Alex’s Bar & Grille

I had the best time throwing salami everywhere and I was eating chicken francese (the one with the red sauce)

I stopped by today for lunch. I ordered a Caesar salad and a steak. The steak was cooked perfectly and just juicy, I wish I took a picture of eat, but I couldn’t wait to dig in.
I also recommend the break and olive oil that comes with the meal. I could eat that all day.

Lasagna was the special and as always it was great like everything that you order. Alex the owner is always here to welcome the guests and make sure you are taken care of to come back …

We came in for the Osso Bucco and it was fantastic!!! Alex always takes care of us and Toti was so nice!

We just happened upon this restaurant and when we saw the positive Unilocal reviews we went in. The service was really outstanding starting with Alex who recognized us from another restaurant in which he worked. My red wine was great, the bread fresh and crusty with an olive oil mix used as dip for the bread. Baked clams were fresh and tasty. And my favorite Italian dish, chicken Scarparello was great. Could have had more hot peppers. And I always take home half and the portions were large enough to do this. We would definitely go back. The décor also was well done as well as the lighting.

Traditional Italian/​Mediterranean food in the best possible way.
In the regular menu: chicken parm and Marsala are very good.
The star attraction however are the specials. There’s a long list of them from soups to mussels to entrees and they truly are special.
Service is consistently excellent.

A secret find in North Plains, great atmosphere and the service is top notch! Must get the Bronzino, the preparation is well worth the experience! Will definitely recommend to my friends!

The unassuming exterior of this restaurant does not give any indication that inside they serve some of the best Italian-​American and continental type fare in the area.
After you figure out what to order, they bring out a plate of cheese and paper thin sliced salumi, bread and their house made seasoned dipping oil.
The pleasant, helpful attentiveness of their staff sets this place apart from others nearby. Pleasant, helpful, and attentive without being too «in your face» about it. John, Sal, Ben and Toti all seem to anticipate your needs and really provide a pleasant dining experience.
We’ve ordered dinner specials like their duck special or the cavatielli with broccoli rabe and sausage, or off the menu items like chicken parm, chicken francese, clams casino or mussels marinara– all exceptional in taste. And given the generous portion size, there’s ample to take home and enjoy a second time.
Pro-​tip: I don’t know how it’s even possible, but as delicious as the chicken parmesan was at the restaurant, it was even TASTIER the next day:)
We have not tried many desserts; however, the ricotta cheesecake was a perfect ending for one of our meals. Not too sweet, not too heavy. A perfect ending to a perfect meal.
My goal is to eventually work my way through their entire menu:)

Besides Alex & his kind & ever-​present waitstaff, the rest of the experience at Alex’s Bar & Grille was not good. Was there for dinner last night (Friday @6:30 p.m.), and the food was NOT fresh, and, instead, was soaked in oil & butter. The appetizer «special», Asparagus Parmagiano, was NOT special. The asparagus was not at all crunchy, and appeared to have come from a can, and was saturated/​drowning in a mini-​version of the Exxon Valdez. The baked clams, too, were NOT fresh (they must have been frozen & heated up); were fit for a 5 year old (SO small), and I had a very difficult time finding any actual clam. I was so disappointed in the appetizers, that I chose not to order an entrée. The only bright spot was incredibly fresh bread, but, as with everything else, they disappointed, as they did not have any quality olive oil/​rosemary to dip the delicious bread in. The apple «pie» was a la «Mrs. Smith’s», and it was served with another, tiny (and melted) «scoop» of vanilla ice cream. Yuk. And, the «unisex» bathroom, smelled of urine, and its toilet & urinal (ew!) were not enclosed, and smelled as though they hadn’t been cleaned for a few days. That type of «female-​un-​friendly» restroom is expected in a sports bar, but not in a restaurant, that holds itself out as «upscale» (and charges $ 30 for an an entrée). The flourescent lighting in the bathroom, was yet another, indication that the bathroom was better suited for the Vincent Lombardi rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike or the Stumble Inn in my neighborhood. Sorry Alex! It’s time for a food & bathroom makeover — Stat!

