Reservoir Restaurant

Service was not good at all! Very unprofessional, the waitresses were very nasty and a horrible attitude. Food was ok not great, but not coming back to this place.

Fabulous! Our dinner was delicious and the service was excellent. I highly recommend this restaurant! It was our first time but definitely not our last.

Never a disappointment. LOVE the pizza and Tony salad. Grilled sausage and chicken murphy are my other 2 favorites. Portion sizes are very generous! Not a lot of old school Italian restaurants in my area, so Reservoir Restaurant is definitely worth traveling to for us. Service can be slow at times, but the food definitely compensates for it.

Food great. Tony salad to die for, no better pizza, always crowded because food great, only negative is short blond older lady behind counter with foul month

I’ve only been here once, but I intend to go back. Great old-​style Italian restaurant, earthy «red sauce» type of place, nothing fancy, but lots of good down-​home Italian food for not a ton of money. I liked the atmosphere, the food, nice nostalgic vibe, everything.

I came to Reservoir expecting something great. Unfortunately, my meal here didn’t meet my expectations. The food was mediocre, and the service was abysmal.
The pizza appeared to be thin crust from a distance. However, it was really chewy. The part of my pie that was veggies was good, but that’s because I love veggies on my pie. I also was able to add flavor by pouring on some cheese and crushed red pepper.
My date had the grilled chicken over spinach. It came with two pounded out, dry and flavorless breasts. The bed of spinach it was served over was nice and garlicky.
I wouldn’t recommend the place, though I would go again if someone else wanted to go there.

From the get go, rude service. Then no corkscrew or bottle openers for our BYOB. Sub-​par food. Cash only. Adiós.

We love their food– it’s definitely better to order out before the service can be slow. Food is great– good pizza, eggplant parm, penne a la Barbara, tony salad– all very good

This is my favorite restaurant in New Jersey. From the moment I walk in until the last bite of my dessert I am immersed in some of the best Italian eats and desserts on this planet. The entire staff including the chef (MY FAVORITE) do a fabulous job of presenting an array of good good fun and a quality night out. The pizza is extraordinary. The chicken, veal, and seafood dishes are outrageous. The pasta is a prepared to your taste with a touch of love from the chef.
Leonard Marshall
N Y Giants Great
1983 – 1992

Good old school Italian restaurant pizzeria. classic southern Italian dishes with good thin crust greasy cheesy pizza. $ 2 a slice for cheese.

Food was mediocre. Service was horrendous. Very disappointing because I had been told that this place was supposed to be amazing. Wish that I could have said that. Our server does not pay attention, never asked us if we needed anything or if everything was ok. It was typical Italian food. If you want the family style real Italian feel and great food stick with Carmine’s in NYC. It’s worth the drive. Sucks when someone sets the bar high for you and the food is just as lousy as diner food. I think people who have written good things about this place must have had too much wine considering it took 45 minutes for the food to come out. Spend your money elsewhere.

Great food but I wish they would be more consistent. The chicken Arnold never comes out the same. And when I ask for the potatoes on top, I don’t think it’s that hard to make it happen.
The Tony salad is fantastic. You can make a meal out of it. Now the salad is always consistent.
I’ve tried a few of their pizzas but for some reason, the onion pizza is the best.
Always long wait time.
CASH ONLY!
BYOB

This place has really great pizza and its BYOB. It’s definitely one of my favorite places in South Orange. I usually order the hot pepper pizza and the chicken Murphy! Both are on the spicier side, chicken Murphy is a large portion as well. It’s always pretty busy when I’m there and the waitresses get the job done. It’s cash only!

First I read the other reviews and then decided to try Reservoir.
I enjoyed the down-​home /​local environment and quality service by real people.
Promptly a HOT fresh loaf of bread arrived and it was devoured. We then ordered the small Tony’s salad as an app. It was huge for the two of us and we ended up taking half of it home. Thankfully the delicious homemade dressing was on the side and it even gained more flavor over night. They should sell the dressing in bottles, to go.
We also ordered a side dish of tomato sauce and marina so I could try them with the bread before ordering it on my pasta. They were tasty. Ultimately ordered a pasta dish with vodka sauce (slightly thinner or less creamy than expected — though flavorful), chicken and mushrooms. Again it was tasty and a huge portion. Barely put a dent in it. It was also taken home and eaten the next day.
It is cash only.
We will come back and try more — sandwiches, pizza, etc.

