Spacious, traditional Italian establishment with a bar & a menu of steak, pasta & seafood dishes.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 812 NJ-33, Hamilton Township, NJ 08619
Phone: (609) 584-1700
Website: https://tessararestaurant.com/
Menu Photos
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Reviews
One thing to note is that the restaurant is undergoing lots of changes right now due to having new owners. If you see a very extensive menu floating around online, know that this menu has been significantly downsized to only include the most popular items.
We walked in at perhaps 8:30 PM to most of the chairs put up on the tables. If this happens to you, you don’t have to walk out like we nearly did; the restaurant is open – there’s a section in the back where you can sit.
To start with, we were given some bread and packaged butter to eat. There wasn’t quite enough butter for the bread, and the bread was tough on the outside.
For appetizers, we ordered a Caesar salad and a mixed salad. There were large croutons in one of the salads, which would have been better in a soup. I believe a salad should have small croutons in order to not break your teeth. The croutons in the salad were very hard and large, and with nothing to soften them, they were difficult to eat.
We had varied success with the mains. My dining companion enjoyed his steak ferrara immensely. Unfortunately, my surf & turf (filet and lobster tail) didn’t agree with me. The lobster was overcooked, and the steak was on the chewy side.
The green beans appeared very wet and unappetizing and didn’t look seasoned in any way, just steamed. I’m a hard sell when it comes to steamed veggies, so this sadly wasn’t for me. I also started feeling very suddenly ill after having the clarified butter that comes with the lobster, so there’s that.
We were asked during the meal whether we were planning to order any drinks, because if not, the bartender could go home. The chef also went home maybe an hour before closing, so there was no opportunity to order dessert. I personally prefer to have it clearly stated if the kitchen closes earlier than the official closing time of the restaurant itself, so this caught me a bit off guard.
The service was fine. Our server was quite talkative and happy to talk about the restaurant’s history and the changes it’s gone through. He was very genial and knowledgeable.
However, I felt a tad put on the spot when asked why I hadn’t eaten my dish, and I felt compelled to lie that I just wasn’t as hungry as I thought I’d been. I realize he was trying to be friendly, but questions like that just aren’t something I personally enjoy.
The total, including 20% tips, for two people came out to $115.85. For me, it simply did not feel worth the experience. I realize the restaurant is going through a lot of changes, but overall, I can’t say there’s anything I really enjoyed about being here. If it were me alone, I’d give a 1, but since my dining companion really liked his main, I’m bumping them up to a 2.
The atmosphere was cute, the area was cozy & service was great.
I had the filet & the purple martini which was excellent. Decent sized portions for the price.
The back bar area is small but comfortable, I recommend the espresso martini !
We’re locals so we’ll most certainly be back, if your in the area, be sure to check it out.