Their food is consistently delicious and well presented. And it shares its space with a bookstore what more could you want for atmosphere? Always a great place to visit. It's tiny though you might want to make a reservation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marge Chapman
My sister and I went here for lunch. It was phenomenal. We both had specials. I had thr mafaldine pasta with pork, broccoli rabe and Parmigiano reggiano, and my sister ordered a panino which was fried eggplant, olive-sundried tomato tapenade, parmesan shavings and spinach cress. Both were phenomenal. We ended up just sharing both dishes. We loved it so much, we ordered food to go for our families. It's a bit small in size. We got here right at 12 when they open, and within 10 minutes, they were full.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Benjamin Gassaway
The food at De Pepo is good, but the wait staff completely ruined our party’s experience. The service was miserable, inattentive, and generally apathetic. Forgotten requests, no waters for the table, and horrible attitudesA elderly member of our party fell due to one of the chairs getting caught on the wood panel on their way to the bathroom, and the servers just stood there while other patrons assisted. No one came by to check on her, nor did they offer assistance.An incredibly disappointing experience for an otherwise quaint restaurant. Will not be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Victoria Hernandez
Our first time of many more!We had 2 appys, brushetta and meatballs, star pasta special to share, and salmon and pasta w pork shoulder specials. ALL DELICIOUS ? ? coupled with very friendly staff and cozy setting which made our night out just perfect!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tony Lucente
Stopped in for lunch. My wife had the melanzane & I had the orchietta with broccoli rabe & sausage. Both were delicious. We finished with a pistachio affogato and were very happy. We plan to stop back for dinner soon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Kilgallen
The quality and sophistication of the food, not to mention its BYOB and reasonably priced, makes this place a new favorite of mine. I was blown away. Service was great and each dish was elevated in such a way that is really special. The mushroom ravioli entree was amazing, as well as their salad with roasted squash. Last thing - my wife has an allergy to cow’s milk and they were able to sub goat/sheep’s cheese in her dishes w/ no issues.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Richard Dicenzo
1St time eating here.I truly loved this gem of a place.The food was amazing,I loved the atmosphere and the girls that were working couldn't have been nicer.I took my wife for Valentine's Day and she couldn't have been happier!I will go back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
mansi patel
Fantastic food, lovely atmosphere and the best service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mushroom Ravioli
Erin Annett
As others said, DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS HIDDEN GEM ?? beautifully layered, flavorful, creative dishes and the menu is changing regularly. Staff are friendly and warm. BYOB. Highly recommend the meatballs that are on the fixed menu. On our second visit we had mostly specials - a beautiful citrusy winter salad, lobster-stuffed fried artichokes with a creamy spicy sauce, the salmon and pappardelle specials, and the chocolate cake which tasted like ferrero rocher. Every single dish was amazing. Photos are from our last two visits.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alexa Buonpastore
This place is the BEST Italian food I’ve ever had. Homemade pasta, everything is fresh and the chef is always adding new specials to the menu- every day! This is such a great hidden gem and the ambiance with the bookstore is my favorite part! You feel like you’re back in your Nonnas kitchen! It’s very old school amazing apps, entrees and desserts. I bring my family here for dinner and lunch all the time. We will continue to go and eat amazing food there!
Carlo is probably the most creative chef in the area. You won’t find dishes like his anywhere around and the quality is superb. The service is great as well. This place is a hidden gem and anyone looking for genuine and creative Italian meals will love it !!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
arubaphil
Before shopping at the Watchung Booksellers, my wife and I had lunch at da Pepo. da Pepo is a cozy Italian byob cafe located in the book store. The menu includes small plates, salads, paninis and pasta. We began by sharing a kale caesar salad. It was nicely dressed with fresh kale and shaved parmigiano served in a crouton basket. We followed the salad with paninis. We ordered the Di Casa and a special fried eggplant panini. The Di Casa was prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, arugula and fig jam. The eggplant was fried thin and crispy. Both were served on delicious crusty panini bread. The sandwiches were large and all the ingredients were fresh. da Pepo is a good choice for a delicious meal.
Katrina Kate
I never ate pasta before. This place showedMe what I was missing! The best !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Trinity Black
DO NOT ORDER FOR PICK UP.Absolutely unprofessional. I have ordered from this restaurant many times and it seems there was a new girl working, I called to order two salads and asked what the soup of the day was.She replied “go check our Instagram.”I then placed the ordered for two salads WITH GRILLED CHICKEN. When I picked up the order it was missing a salad and I kindly asked for the correct order. She rolled her eyes and brought the order back. After I had left, the salads were missing grilled chicken. So I called and it was the same girl. I explained that I ordered two salads with grilled chicken and she said “ that’s not what you said so I only put the order in for what you asked for.”I replied “I had another person with me to confirm what I ordered so I don’t understand.” “I am even willing to come back and pay if that is the case.”SHE REPLIED “I’m just giving you the same energy.”I work in customer service and I was a server as well and no matter how bad my days were I would never speak like that to people.I can tell you that I would never even waste my “energy” speaking like that to paying customers.If this food didn’t cost $40-$50 then I wouldn’t complain. She was absolutely disgusting and I was nothing but kind and understanding towards the chaos as I was once a server.Businesses go down hill fast when people like that represent your brand.So here is your same energy!! Hope this comes back to the girl with short dark hair that works at De Pepo on Saturdays.
Food: 5
Service: 1
Jo B.