I can’t believe that we live less than 5 minutes away from Alex’s!
But tonight, Mr. Man suggested we try Alex– and why not? Alex is always pack– and that’s a good sign (to me). We were greeted by a gentleman who led us to the dining room. Alex’s décor is cozy with dim lights and good ambience.
Onto the food and service…
Toti– our server, was nice and warm and mentioned the specials for the evening. Everything sounded outstanding! What are we having for dinner???
For appetizer, we each order the arugula salad with, tomato and onions with a creamy mozzarella– delicious!
For the main course, Mr. Man chose The Ribeye and I went for the Salmon with a side of Broccoli Rabe in Garlic & Oil. Everything. Was. Delicious. And. Portions. Are. Big.
Omg!!!
Toti would check on us frequently and service was on Point. No complaints whatsoever. Alex has an awesome atmosphere, where you can chitchat and have a nice time. And to wrap things up I went for the chocolate cake– Yummmmm.
Toti brought us an after dinner drink which was great.
The whole experience was great, look forward to dinner here again,

Love this place. We prefer hanging at the bar and ordering food there. Alex is kind and always comes around to say hello. He knows all of his customers and they all know him. His bartenders are also super friendly. The food — can’t say enough good things about it. Alex’s offers family sized portions, and I absolutely love their fried calamari and chicken scarpariello. So delicious!

I have eaten here twice and cannot say enough good things about the food and service. Most recently, our dinner started with a complimentary plate of cheese and salami as well as delicious warm bread. The Red Snapper entrée was prepared to perfection and my dining companion thoroughly enjoyed the parpadelle with shrimp. Excellent portion size lended itself to a doggie bag — and trust me, I can eat! Forget the menu! The number of specials is terrific! Dessert was average, cannolis, tiramisu, etc. Wine list is great. Décor is a little dated but I could live with that given the service and food. Price was good — 3 of us ate for $ 65 per head including appetizers, drinks (2 each), main course and dessert. To the reviewer who ordered filet mignon, try Capital Grille. Why eat a steak when you have the opportunity to enjoy this fabulous Northern Italian cuisine?

I absolutely love this place!!! The food is consistently excellent. They will cook your food whichever way you wish. If you want grilled halibut or sole Francese or spaghetti Amatrichano, they’ll do it for you. The atmosphere is lovely and the service is perfect. Do yourself a favor and try it!!!

This place is very deceiving from the outside and name. I have driven past it a million times and finally remembered it when deciding where to go for lunch. By the name alone, «Alex’s Bar and Grille» I would think I was walking into a casual bar and grille not a fancy Italian Restaurant. That aside, I feel as if the food was over priced, not that good and took a long time after ordering to come out (at least 40 mins). I can cross it off my list of restaurants to go to but I would not return.

Very Disappointed.
The owner and staff are friendly and courteous but to a fault. You start to wonder if they will ever leave the side of your table. They need to be more professional and less chummy.
The Filet Mignon is perhaps the worst cut of filet I have ever had. We arrived as a party of six. Three of us ordered the filet mignon medium rare. It was cooked as requested but it was so tough and chewy and did not taste very good either.
The presentations are very bland. The food is just placed on plain plates with no garnish or artistic touch of any kind.
The prices here for filet mignon are quite high which is ok if the meat is good. But in this case they missed the mark by far.
Even the desserts left a lot to be desired.
In my opinion, the food here took a serious nose dive since the new owners took the space over.

Pros — So we randomly stumbled upon this place by accident. We went for lunch and it was very good. The service was prompt and friendly. I had the minestrone soup, which was probably the best I have ever had. I also ordered the seabass, which was a good hearty portion, but too much olive oil on it. For my side, I did order the pasta but asked for bolognese sauce instead of marinara — a good choice! My colleage ordered the gnochhi with bolongnese and agreed that the sauce was amazing.
Cons — when we checked in on Unilocal,it said we get a free bottle of wine. They gave us such a hard time about this and claimed they knew nothing about it. When I showed it to him again, he said I have to print it out and bring it with me. The owners/​management of restaurants that partake in these Unilocal promos need to educate their staff better.