First Impression: Bread and Salt Jersey City

What

Bread and Salt Jersey City is an Italian bakery/pizza shop located in the former Pizza Vita space at 435 Palisade Avenue. It’s operated by 2016 James Beard semifinalist Rick Easton and business partner Marc Magliozzi (Dozzino, Corto). It’s located in a lively strip of the Heights, which is steps away from The Franklin, Corto, Riverview Wine, and Green Pear Heights.

Interior

Bread and Salt has a simple, rustic vibe going for it. Decor is limited to Italian bottles of olive oil, tomato sauce, and a few packages of pasta. However, everything is nicely spaced out and there are tables for two as well as tables for larger groups. There is currently no wait staff, so you order at the counter, pay, and pick up your order once it’s called out.

The Menu

Bread and Salt posts their menu at the restaurant everyday. Some of the items we saw during our visit included potato pizza, mushroom pizza, a few sandwiches, a veggie stew, and meatballs. However, because the menu changes frequently, you may not always see the same dishes. (Which can be both good and bad if you like a particular dish). The restaurant is also BYOB, so we recommend taking a quick stroll to nearby Riverview Wine before you head in.

We Loved

The bread, the bread, the bread. Easton is a bread perfectionist and has made it the rockstar of every entree. It has an airy middle with a toasty crust that offers an audible crunch with each bite. We got two slices of bread with our meatball dish and two slices with our veggie stew. (Which btw is an excellent vegetarian option). As for the pizza — it’s fantastic and among the best pizza in Jersey City. It’s Roman style pizza, which is simultaneously thick and crunchy, but also airy and light. Note to diners: The full pizza pie is huge and can easily feed three people. It’s actually so big that the entire pizza barely fits on some of the smaller tables.

Could Be Better

An updated Instagram account or website would be great. That way diners know what’s available each day. We’d also love to see an option to buy loaves of bread on a daily basis and not sporadically. Also, ever since they were written up by the NYT, getting a table has been almost as bad as getting a table at Razza in downtown. So we recommend visiting on an off weeknight rather than prime time on a Friday or Saturday night.

Final Take

Yes, there are a lot of great pizza restaurants in Jersey City, but Bread and Salt is on a different level. It’s easily the most exciting restaurant I’ve visited in 2019. Now for the big question: Is it better than Razza? Bread and Salt offers more than just pizza and salads, which gives it a bit of an advantage. However, when comparing pizzas only — it’s a very close race. I’ve tried practically every pizza at Razza and I’ve liked the vast majority of them. I’ve only had the Margherita at Bread and Salt, but it was excellent and it’s made me an instant Bread and Salt fan. So until I try more of Bread and Salt’s pizzas, all I can say is that it’s a damn close race and I have no reason to go to New York City to satisfy my pizza cravings anymore. I recommend Bread and Salt one hundred percent.

Bread and Salt | 435 Palisade Avenue