Queen Margherita Trattoria — Restaurant in Nutley

Rather pricey but generous portion with fantastic food.

We ordered grilled octopus from dinner special's appetizer section (~$16), pollo alla parmigiana, and flounder Mediterranea.

The bread was made with left over pizza dough, the olive oil had pepper and garlic mixed into them. It tasted fantastic.

The octopus tentacle was fresh and cooked just right, with firm tentacle muscle on the inside.

The chicken parmigiana was cover in great mushroom sauce. The chicken and its stuffing were fairly juicy.

The crabmeat wrapped in flounder was also juicy and decently flavored.

The pasta was cooked just right, mixed with lightly flavored red sauce, with the option of shredded cheese and dried hot pepper, both of which tasted great when mixed with the pasta and sauce.

The mash potato and the potato chip was stale, but probably because we waited too long to eat it.

Overall, nothing was underwhelming or overwhelming in flavor, nothing was undercooked (raw) or overcooked (dried/pasta too soft) in texture. I'd say the food was excellent overall.

They dont have a host/hostess at the door, but a waitress came to sit us down in a minute.

Service was overall very speedy but still very considerate and standard, with fast greeting (no small talk as we came late, like 8pm), drink offering, menu offering, order taking, bread offering, food serving, a couple food quality checks, table clearing, take out offering, dessert menu offering (offered separately after meal, we were too full so we refused), billed without including tip or plate sharing fee.

The atmosphere is nice, cozily crowded, mostly middle aged local crowd, casual but not sloppy, light chatter and not obnoxiously loud, dimly lit environment, neat dark red table cloth. A good pick for periodic fancier than usual dining. You wont see many young people taking food pictures though.

This restaurant is highly recommended by locals, and so is the bakery next door. I'd say it's comparable to Manhattan quality, if not better than some.

Definitely worth a visit when an...

Food: 5/5 Drinks: It's BYOB. However their immediate attention given to opening a bottle and keeping it chilled as needed, was a notable courtesy. Service: 5/5. The server's are attentive and efficient. Don't expect enticing conversation or bubbly smiles, but the job is done well nonetheless. Hostess: There is none. The servers will be the ones that greet you at the door and show you to a table. College - Student Friendly?: In terms of prices - it depends what you get. The clientele is usually a much older crowd. The space however is great for small groups should student's be looking a tasty night out in a local restaurant. COVID-19 Standards: 3/5 The Server's wear masks. Some guests were not asked to wear masks when they proceeded to leave from the table. Although the place was mostly empty towards closing, the mandate is upheld by the staff and seemingly unenforced by management. This is not the case upon entry into the building. My friend and I took a detour and decided to give this spot a try for a weeknight dinner. Our meal consisted of the spicy mussels, a white sauce braised meat pasta dish, a stewed rabbit, and a cheesecake for dessert. Let me say, that the food from start to finish was prepared excellently. The flavors in each dish were jaw-dropping and mouth watering. Portions are large, but the taste of each dish has a special way of bringing your fork back up to your face for just "one more" bite. The rabbit entree had the texture of tender chicken breast. It was not overwhelmed by it's accompanied sauce, the fatty bits allowed for pockets of "gamey" flavor to also be incorporated without being intense. The desserts were presented well and from what I was told are a fresh by-product of the bakery attached to the restaurant itself. Warm atmosphere, food to come back for, and an all around pleasing and memorable evening. Some patch ups needed in terms of COVID safety standards, but a wonderful dinner experience to remember. This spot is worth it's weight in quality, consistency, and...

A little piece of Italy! The atmosphere and the food are both superb; from the owner greeting you at the door to fresh and visible spice garden, this place is truly authentic. It starts with fresh baked bread. Perfectly airy and crispy, but this is not a butter spot - although you could probably get some. They give you this garlicy/Italiany dip which is out of this world. I would literally drink it, plus it can be used to dip pizza crust in. Speaking of pizza crust, we got the Diavolo, which is a margarita pizza which suppersota....it's no joke. Perfectly salty, obviously coal fired and fresh basil make it the perfect bite. As you know we are big calamari people, and they do it right! Not overly salt and great homemade marinara dipping sauce. For the entre we got the Penne Ala Vodka and it was rediclous. What I like is that they have a more wet, milky sauce here that falls to the bottom so the pasta stays al'dente. They shred fresh Parmigiano on top and finish it with basil. These simply ingredients done right are delicious! This place is attached to a bakery so naturally we got the oreo cake for dessert. It was so tasty and decadent. The rainbow cakes on the side were the perfect flavor compliment. We had two espressos - a must after an Italian meal, and they were obviously great. The staff are all amazing and you can tell it's a family atmosphere, they make you feel so welcomed. During dinner the owner will sing beautiful Italian music for the restaurant, which adds culture.I would say you should get a reservation because not surprisingly, they get packed! Oh and it's a BYOB which is always fun. They prefer cash, just an FYI. Which is typical of this type of venue. Overall I give Queen Margherita Trattoria a 4.7 out of 5, a must visit...