Blue Eyes Restaurant & Cafe

525 Sinatra Drive, Hoboken, NJ 07030

You think you’ve seen the sun but you ain’t seen it shine…….. at least not from the patio at Blue Eyes in Hoboken.

Blue Eyes Restaurant and Cafe, has made its mark on the waterfront of the Jersey side this year, with panoramic views of the NYC skyline and menu full of Italian classics and wood burning pizzas. An easy choice for dinner with close friends or a date, Blue Eyes extensive patio seating, live music, and attentive service made for a nice relaxing girls night. Not knowing what to expect, I always go into new spots with high hopes and an empty stomach.

Regardless of the lack of parking and bustling of people outside, we were seated immediately upon arrival at one of the tables on the patio facing the city. PERFECT. We were handed dinner menus, a specials list, and a drink list, as I began singing, “The Good Life” with the Frank Sinatra cover band a few feet away.

We had already done our research and made sure the restaurant served wine because, let’s be honest, what type of girls night doesn’t involve alcohol? Being somewhat of a “wine connoisseur” I’ll be honest, I was not impressed by the wine list. A very basic list of wines by the glass and a few bottles I was not familiar with but knew they were Italian (#obvi). But again, I remembered that’s not what the big draw is for a place like this.

After skimming through the menu and asking my usual “What is the best thing to order…” questions, we decided to share a salad and 2 pizzas (recommended by our server).  I tasted both the Cabernet and Chianti and chose to go with a glass of the Chianti (I couldn’t even tell you what it was). We were also brought glasses of water with no ice (which I thought was a little strange), and bread served with a dip similar to one that we used to serve at a restaurant I had managed back in college. The bread was on the stale side, which was probably a good thing anyway since it’s summer and we are attempting to keep our bikini figures (ok shush, yes we ordered pizza).

The Ceasar Salad was a great size for us to pick on and I was impressed with the dressing. I LOVE Caesar salad and I’ve had it at almost every Italian restaurant I’ve been too and this is definitely one of the best.

A plate full of  fresh mozz, prosciutto and other meat was also brought to the table…. which we devoured and soon realized was actually not for us…. Opps, sorry not sorry. Our plates and utensils were cleared and replaced by a fresh set (brownie points from me), right as our pizza arrived. We ordered a Margherita and the Tartufata which is made with Prosciutto di Parma, mozzarella, dried porcini mushrooms and truffle oil.

The Margherita gets a thumbs up from me, (I loved the sauce),  and the Tartufata was good too. I wasn’t too keen on the crust of either though. I had decided at that point what type of place this was. To me, this was a replica of a small cafe I went to in Rome that tried to Americanize itself to appeal to tourists. In Rome, this was the place that was LEAST memorable because let’s be honest, when in Rome,  I’m looking for something authentic. But when on the waterfront in Hoboken, I guess this is as authentic as you can get.

We finished dinner, digested for a minute, and decided we had some room for dessert. We looked at the dessert menu full of the usual cheesecakes, tartufo, tiramisu, and gelato, but immediately chose the “Blue Eyes Pizza” after finding out my best friend of 20 years has never had Nutella (insert a few WTFs and shocked faces). The dessert pizza came out topped with Nutella, Fresh Bananas & Strawberries and Vanilla Gelato. YUMMAYYYY. Looks like i’ll be at the gym twice today….

It was good…. and by good I mean, anything with Nutella is always a solid choice. They didn’t skimp out on the Nutella, which most might be thankful for, but I thought it was a little TOO much (I know, I must be crazy right?). The girls ordered another bottle of wine, and as DD, I decided on a single espresso, which came out perfectly (more brownie points).

Blue Eyes definitely hit a few things that appealed to me – outdoor seating, attentive service, the Ceasar dressing, the sauce on the Margherita pie, and the espresso. I’m also a HUGE Frank Sinatra fan so I totally enjoyed the band, even though I would have rather listened to their renditions of old blue eyes’ classics without the reggae spin.  And as always, the view of the NYC skyline is as breathtaking as the first time I saw it. So I took it for what it was. An easy choice, with decent food to enjoy with good company on a nice summer night.

As an Italian “foodie” who’s been lucky enough to experience what the motherland has to offer, and a loyal customer of Sant’Egidio in Ridgewood, maybe I’m a just skeptic and had my hopes too high. But I would say I’d return to Blue Eyes…… if I was in the area and in the mood for some pizza. It seems like this is one of the spots that will fall under the consistenly “good”, “safe” choice category.. as long as you stick to the basics and can appreciate the view.

Buon Appetito!

http://www.blueeyeshoboken.com/

Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Thursday : 11:30am – 10:00pm, Tuesday: Closed

Friday: 11:30am – 11:00pm, Saturday: 12:00pm – 11:00pm, Sunday: 12:00pm – 10:00pm

Reservations: Large Parties

Parking:  Street Parking, Garage Parking, Valet parking on Friday, Saturdays & Sundays Only

Highlights: Views of the City Skyline, Outdoor Seating, Live Music

Service: Casual, Very Attentive and Friendly

Food: Good – Wood Burning Pizza, American-Italian Classics, Gelato, Raw Bar

Bar: Basic list of Wines By the Glass & Bottle, Few Beers both Bottled and Draft, Very Minimal list of Specialty Mixed Drinks/Cocktails

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