202 Italian Bistro

I had the shrimp arrabbiata and the portion was huge for an appetizer. However the quality of the shrimp was very fresh and tender, could have used more spice to the sauce though. My friend raved about their cedar plank salmon. Service was decent, their Italian accents added a nice touch. They had a musician playing a saxophone in the back. This would be a great place for a date as the setting is more on the intimate side and the food, or at least the seafood I tried, was very high quality, compared to many other restaurants in the area.

came here during the summer. found service to be discriminatory here, we sat down and had to request to have menus, then wave down someone for bread and then wave down the waiter to take our order. but the table next to us got menus, bread and olives, put in their order, got their food and they got there after us. so how us that supposed to make us feel? Some of the patrons are interesting too, there was one guy just talking at the top of his lungs to the table next to us to the point we couldn’t hear each other. In the absence of our waiter the assistants to the waiter were trying to help which helped brighten the experience, they tried to find the waiter so we could get our order in and to apologize for the delay, not sure why they can’t also take on server duties such as taking our order because things might run smoother. So our dinner ended up lasting 3 hours because we spent almost an hour trying to get our order in luckily it was byob so we st least had something to drink. by the time we were done they were almost closing but not because we were chatting away because we had to wait to be acknowledged just to get menus and our order in and then wait for the food on a busy night. The food is good but the rocky start left us with a poor impression. Hope the poor service we received is not their norm because the table next to us seemed to get service, but the food wasn’t so great that i’d try to venture here again to see if they just treated us badly. The place is decorated very trendy yet traditional and has potential because location is in the center of town and food was decent but the unfortunately the lack of service we received offsets the good things.

I have passed this place hundreds of times over the years and finally decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised. Staff was friendly. Atmosphere is nice and relaxed. It could use an updating but not terrible. All of the food was great. We had yellow fin tuna, pasta w/​short ribs, and salmon. I would have given it 4 stars if it would not for the bathroom. It has an odd smell.

Loved everything about this place! Service was superior. Food was excellent. Can’t wait to go back!

Had my baby shower here and everyone is still raving about the food. The service was great!
It is also a wonderful spot for dinner and its BYOB, and service is great for dinner as well. I have a gluten intolerance and they are very accommodating to my dietary restrictions.

My wife and I ate here finally for the first time. Service was exceptional. The food was delicious. Not too crowded as it was a Friday night in July yet the experience was perfect. We will be back.

Great italian restaurant with excellent food and service. I highly recommend this place… you will be satisfied. I am looking forward to dine there again and try out other dishes…

I’ve been coming to 202 for years, their food is always great. Our favorites are the pastas and their seafood, always fresh with unique flavors and spices. I’ve always had great service as well. Their take out and catering is great also!

It has nice décor, and the service is upscale, but I’ve been here three times thinking it will be better, but I’m resigned to the fact that the food does not live up to the other two elements.

I don’t really get the fuss about this place. It’s BYOB, that’s pretty much where the positives end. My husband and I have been here 2x, mainly because we’re local. (I’ve also been here for a bridal shower, and I think the food was actually better during the party!) We had a «meh» experience the 1^st time, but decided to give it another shot.
The wait staff acts like they’re doing you a favor by taking your order. We had the same waiter twice, and both times he was standoffish, to the point where it’s like, huh? (He was that memorable the 1^st visit.) We’re trying to order and he’s standing there like he’s looking for a cab on a corner in the city. Hey buddy, over here. When asked for a recommendation, the answer should not be «everything.» On top of it, I overheard another waiter telling another table (with more enthusiasm) the specials, and he gave them another fish for the special. it was literally 5 minutes later, so I doubt they ran out.
The CHICKEN in my pasta was under-​cooked. I thought maybe it was just a bad piece, so I had my husband try, and he agreed. It was disappointing, pretty hard to mess up chicken. He had the veal sorrentino, eh, nothing special. The mussels were pretty good though, so there’s that.
There are better options in the area, I would not go back.

[TL;DR] Nice, quaint Italian restaurant. Pizzas are excellent, too. BYOB.
I’m not so sure I’m going to go so far as to say this place is «upscale» as some reviews might note. It’s formal dining setup with formal dining prices, but there is no alcohol, let alone wine, and pizzas seem to be a good part of the menu.
I don’t have any complaints about good pizza though. Their pizza is good. Their pasta dishes are good as well. My only complaint is the children’s menu is pretty limited. If your child doesn’t like anything on the children’s menu, be prepared to pay full price for them.

Excellent dining experience! Probably one of the best Italian food in Morris County. Very calm atmosphere where they let you settle in before handing you menus. Also, the olives with your bread was a bonus. We ordered the shrimp and bean appetizer to start. I ordered the salmon which had a well seasoned and light white wine sauce with crab meat and asparagus. My mom and brother got the special fish of the day, which was Chilean sea bass served oreganata style with mussels and clams in a light red sauce served over spinach. They brought us crispy potatoes and carrots for the table. Everything was perfection and would come back again. Service was great — would be awesome for a large group as well.

Very comfortable, casual restaurant… good italian food and byob… a great combination in my book. I have been here several times and have never been dissappointed. The brick oven pizza is a favorite of mine but the pasta and chicken francaise entrees are also excellent!

