TJ's Restaurant & Pizza — Restaurant in Old Saybrook

Two of us went in for pasta at 2:30 today. The tables were dirty. We waited an eternity for two simple pasta dishes. The waitress was very friendly, but also very distracted. We never got any bread. When the meal was finally served, we asked for bread and she said, “sure, I’ll put that right in for you.” We ordered spaghetti and meatballs with sausage. When it finally came out, there were three meatballs and one sausage on top. We immediately discovered a very long, black hair baked right into one of the meatballs. I called the waitress back, and she already knew something was wrong. We pointed to the hair, and she shook her head and took the plate away. She came out literally two minutes later stating that they had re-made the food. This was a lie. They removed the offending meatball, and re-plated the pasta and the other two meatballs and one sausage. In other words, they simply removed the meatball with the hair from the food. When she brought the food back, she didn’t bring a fork and then vanished. I finally had to get up and go get a fork from the hostess station. Then she came out with a basket of bread that literally had two tiny slices of bread and two slivers of pizza. There was more paper in the basket than bread. We were shocked to see the bill arrive with them not taking anything at all off for the hairy meatball. Moreover, no one even apologized for what happened. Overall, a dirty, unpleasant, and inhospitable experience. This place goes on the DNR list (Do Not Return)!

Update: We were both sick as dogs all day today. I have no idea what was going on in that kitchen, but there’s obviously...

My coworkers and I occasionally will order out for lunch, and we have our usual spots that we get take out from while on our lunch break. During this pandemic, our lunch spots have either been closed, or have been disapointing due to the poor quality of the food and increase in price. So one day we decided to try TJ's... we ordered they're Tuscano salad and Mandarin orange salad. THEY WERE AMAZING!!! So fresh, and sooo much salad for the price!! Both salads came with a generous portion of chicken breast on top and it definitely satisfied us during our busiest of days in the office. Honestly, these salads are SOO good that we've now ordered from TJ's on a weekly basis. The staff are always so nice and the atmosphere is very inviting. Our last visit when we picked up lunch, one employee, maybe the owner, offered us a little slice of their fresh made thin crust pizza and it was AMAZING!! I would definitely go back and order their pizza. I could also tell he saw me eyeing the cinnamon sugar dessert rolls, so he gave us a few on the house to go! I used to think this place was just another pizza and sandwich joint, but compared to others on the shoreline, the food, price, and hospitality tops...

TJ's has been around for years but changed hands a few times, but now sits in the hands of Nicolaos "Nick" Kanaras. TJ's has restored it old values of a good restaurant, fair prices and friendly service.

When we're in town we make a point of stopping at TJ's. They offer a wide variety of dishes from pizza's to burgers to full entrees, sandwiches, and more. This is the place you come to when you can't decide what you want but want something satisfying.

The garlic knots are oh so tasty, and their pies are not Sallie's level, but pretty darn good. The "special" is the best. The Chicken Marsala is seasoned just right and the chicken not over cooked. The salmon on the night I had it was done just right with perfect seasoning and cooked to medium perfection. My wife is the salad expert, and she gives them a forks up recommendation. Add some protein to any of them and you have a very large meal.

TJ's offers a number of beer choices, along with wine plus sodas for the kids. And yes this is a great place to bring the family with burgers, mac n cheese, fries and more.

You can't go wrong at TJ's. Stop by when in the Old...