Box Cafe — Restaurant in Jersey City

Went here with my mom, she wrote this review and I agree completely. I especially love the decor, ambiance and energy of the owners. We were fortunate enough to have the most scrumptious meal Friday night at the brilliant Box cafe in Jersey City! Everything about the evening was absolutely Sublime! The food was beyond delicious! I had the salmon with mushroom hash and brussel sprouts and arugula salad! Every single mouthful was like magic manifesting in my mouth! The salmon was done to perfection and literally melted in my mouth, combined with the two side dishes I could actually taste the love embued in every bite of this food! My kiddo had the fillett herbed roasted potatoes and paprika corn! She loved the dish as well! We are both extreme Foodies and can honestly say this was one of the best home cooked meals we've had in a long time outside of our home! The decor was so quaint and exquisite, the vibe is unique, artistic and beautiful, our Hostess / owner Linda was truly so kind, engaging charismatic and welcoming. We had the opportunity to thank the chef in person as well which felt most necessary after this delectable meal! This dinner was magnificent on so many levels, we had to try the chocolate cake for desert! The dark and milk chocolate cakes were divine!!! So good in fact we took one of their flourless chocolate cakes home for a treat tonight! As a longtime Jersey resident of almost two decades I can honestly say this was our best meal out ever! The entire evening was a huge success and pleasure! The atmosphere at Box Cafe is so fun and relaxing and joy filled! We will be back for sure and plan to make it a regular in our dining out...

I reaaaaally want to love this place since we desperately need more cafes and restaurants in the area!

But after coming 3x (2x for brunch and 1x for a Friday dinner), I feel very sad that this place misses the mark :(

The highlights: 1- Friday night live music was a real treat! Again, we need more of this in the neighborhood! 2- Our server was extremely friendly, welcoming & the best part of this dinner! 3- it's BYOB if that matters to you

Lots of room for improvement: it was $60 for 2 mains - their burger & chicken breast, both served with a couple potatoes and broccoli. For $10 more on the burger, you could get a 1* Michelin burger in the city. The prices just don't reflect the cooking nor presentation. It was certainly homemade, but the quality reflected that - & while it's very tough to own a business in this economic climate, it just wasn't worth the $.

the menu said to inquire on dessert & when we did, it was clear the chef hadn't thought about it that evening. We were offered an impromptu apples tossed with cinnamon and caramel dessert which we declined.

strangely, the female owner was just sitting down at a table. There were only a few guests, and the server was attending to a coffee order. Just felt a bit odd (often you'd see owners really engaged when it's quiet, or helping the staff out).

It's just not the kind of place that warrants the prices it's charging. It's the kind of place you'd see Gordon Ramsey in, whipping into shape. Gulp.

But the live...

I hired Sean and Linda from Box Cafe to cater my housewarming party in May. My expectations were completely over exceeded and their execution was perfect. I was looking for a mix of classy high end hors d'oeuvres meets chic barbecue and they nailed it. An eclectic and gorgeous charcuterie table took over my kitchen island for grazing. A choice of smoked salmon pastry puff with horseradish cream, slice sirloin toasts, and bruschetta points were the starting hors d'oeuvres. The main food consist of gourmet beef sliders and impossible sliders, dressed with a signature box cafe house sauce, a variety of flat bread pizza's, their signature bechamel mac and cheese, a savory harvest pasta salad with roasted and blanched vegetables, a half of a salmon, lamb chop lollipops, and two choices of either greek salad and their famous caesar salad. Sean remained on site and monitored the flow of food and guests, continuing to replenish and make sliders and pizza's for all new incoming guests. I could NOT have been HAPPIER with the outcome of this event and I...