La Catena Restaurant

Love. Love. The food it’s delicious. And cheap and it’s a cozy place love the owner him and his family are the best

Went to La Catena tonight to celebrate my birthday. Food is fresh, fabulous, & delicious. Service is stellar! It feels like you are having dinner in someone’s home. Best restaurant around & I have been to many. A must visit. You’ll never find better food & service in any restaurant in Union Cty.

Went there yesterday for lunch with 3 others. Everyone loved their meal. I’d been there before a few years back and was impressed then too. I live over an hour away, if I didn’t I’d go there often. The food truly is wonderful. Marcello was extremely professional and courteous. Thank you!
Note: they don’t super size your meal like most places do. I actually appreciate that. No reason to overstuff oneself.
For those who complained, maybe something was not prepared with the ingredients you are accustomed to. Not necessarily a bad thing, just different. To each his own.
Also, sitting next to any window anywhere is going to be cold, period. If you make a reservation, make sure you ask to be seated away from the window if it’s cold outside.

A real gem! Service excellent – staff very personable and food outstanding. Veal Saltimbocca was fabulous – my husbands favorite. Since his favorite restaurant closed in the city he has been unable to have saltimbocca that measure up to Primavera on 1^st Avenue. This may have even surpassed theirs. Prices very good. We will be making this our favorite local restaurant.

Great Food!!! immaculate service… Very quiet and quaint restaurant … Very reasonable Prices … A True Hidden Gem!

ate there last night can’t say enough dining room great service outstanding food fabulous. My first visit definitely not our last everyone so personable. I live on Staten Island just a 15 minute drive over Goethals can’t say enough.

The staff is very, very nice. The food has always been very good. Nice local place.

My dad ate dinner here almost ever night. The owners we so good to him and they are the nicest people you will ever meet in your life! The food, OH MY GOD is out of this world!!! There prices I feel are right where they should be. You are getting good size portions and food that is just delicious! Thank you La Catena for being such great friends to my dad Bob and for treating him as if he was family. Will see you all very soon for some GREAT italian food. :)

I was not happy with my meal here. And I also sat by the window and was cold. I ordered peppercorn steak. Steak came out blue and sauce had a lot of pepper but no flavor wine or garlic. They did bring me a another steak cooked to perfection but the sauce was really bad. My husband was happy with the meal. Ididn’t think his dish was that great either but he’s not that picky. Dinner came to over a hundred with wine.
I was so pissed at the amount of money we spent that I wound up cooking for the rest of the week. Don’t understand why you can’t get a good tasting dish for $ 30 dollars come on now.

La Catena is about the best bargain in Gormet italian food you will find anywhere. The food is worthy of your finest guests and won’t break the bank if you decide to treat the table. The menu is familiar to most that dine italian, try the tortellini belvidere, a bit heavy but very original! The treasures here are in the chef specials they never get over used and won’t disappoint! If nothing appeals to you menu or special wise; you can always go off menu and describe what you want, they’ll make it for you. The bar is small but well stocked with generous pours. The staff are all friendly prompt and professional. This is truly a good find for a regular night out!

Fine Italian dining at it’s frikkin best people!!! And I can walk there? And still stay pretty on my way??? WHATTTTT!!! Too excited to write this review. So mad I don’t have any pictures to post but I will very soon.
La’Catena is a place you definitely come for date night. Or for a nice company hoorah! Or even an engagement party or something. The food is phenomenal. Not kidding. I have no familial ties to these people or anything. But I love them. I love Veal so much and they make it so many different ways. But, BUT the Lemon Veal (one of the specialties) is to DIE FOR! I can’t even… But wait, before we get to the veal let me tell you what to do when you go… You get a little antipasto or the raw bar sampler thing. Get a Catena Salad or the minestrone. Then, only then should you get the Veal. If you prefer a pasta dish to a meat dish than get the Bella Vista pasta. I’m sorry I can’t remember the exact names of these wonderful dishes. But I am sure what I am writing is accurate. I have never eaten the seafood here. There is another amazing restaurant I go to in the area that I get my seafood on at. Look for that review as well and go eat there too!
Located on Westfield Ave I have only walked here. So I can’t tell you about the parking. The prices are typical for a nice Italian restaurant.

I came here with a friend to celebrate a special occasion and was rather disappointed. The dining room was very cramped and we were seated by the window, so I was freezing the whole time. Considering that the entrees are around $ 25 each, I expected a salad before the meal or at least some soup (as other Italian restaurants do), but our meals were brought out right away.
I ordered the Pollo Catena, which was supposed to come with prosciutto and gorgonzola cheese, but there was no prosciutto on it. I should also mention that there were no side dishes, just literally 3 green beans and 3 slithers of carrot on each plate. We were in and out of there in under an hour– so much for a fulfilling dining experience. Not worth it for the price in my opinion.

I went to LaCatena for lunch with business associates at their suggestion. An excellent suggestion it was! This is a nice little touch of Italy in a most unexpected spot. Cloth tablecloths on all the tables greet you. The owner dressed to nines greets every customer. The food is excellent. The service was excellent in the European tradition. LaCatena is truly a wonderful restaurant.

This is an interesting find. In union county in a less fancy part of NJ is a small, family owned place which has a tiny but cozy bar and a dining room that includes an area that can be configured for a private meeting. The food was good to very good with some excellent items. The service was excellent and discrete. (I noticed that some people obviously had standard orders that were immediately filled when they arrived!)
We had lovely buffalo mozzarella with nicely prepared peppers and tomatoes. The special sausage with hot peppers was dynamite as was filleted shrimp with grilled polenta in a sharp but creamy cheese sauce.
Everyone enjoyed their main course.
This would be a great place for a comfortable dinner with your close friends and family. Prices were typical for NJ ~60 per person with a drink. So not cheap and not super expensive.
I have to return for the hot peppers alone.
PS you can easily miss it. There is no flashy sign so just watch the address numbers.