Salvatore Olivella. Photo by Victor Hugo

Olivella, a new Italian restaurant, opened Monday night in North Bergen. This is the first New Jersey project from Chef Salvatore Olivella, one of the top pizza makers in the country. A native of Naples, Italy – the birthplace of modern pizza – Chef Olivella has built an impressive résumé consulting for many of New York’s top pizza spots including Marta, the Serafina Group, L’asso, Numero 28 and more. He also co-owns Olivella’s Neo Pizza Napoletana, a group of 4 restaurants in Dallas, Texas. For his Garden State debut, Olivella and his partners have built a 50-seat restaurant with a wood-burning pizza oven as the centerpiece and rear dining room flooded with natural light through a glass roof.

The restaurant serves brick oven pizza and a full menu of antipasti, pasta and entrées including: Sushi di Parma – house made fior di latte cheese wrapped in prosciutto di San Daniele; Gnocchi Alla Romagnola with porcini, fresh truffle in a Pinot Grigio sauce; Farfalle di Olivella, bowtie pasta sautéed with smoked Norwegian salmon, shallots, vodka and salmon caviar; Pollo alla Valdostana, chicken breast sautéed with wild mushrooms, prosciutto and fontina sauce; Filet Mignon al Barolo with porcini mushrooms; and Costoletta di Vitello Milanese, thinly pounded veal that’s breaded and served on the bone, topped with salad and Parmigiano.

Pizzas showcase Neapolitan tradition with a Margherita DOC with housemade fresh mozzarella, imported San Marzano tomatoes and basil; devilishly spicy Inferno with housemade fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, ‘nduja (spicy spreadable pork sausage from Calabria), spicy soppressata (dry salami) and spicy honey; and Don Maradona Snow White with fresh ricotta, housemade fior di latte cheese, garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil.

For his “Gourmet di Olivella” choices, Salvatore gets creative with a Frank Sinatra pizza topped with burrata, bresaola, arugula and lemon dressing; Agrodolce Olivella, a sweet and sour marriage of house made fior di latte, gorgonzola, pear, Parmigiano, walnuts and honey; and Tartufata del Cardinale with house made fior di latte, Prosciutto Cotto, Parmigiano, mushrooms, micro basil and truffle cream. Calzones can be ordered either as Classico with mozzarella, ricotta and San Marzano tomatoes or as La Vesuviana – half calzone and half customer’s choice of pizza. Only the highest quality imported San Marzano DOP certified tomatoes from Italy are used in the restaurant’s sauces and fresh cheeses such as mozzarella and fior di latte are made in house.

Olivella is located at 7709 Bergenline Avenue, North Bergen, 201-662-6110.

Cheers,

Veronique