First of all, you’re going to get overcooked boxed pasta. In a city with a dozen Italian joints, charging these prices for boxed pasta is asinine. If you’re not making the pasta in house, customers are better off going to Olive Garden if they don’t want to clean any dishes.
The chicken in my chicken parm tasted like it was previously frozen. The cutlet was all one consistent color, which isn’t what a good cutlet looks like. The chicken itself had no seasoning at all on it. It was the type of chicken cutlet a pizza place or sandwich shop could get away with, but not a sit down restaurant charging these prices.
On the note of seasonings, there was really no flavor in the meal. The sauce was watery and there wasn’t a single speck of pepper, basil, oregano, or any other Italian style seasoning.
The cheese on the chicken was also not melted correctly. There was a lot of cheese, but good chicken parm has cheese that gets slightly browned.
Overall, I would not eat this food again and I could not recommend this to anyone. There are many better places in Hoboken at this price point, and many cheaper places for this quality. Out of all the chicken parms I’ve had in town, this was the second worst one I had.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Lisa Egan
I've been coming here for years and have spent a lot of money on catering, etc. They always have been more than willing to modify entrees to accommodate gluten allergies except for when the manager isn't present. I just called and was told that tonight they weren't able to accommodate my food allergy because there was no manager (very odd on a Saturday evening) I've never heard of such a thing and there are plenty of establishments in Hoboken that deliver consistent service. Sadly, this isn't one of them and i'll be taking my business elsewhere.
Stephanie A
Delicious food, giant portions, friendly service. This place is elite. Already planning my next visit back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stuffed Chicken Parm in Vodka Sauce
Kayleigh Meumann
Iconic Italian American food - so tasty!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marvin Romero
Was there for the first time, and our server, Vanessa, was a rockstar! She took the time to make us feel welcome and enjoy our dinner. The food was also brought quickly and was excellent, not a single complaint here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmigiana w Spaghetti, Pesto Burrata
Michael Latona
Cafe Michalina is an absolute gem in Hoboken! From the moment you step inside, you’re greeted with a warm and inviting atmosphere that feels like home.
The menu is thoughtfully curated, offering a variety of delicious authentic Italian dishes. I tried their signature vodka sauce and it was exceptional! The staff at Cafe Michalina are incredibly friendly and attentive. They go above and beyond to make sure you have a great experience, which adds a personal touch that’s hard to find these days!
Pat Hall
I'm a four year Hoboken resident and a frequent Cafe Michelina customer. It's easily the best Italian in Hoboken and the service is great. I'm a huge fan and always recommend it to friends and family when they're visiting. If you're looking for a go-to BYO spot, this is it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maria Squatrito
Cafe Michelina has been a go to for the last 2 years now! Amazing service and food. We go about 2-3 times a month and every time we try other places we just wish it was as good as the food and service at Michelinas! Can’t say enough good things!
Great food, even better atmosphere. Not uncommon to walk by on a weekend night and it seems like the whole restaurant is enjoying the night together. Great place for a more quiet date/meal on the weekdays, and on the weekends a much more upbeat vibe to enjoy with your friends. Been going here a while and really love the place. My go to is gnocchi vodka burrata and the antipasto.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
tj rica
I went there 3x since the new year and it never gets old. Last time I was there I met the owner Sal and then realized why the restaurant is as good as it is . It’s like I knew him forever and he took care of us like family.
This place is absolutely Amazing!!! The food is by far one of the best in Hoboken. Their service is amassing! If you’re looking for great Italian food in Hoboken, this the place to visit! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Les Frazier
My favorite restaurant in the area! Authentic Italian food with large portion sizes so you're definitely bringing some home. ORDER THE CHICKEN VODKA PARM, You will not be disappointed. The wait staff is always on point. Went on a Saturday night and the vibes are electric. The entire restaurant is swinging their napkins in the air. 11/10 recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Matthew Roleke
The food at Cafe Michelina is average for an area known for great Italian food. The prices of regular menu items are pretty typical. Chef specials do not have prices posted and these meals are pretty expensive for what you are getting. Same for dessert. This lack of transparency is intentional. Make sure to ask for prices ahead if this is of concern.
The real issue with this restaurant is how customers are treated. My wife and I had a 6PM reservation which we arrived to promptly at 6. We finished our meal, had leftovers wrapped, and the check brought just before 7 (6:58 printed on CC receipt). At this time, I topped off our glasses to finish what was left in the bottle of wine (say half a glass each).
By 7:05 a member of the wait staff came over to our table and informed us we had 5 minutes to vacate the table as another reservation was waiting. I found this to be pretty unreasonable and asked an employee (I assume the manager) how much time was allocated for two top table reservations. The answer I got was "we don't have a specific time we just ask guests to be considerate".....
Any restaurant that insinuates a guest is inconsiderate for finishing their wine after just 65 minutes (and plenty of $) is not one I can recommend. This is a profits over patrons' establishment with poor management. Walk down the street to one of the many other quality Italian restaurants in Hoboken.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Bismarck Mejia
Sal the owner is really cool and friendly! Recommend going to his spot. Chill vibes and good food. Service is amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
THD-_- Killar
Best service, best food! Sal and the staff are amazing. Good vibes, 100% recommended!