My wife and I picked up pizza from Reservoir Restaurant recently. After all of the excellent reviews of the pizza I must say that I was disappointed. That is not to say the pizza is bad at all. It just fails to meet the high standards and expectations of this part of Jersey. The crust seems to be a thicker version of what you would find at Star Tavern. It is not an airy or flavorful crust at all. That is my chief complaint with Reservoir and Star. Sauce was good, though not evenly distributed. Notwithstanding, it is a very good pizza. (note that they run small, no big 16″ or 18″ pies here)

Portions are extremely huge we ordered the chicken Murphy and the sausage rigatoni, we were able to half the rest for lunch and then some the nxt day! The tony salad for one can really be for 2 or more it’s delicious!!!

Old fashioned pizza pies. That’s what I’m talkin’ about! :)
I am an italian food connoisseur. I really appreciate old fashioned roots when it comes to a pizzeria. I do not like anything modern or manufactured. (ex: Domino’s/Papa John’s)
This place is nestled in the heart of south orange. It’s so super cute over there but most places are so modernized. Reservoir is one of the veterans on the block. My grandfather used to go here when the location was in Newark decades ago!
Onto the pie… so we had a traditional cheese pie with mushrooms and olives as toppings.
Ugh, it was so fantastic, we ended up purchasing two! My boyfriend and I scarfed down nearly the entire thing. I did not want this pizza to end!
I’m not generally a meat eater, but my boyfriend ordered one of their antipast salads and was in heaven.
If the food doesn’t get your gut, the price will. Everything is super affordable. I think it was like $ 12 for a pie and toppings were a little extra. The amount you get for your money is so worth it!
FYI: The wait is ridic on weekends, go early. Oh… and bring cash… and your own vino. (There’s a liquor store a few blocks up.)
Don’t order take out. It will not taste the same. The cheese will fall off the pie and you’ll never come here again. Take some time, sit down and relax here. The owner is super friendly… I feel like he could be an uncle of mine.

Casual old-​school restaurant – awesome if you like big portions of red-​sauce Italian. Service is good and efficient but not there to give you preferential treatment. The exception was that the chef personally served our pizza to our table. Not sure why, but she ran it out, and that was kinda cool (she said I know there’s no [x] on it because I made it – she was smiling when she said it and very friendly.) Cash Only!

Love the byob here! They will supply wine opener if you forget yours.
Monday nights here are called «create» nights.
You pick which pasta, which sauce, example… vodka sauce, alfredo, bolognese etc… and you get to pick 5 additions… your choice, mozzarella, arugula,
mushrooms, hot peppers & prosciutto. (many other choices available) .You get a huge amount literally enough for two meals or for two people. I think the cost is aprox $ 15. Vodka sauce is excellent.
That being said… I personally wouldnt come here for anything other than create night. I went to dinner here recently with my Mom on a Saturday. We shared an order of fried calamari… oily, rubbery. just plain inediable.
I had chicken florentine. chicken was dry as a bone and chicken was extremely thick… yuck!
My Mom had baked macaroni. sauce was sweet and honestly the worse tasting sauce I’ve ever eaten in my life…
Stick to create (vodka sauce) and byob and you wont be disappointed anything other than… go somewhere else!!!

Extremely generous portions that can be for two people– but are priced for one. Friendly and quick service and delicious food. Don’t be fooled by the outside!
The Tony Salad is a great appetizer (honestly just ate the salad and vege part) — amazing dressing! Again, huge portion. Got the Shrimp Fra Diavolo as my entrée with yet another delicious side salad. Perfect spice to the dish and delicious sauce even containing tomato chunks.
The two guests I was with ordered pasta dishes. They too claimed they were delicious and of course took half home to go. Would love to try a whole wheat pasta dish next time! Mondays are even «make your own». Other perks– gluten free pasta and pizza.
The cannoli was very creamy and original. The shell was cinnamon covered and amazing. Tartufo very authentic, along with the cappuccino.