Wyckoff Pizza: Italian Standards and Much More

Looking at Wyckoff Pizza's menu is a lot like browsing through a catalog that includes everybody's favorite Italian dish. There are, for example, 16 starters, 15 salads, 21 pizzas and 10 classic pasta dishes. And that's before you get to "Traditional Italian Favorites" and "House Italian Favorites," or those favorite American sides, French fries and onion rings.

"We always say we offer more than a pizza parlor but less than a diner," co-owner Chris Lisa said. Actually, I think the Wyckoff  Pizza menu might exceed the offerings of some diners.

Given the range, I was glad I had the family along. There was something for everyone. But I also feared that no kitchen could do justice to such an extensive menu. And it was true that every dish was not great, but every dish was good and several were standouts.

Lisa and his partner, Dave Ruben, opened Wyckoff Pizza in the Cedar Hill Avenue shopping mall in the fall of 2006, after Giovanni's, which had occupied the space, moved to downtown Wyckoff.

Lisa, who graduated from Seton Hall with a double major in management and marketing, said Ruben, who has been his neighbor in Wayne for the last 10 years, had owned and then sold other restaurants. 

"When Giovanni's space became available, the landlord asked him if he wanted it, and we decided to take it over," Lisa said. "We put in new equipment and redid the walls and floors."

The restaurant, which seats 46, now sports wall murals of piazza-style tables.  Though there was a steady stream of customers to the take-out counter, we were the first party to sit down on a recent Wednesday night.  And our server was there promptly to help us get settled.

Choosing was tough for the adults. (The children had their usual chicken tenders and fries.)  We started with three dishes as appetizers—onion rings, mozzarella sticks and grilled bruschetta.

The onion rings, we thought, probably came out of a frozen package and were not made on the premises. Lisa confirmed that while they make their own pizza dough daily, they buy prepared onion rings and fries. I think the fries were more successful than the onion rings, but that didn't stop those rings from disappearing. They were still pretty good.

The mozzarella sticks and bruschetta were very good.  The biggest hit among adults was a "house favorite," artichoke chicken. This dish even looked spectacular, featuring sautéed breast of chicken with artichoke hearts and prosciutto, in a pesto cream sauce and tossed with farfalle.

And it was a huge portion. "My dad and I usually split that," Lisa said.  We took a good half of ours home.

A "tavern" style pizza, with a "secret recipe" tomato sauce and mozzarella, was another table favorite and made a nice lunch the next day.

I had another house favorite, sautéed chicken and grilled Portobello mushrooms in a tomato cream sauce. It was also a very generous size and was nicely done though I could have used a little less cream sauce.

My partner elected to try one of his favorites, veal Milanese, which is not something you usually find in a pizza parlor or a diner. It came under a bed of fresh baby field greens dressed with balsamic vinegar and was pronounced good if not outstanding. 

The entrees came with nice side salads, though we were a little too stuffed to appreciate them properly.

Other families came in while we were there, and the steady stream of take-out orders continued.  This appears to be a well-run place that draws big weekend crowds. Lisa said they deliberately do not take reservations, especially on Friday nights.

So, if you're looking for an Italian-American night out, it may pay to go earlier rather than later.

Food: Good

Service:  Excellent

Entree Range: $7.50 - $20

Atmosphere: Pleasant

BYOB

Credit Cards Accepted