This is a tremendous place in our little town that serves great food, excels at service and offers a warm and inviting atmosphere. The owners are locals, and treat all with warm greetings and smiles.
On last night’s visit, I reserved a table for 12… which was ready and waiting for us when we arrived. There were a few other large parties there, but the service was prompt and courteous. Pip po greeted our guests at our table, making sure we were set, he did a very nice job. The restaurant is BYO so they uncorked our bottles of wine, gave us bread & olives and gave us some time to look over the menu.
Some very nice specials were on this evening, including an oysters Rockefeller appetizer that we had to have two of.
Dinner was excellent. People at the table had fruiiti de mare, chicken Franceses, filet mignon, and assorted pastas. Everything was cooked perfectly. We had 4 – 5 people who had never been here and they were very impressed.
In closing, a great night for a very special occasion. Looking forward to our next visit already.

I’ve lived in town 5 years and have driven past this corner gem millions of times. Finally decided to stay local and visit for hubby’s birthday. Meal was awesome, staff friendly and ambiance relaxing. It’s also BYO so that always gets me as a repeat :)

I’ve driven by this place for years and years and never ate there, we heard good things and selected it to have a large family Party one Saturday and we were very impressed. The service was excellent, food was great, and set up of party with different rooms really worked well for our 60 guests even with the other two rooms having large parties as well.
We will have to return for a date night for sure, only downside I’d say is the parking, you have to walk a little bit but there’s ample street parking.

I came here with some family the other night for dinner. The meal started off okay but declined as it progressed. We started off with some nice looking bread and olives in a tasty, infused olivie oil. I really wish the bread was served warm but it wasn’t. It’s really unfortunate because they have a small open kitchen for pizza and paninis that they could’ve warmed the bread in. Our waiter proceeded to list some specials for us and we ordered our meals. We began by sharing a few appetizers: the zuppa di mussels, zuppa di clams, the shrimp and white beans, the spedini, and a sausage and escarole dish. Both shellfish plates were good, their sauces were mopped up with bread all around (warm bread would’ve been better here too). The shrimp dish was nothing special and there wasn’t even enough shrimp on the plate for us each to have one; something our server could’ve mentioned… The spedeni was good and lightly covered in the same fragrant sauce as the shellfish. The sausage and escarole was good too and a nice break from all that red sauce. For entrees I ordered the veal paillard which I would never get here again. Pieces of my veal were a little tough in some spots and the salad adourning the veal was just chopped up romaine and a boring vinegrette. The fresh mozzerella in the salad was so scarce that I wish they hadn’t diced it up so finely so that I could enjoy one creamy bite. Everyone else made off a little better with their entrees. The chilean sea bass special was good, as was the porkchop that I tasted. The desserts were your typical north jersey Italian restaurant choices, nothing to write home (or Unilocal) about. I’d come back to try the pizza but I’m not in any rush. The servers we’re a little unattentive once our appetizers were served… I know its early evening on Sunday but come on. We went out to eat so we could relax not you. At the end of the day there are simply better choices in the area…

What a hidden gem for Lincoln Park. Last night was my first time there, but will definitely not be my last.
Although I did not have reservations and it was packed, they offered us a spot at the bar to enjoy our wine (Byob) while we waited. To our surprise they served us a complimentary pizza during the wait!
The atmosphere is intimate and upscale-​they had live talent that night and Danny bacher was wonderful!
The food was tasty and worth the wait. You MUST go to this restaurant and try it. 5 stars!

I was SHOCKED to find this upscale restaraunt in an area known more for canned beer and take out pizza then sit down venues. The place looks tiny from the outside, and the no parking lot scared me but street parking was easy to find and the space really opens up as you walk inside.
Décor is OLD SCHOOL italian restaraunt. Service was also OLD SCHOOL italian. All male staff, very professional, will answer any question you have, and even recommend what they like. Daily specials are always different and the entire menu seemed really affordable for the portion size. BYOB is always a plus.
Food was very very good. Started with the mussels and the broth didn’t dissapoint. Bread was served cold, most places do this now and I will never understand why, but it did taste fresh so no harm no foul. I had the veal chop special which was cooked the way I like but the standout on my plate were the sauteed carrots. OUT OF THIS WORLD. I would go back JUST for the carrots. The date had the lamb chops which were very large, cooked, well, and served with delicious mashed potatoes.
Dessert was a the biggest dissapointment as my lava cake had no lava so should have been called overcooked chocolate sponge cake.
I’ll return just for those damn crack carrots.

We just bought a livingsocial coupon so we decided to give this italian place a try.
The deco was very nice and elegant. The waiter was attentive.
We were served bread, butter, and olives. All are excellent.
For appetizer, we tried the «Bistro Calamari» with a sweet and sour sauce. Very tender and tasty.
For entrée, my husband tried bistro pizza. Not the best thin crust pizza I’ve had but pretty good.
I had steak and mushroom panini and it was juicy and flavorful.
Had the cannoli for dessert and it was just the right combination of sweetness, crunchy, and creamy.
Overall an excellent meal.