Novino Ristorante — Restaurant in Mahwah

If judging on takeout alone I would have given this place 5 stars. Loved the NY style pizza and eggplant meatballs. I have picked up take out a couple times and everyone was friendly and my experiences were great. Dining in is another experience. The first time that we attempted to dine in, we called in the afternoon to make a 5pm dinner reservation. We were told that they could probably accommodate us, but we were put on a waiting list. They said that they would call us. By 4:45, we didn’t receive a call so my husband called. We were also meeting another couple and we were firm on the time, so we needed to know what we were doing. My husband was given an attitude and told “we told you that we would call you.” Since we were meeting others at 5pm and it was already 4:45, we went to a nearby restaurant. When we drove by, the lot looked empty. We received a call at 5:30. I would have much rather been told “no” from the beginning. I did convince my husband to try takeout and it was a good experience, so we tried dine in again. We went during lunch. They have two separate menus. One for take out and one for dine in. We have gotten take out a couple times, so that was the menu that we were familiar with. The meals that we wanted were also on that menu. They are very strict about keeping the menus separate. The take out menu is more extensive. They do not have a children’s menu and do not allow you to order slices when you dine in, although they are available for take out. The waitress cannot hide her annoyance if you dare ask for something off the take out menu. That was the part that bothered me the most. We also ran into people that we know in the dining room and they felt the same way. It felt way too regulated. It is one kitchen running very strictly separate. I would not dine in again from that experience, but I would get take out. The owner seems very nice so I hope that feedback helps. I would love to give them 5 stars...

Update to 2024- The quality has gown way down. The pizza used to come with thick delicious pepperoni. The cheese used to be generous now they've changed a lot and the pizza is standard. Sparse thin pepperoni and barely any cheese sometimes. I don't like the new change therefore we've stopped coming dramatically less. We also dont live very far but sometimes paying the $3 plus tip becomes annoying I hope some of the delivery goes to the driver because I hate the new trend of business charging delivery fees plus asking for tip. The photo I posted of the pizza during covid is no where near what the pizza looks like today. The change in quality and generously of the toppings has brought us elsewhere and it's sad for us we loved this place. Also I understand price changes but the price of the pasta vs portion is absolutely absurd I will probably never order that again.

My review for the COVID situation. This pizza place has been holding us down👍. It's always fresh it taste great. Not just great but amazing the flavors don't taste cheap. It's always hot and fresh and when they deliver if you don't hear the door the sweet woman called me to let me know she left it there. I've been to all pizza places in my Mahwah area and hands down this is the best tasting for pizza. I like their wings as well they always do them how I request it. Oh and the garlic knots are great super soft I bit into it and my face sunk into the softness......

I am so glad we stumbled across this restaurant on our travel. It’s such a cozy space with absolutely phenomenal Italian food! I especially appreciated Craig Petrillo’s attention to detail. We came to know his name after assuming he was the owner, but coming to find that he was filling in for the owner. What a nice addition! The staff was very kind and attentive as well. From the start, “The Eggplant Tower,” which was perfectly fried and paired with ripe tomatoes, mozzarella and balsamic drizzle zig zagged across the plate, came a perfectly dressed Caesar salad and the homemade gnocchis…gasp…they were exquisite. The Gorgonzola sauce was delicious, but I couldn’t resist dipping it in the marinara sauce from my husband’s dish that was amazing as well! We will definitely be back and I love the idea of pairing our meal with whatever wine we decide to pull from our wine cellar! Such a lovely BYOB. If I could give this place more than 5 stars I would! Thank you and I wish you great success in 2022 so we can...