Amazing food, great service, byob keeps the bill down, best meatballs I've ever had! Very quaint. comfortable place located next to a bookstore. Some of the tables are actually in the bookstore. Will definitely be going back.
Their food is consistently delicious and well presented. And it shares its space with a bookstore what more could you want for atmosphere? Always a great place to visit. It's tiny though you might want to make a reservation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My sister and I went here for lunch. It was phenomenal. We both had specials. I had thr mafaldine pasta with pork, broccoli rabe and Parmigiano reggiano, and my sister ordered a panino which was fried eggplant, olive-sundried tomato tapenade, parmesan shavings and spinach cress. Both were phenomenal. We ended up just sharing both dishes. We loved it so much, we ordered food to go for our families. It's a bit small in size. We got here right at 12 when they open, and within 10 minutes, they were full.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food at De Pepo is good, but the wait staff completely ruined our party’s experience. The service was miserable, inattentive, and generally apathetic. Forgotten requests, no waters for the table, and horrible attitudesA elderly member of our party fell due to one of the chairs getting caught on the wood panel on their way to the bathroom, and the servers just stood there while other patrons assisted. No one came by to check on her, nor did they offer assistance.An incredibly disappointing experience for an otherwise quaint restaurant. Will not be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Our first time of many more!We had 2 appys, brushetta and meatballs, star pasta special to share, and salmon and pasta w pork shoulder specials. ALL DELICIOUS ? ? coupled with very friendly staff and cozy setting which made our night out just perfect!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stopped in for lunch. My wife had the melanzane & I had the orchietta with broccoli rabe & sausage. Both were delicious. We finished with a pistachio affogato and were very happy. We plan to stop back for dinner soon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The quality and sophistication of the food, not to mention its BYOB and reasonably priced, makes this place a new favorite of mine. I was blown away. Service was great and each dish was elevated in such a way that is really special. The mushroom ravioli entree was amazing, as well as their salad with roasted squash. Last thing - my wife has an allergy to cow’s milk and they were able to sub goat/sheep’s cheese in her dishes w/ no issues.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
1St time eating here.I truly loved this gem of a place.The food was amazing,I loved the atmosphere and the girls that were working couldn't have been nicer.I took my wife for Valentine's Day and she couldn't have been happier!I will go back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic food, lovely atmosphere and the best service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mushroom Ravioli
As others said, DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS HIDDEN GEM ?? beautifully layered, flavorful, creative dishes and the menu is changing regularly. Staff are friendly and warm. BYOB. Highly recommend the meatballs that are on the fixed menu. On our second visit we had mostly specials - a beautiful citrusy winter salad, lobster-stuffed fried artichokes with a creamy spicy sauce, the salmon and pappardelle specials, and the chocolate cake which tasted like ferrero rocher. Every single dish was amazing. Photos are from our last two visits.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is the BEST Italian food I’ve ever had. Homemade pasta, everything is fresh and the chef is always adding new specials to the menu- every day! This is such a great hidden gem and the ambiance with the bookstore is my favorite part! You feel like you’re back in your Nonnas kitchen! It’s very old school amazing apps, entrees and desserts. I bring my family here for dinner and lunch all the time. We will continue to go and eat amazing food there!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Carlo is probably the most creative chef in the area. You won’t find dishes like his anywhere around and the quality is superb. The service is great as well. This place is a hidden gem and anyone looking for genuine and creative Italian meals will love it !!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Before shopping at the Watchung Booksellers, my wife and I had lunch at da Pepo. da Pepo is a cozy Italian byob cafe located in the book store. The menu includes small plates, salads, paninis and pasta. We began by sharing a kale caesar salad. It was nicely dressed with fresh kale and shaved parmigiano served in a crouton basket. We followed the salad with paninis. We ordered the Di Casa and a special fried eggplant panini. The Di Casa was prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, arugula and fig jam. The eggplant was fried thin and crispy. Both were served on delicious crusty panini bread. The sandwiches were large and all the ingredients were fresh. da Pepo is a good choice for a delicious meal.
I never ate pasta before. This place showedMe what I was missing! The best !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
DO NOT ORDER FOR PICK UP.Absolutely unprofessional. I have ordered from this restaurant many times and it seems there was a new girl working, I called to order two salads and asked what the soup of the day was.She replied “go check our Instagram.”I then placed the ordered for two salads WITH GRILLED CHICKEN. When I picked up the order it was missing a salad and I kindly asked for the correct order. She rolled her eyes and brought the order back. After I had left, the salads were missing grilled chicken. So I called and it was the same girl. I explained that I ordered two salads with grilled chicken and she said “ that’s not what you said so I only put the order in for what you asked for.”I replied “I had another person with me to confirm what I ordered so I don’t understand.” “I am even willing to come back and pay if that is the case.”SHE REPLIED “I’m just giving you the same energy.”I work in customer service and I was a server as well and no matter how bad my days were I would never speak like that to people.I can tell you that I would never even waste my “energy” speaking like that to paying customers.If this food didn’t cost $40-$50 then I wouldn’t complain. She was absolutely disgusting and I was nothing but kind and understanding towards the chaos as I was once a server.Businesses go down hill fast when people like that represent your brand.So here is your same energy!! Hope this comes back to the girl with short dark hair that works at De Pepo on Saturdays.
Food: 5
Service: 1
Amazing food, great service, byob keeps the bill down, best meatballs I've ever had! Very quaint. comfortable place located next to a bookstore. Some of the tables are actually in the bookstore. Will definitely be going back.