Enzo's Pizza and Subs

The place was so warm and scrumdillyumpious. I just had a soccer game in the cold and got the hot cocoa and cheese fries, it was so deliciousss~~the atmosphere is so joyous and jolly with Christmas decor and I loved the music. Pizza is amazing, the chocolate cake is so good too. Definitely go!

Last night, a group of senior neighbors got together at Enzo's to celebrate the 88th birthday of our neighbor, "Big Eddy". The owners, Sabino and Lisa, rolled out the red carpet to make Ed's birthday so special. One of the cornerstones of Italian culture is 'La Famiglia" and Ed and his guests were treated like family. Besides delicious food, their hospitality was warm and genuine as they couldn't do enough to attend to our party. It's obvious why Enzo's has been a fixture in Oceanport for decades as the owners aim to please their customers. FYI: Grandpa's Pie with fresh mozzarella and basil pesto on sesame crust is a must try.

Upon walking into Enzo’s there were tables lined up in a row most of which were dirty. Myself and my grandsons sit at a table I politely ask the man behind the counter if there was table service he rudely yells nope you have to come to the counter and order. Next question, are there menus, answer, at the counter. We order an Italian hot dog sandwich, which comes with 2 hot dogs onion rings and fries. It comes out and there is one hot dog and 2 sausage link hot dogs, honestly not even sure what they were. There was literally 5 French fries and 2 onion rings. We also order a margarita pie, well the sauce was burgundy being a chef myself I could tell that this sauce was old and we through out half of it. As the food was being delivered I asked if I had ordered a sliced of Sicilian because I could not remember and the answer I received was rude and unprofessional. The man said well I only have 2 hands. Way to intimidate a guest. I’m pretty sure this man the only person I dealt with was the owner. I understand it’s bit easy to run a business but the unwritten rule, is never take it out on your guest and never ladle old sauce onto any dish.

For a quick, hearty meal, Enzo’s can be a good choice. It’s a family run restaurant that’s very much a big part of the local community. The grandpa pizza is one of my favorites. It has sesame seeds, pesto, tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. The antipasto salad is a great choice as a starter. And i love that they are one of the only places that has diet root beer. Yum!!

A step above

So nice to be able to order a chicken salad sub. The menu board displays many options: wraps, regular sandwiches on choices of packaged breads and half or whole subs. But no gluten free bread options like Jersey Mike’s for instance (of course you’d never get chicken salad at Mike’s, company store or franchise).

The business was out of whole wheat sub rolls on Saturday morning at about 11 a.m., August 3, 2019 – the day I found myself passing through Oceanport, and quite hungry after a long run in the heat. So I ordered my chicken salad on a white sub roll, which I found to be super fresh. The servers weigh all portions of cold cuts or salads as they make your sub – I like that. The half sub was large and tasty, a good value at under $8. And the quality was there.

The debit card minimum is $10, so I wasn’t able to use plastic unless I added to my sandwich order to bring it above this minimum, the server suggested spending more – instead of perhaps offering to take a card for my first visit only, which to me speaks of the establishment’s independent nature. I wonder if this sort of "upselling" helps raise the average ticket for Enzo's? I didn't want chips and don't drink beverages with meals, so I was good and didn't select any add-ons from the shop.

The restaurant is located in a mixed-use complex that I understand is about 5-years old, according to the server. But the shop was in business years before that at a nearby location, she said. Their pizza also looked good when it came out of the oven at 11 a.m. Thanks.