I lived in Hoboken, NJ for a year before moving to Jersey City, and even now we still walk or bike up to our old Hoboken stomping grounds a few times weekly. One thing that struck me most after moving to New Jersey from Texas was Hoboken’s abundance of Italian eateries and the Italian cultural presence in general. Dallas and Houston have quite a sad Italian food scene, and I never realized it until now. Hoboken has REAL Italian food, with family-owned small restaurants and delis and bakeries that have been doing the same thing (very, very well) for generations. Given my lack of personal experience with Italian food, I wanted to bring an expert opinion along on this Italian food tour: my two friends born and raised in Sicily. Below are the Italian food hot spots in Hoboken that we visited that weekend! I’ve included my expert opinions’ comments and verdict on both the authenticity and taste.

These places can be visited in one half-day and the itinerary is walkable or bikeable. Enjoy!

Hoboken, NJ Half Day Italian Food Tour

Losurdo’s Italian Deli & Bread Bakery

410 2nd St, Hoboken, NJ 07030

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Hoboken, NJ has no shortage of Italian delis but Losurdo’s stands out for it’s wonderful sandwiches (popular choices are the “pig and fig,” eggplant parmesan, and roast beef in addition to the classic cold cuts), cannolis (different people swear by different Hoboken Italian bakeries, but Losurdo’s is always on the list), and … drumroll, please … the focaccia. Oh man, that focaccia. Losurdo’s serves focaccia on Saturday mornings only, and you better get there before around 2:00pm because they sell out by mid-afternoon.

Losurdo’s offers four different kinds of focaccia- cherry tomato and olive, chopped tomatoes and olive, artichoke, and plain red sauce.

I let my Italian friends choose the focaccia and per their recommendation, get the one with whole cherry tomatoes and olives. That is the original and authentic “focaccia barese.”

These focaccia are incredibly affordable, too, with an entire focaccia (six slices) running for around $7! It was crusty on the bottom, springy in the middle, and tender and flavorful up top. My Italian friends gave it an A++ for authenticity.

Dom’s Bakery Grand

506 Grand St, Hoboken, NJ 07030

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Our old Hoboken apartment was actually around the corner from this historic gem of a bakery which has been serving up bread since the 1970’s. Dom himself was born in Naples, Italy but spent adolescence in Hoboken. The quality of Dom’s bread is no joke — Frank Sinatra reportedly was so infatuated by the bread from Dom’s Bakery that he would have it shipped weekly to where he lived in California. I was always so intimidated by this bakery because I had read a lot about how wonderful their breads are (they supposedly also supply bread to many nicer restaurants around Hoboken) but every time I tried to venture inside, the experience was odd and a the service a little harsh. I realize now that I kept visiting in the afternoon, and the only time you should really come to Dom’s Bakery is in the morning before everything runs out. Dom’s Bakery is known for their sfogliatelle pastries, tomato pies, and various other breads. For the sfogliatelle— I recommend calling ahead to place your order, as the lady working there told us they sometimes run out of these flakey little guys as early as 8:00am on some days!

Although we missed out on the sfogliatelle this time, my Italian friends really enjoyed the spongy and crusty bread we got from Dom’s Bakery— it was the perfect addition to our outdoor Italian food crawl picnic. They also want to come back another morning for the sfogliatelle.

Fiore’s House of Quality

414 Adams St #2693, Hoboken, NJ 07030

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With a name like this, what else do you expect from this classic Italian deli other than perfection? Don’t worry, you will not be disappointed here.

Fiore’s deli is another Hoboken staple Italian bakery, and my favorite place to go for fresh mozzarella. They offer free samples of their mutz to newcomers, so go on in! Fiore’s knows how to make GOOD fresh mozzarella. In the words of my husband: “It’s so creamy, it’s ridiculous.” In the words of my Italian friend: “Good mozzarella needs to have the taste of the milk flavor,” a flavor profile lost on all the packaged mozzarella I’ve ever tried but most definitely present in Fiore’s mozzarella. This fresh mozzarella retains its textured striations (rather than being compressed into a solid ball), is delicately salty, and delectably creamy. It is SO SATISFYING.

We chose a simple sandwich: prosciutto cotto (means “cooked ham”) and fresh mozzarella and nothing else. Per my Italian friends, Italian deli sandwiches are something to be casually eaten at home or with friends, and they should be simple creations of usually a single cold cut and mozzarella to really let the quality of the ingredients stand out. Don’t go for the towering creations of 7 different meats with gravies and sauces and add-ons slathered on top— instead, choose the simple delicateness that is this Italian sandwich. Also, my Italian friends said that good quality prosciutto cotto (the cooked version) is much more difficult to find than good quality prosciutto crudo (the raw cured version), so take advantage of it and order a prosciutto cotto sandwich here at Fiore’s!

Giorgio’s Italian & French Shop

1112 Washington St, Hoboken, NJ 07030

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I am very sad to say that Giorgio’s is getting ready to close its doors. Giorgio’s bakery has been a Hoboken establishment since the 1970’s, and are known for making traditional Italian pastries and specific Italian holiday sweet treats around the year. We had to pay Giorgio’s a stop before they said goodbye to Hoboken’s Washington St! Since we also missed out on the sfogliatelle at the above bakery, we had to get one here at Giorgio’s. My born-and-raised-in-Sicily friend reviewed the sfogliatelle at Giorgio’s bakery as “good but not amazing.” I guess it’s hard to beat what you can find in Catania.

We also sampled a cannoli (still a tad sweet for my taste, I preferred the cannoli from Bronx’s Little Italy), a ricotta pie, and some cookies.

Where do you like to go for your Italian food fix in Hoboken, NJ?

Hoboken Italian where/what to eat next time:

• Dom’s Bakery Grand for sfoigatelle (ordered ahead of time!)
• Losurdo’s for sfoigatelle (only available on Sundays)
• Dolce & Salato for Italian ricotta cheesecake