Arturo's Noses Out Trattoria for Best Italian
Our highly unscientific poll nets the James Beard-nominated Arturo's as the winner.
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The final was close, but Arturo's eked out a win over the Village Trattoria in Patch's Best Italian Restaurant poll this week. The contest included six restaurants across Maplewood and South Orange. The results were:
- Giorgio's Ristorante, South Orange 7 (5%)
- Cafe Arugula, South Orange 6 (4%)
- Village Trattoria, Maplewood 36 (27%)
- Reservoir Restaurant, South Orange 25 (19%)
- Roman Gourmet, Maplewood 16 (12%)
- Arturo's Osteria and Pizzeria, Maplewood 41 (31%)
First, we need to mention that a few restaurants were mistakenly omitted from the poll - including Bunny's and Above as well as the South Orange location of Village Trattoria. We promise to get all three into some future polls!
That being said, Arturo's Osteria and Pizzeria was tough to beat. Dan Richer was notably nominated for a James Beard award for Rising Star of the Year in 2011. His restaurant has become a super-regional draw and a New York Times darling -- helping to shine a spotlight on the Maplewood dining scene overall.
Village Trattoria, on the other hand, is as local as it gets. Both in Maplewoodand South Orange, it's a hang-out for pizza slices and hearty pastas after school, after games, after shopping. The "Tratt" is great option for eating in or dining out and the base of the Vayas family's growing local retail empire!
Coming in a respectable third place was Reservoir Restaurant which got its start in Newark in 1935 before moving to South Orange in 1965. The Reservoir is an old-school, family-owned-and-operated Italian restaurant that is kid- and family-friendly -- with its famous "Make Your on Pizza Night" on Mondays.
Congrats to all the entrants. Wherever you eat Italian in the two towns you can not go wrong with any of South Orange or Maplewood's Italian eatery options. The real winner is the Italian cuisine-loving residents of our two towns!
In This article
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Cafe Arugula
59 S Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ -
Village Trattoria
2 Inwood Pl, Maplewood, NJ -
Reservoir Restaurant
106 W South Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ -
Roman Gourmet
153 Maplewood Ave, Maplewood, NJ -
Arturo's Osteria and Pizzeria
180 Maplewood Ave, Maplewood, NJ
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Bunny's Sports Bar
12 W South Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ -
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Village Trattoria
21 S Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ -
Richard Murphy
9:41 pm on Friday, March 2, 2012
Roman Gourmet is awesome!
Mary Mann
10:58 am on Saturday, March 3, 2012
Richard,
Roman Gourmet IS awesome! I especially like all the specialty slices that you can walk in and just choose from!
Mary Mann
10:59 am on Saturday, March 3, 2012
Oh, and the garlic knots!