To put it simply, I don’t understand the hype.
First of all, you’re going to get overcooked boxed pasta. In a city with a dozen Italian joints, charging these prices for boxed pasta is asinine. If you’re not making the pasta in house, customers are better off going to Olive Garden if they don’t want to clean any dishes.
The chicken in my chicken parm tasted like it was previously frozen. The cutlet was all one consistent color, which isn’t what a good cutlet looks like. The chicken itself had no seasoning at all on it. It was the type of chicken cutlet a pizza place or sandwich shop could get away with, but not a sit down restaurant charging these prices.
On the note of seasonings, there was really no flavor in the meal. The sauce was watery and there wasn’t a single speck of pepper, basil, oregano, or any other Italian style seasoning.
The cheese on the chicken was also not melted correctly. There was a lot of cheese, but good chicken parm has cheese that gets slightly browned.
Overall, I would not eat this food again and I could not recommend this to anyone. There are many better places in Hoboken at this price point, and many cheaper places for this quality. Out of all the chicken parms I’ve had in town, this was the second worst one I had.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
I've been coming here for years and have spent a lot of money on catering, etc. They always have been more than willing to modify entrees to accommodate gluten allergies except for when the manager isn't present. I just called and was told that tonight they weren't able to accommodate my food allergy because there was no manager (very odd on a Saturday evening) I've never heard of such a thing and there are plenty of establishments in Hoboken that deliver consistent service. Sadly, this isn't one of them and i'll be taking my business elsewhere.
Delicious food, giant portions, friendly service. This place is elite. Already planning my next visit back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stuffed Chicken Parm in Vodka Sauce
Iconic Italian American food - so tasty!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Was there for the first time, and our server, Vanessa, was a rockstar! She took the time to make us feel welcome and enjoy our dinner. The food was also brought quickly and was excellent, not a single complaint here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmigiana w Spaghetti, Pesto Burrata
Cafe Michalina is an absolute gem in Hoboken! From the moment you step inside, you’re greeted with a warm and inviting atmosphere that feels like home.
The menu is thoughtfully curated, offering a variety of delicious authentic Italian dishes. I tried their signature vodka sauce and it was exceptional! The staff at Cafe Michalina are incredibly friendly and attentive. They go above and beyond to make sure you have a great experience, which adds a personal touch that’s hard to find these days!
I'm a four year Hoboken resident and a frequent Cafe Michelina customer. It's easily the best Italian in Hoboken and the service is great. I'm a huge fan and always recommend it to friends and family when they're visiting. If you're looking for a go-to BYO spot, this is it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cafe Michelina has been a go to for the last 2 years now! Amazing service and food. We go about 2-3 times a month and every time we try other places we just wish it was as good as the food and service at Michelinas! Can’t say enough good things!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Homemade Tiramisu, Penne Vodka, Chicken Cutlet
Great food, even better atmosphere. Not uncommon to walk by on a weekend night and it seems like the whole restaurant is enjoying the night together. Great place for a more quiet date/meal on the weekdays, and on the weekends a much more upbeat vibe to enjoy with your friends. Been going here a while and really love the place. My go to is gnocchi vodka burrata and the antipasto.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I went there 3x since the new year and it never gets old. Last time I was there I met the owner Sal and then realized why the restaurant is as good as it is . It’s like I knew him forever and he took care of us like family.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
This place is absolutely Amazing!!! The food is by far one of the best in Hoboken. Their service is amassing! If you’re looking for great Italian food in Hoboken, this the place to visit! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My favorite restaurant in the area! Authentic Italian food with large portion sizes so you're definitely bringing some home. ORDER THE CHICKEN VODKA PARM, You will not be disappointed. The wait staff is always on point. Went on a Saturday night and the vibes are electric. The entire restaurant is swinging their napkins in the air. 11/10 recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food at Cafe Michelina is average for an area known for great Italian food. The prices of regular menu items are pretty typical. Chef specials do not have prices posted and these meals are pretty expensive for what you are getting. Same for dessert. This lack of transparency is intentional. Make sure to ask for prices ahead if this is of concern.
The real issue with this restaurant is how customers are treated. My wife and I had a 6PM reservation which we arrived to promptly at 6. We finished our meal, had leftovers wrapped, and the check brought just before 7 (6:58 printed on CC receipt). At this time, I topped off our glasses to finish what was left in the bottle of wine (say half a glass each).
By 7:05 a member of the wait staff came over to our table and informed us we had 5 minutes to vacate the table as another reservation was waiting. I found this to be pretty unreasonable and asked an employee (I assume the manager) how much time was allocated for two top table reservations. The answer I got was "we don't have a specific time we just ask guests to be considerate".....
Any restaurant that insinuates a guest is inconsiderate for finishing their wine after just 65 minutes (and plenty of $) is not one I can recommend. This is a profits over patrons' establishment with poor management. Walk down the street to one of the many other quality Italian restaurants in Hoboken.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Sal the owner is really cool and friendly! Recommend going to his spot. Chill vibes and good food. Service is amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best service, best food! Sal and the staff are amazing. Good vibes, 100% recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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