La Mezzaluna: The Heart of Italian Dining in Princeton

La Mezzaluna is quite a gem in downtown Princeton. Not only does it offer great food it also is a BYOB, one of the very few in town. We had an early reservation because we were attending a performance at McCarter that evening so we were able to snag one of the tables in front making for great people watching on busy Witherspoon Street. By the time we left at 7:15 the place was packed. We started with the eggplant rollantini and the pumpkin ravioli. Both were very tasty with the eggplant tender and, as the menu says, stuffed with delicious cheeses while the ravioli well spiced if possibly with a little too much butter. Next we shared the warm braised duck salad which was wonderful with an amazing dressing and lean flavorful duck shavings (almost like pulled duck). Finally we enjoyed the rigatoni and the chicken parm. The rigatoni had an amazing cream sauce and tender, melt in your mouth pasta. The chicken was beautifully done and probably the best I have had in a long time. Service was a tad slow due to limited staff but they all worked well together and did deliver an excellent experience. One commendable addition to the menu is the Mr. Roger's meals. According to our waiter the restaurant prepares 30 meals each on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to feed the less fortunate in the Princeton area. You can contribute a meal to this cause by simply adding it to your check. We contributed a chicken parm dinner. You may want to consider partaking in this community outreach if you can. We enjoyed LA Mezzaluna and I am sure you will too.

Food was delicious and amazing. Totally recommend. Waiter was very nice and personable.

It's BYO but the wine store next door is really good and nicely priced. Met the owner there shopping for himself. The food was spectacular. I had the rack of lamb. I tasted the osso buco. Tried the pasta as well. All of it was spot on, especially the meat. The service was good and the atmosphere was a click up without being stuffy. Clean, comfortable, overall a winner.

Kind of an underwhelming storefront in an otherwise very picturesque Princeton. Otherwise, very intimate and close seating inside. Make sure to ask about the chefs specials because many people from my party tried the special dishes! The vodka chicken parm was incredible! The chicken cutlets were perfectly thin and crispy, the vodka sauce was creamy, yet light and spicy. Served over a bed of al dente linguini, this was a very filling and tasty dish! Good prices, and another great BYOB spot, so make sure to bring your favorite wine to pair with some great Italian food!

The menu didn’t have a ton of options but the food was really good, highly recommend the vodka rigatoni

Great place to enjoy authentic Italian food. Ravioli is a recommended dish. Good for vegetarian folks too as there are few veg options.

One of my favorites on Nassau and criminally underrated. The service is delightful. The bread is warm and tender. The rigatoni with vodka sauce (not pictured but I have had it 2 times) is life changing. The setting is intimate and quiet. What more can you ask for?

We had an excellent meal and service. Restaurant was recommended by a local. We shared eggplant rollatini, a very fresh green salad with a lemon dressing, and we each had a main dish - the chicken marsala and the chicken parm. Especially loved the sauce on the marsala. The portions of the main dishes were very large and I wish we had shared one so that I could have ordered dessert. A beautiful meal.