Star Tavern
| Address: | 400 High St, City of Orange, NJ 07050, USA |
| Phone: | +1 973-675-3336 |
| Site: | startavern.net |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 12–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
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Justin Levine
Star Tavern is one of the most famous pizzerias in New Jersey because of its mastery of the bar pie style. They even won "best thin crust" for the NJ Pizza Patrol from the Star Ledger awhile back (now THAT was a list). Its very difficult to get so much out of so little, but they do it. They use a 2 stage baking process: first cooking the dough in a modified pan so that it fries a bit, and then moving it to the gas oven floor to finish. They have a surprisingly good variety of pies, but the regular cheese pie is the most famous of course. The waitresses here are very nice if not a bit frazzled. First time I went with friends during the day, and there were maybe a few other people in there with some takeout orders. We had the place all to ourselves, and enjoyed watching the pizzas get made in the open kitchen. The regular pie was delicious. The mozzarella and tomato sauce created an almost soupy synergy that was awesome. It wasnt far off a pizza napoletana in this respect, albeit applied heavier. The outside of the crust displayed the trademark of the bar pizza style: a frying of the dough and cheese on the edge. In case you have not yet had a pizza like this, trust me its awesome. I couldve eaten the whole thing by myself easily. My main problem is that we cut the pie into 16 pieces, which caused the soupiness to make the crust a little soggy. If it had not been for this sogginess, this may have have a 5 star pie. After this we got a white clam as well. Bear in mind, they use clam sauce here with mozzarella, not actual clams. It was wonderfully salty and creamy. I thought it was really good for what it was, but not really my cup of tea. On later visits Ive stuck to a regular pie with pepperoni and Ive fared well. If youre passing through Orange, NJ, this is a must-hit!
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Tiffany Oglesby-Rhoden
Ive dined at Star Tavern several times, but yesterdays visit was disappointing. My co-workers and I called in our order to beat the wait because it was our lunch break. We arrive and our order is ready within 5 mins. Sounds good right? Our lunch came up to $45.00!!!! Well since we had received our food with time to spare, we looked and saw about 3 available tables. We politely asked since there were tables available, could we sit down and eat. We were told no. WE WERE TOLD NO! could you believe that? After spending nearly 50 bucks, we were told we couldnt even sit at their tables to eat. So we sat down anyway :-) I open up the bags to discover no utensils or salad dressing. So you were going to take my money, rush me out, and provide me with no tools or dressing to enjoy my lunch. The waiter explained to me that he didnt intend on servicing us because he wouldnt receive a tip. So I guess its safe to assume that tips trump customer service. Who says I wouldnt tip you? Why would I want to now after the service that Ive received? Perhaps the company should consider a $5.00 service charge to sit in and eat after youve made a pick up order. Thats a better way to earn a tip instead of refusing to serve paying customers out of fear or not receiving one. Shame on that policy and the employees who support it.
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Linda C Hackling
My husband remembers this place fondly from years ago so he looked forward to taking me there Fri, Dec. 2nd. The pizza, pretty good, not world famous but very enjoyable BUT the experience was not enjoyable. We sat at the bar & the gentleman on duty really should pick a different industry. I didnt get his name as he didnt even make eye contact, no smile, was in this 40s maybe, not much hair, could have said, "Hi folks, how are you?" No, it was whatre drinking? I asked for White Zinfadel......"we dont have it." STILL not looking me, just cleaning up behind the bar. "Any suggestions", I asked? He gave me one, wasnt bad. I then asked if you have a lot of white, how bout Moscato? "Dont have it," he replies as he walks away from me. No social graces at all. Bartenders are critical to a neighborhood place like that with so much traffic. So needless to say, I made the suggestion to give it another try this past weekend the 9th. Hubby said never again. Im just one reviewer but you dont know how many other people had a similar experience but never said anything. True, your traffic is heavy so if you lose a handful of customers, no problem, youll double that loss with new patrons. Bad thinking, bad business.
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Tom Burkett
We went to the Star on this past Monday night, November 28. We arrived about 6:00 PM. The place was about half full, 4 of us, we ordered an antipasti and 3 pizzas, a bottle of wine and a beer. The wine and beer came, followed soon thereafter with the antipasti. the first pizza came, we dug in. I didnt think we could finish the second one, being that I am in my 70s, but youthful determination kicked in, number 2 went by the wayside, the third one arrived. Bottom line, we knocked off all three of them, plus another bottle of wine. I had not been here in nearly 50 years and found the place unchanged but for exterior facade, and improved pizza. We will return even though we now live in Florida. It was refreshing that we found that some things do not change except for the better. Keep up the great work. By the way, the joint was packed when we left, with a line waiting.
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A Private User
Ive been going to Star Tavern for almost 20 years now, and after today I wish to never return. It took over 30 minutes to be seated, when there were a few open tables. After being seated I noticed there was garbage all over the floor . It took over 20 minutes to get 2 glasses of water. then after that another 30 minutes to get 2 cheese pizzas which one was cold when we got it. One server We saw eating around 8 slices of pizza, and a slice of cake all before we received the food. He also did not wash his hands at all after handling dirty dishes, cleaning tables, eating, and touching his face. He then went to handle the food being served. After speaking to the manager about the service she stated it was he birthday and they have a few large parties that night. That is no excuse for bad service. We will not be returning anytime soon.
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Bob Treue
This place is a dive with all the good and bad that comes with it. I like finding the diamond in the rough and had high hopes for this restaurant. I arrived very hungry after a friend had highly recommended the portobello and sun-dried tomato pizza. We began with the buffalo wings, which were OK, then followed with the portobello and pepper appetizer, which was good. Then we had to wait 50 minutes for our pizza. That is the worst part of this restaurant- The service is terrible. The decor is 1970s basement. When the pizza finally arrived, the portobello and sun-dried tomato pizza was OK. Not great. All in all, Star Tavern is nice food with bad service. Not the diamond in the rough I had hoped for, just a mediocre dive.
