Illiano's J&P Restaurant

I love their pizza. Everything else is good (especially the shrimp salad), but the pizza's my favorite.

Alright so I figured I'd give J & P another try. I mean thousands of Hampstead-ites can't be wrong right? Well either Hampstead-ites have lower standards or I just missed the boat on J & P.

My wife and I stopped in on a Friday night and the line was out the door. The wait was about 15-20 mins which is not unreasonable. We sat down and my wife wanted some sangria. 1 glass is $6, a pitcher is $11. Interesting pricing structure...alright J & P, I'll bite. I wasn't in the mood for sangria but since its cheaper to get a pitcher than 2 glasses, why not? The sangria comes out in a beer or soda pitcher and we are handed 2 pint glasses. The sangria is probably some cheap bottled sangria with a few slices of oranges thrown in...classy. Hey it was $11 for essentially 60 oz of "wine" so what can you expect.

As my last review mentioned, I've already discovered their subs were sub-par (get it, SUB-par) and their pizza was meh, so let's go for what everybody says is good about the place - pasta. I got the chicken piccata this time, which looked delicious when it was brought out. The chicken was cooked perfectly - tender with a bit of browning around the edges. The linguine pasta was cooked well but was drowning in wine sauce. The wine sauce didn't not have much flavor and neither did the capers that came with it. Not bad, not great...definitely nothing to write home about. Sadly I would say it was about Olive Garden quality...maybe.

So conclusion: Hampstead-ites have low standards or they are riding off of the nostalgia of when J & P was good a long time ago. I reiterate that for pizza and subs, go to Tony's down the street. For pasta, I don't know...go over to Westminster to Libertore's or microwave some Stouffer's or something.

We really love their pasta and subs.  I find their meat sauce to be the best with their lasagna and manicotti.