio. Sweet. Date night is getting real smooth.
The bread is fresh and delicious. We start off with a beer for the sir and a Speciatini for me. The Peroni (you’re not here for the beer list) is very cold and carbonated. The man was super happy and refreshed. My Speciatini, basically a cucumber martini, was strong and mixed perfectly. We ordered up some apps including the meatballs and the prosciutto wrapped gorgonzola stuffed figs then to come, a veal a la dente and the shrimp and wine sauce.
Now, the meatballs were delicious. My maaa still makes ‘em better, but these were subtle and the sauce was done right, not too acidic or overpowering. I wasn’t thrilled with the prosciutto gorgonzola figs. You couldn’t taste the figs since there was a huge glob of blue cheese with buttery prosciutto wrapped around it. It ended up just being a very strong and aggressive dish, I wouldn’t order it again.
The entrees came and we were both super happy with orders. The veal a la dante was similar to milanese style. A thinly pounded breaded and fried piece of veal with a heaping salad on top. My 5 – 6 shrimps were butterflied with the most amazing wine and garlic sauce on it. I passed on pasta and went with veggies. No complaints other than that the entrees were pricy. My shrimp meal was around $ 26. That’s a lot of moola for Journal Square, Jersey City. As I discussed my Unilocal review during dinner with the man, the word pricy came up. We weren’t upset, just stating the facts. But interesting enough, the night prior at dinner (Porta in Asbury Park, 2 star review) we were using the words overpriced in fits of rage and horror (exaggerating a bit). So, this is where Casa Dante fits in: It’s not over-​priced, but it’s definitely pricey. See the difference?
The profiteroles are a friggin’ must. Two huge pastries stuffed with fresh whipped cream, ice cream and NUTELLA. It was heavenly and maybe one of the best desserts in Jersey City. Eh, the cannoli, I didn’t love, but I never do. The man sure did so go ahead and see for yourself.
Overall, you want to get away from Grove St and try something new with that special someone or are your parents/​in-​laws/​friends in town and you need something different? Casa Dante may be it.
*** Unilocal Check In Offer Alert — 10% off your meal.

Tenderest veal I have ever eaten. Great service, nice ambiance. The only negatives are the location as it’s in a borderline sketchy part of Jersey City. Also, I’m in my 40s and I’m probably the youngest person in there when I dine, so it’s not hip. They often have live entertainment and it’s ok, but it’s pretty old school and a little cheesy. It’s great food and service, so I would return.

What a mess! Right out of the gate the bartender was extremly rude, as if he was there doing us a favor! The place was dead empty on a mid week late afternoon, my guest and I stoped for cocktails first at the bar (enter Mr Rude), thought we would try an appetizer– scuingille fra diavlo. YES I know that means spicy, so I asked if it could be tamned a bit. «what do you mean, its diavallo, thats means hot– you want it or not?» Nice huh?
Goodbye to that! You need more than a stylish bar to get customers. Mediocre food and bad attitude gets you nothing
Edit:3/7/14. Walked up to the place to confirm-​yes, place closed!!!

