Speranza - Westville, New Jersey

Found this place on Google while in the area. Karen our server did a great job. There beer and pizza was very good....

Tried Speranza for the first time tonight and was not disappointed! First they were able to accommodate our request for a table change and secondly they graciously were able to honor my request to substitute pasta for mashed potatoes on the nightly special! Billy, our server, made the night quite memorable he asked if this was our first visit and made us feel very welcome and was very attentive all evening. He briefly discussed the restaurant 's specialties the wood fired pizza and the drink menu and appy hour specials. The different pizzas sounded really good, but my wife and I opted for entrees and glad we did, though we both agreed we will come back and try the pizza. I ordered the Marry Me Chicken, a special that evening, it was great, especially over the pasta, which they substituted for the mashed potatoes. My wife ordered the Blackened Salmon over a mango risotto which she said was tasty and well prepared. She also enjoyed the maple old fashioned. For dessert we split the brownie sundae, which was good, but probably should have went with Billy 's recommendation of the cannolis. The portions were ample and we both took home a tasty lunch for later! We walked in without reservations and were seated immediately. The restaurant was small but had a quirky intimacy it had a crowd, but was not crowded and had a small bar in case there was a wait or if you wanted to sit and order a few appetizers.

I really wish yelp had 1/2 stars. I'm giving this 2.5. Service was ok to good. A little slow at first but improved as we ate. We ordered cheese curds for an app which they came out quick and were delicious. We both had salads. She had a Caesar and I had a house. They were both awesome and very fresh. I order veal parmigiana and my wife ordered penne vodka. She said hers was just ok nothing special. My veal was terrible. It definitely didn't taste fresh not that I would be able to tell because it was so over cooked. It was pounded out a little too much and so thin in spots it was dry. The edges were burnt and really dry. I actually think the whole one side was burnt and was faced down with the just over done side on top. There was a decent amount of cheese and almost no sauce on it. The spaghetti it came with was textured good but the sauce on that was also terrible. It tasted like unseasoned tomato paste. I actually left food on my plate and that never happens. We were so disappointed we didn't order dessert. The beer selection for not having anything on tap was decent. I did like the look of the place inside and they had great artwork around. Over all it was clean. We probably will come back because we both really wanted to try the pizza but decided to get meals instead. Next time will be pizza only.

My aunt and I went on a Friday at 4. We were the only patrons at the time. Around 4:30 a few more people came in. Very friendly staff. I ordered a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese (pictured) it was decent. I didn't like the taste of the pepperoni. I'm not sure why but I love little eateries like these.

First visit. Cozy atmosphere. Great service. Loved the calamari with banana peppers. Excellent pizza-white with mushrooms and arugula. Only slight negative was stuff seemed slightly heavy on the salt. Still delish!