Cocco Bello Cafe

Like my old friend Michelle L said, Cocco Bello Café is a casual gem in a town that desperately needs more flavor in their dining scene. What amazes me is that I waited so long to discover it. Really visually appealing décor, reminiscent of an early 20^th century bar complete with woodwork and copper ceilings. Interestingly, there’s a bar area although they don’t have a liquor license. I guess it’s more of a coffee and soda bar, both okay in my book. Love a really good BYOB. Livingston has plenty of good places to drink but very little in the way of really good food.
Had a delicious lunch consisting of a tuna, brie and pancetta panini with a side of what may very well be the best french fries I’ve ever had, served well done and dirty. Yumm. Service was attentive and friendly and prices were more than reasonable.
Like I’ve mentioned before, it’s unusual for me to visit a restaurant and almost immediately insert them in my regular dining rotation. I eat out a minimum of 10x/​week (true) and can’t remember the last time I cooked anything besides a protein shake. Last place in Livingston I did that was Sweet Basil’s and I’ve hit them up just about every week since I first ate there. Same with Cocco Bello. Great little place. See you again very soon!

I recently ate at this great local restaurant this week. Food is always fantastic! The salmon was so delicious and cook perfectly! My husband had the homemade pappardelle noodles with Bolognese sauce, so delicious! We will be back very soon! Bring your own bottle!

Non English speaking waitress gets orders wrong because she doesn’t understand what you are saying. Charges wrong amount on checks. Food is good, but service is frustrating. Owners should take note.

Been there numerous times with. My wife, family and friends and have never been disappointed. Cute small byob in strip center but cozy with good comfort food and friendly service. Menu for lunch has good salads paninis and wraps with specials and dinner classic Italian but all dishes well prepared and presented and specials always good and worth ordering. Good value and offer cash discount. Mangia.

I have been going to coco for years now. The food is always consistently great and they always have great specials. The duck is my favorite

I was really happy with the lunch I ate here. The cappuccino was strong and the frittata I ordered was cheesy and meaty. It was also about a diameter in size. It was delicious. It was a potato, pepperoni, tomato, and spinach frittata with asiago cheese on top. The frittata was only $ 9 too and filled me up for the whole day. If I’m ever in the area again I’m coming back.
Note: I had to pay in cash for part of my bill so be ready for that. It may not be 100% credit card acceptable.

We come here every year for our office holiday party. The food is amazing and the staff is great. Look forward to the next holiday party.

This is a great spot for a nice lunch in or on the go. I work right around the corner from here and I order out a couple times a month. Never been disappointed, the food is always excellent. Panini #9 the Antiono salad with breaded chicken and the butternut squash soup (get the bread with it) are amazing. And I love how they give you a to go cup with ice if you get a soda with your meal. Everyone is always polite and friendly, it’s just a nice place all around.

We used to LOVE this place for good Italian fare at an amazing price. Most entrees were btw $ 14 & $ 18. Now they are charging $ 19 for basic bolognese! If this place had a better ambience (wasn’t roaring loud, didn’t require you walk in the back door by the bathrooms and wasn’t kinda grungy looking… I mean this isn’t NYC) I could understand it. Im pretty sure they put MSG in their food because after eating I got a headache like I typically do when something has MSG in it. After finishing up some leftovers the following day I got it again! Terrible!

Tried this local place for the first time and loved it. Casual, super friendly, great food.
It has a terrific menu and the waitstaff was eager to make us happy, talk about the various choices, and eager to please. This is a neighborhood gem and will surely be a restaurant we frequent.

They make the best pork chop! Double cut, on the bone, cooked to the right temperature, served with garlic sauce, broccoli rabe, and delicious potato au gratin. This is a huge entrée, so you’ll have plenty left for lunch the next day. Nice bread for the table too, but it would be better if they warmed it up in the oven. Service is friendly, prices are just right, and byob makes this a great value. Nothing fancy, but it is a solid Italian restaurant. Not sure how the other entrees are. I have been here three times and have gotten the pork chop every time. It is that good! So this review is based on the pork chop entrée and service.

My wife and I have been to Cocco Bello 3 – 4 times in the last year and it’s one of our favorite spots in Livingston for Italian. The service is always on point with a very friendly and attentive wait staff and the food is always good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no Scalini Fideli (Chatham), but for the money it’s pretty hard to beat and I think all the dishes are priced just right. Large portions too so be prepared to eat. The deserts are pretty delicious too so save some room! It’s BYOB.

