Nunzio’s Pizzeria

Long Branch stalwart Nunzio’s is thriving, under the stewardship of new owner Chris Manzo, who took over in August 2024 from an interim owner who left after a year. But this classic pizza and pasta joint first opened 70 years ago. Manzo, who ran Tenth Street Pizza in Hoboken before relocating to the Shore, was working at Nunzio’s when the interim owner decided to depart after only one year. When they offered ownership, Manzo bit the hook.

Manzo kept the longtime staff, including friendly-faced server Laurie, who drops off pies and pasta with a smile. But he removed the old-timey chandeliers and replaced them with a whimsical collection of knick-knacks and candles set on small shelves across the restaurant. “I told my friends that whenever they visited, they needed to bring something from their home to put on my walls,” he said. Near the kitchen in back, old movies play on the flat-screen TV (this evening, Lou Gehrig’s story in The Pride of the Yankees).

On a recent visit, we started out with the Long Branch chopped salad, an antipasto-heavy dish featuring roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, marinated mushrooms, olives, meats, and cheeses over a bed of romaine, dressed either Tuzzio (creamy Italian) or Nunzio (oil & vinegar) style. It’s a little pricey at $19, but a tasty start to your meal.

Then we opted for two of Nunzio’s famous thin-crust pizzas: from the Classic menu, the Louie, featuring sausage and green peppers. Manzo dropped off their house-made chili oil, perfect for drizzling over the cracker-thin crust. I didn’t even care about the future heartburn it would surely wreak.

We also got a Specialty pizza: the soon-to-be-discontinued Soppresetta ($23) featuring spicy sliced Calabrese salami plus sweet and hot cherry peppers. No need for that spicy oil here. This pizza will have you sweating—one of the reasons Manzo is moving it to the second-tier menu.

The pared-down menu is wildly sensible, featuring four apps, three salads, three sammies (including parm two ways), four salads, and four entrees. Pasta dishes include Cacio e Pepe, Rigatoni al Forno, Bucatini Amatriciana and Penne Grappa. Entrees feature chicken four ways: Parm, Paillard, Scarpiello, and Milanese, ranging from $20-26, so you won’t be out of pocket.

There’s also a roster of specialty and regular (but still special) pizzas. All the usual suspects are there, from NY Style to Margherita to White Pie to the Upside-Down Sicilian (Brooklyn-style square pie finished with Pecorino Romano). One eyebrow-raiser is “The First Pizza Ever,” topped with grape tomatoes, roasted garlic, olives, and oregano. No independent verification could be made as to whether this was, indeed, the first pizza ever. But the math does seem to add up.

Add to that Nunzio’s daily specials like eggplant caponata, bufala caprese, and seafood arrabbiata on our visit, plus desserts including zeppoles, “The Best Tiramisu” and something called Nutella focaccia, and you’ve got the makings for a great meal.

Manzo is honoring what made Nunzio’s a Long Branch classic: quality Italian food in a relaxed environment. And people seem to like it. Pointing to a party of 12 boisterously holding court in the middle of the restaurant, he said, “These folks have been coming here every Thursday since…. I don’t know, since it opened 70 years ago.”

Their convivial spirit was contagious, adding a real hometown feel to the meal. When the bill arrived in an old DVD case for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, we weren’t mad. Times may change, but it’s nice when a classic stays the same.

Nunzio’s Pizza
230 Westwood Ave., Long Branch
732-222-9798
Nunziospizzalb.com
Open Wed–Sun 4-9 p.m.

Save a Few Clams

While hard times has necessitated Nunzio’s from retiring their famed Wednesday $20 for two chicken parms offer, the restaurant is still BYOB. Save a few clams by bringing along your own beer or wine to drink, sans the irritating ‘corking fee’ other venues impose.