Kalamata Italian Cafe — Restaurant in Jackson Township

Earlier this week I stopped by one of my favorite dairy restaurants/eatery's in the greater Lakewood area, Kalamata. The reason for my stopping by was that they recently started service premium grade A sushi and I am a BIG fan of sushi. So we ordered a few different things and were pleasantly surprised. They also added Boba Iced Teas and drinks which were very refreshing. So here is what we tried and we highly recommend pretty much every dish.

Besides the full Nori and Sashimi options there were sushi appetizers, Kalamata specialty rolls and Poke Bowls. For appetizers we tried the Rice Wrap Veggies which was a rice paper wrap with lettuce, cucumber, avocado and mango topped with a mango sauce. It was fresh, crunchie and vibrant, seriously good and great if you want a no rice option. We also tried the Kalamata Crispy Rice with spicy Tuna. The rice was crispy on the outside and soft and almost pillowly on the inside seriously delicious. We then went with two Kalamata specialty rolls suggested by our server. First we had the Otoro Lux Roll which consists of pepper crusted bluefin tuna, asparagus, avocado topped with Otoro and get this black truffle and crispy leeks. The black truffle and crispy leeks were amazingly flavorful add to that the Otoro, tune and asparagus and it was a one of the most decadent rolls I think I ever had. So flavorful and so many textures. I also ordered the Red Dragon Roll which was spicy tune, crunch, topped with pepper crusted bluefin tuna, avocado, drizzled spicy mayo,sweet sauce and wasabi sauce. This was to be my second favorite roll after the Otoro. The fish was as fresh as can be as can be seen in the pictures below. Great color and marble on the fish and so fresh and tasty. We rounded it up with a regular tuna roll just to taste the fish itself without any sauces etc. It was so yummy. Lastly because we were running late we took a Poke Bowl to go which you can choose anything you want from the menu.

For the refreshing bobs we had the Summer Strawberry Pop Lemonade, Passion Strawberry Explosion and the Summer Pomegranate Pop Lemonade. They were all really refreshing and delicious.

If you needed another reason to check out this great dairy place besides great fish, pasta, pizza and vegetarian options now you have...

I was there for a family sheva brachos. The food was amazing, wonderful, outstanding, and they were able to tweak things on the spot for my family members with allergies. I didn't have a problem with one of the servers dropping and breaking the plate with something. It can happen to anyone. I was not happy though that he didn't notice (didn't check to notice) that so of the spilled food got onto people's (children's) shoes. Ok, it happens as well, he didn't realize.

What I didn't like was that while people were still sitting at tables and talking, they started cleaning up. Not empty plaltes but water glasses, napkins.... The person sitting next to me (the one who was paying the bill, I e. organized the event, chose the place and gave them business) was approached three times during the speech whether she was done with her main course. She said no three times, but on the fourth she said ok, fine take it away.

One more: the servers barely smiled. It was not too inviting.

Bottom line: I WOULD go there for dinner with my family again possibly, but I would NOT make my simcha there or recommend this place. As of now. Maybe, hopefully, I will change...

We heard about this new place and decided to try it. We didn't expect much, having been here when it was a pop-up pizza store, but we were pleasantly surprised. Good ambiance, friendly service, and AMAZING food. We tried a large variety of food and it was all delicious. The chef obviously pays attention to details.

The cold drinks are a nice addition, served elegantly in a jar. The appetizers were delicious, flavored just right. Had the vegetable soup that was perfectly hearty and delicious. The pasta is authentic Italian style, and the sauces are flavorful and not overwhelming. The pizzas are good, salad fresh, and desserts were rich. Kalamata truly defines fine dining. The only thing that can use improvement is the service. There was one waiter for the whole store. He was doing a great job keeping up, but he was obviously exhausted from working so hard. He was very nice and friendly, but it was apparent that he was stressed and struggling. Kudos to him for keeping things going, but management should hire some more help. Kalamata is a gem waiting to be discovered in the...