I’m visiting the 25 most essential restaurants in North Jersey as determined by you, the readers. This week I headed to the Reservoir Tavern in Boonton.
Reservoir Tavern in Boonton: Most Essential Restaurants in NJ
Matt Cortina continues his tour of the 25 most essential restaurants in North Jersey at Reservoir Tavern in Boonton.
The Reservoir Tavern has been around since 1936.The Bevacqua family has run the Res and is currently on its fourth generation of owner.The Res is known for its pizza, Italian-American classics and a homey atmosphere.
I first came across Reservoir Tavern in Boonton when researching the oldest pizza places in North Jersey (the restaurant dates back to 1936). But my first proper meal here is thanks to you readers, who chose it as one of North Jersey’s 25 most essential restaurants, as I recently visited the “Res” for a massive lunch.
I was eager to try the pizza — so many of you commented that the Res makes your favorite pie. I did that and much more, including eating some dishes I’ve somehow never had before and discovering the Tavern’s “best kept secret” on the menu. Here’s what I think of the Reservoir Tavern and a little bit about how this classic North Jersey spot came to be so highly regarded.
The Reservoir Tavern History
There would be no Reservoir Tavern, no storied history, without the Bevacquas. Nicola Bevacqua opened the Res in 1936 to showcase his Italian cooking chops. He passed the spot onto his son, Nicola Bevacqua, Jr., who was born and raised in Boonton, and who took over operations after returning from service in the Korean War (with a Purple Heart).
Bevacqua, Jr.’s friendly face and steady leadership turned the little tavern by the Boonton Reservoir into the legend it is today: the restaurant expanded and earned a nationwide reputation for its quality, namely its pizza.
At his 90th birthday celebration at the restaurant in 2019, Bevacqua, Jr., commented on the love from the community he’d felt over the decades: “I think this is spectacular, and that people recognize we’ve been in business 83 years,” he said. “It reflects on the fact that if you put in the effort, you will succeed.”
Bevacqua, Jr., died in 2021 and today, Nick Bevacqua carries on the tavern’s legacy as a fourth-generation owner. Though the dining room has undergone updates over the years, many of the time-tested recipes remain on the menu, it’s still closed on Sundays and Mondays (as has been the case for over 50 years), and people are still talking about their pizza. Former New York Giant running back Saquon Barkley paid a visit to the Res in 2019 and raved about the crust, among other plaudits.
The understated building on a sleepy corner in Morris County might belie all the tradition and fanfare around this place. Then again, the packed parking lot on most days give it away: this is a restaurant North Jerseyans love.
The food and experience at Reservoir Tavern
This is going to sound like weird commentary, but I was charmed by the labyrinthine layout of the Res; it’s unique and it tells a story of the restaurant’s steady growth over the years. You walk into this old brick building under a retro awning, then up some steps to a tiled waiting room; to the right is a semi-sequestered bar with a marble top, and through a doorway to the right is a skinny dining room with some obvious, tasteful improvements made since the eatery first opened some 90 years ago.
The service throughout the meal was quick and friendly (and patient, given how much we ordered), and there was a communal atmosphere throughout the dining room, with servers sharing stories with regulars (and vice versa) and a steady stream of people flowing in and out during a weekday lunch.
The menu is large and includes a dozen or so appetizers, a few soups, another dozen salads and sandwiches, plus plenty of pasta dishes, classic Italian-American entrees and, of course, pizza.
Let’s start with appetizers: spiedini, meatballs, stuffed long hots and something called “toasties,” that the menu bills as The Res’ “best kept secret.”
I don’t think I’ve ever had anything exactly like the spiedini here: it’s crispy egg-battered bread triangles stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto. It comes with a choice of brown anchovy sauce (my selection) or homemade marinara (I had some extra with the meatballs so I tried them both ways). It struck me as an Italian Monte Cristo variation; the bread sopped up the gravy yet stayed crispy and the cooked prosciutto was succulent. I’d order it again.
The meatballs were uber-tender, and I loved the meaty marinara even though I tend to prefer a brighter red sauce. They’re packed with Italian seasoning, so there’s a lot going on on the palate, but they taste like the meatballs my older relatives used to make. Toasties, I learned, are just toasted meatballs, so they have a thick, crispy crust; I was surprised that I preferred the texture of that (with a dip of each bite into the marinara), than the straight-up, softer meatballs.
The long hots, though, were by far my favorite. I love the fruity flavor long hots bring in concert with a manageable, but present heat (probably a six out of 10). And the sausage and three-cheese filling was spectacular, particularly the sausage: more tender than other pizzeria sausages and perfectly spiced with aniseed and dried green herbs.
I found a lot of comfort in the bowl of rigatoni Bolognese, a house specialty. The Bevacquas add some cream to their version, so it comes out more like a vodka sauce, but each bite is thus hearty with a touch of sweetness. The eggplant parm was the only miss of the meal for me: it looked the part, with lightly charred cheese over fried eggplant medallions and marinara sauce, but I found the eggplant to be a little too soggy and the taste just a tad off.
OK, the pizza. This much heralded pizza. I understand why people like it: the flavor of the crust is outstanding (bready with a little salt and char), and they put a good amount of cheese on top. My personal preference is for a firmer, crisper, thinner crust and less cheese, so at the very least I’d order it well done in the future and maybe opt for a margherita pie. The half with sausage, though, was unassailable; so good is the sausage that my minor quibbles on pizza preference no longer mattered.
The Verdict
Look, I’m not one to rank pizza and realize it’s a fool’s errand to do so anyway given how personal the debate is for many of us in North Jersey. I’d gladly order another pie from the Res and feel confident I can calibrate my order to suit my particular tastes. Given how pleasant the appetizers were, I’d order more from that end of the menu on subsequent visits.
And not for nothing, the Res feels like the kind of old-school, spaghetti-and-pizza place that belongs farther up in North Jersey, so I’m glad it’s endured here in Morris County. The next time I’m looking for a classic red sauce joint in the area, I’m making moves to the Reservoir Tavern.
Go: Reservoir Tavern. 92 Parsippany Blvd., Boonton; 973-334-5708, therestavern.com.
Matt Cortina is a food reporter for NorthJersey.com/The Record. If you have recommendations for other essential North Jersey restaurants for him to visit, go here or email him at mcortina@gannett.com.
Dining and Cooking