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photo credit: Noah Devereaux

Razza image
8.3

Razza

Pizza

Downtown

$$$$Perfect For:Casual Weeknight DinnerDate NightSerious Take-Out Operation
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At most restaurants, asking your server to describe the evening’s butter menu is strange at best, insufferable at worst. But this is a very normal question to ask at Razza, a pizza restaurant off the Grove Street PATH stop that’s been doing the whole we-know-the-offspring-of-our-basil-supplier thing since it opened in 2012. 

In its second decade, Razza is still hard to beat when it comes to sit-down dinner options in Jersey City, and it’s the very best option when it comes to Neapolitan-style pizza (though you won’t find that word anywhere on the menu). Many people agree, indicated by endless Reddit forums debating who makes North Jersey’s best pizza, two consistently packed dining rooms, and a small hungry mob that convenes nightly around the takeout counter. And while it’s hard to divorce Razza from all that buzz, the key to a memorable meal here is to ignore it. Otherwise, you'll be too busy debating if this is the best pizza you’ve ever had to appreciate the subtleties that make Razza great: sauce, toppings, plus a big space that knows how to have a good time.

A distressed concrete wall and five small wood tables at Razza, a pizza restaurant in Jersey City

photo credit: Noah Devereaux

Just about everything here is made in-house or acquired from a place you can reach via The Turnpike or The Parkway. The flour in your crust is from Clifton, and the hazelnuts on your pie are from New Brunswick. It’s possible that your server hand-selected the grapes in the pet nat you’re drinking—they were grown on a vineyard “in the South,” which in this context, means South Jersey. 

But the thing is, no matter how ripe those freshly picked tomatoes are, this is not revelatory pizza. While the dough would be more than fine—great, even—in sandwich-bread form, as the base of a pie, it lacks a distinct flavor, and could benefit from more salt. Same with the cheese in pies like the Fungi, where the real punch comes from what’s on top of it.

But if you zero-in on the produce, you’ll understand why New Jersey’s "Garden State" moniker isn't just Big Agriculture propaganda immortalized on our license plates. The red sauce is made from two types of tomatoes, and is delightfully sweet with a slight acidic twang. The blistered cherry tomatoes on the Yellow Margherita are a fun spin on a white pie. And even though the Panna is draped in a blanket of cow’s cream and mozzarella, the heaping pile of arugula is the best part.

Come with a date, or a small group, and if given a choice, ask to be seated in the takeout side of the restaurant, which feels warmer and more thoughtfully designed than the other, more industrial dining room. Order the meatballs, the butter tasting, and at least one pie per person. But most importantly, treat a meal here like a wine tasting, where the end goal is to have a good time, appreciate all those ingredients, and maybe even learn a thing or two about where your grapes came from. This isn't the pizza olympics—you're just going out to dinner.

Food Rundown

Razza image

Bread & Butter Tasting

This is the best way to start a meal at Razza. You’ll get warm, thick slices of sourdough tucked sweetly in a bread basket, and a spread of three different butters. Maybe you think butter is butter, and that you couldn’t possibly need to try three of them for a total of $18, but you do.

A bowl of meatballs in tomato sauce, with cheese sprinkled on top

photo credit: Noah Devereaux

Meatballs With Ricotta

This is the second best way to start a meal at Razza. The day-old bread adds a crispy little crunch while keeping the tender handfuls of pork and beef intact, and the generous cover of tomato sauce—plus a big, fat dollop of ricotta right in the center (not pictured)—leaves a lot left over to dip your crust into when the pizzas arrive.

A margherita Neopolitan-style pizza on a wooden table

photo credit: Noah Devereaux

Margherita

The litmus test for any pizza place that devotes more than 200 words on its website to the quality of its ingredients is the margherita. Razza’s two-tomato sauce is a smooth, seamless balance of sweet and acidic. But if you’re more into the former, get the Yellow Margherita.

Seasonal Pie

There’s a new pie on the menu each season, so ask your server what it is and get it. In fall you might find cavolini, and later, a winter squash. This is a nice way to try some funkier pies, white also getting a chance to really taste those ingredients at their peak.

A Neapolitan-style pizza with cheese and hazelnuts on top of a wooden table

photo credit: Noah Devereaux

Project Hazelnut

This is one of the pies you probably read about. The hazelnuts were bred from the Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers, which is a fancy way of saying they’re a bespoke product of New Jersey. It’s a fun one to have on the table if you want to geek out about the fine work that’s happening at our state schools, but we think you can skip it.

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FOOD RUNDOWN

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