3.5 food, 4 for overall experience. It’s a unique place. My husband and I have been to Casa Dante quite a few times and we always enjoy ourselves. I am extremely picky about my Italian food being 100% Ital and I have never had a bad dish here. In fact, I would put their cold seafood salad and scungilli fra diavolo among the best I have tried in the States. Some of the other dishes are hit or miss, but they are always very good, some excellent, some great. We even opted to spend our first wedding anniversary here. As other commenters point out, Dante is somewhat old school in feel — big bar once you walk past the coat check and two large dining rooms. For me, this only adds to the charm. As to the neighborhood, I think it’s just fine. They have a very efficient valet lot right next store as well with a super nice guy working it.
I am from Brooklyn and Dante does have a classic Brooklyn feel to it that I enjoy. Décor is not at all gaudy but being more on the fancy side, it feels more traditional. It’s still pretty tasteful and warm at the same time. Service is overall good. All male waiters in traditional black and white garb are fairly helpful. They aren’t overtly warm but not cold either — old school Italian servers never are overly solicitous, and they almost never crowd you, so this doesn’t bother me. In a more modern setting it might, but Casa Dante is about the overall experience. Once in a while there is a slightly long lag between courses but I excuse this because it’s not a rush in rush out sort of place. It’s also a good place for a birthday or large group.
I’ve seen the live music in both rooms (i think they do this mostly on Saturdays?). One time it was a serviceable duo singing traditional Neopolitan songs that made me misty after a few wines, and the rest of my visits have been to the large dining room where there is a small dance floor and they usually have reasonably talented lounge singer types doing ballads, the obligatory Andrea Bocelli songs and a few pop classics. Depending on how you feel about lounge singers, this part of the Saturday scene is either hugely entertaining or overtly atmospheric yet amusing (in a good way). The music is never too loud so you can still have a nice conversation with your date. The crowd is older but not super old, and there are plenty of good looking late 20s to 30 somethings mixed in throughout. My husband and I are in our early to mid 30s and we always feel welcome. For me, food is the most important piece and that is what Casa Dante does best. The prices are fair for a nice night out, and they do have quite a nice wine list.
one gripe– I think the tables could use votive candles, make the large dining room a touch darker, and I would prefer if the butter wasn’t cold. Hard to spread on the bread they give you.
The other night my husband ordered the Sausage Meatballs and I had the Linguine White Clam Sauce. Both were excellent. Linguine with White Clam is my favorite dish of all time so I don’t say it’s great when it isn’t — trust me. The seafood salad we started with was delicious. I love Casa Dante’s and I recommend the younger set check it out. It offers things that newer, trendier restaurants cannot. It has heart and nostalgia coupled with excellent food and traditional service– exactly what i look for in an upscale Italian restaurant.
Dinner for two with two appetizers and a couple of glasses of wine each will run you close to 100 bucks but for several hours out and some entertainment and laughs, I think it’s a great deal. Note — the mix a very good cocktail. Also, the maitre de checked in with us twice and even asked us if we’d like an on the house drink to close out our meal because we were clearly lingering to enjoy the singers. Anyways, very nice. I do recommend you try it.

Only a handful of old fashioned Italian-​American restaurants exist in Hudson County, yet only Case Dante pulls it off perfectly. You’re first greeted with valet parking as you pull off Newark Ave. You walk into Case Dante and view the first room, complete with a bar full of Mafia members — just kidding, they’re in the second room. Coat check for your wife’s fur coat and onto the waiting area. While you never wait, it’s fun to see how many times you can spot Jersey City’s often drunk Mayor Healy in the celebrity pictures on the wall.
Grab yourself a drink at the bar, perhaps if you are waiting, but otherwise I recommend going into the second room (that is, the main room) for dining. Upon entering the main room, scan and see if you can find a union boss or mafia member, or maybe a local politician. They’re all there. Romantic and private with just the right old school ambiance, the main room is a throw back to a different era that was thought to last forever. Casa Dante keeps it alive.
Waiters in tuxedos know everything on the menu and keep you comfortable all night long with all the standard Italian-​American hospitality you would expect. Wine is superb and the food as well. So fresh, so good, so delightful, so perfect. Come for the food, stay for the environment and leave feeling like a mafia member that just paid for everyone with cash. Feels good, doesn’t it?

My wife and I went here for Valentine’s Day. We wanted a later seating, but Open Table showed the only available seating at 6:00pm. The place was pretty empty up until we left at 7pm, so don’t know why we couldn’t get a seating at 6:30 or 7:00.
The food was ok and reasonably priced for NJ/​NYC. When we asked to place our appetizer order, the waiter said he could not just take our appetizer — we had to order the whole meal at one time because the kitchen was very busy. Didn’t like that.
The location is in kind of a sketchy area of JC near the Journal Square PATH station. I would never let my wife go alone or meet me there.
Overall OK, but since there are so many great restaurants to try in the area, we likely will try something else next time and not repeat this one.

