Teresa’s Caffe

ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. The service was excellent. The food was superb and the atmosphere was comfortable, casual and elegant. I cannot wait to come here again.
We had the bruschetta, meatballs, calamari as appetizers. For dinner I had the lamb special and for dessert we shared the tiramisu, apple bread pudding and the chocolate pizza. Cocktails were reasonably priced and everything came out quickly and accurately.
Will most certainly come here again!

This needs to be made great again. Food used to be good, but now pizza is too cheesy, while the service is inattentive (had to ask for bread multiple times, and water came with fly). Will not be going back.

This used to be our favorite brunch place in Princeton but not anymore. Our experience today was not good at all. It took almost 45 mins before we got our poached eggs. While everyone around us are almost done with their meals, we were still waiting for ours. You just lost a customer.

Very helpful waitstaff, charming location on Nassau Street. Great bread baskets, and every dish we tried was artfully done! The insalata pizza was a little odd, basically a house salad on top of cheese bread, but the pasta and other pizzas were very high quality.

Cozy, clean and upscale — not your typical pizza joint. Try their unique twist on Bruschetta. I loved the chicken and orzo salad ($ 15), and my GF had the kale salad. We were in the mood for tea and were offered a boutique selection, quite nice. Good service too; friendly but unobtrusive. Would definitely go back.

This place is always very crowded. I went by a couple times and wanted to try it out but couldn’t get a table. Finally I went there last week at around 5:30pm and got the last table. The service was so-​so. The waiter didn’t even bother to tell us the specials. The bread was good. I was so glad I asked for 2 basslets of bread (for two adults and a toddler) — the dinner entrée servings are fairly small. Husband had the seafood pasta: he said it was too salty. The pasta dish probably had 2 – 3 shrimps and scallops. I had the grilled sirloin steak. I asked for medium well but media rare was served. The steak was just ok. The serving was small. My dish was not salted… I probably will not come here again — the food was ok, overpriced, and the place is overrated.

Best Bolognese dish I’ve ever had outside of Florence. Lamb ragu made this a most flavorful and perfectly cooked meal –I’m still thinking about how good it was long after leaving this very charming and cozy little Italian bistro in the heart of Princeton. Had the kale salad to start and a few glasses of red wine — a perfect combination and finish to a busy work day. If return here in a heartbeat.

This was my first time in the Princeton area — my college friend and I had a wonderful reunion :) I enjoyed the pappardelle bolognese, and she said the fedelini pecorino was really delicious! The restaurant is located in a super charming neighborhood… great restaurant to grab lunch before exploring the town!

Tight quarters, but food was delish. I had Salmon with citrus almond butter served over red quinoa and seasonal veggies. It was delish. Will post the pic.

This is one of my all time favorite restaurants in Princeton. I’ve been coming here since it opens. It never fails to disappoint and the atmosphere which is charming and bistro style and food is excellent. I’ve had all the pastas and they are all excellent. Best bolognese! Pizzas are great. Meatballs, yummy! Great prices and always excellent!

Love Teresa’s every time I go here. It’s one of Princeton’s charms and a great Italian restaurant to bring visitors to. One time, I ordered a pasta dish but didn’t realize that’s what I ordered (I never send something back, especially when I know it’s my fault), but the waiter saw the look of surprise on my face and had the chef instantly make me something new, didn’t charge me for the original! It was incredibly nice of them to do and I will remember that forever. Every experience I’ve had at Teresa’s has been great. Also, the place itself sometimes feels slightly crowded — but it adds to the charm in my opinion. I’ve had their pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches.

Random visit to Princeton. My first time in this area and hunger was in the air. It started snowing so we just drove around looking for places that looked open and interesting.
We drove by here and it had a quant look to it so we stopped in.
It was easy to get seated considering the weather. Décor made me forget I was in posh Princeton, NJ. The capacity is not the largest so I am sure on a great weather day, there will be a wait.
We had the special of the night which was the Sweet Potato Gnocchi with meat sauce, mushrooms and Brussel sprouts. This was a gamble. I am not one to to recommend that dining parties all get the same menu item. Had one bad experience with that. But this luckily had a good outcome.
My colleagues were bent on getting a small pizza to share.
I think we all left satisfied and full… wish we had room for dessert.
But we say if we are ever in the area for business again, we are likely to return.

Went for a girls brunch.
It’s in an adorable location, and the panini I ordered was on point, but the service was REALLY SLOW. Like we’d ask for ketchup and we’d have to ask at least three more times before someone would finally come for us. It actually took us 45mins to get the check… and they weren’t even that busy…
where was the staff?

Rudest hostess ever this past Saturday evening!
Food is great though…

Having eaten here several times, I kind of have mixed reviews here depending on the time of day and day of the week. Whenever I walk by Teresa’s Café, I always get caught off guard and get attracted by the beautiful and romantic ambiance! Gotta love those fairy lights! Also, the bright lighting and wooden tables make the place feel very clean and comfortable.
Food: The most recent time, I came here to eat the Fedelini pecorino (shrimp pasta). It was tasty but not delicious. The shrimps were a little overcooked. And our dishes were delivered later than expected though that night was kind of busy.
Service: I’ve come here many times and enjoyed the service a lot! The hostess always gives us a friendly, welcoming greeting, but the waitress can be iffy. Sometimes they are friendly and attentive and communicate well with us. But at times, I feel like the waitress forgot that we even existed.

