Puzo's Family - Hawthorne

As a former employee and a regular customer of the pizza, I can confidently say that this is the best Italian restaurant in Hawthorne. Each pizza is crafted with Italian pride, and every dish coming from the kitchen is prepared with great attention to detail.

You've never had Italian until you've had Puzo's! When visiting family in NJ this is a must do on the itinerary. The owners make you feel like family while servers are prompt and helpful when not sure what to order. If you're not interested in dining in for the evening or maybe just craving some pizza, place a take away order and enjoy. My fav is the gnocchi with meat sauce. It's the perfect portion to make you feel full without the food coma. Whether it's date night or a family dinner order a bottle of wine and take your time. Enjoy the savory dishes and comfort of the like home feel of the restaurant and food. There may be other patrons experiencing the joy of Puzo's but it doesn't have that crowded restaurant feel, the tables are situated so that you are able to focus on your party solely.

When we walked in, we were greeted by a full-blown argument among the staff, escalating to the point where one person actually put their hands on another. We were stunned, watching people walk by us as this unfolded. Eventually, someone asked if we needed to place an order, and we simply said we wanted to get our food to go. Once we got home, we were beyond disappointed. The salad was excellent as always—their dressing is the best—but everything else was inedible. The mussels had a cardboard-like taste, and the sauce was completely off. The pizza was honestly one of the worst I’ve ever attempted to eat; it was undercooked and a huge mess, smothered with way too much cheap cheese and canned olives. We couldn't even eat it; I ended up giving it to the squirrels and raccoons. I was just there a month ago, and the food was good, so I’m not sure what has happened since then. I truly love this place, and they usually recognize you as soon as you walk in. I sincerely hope they can return to being the fantastic restaurant they’ve been for so many years.

Puzo's is simply the best and brings back wonderful memories from my time living in New Jersey. You really can't go wrong with anything on the menu, and their pizza is absolutely amazing. It's the perfect spot to grab take-out dinners for the whole family, and then treat yourself to a slice of their expertly made pizza to enjoy in the car on your way home!

*Buyer Beware* the menus have outdated pricing. No one will tell you until you confront them about the check. This place is old school. Beat up walls, wallpaper coming apart in the doorways. But as far as we could see it 's pretty clean. Yes, it 's a good pour of wine, but the menu says $6 for a glass and then we were charged $9 per glass for an $8 bottle of wine!! My husband 's Blue Moon was supposed to be $5 charged $7. Server literally shrugged and said that the menus were old and they had new pricing. They 're laminated paper reprint them. The calamari was not worth $17. It was super chewy. The sauce was marinara with a tablespoon of red pepper flakes dumped in. Nothing special. The pizza is good, but too thin to hold all the toppings. My husband 's pasta was prepared very al dente and was at least $2 more than what was listed on the menu. Service was very awkward. She didn 't clear all the plates. She only took my empty glasses, not my husbands. Every time she approached the table she asked if everything is ok? and then fled quickly from the table. We didn 't complain about anything until I noticed the large discrepancy with the bill. I didn 't argue, I just said they should update their menus and we paid the bill. I realize that prices have gone up, but that should be shown to your customers before they order. It 's not a pleasant surprise at the end of the meal. We will not be returning.