I went here a few years ago with my son and I’ve been trying to get back ever since then. I had the BEST Pomodoro Angle Hair pasta I’ve ever had in my life! The sauce was called Pomodoro e Basilico with fresh cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. To die for!
For dessert I had the Tiramisu. DELISH! Ive never been a fan of the dessert before but since the pasta was good I figured this may be the best place to give tiramisu a try.
I live in DC but hope to get there again sometime this year.

This is a very necessary place, very close to my heart. If it closed i don’t know what i would do.
My family and i have been coming to Casa Dante for many years. All special occasions from graduations, first communions, birthdays, dates, etc… The Dante has alway given us big smiles and full bellies. They even have valet parking if you wanna show your date what a swell guy you are!
The fried mozzarella is to die for! I have to make it a point to visit when they have live music.

Very elegant, great food, big portions for the price.
An almost austere ambiance that makes it a little uncomfortable if the place is empty. This is counteracted by the live music later in the evening.

Casa Dante’s service was ok, food was horrible, and definitely not worth the money. «Mister» raved about this place but he hasn’t been here for the past 3 to 4 years. So he, too, was disgusted with the food here. He felt bad because he brought me here, but he knows how to make it up to me ;-).
Anyways, the hot antipasto platter was «blah». The soups were bland. My salmon with horseradish sauce was disappointing. Come to think of it, salmon and horseradish is not a good pairing. The smell and taste were overwhelming. Oh my… I don’t want to think about it anymore. Ewwwww
«Mister» ordered the NY Strip Steak and not only was it rare but it had no flavor. It was terrible. We got home feeling awful. Fortunately, my dinner ended up in the toilet. It made me sick the longer it stayed inside me. «Mister» also paid a couple of visits to the bathroom.
The only thing good was the live entertainment, the San Pellegrino water, and the tiramisu because Casa Dante didn’t make it.
I highly recommend AVOIDING Casa Dante at ALL costs.

You are in Jersey City and you do not know where to bring Grandma or your parents (depending on your age)… Well do not wait bring them to Casa Dante. It would me a perfect place for them to travel back in time to one of their favorite italian-​family style restaurant.
The food is alright. The atmosphere is old fashion-​posh-​italian-​mafia. The décor is nice, and the service good but so formal, it just feels outdated.
It is a large restaurants with two large rooms. People rent it for parties, anniversaries, birthdays. The bar is nice.
The pasta dishes are simple, the sauces not really complex or flavorful.
The tiramisu is great.
It is probably the nicest italian restaurant in Jersey City.

I usually would not write a review for a place in my own town after having only been there once, but I just have to do it for Casa Dante because I keep thinking about the delicious meal I had there last week and since I can’t go back right now, I’ll settle for raving about it instead.
The menu is quite extensive, so choosing what to order was rather difficult. I finally settled on a simple Pomodoro e Basilico sauce (fresh cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, garlic and EVOO). The types of pasta offered are listed separately. I’m going to paste them here because it’s quite an extensive list, including one I’ve never heard of:
Penne Regate
Gnocchi
Rigatoni
Linguine
Spaghettini
Fettuccini
Tortellini
Fusilli Col Bucco
Whole Wheat Penne
Whole Wheat Linguine
Perciatelli
Ziti
I was intrigued by Fusilli Col Bucco, so I went with that. It’s spaghetti-​length fusilli.
Jeff and I started off by splitting the Insalata della Casa (baby lettuces, toasted pignoli nuts, prosciutto, red onions tossed with balsamic, red wine vinaigrette). We gobbled that up and then our entrees arrived.
Jeff got red clam sauce with Perciatelli, I think. He was blown away by the number of clams in their shells piled on top of the pasta. It was definitely not a sauce made with chopped, canned clams with a few in the shell dropped on top.
We each got a glass of house red wine (Pinot Noir and a Chianti), which tasted fine. We were already splurging on the food, so we didn’t get anything fancier to drink. My pasta, which included no meat, was $ 17, if I recall. Jeff’s clam sauce was a few dollars more.
But I’m telling you, I have dreams about how delicious my entrée was — and the salad, too!