Teresa’s is the more casual, slightly less pricy joint within the Princeton food kingdom, terra momo restaurant group. I’ve been here countless times, and can say they definitely have a good amount of ups and downs
The good:
–always notably great bread and olive oil
–simultaneously low key and classy vibe, plus choice of al fresco or indoor dining
–use of local farm ingredients, especially in the summertime. Get anything with lots of veggies in it and it’s sure to be great
–along the same wavelength, rotating seasonal menu
The bad:
–inconsistency. Some dishes are amazing, some are bad, most are just average
–their seafood dishes are usually meh and fishy/​gritty
–during the summer there’s always tons of flies. Like tons of them. Side effect of having farm-​fresh produce I guess
So in other words this is the kind of place where it’s kind of a gamble. And albeit more affordable than other terra momo options, still not cheap. Even so the space is quite nice and will always be a pton staple.

Princeton restaurants are some of my favorite restaurants. I am starting to not want to leave this town because there are so many options for great food. Teresa’s is no exception.
I recently came to Teresa’s for lunch at got to sit outside and experience the new al fresco dining area. The area is set up very nicely in the alleyway with small tables, greenery, a pergola with twinkling lights and outdoor speakers to listen to music. This area is great whether you are dining during the day or at night. It’s also a great way to people watch.
Teresa’s is part of the Terra Momo Restaurant Company and, as always, this restaurant company hits it out of the park. Each meal has great presentation and tastes better than it looks, a home run in my book. On this day I ordered the arugula salad topped with blood orange slices, pistachios, goat cheese and a white balsamic vinaigrette. To accompany my salad I also ordered the sauteed calamari in a tomato sauce. The calamari was very fresh and cooked to perfection. It’s refreshing to see calamari served in other ways than fried. A friend ordered the agnolotti pasta and raved and raved and raved about it. Next time, this is a must try for me.
Only complaint: Reservations are taken only Monday — Thursday. I have dined here on a weekend and the wait can sometimes be an hour to ninety minutes. Because of this you can leave your cellphone number and they will ring you when your table is available. If you want to come on a weekend either come early or prepare to wait.

Atmosphere:
Located in palmer square, Teresa has been a staple on the Princeton food scene for quite some time now. It’s relatively small and has and has an intimate, yet slightly upbeat vibe to it. Great service and overall atmosphere.
Food:
To start, the bread basket here is delicious. The olive oil is seasoned and the bread is fresh, making it a great way to start the meal. I had both the spinach salad and bruschetta for appetizers. The salad came with candied walnuts, gorgonzola and balsamic dressing. It was good, but nothing amazing. The bruschetta was also good, but didn’t necessarily stand out.
For my main course I had the Penne All’arrabbriata which was good. It’s made with plum tamato sauce, pecorino and basil. It’s also a nice size portion while definitely leave you full. They also have a good wine selection here.
Conclusion:
Overall I think Teresa’s is good but not great. Parts of the meal were average and parts were above average. The prices are definitely on the lower side for the dishes they serve, which is a plus. However the food, in my opinion, doesn’t warrant this place being a stand out when it comes to Italian cuisine.

I’ve been here several times for lunch and brunch, and the food is always amazing, fresh, and light. If you’re just in town once, I’d have to say go with a pizza– they often even have an uovo pizza with an egg on top, and that’s always delicious. All of the vegetables are fresh and cooked well (mushrooms retain good texture, never get slimy) and they serve americanos and other espresso drinks using local Small World coffee.
The drinks aren’t particularly unique and are reasonably expensive. But I really only come here for the food. They now take reservations, so it’s perfect for a cozy date night or lunch.

Went here to have dinner with some of my girls (my college roomie loves this place and suggested that we come here to catch up and I’m so glad we did!). The girls and I really enjoyed our dining experience here. We did have to wait a while to get a table, but it was a Friday night, what do you expect? It’s going to be busy everywhere. However, I do appreciate how they have the option to text you when it’s time to come back to the restaurant when you’re on the wait list. I think it’s better than a buzzer because you can walk around Palmer Square instead of having to be within a certain radius of the restaurant.
The food here is very delicious and the prices are very reasonable for Princeton. Our server John was fantastic! He was very friendly, helpful and attentive. Everything that we ordered here was super tasty. Ambiance is pretty nice and cozy.
Since the food was so amazing, I’m going to list the ingredients that were in our dishes. That way you can just go fantasize about it and wish you were here. We got the Braised Beef Meatballs appetizer (with tomato sauce and parsley), Sauteed Calamari appetizer (with celery hearts, golden raisin, pine nuts, peperoncino, tomato sauce, and crostini), Bruschetta appetizer (roasted eggplant & oregano purée, sheep milk ricotta, heirloom tomato & basil), Arugula salad (with terviso, black mission figs, spiced pistachios, mozzarella cheese instead of goat, and sherry vinaigrette), penne pasta (with plum tomato sauce, perperoncino and basil), Verde pizza (ricotta, spinach pesto, spinach, cipollino onions, roasted garlic and added mushrooms), and the Mezzi Rigatoni Balsamico pasta (balsamic cream, chicken, asparagus, balsamic reduction).
My roomie suggested that we share the Mezzi Rigatoni Balsamico pasta entrée because it was her favorite. I was a little hesitant at first because I’m not too crazy anything balsamic but oh my goodness, it was my favorite dish out of everything I’ve tried. Who would of thought?! I want this recipe so I can make it instead of driving over an hour and a half to get here, lol! My roomie didn’t want chicken so our waiter had the kitchen split the entrée to 2 dishes — one with chicken for me and one without chicken, how nice of them! They are super accommodating and we really appreciated that considering how busy they were! :)
Definitely need to come back and try more items!