– 3.5 stars– I really like this place. It’s relatively small and intimate, but not tiny. The food has alway been good to very-​good, and we’ve always had excellent service. About 2 months ago, I went w/​my GF, who was having a complete meltdown that day, so I thought it would cheer her up. Unfortunately, she was sobbing, crying, and sitting w/​her arms crossed while they brought the bread and opened our wine… and she said she wasn’t hungry. So I left a $ 5 tip, thanked the waiter, and said this wasn’t going to be our night out after all… we left without eating, went to the track at the High School, and walked for a half hour, and then ate at Chipotle. So we went back to Coco Bello a few days ago and, being back on track, had an excellent meal. It’s not the most awesome Italian fare around, but it’s solid and nice… and it’s BYOB. Despite byob, there is a small bar, so if you’re meeting people and arrive early, they will uncork your wine and you can have a drink at the bar overlooking the room, which is a helluva lot nicer than standing around waiting. I would say that this place is a very good bet if you are local, but nothing spectacular or worth driving a long way for.

This strip mall café is a perfect spot for a very well-​crafted Cappucino or light bite for lunch. The salads and wraps are fresh, tasty and generous in portion size. Even the desserts in the case look yummy.
The atmosphere is nothing particularly special, but it is always pleasant and the staff, albeit not always successful, tries very hard.
It is a BYO and does get a decent dinner crowd on certain evenings, but I can’t say I am running to this place for a spectacular night out or even a casual dinner. While the food will always suffice and the choices will appeal to even the pickiest of diners, there are so many restaurants in neighboring towns it is hard to see why this place would draw a lively crowd.
That said, this place has been in business for several years now in a tough location where so many establishments have come and gone. It isn’t hard to understand why since it will always deliver decent food, and has a young staff that aims to please.

Food: Very good. Atmosphere is lacking. They prepare a nice selection of excellent dishes. Menu isn’t that interesting, nothing that will surprise you, but they do salmon, steak, pasta all very well. Menu doesn’t change. If you’re someone who knows what you want before you get there, you’ll enjoy this place. I’m especially a fan of their grilled salmon.
The place itself is cold and austere. Feels like you’re in a strip mall, which you are. Setup isn’t very good either, with tables on top of each other and crowded together.
They’ve consumed much of the space with a big dessert case and coffee bar, neither of which seem to be particularly useful.
The service is inappropriately casual. And if you’re a fan of Windex, you’ll love the big bottle displayed on the food counter and the frequent spraying of adjacent tables. Ahh, ammonia!
So, to recap. Very good food. Lousy place to eat it.

cute place for lunch! really good paninis with big portions. would probably come back, but it’s just in an awkward spot in town.

Why there has not been a review since 2010 (and 1 at that!) for this place is beyond me. Cocco Bello is a cute little casual gem situated in a strip mall in Livingston. They serve some of the freshest Italian food we’ve had in town. Some favorites include their homemade meatballs and pasta, specialty chicken dishes, over-​sized salads and crab cake appetizer. They also have a nice selection of daily specials. The prices are very reasonable and being BYOB makes the dining experience even cheaper. It’s a little on the small side. Recommend making reservations on weekends. Definitely worth a try. Guarantee it will become one your go tos.

Watch my review of Cocco Bello Café

I’m surprised no one has yet to write a review for Cocco Bello on Unilocal as this place is pretty good. I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant about going to this place as I had read reviews elsewhere that service was sometimes bad for non-​regulars. But our experience was a good one.
I was able to call to make a reservation, which I think is a necessity on a Friday night considering how busy the place was that evening. We were immediately greeted at the rear entrance (parking is in the back) and brought to our table. The waitstaff and servers performed very well. I believe the owner or someone from the management walked around from table to table greeting people. Overall, it was a good atmosphere.
The menu itself has a very good selection of different appetizers, salads, seafood, pastas, entrees, etc. And the prices were very reasonable with the salads being around $ 10 – 11 as an entrée and $ 6 – 7 as a side, and the entrees ranged from $ 15 – 20 for the pastas and $ 18 – 25 for the entrees. Some of the specials approached $ 30. Mind you, these are just rough estimates from my recollection. If I recall correctly, their slow roasted duckling was $ 31.
Looking around at the other tables, we realized that the portions were huge. So we started off with one order of the crab cakes, which came with a zesty spread on the side, some salad, and a sprinkle of a cajun-​like pepper all around. They were very good.
We then had the whole wheat fettuccine with shrimp and braised beef short ribs along with a side of spinach rabe. The fettuccine started off well, but I think all the extra sauce at the bottom of the bowl made the pasta a bit soggy by the end. Taste was good, but texture was off as a result of the pasta being soggy. The short ribs were perfect. Just the right size and a big helping of mashed potatoes with skins and truffle oil.
Unfortunately, we were just too full to try anything else. Overall, we were very happy with our experience and would dine there again.