Café Amici—Bergen's Little Secret

Bergen County is awash in good restaurants, but Wyckoff has a delightful little secret called Café Amici, with food that makes it a strong competitor among the area's many Italian-American eateries.

Café Amici is, we're told by friends,  a big favorite with "ladies who lunch" and its popularity at night was evident on a recent Thursday night. It was packed with couples and families out for the evening.

From the outside, it is an unprepossessing place across from Boulder Run. The entry is not well lit and hard to find on a dark, nearly winter night, but aficionados were quick to point it out to strangers. We learned later that Brent Cestone,  a former golf pro who manages Café Amici for his uncle, Albert Franco, closes off the center door in the winter because the cold wind annoys diners. That leaves just a door at the side as an entrance.

Once inside, Café Amici was clearly a welcoming space, with walls painted the color of the old walled towns in Italy. A painting of a Roman statue decorated one wall in a room filled with windows on two sides. Sconces provided a rosy light. The beautifully tiled floors and chattering guests raise the decibels considerably, and while it is a great space for families, we can't recommend it for an intimate candlelit dinner for two.

The tables are small, but the staff is clearly up to dealing with the space, even though we wished for another couple of inches on either side of our table. There is a one-page cardboard menu plus a separate sheet for the day's specials, which includes an inspiring "quote of the day."

We started with salad and calamari, the latter being one of our "tests" of an Italian restaurant. Café Amici's calamari passed with the proverbial flying colors, crisp on the outside and tender, not rubbery on the inside. It came with two sauces, the standard tomato and one the waitress told us was "ginger sauce." We thought it tasted more like soy syrup. It was interesting, and my partner liked it.

The serving was generous and would have worked for four people. The salad was excellent, too—arugula atop a bed of crisp green beans and dotted with small beet nuggets and goat cheese and just the right amount of balsamic dressing,   

One of the popular appetizers we saw going by was a plate of zucchini cut into julienne strips and fried. It looked great, and we intend to try that next time, particularly after the couple at a neighboring table shared a piece with my partner. (It's a friendly restaurant. Cestone says at least half his customers are regulars.) The pizzas also looked great coming out of the kitchen.

I elected to try the grilled salmon, asking that it be "cooked through," meaning centers that are not simply warmed but actually change color.  This is another test we use and another one Café Amici passed easily.  The salmon was perfect, not over done, not underdone, and laid over a bed of sliced potatoes.

My partner went for the orecchiette, the "little ears" native to southern Italy, with sweet sausage and broccoli rabe. He also dived in before I could take a picture. It was a pretty dish.

Café Amici's chef, Arthur Toufayan, an alumnus of the Culinary Institute, served as former sous chef at Charlie Palmer's Aureole in Manhattan before moving on to the Village Green in Ridgewood, where he introduced the tasting menus.

Café Amici got its start in 2002, when Franco, a semi-retired businessman, was "looking around for something else to do," Cestone said.  At first the restaurant focused primarily on a lunch menu that also could be used for dinner. "We didn't have a real developed dinner menu back then," Cestone recalls. But over time, that situation has been remedied, and you can count on at least one fresh fish special each day.

Cupcakes, visible in a case as you walk from the entrance to the dining room, are a popular dessert at any time of day. We've also heard the pies and ice cream are good.

Wyckoff's Café Amici—unlike Franco's other, newer Café Amici in Ho-Ho-Kus—does not take reservations. If you have a party of six or more, however, it helps to call ahead. Café Amici is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sundays, it opens at 10 a.m. for brunch or lunch and offers a dinner menu from 3 to 8 p.m.  "Walk ins are always welcome," Cestone says.

High chairs and booster seats are available.

Food: Excellent

Service:  Good

Entrée Price Range: $11 to $21

Atmosphere: Pleasant

BYOB

Credit Cards Accepted