At first this place had a great pizza and good prices. Thin crust, very tasty and really creamy cheese. Â Over time the crust has become tasteless and dry, and the cheese rubbery... all with an increase in price. It's really is a shame when an establishment appears to compromise its standards for a little extra profit. It use to be worth the ride, but there are so many places to eat, Â in my opinion, it's not anything to get overly excited about.
Review Source:This place is a favorite when I am looking for a cold beer and thin pizza. This isn't your normal pie and It really can't get any thinner. Only thing keeping this from 5 stars is inconsistency as sometimes my pizza is over cooked other times its unde but that is me being picku. I like it enough that I come here often.
Review Source:Went for lunch with some friends. Tried 3 pies: pepperoni, garlic, and shrimp. The shrimp was a little salty, but was still pretty decent. Pepperoni and garlic pizzas were spot on. Definitely the best thin-crust pizza I've ever had. And those buffalo wings: do yourself a favor and order them. Crispy and flavorful. And although we were a large group of college kids who had to split the bill, the waitress was pretty cool.
Review Source:Do not go to Pete and Elda's in Neptune. A friend of mine has a son with an eating disorder that only allows him to eat a few foods. They went to Pete and Elda's this evening and were told they had to leave because bringing in outside food is a liability. After explaining why they brought in food for their son they were told because he was a kid he could stay but had to sit by a window and hide his food. Anyway, the guy was a complete toolbag and gave them a very difficult time.
Please read about the syndrome below.
<a href="/redir?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FIAFFPE%3Fref%3Dbr_rs&s=2021cdc26ffb346845d282a07ecf59905ae5ab06b547536fe96ddcd405abcb0e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com…</a>
International Association for Food Protein Enterocolitis (IAFFPE)
I visit Pete and Elda's regularly. My friends and I visit for the t-shirt contest. Anyone who finishes a double extra-large pizza by himself wins a free t-shirt. The t-shirt design is updated regularly, so we pop by every few weeks to earn the new t-shirt.
This is a very casual, almost dingy, bar. To clarify, it's looks dated and is dimly lit. It has always appeared clean to me. And, in fact, the atmosphere can even be a plus, since it means people can stop by after a day at the beach without feeling underdressed.
In the summer, the wait can stretch to one or two hours. The place can become extremely crowded. Arrive prepared. I would argue that the wait is worth it, though. The pizza is tasty. Don't order anything besides the pizza... the apps, salads, and entrees suck.
I refuse to give the restaurant a five because I believe they have been scamming people into ordering appetizers. The last time that I went to the restaurant, the server immediately informed us that the pizza ovens were "backed up" and that it would be forty minutes until the pizza arrived. She pressed us to order an appetizer. I've noticed other people post that their servers made similar comments in other reviews. I find it hard to imagine how their pizza ovens would "back up," considering this never happened before in many years of operation... I think they're pushing their poor quality appetizers, salads, and entrees, knowing that many customers are already starving after the long wait to reach the table. If my hunch is correct, I'm disappointed. Poor business tactic.
This place gave me major indigestion.
The fried zucchini sticks and fried mushroom appetizers had no flavor - no salt - overcooked and very sad looking. The horseradish sauce had absolutely zero flavor. No idea how that is possible.
The thin crust pizza had really cheap cheese and sauce on it - it made me have an upset stomach. The crust on the pizza was fun - super thin and crisp like a fresh water cracker.
All together so not worth the money.
I'm hovering between a 4 or 5 star rating here.
What can I say that hasn't already been said about P&E's three most famous words: Thin Crust Pizza? Well, I agree with almost everyone else that it's frickin' amazing and I believe it's worth 5 stars all on its own!
I devoured a small Super here all by myself one evening with zero guilt. I figured the delicious, crispy thin crust covered with cheese, onions, mushrooms and sausage probably had more protein than carbs, so why not just finish the whole thing? My brain and stomach mutually agreed with this Ben logic and therefore, I enjoyed each and every slice.
A few additional notes:
- It's almost always busy, so be prepared to wait for a table. No reservations.
- The table dining and bar are separate ordering areas, thus the dual name of the place. If you eat at the bar, you can only place drink orders with the bartenders and only order food with one of the circulating waitresses. Just leave your menu standing up on the bar to cue when you're ready. Bar and food bills are also paid separately.
- Beer selection is relatively limited. If you're a "domestic" fan, you'll have no issues.
- You'll come back for more.
A lot of my reviews offer a fairly high rating, what can I say I'm a creature of habit & I like good food. Pete & Elda's/Carmen's is always a lot of fun and food is fantastic. Their Wings are probably some of the best in the area and of course their signature thin crust pizza is hard to beat! Gave them 4 stars because they are often quite busy (sign of a good restaurant for sure), but this can often times slow down service a bit if you are seated with a server who can handle the pace. That being said, I've never had poor service, just had to wait a bit for drinks, plates, etc. Next time maybe I'll try my hand at the XXL pizza contest.
Review Source:If you go to Pete and Elda's do yourself and favor and go during off peak times.  Went for a late dinner on a Sunday night (in the winter) had the whole restaurant literally to ourselves.  We ordered the fried calamari which was AMAZING.  A very generous portion of perfectly breaded/fried calamari with a tangy marinara sauce.  We also ordered their signature thin crust pizza (XL, plain  cheese) which came piping hot to our table.  Service was great and it's a wonderful experience.  So happy I live 2 towns away to enjoy it year round!
Review Source:Very thin crust pizza. You can not get it like this anywhere else and that's why you go. If you have a group of people looking for an extremely casual night of beers and pizza that isn't the same old  pizzeria this will not disappoint. Go there with that in mind and you'll love it the pizza is unigue and delicious, the people are nice, and the prices are great. I also go here as a family place to just kinda kick back over eat and not give a shit, kids love it as well. I love it cause they serve food till 1:15 am.
Downfall: TOURIST TRAP in the summer dinner hours and weekends be ready to wait for table no reservations.
Decent thin-crust pizza and fresh tasting beer.
Food: It's good pizza, but not as good as the reviews. It's kinda plain tasting. And I have never enjoyed any food besides the pizza.
Price: A little expensive for pizza.
Service: Very good at the bar. Not sure about the dinning room. Long waits are typical. Â Â
Atmosphere: Lively and very casual.
Full Bar.
For the area it's good pizza, but it's not a pizza foodie destination.
I keep coming back.
Undoubtedly this is the best thin crust pizza in New Jersey and that makes it the best in the world. I mean this is New Jersey! Â Faugeddabowdit!!!! The atmosphere is super friendly and the family will get well fed for an extremely fair price. Forget going at peak times in the summer; you will wait until your stomach growls so loud the kids will think they're at the circus! This is one of my favorite places to go to have a beer and a good meal without taking a second mortgage on the house. If you want great food come here. If it's stuffy atmosphere you crave get on back on your high horse and go back to Bay Head!
Review Source:Good pizza, probably the best (if not only) GOOD thin crust pizza around. But they are overpriced, and in a lot of ways stingy. The pizzas are too expensive for what they are; a large is barely enough for two people because two or three pieces of Pete and Elda's pizza is probably the same as one slice of a pizza from a typical pizzeria. Appetizers are just as expensive as entrees, and the one thing that really bugged me is that they offer no free refills on soda (come on, this is expected) and IT COSTS EXTRA IF YOU WANT NO ICE! Are you serious? The sodas are $2.35-2.50 and there's a surcharge if you want no ice? Stuff like this makes me not want to go back here because it's obvious their true intentions are just to scrape your wallets dry.
Review Source:Delicious, amazingly-thin crust pizza (how do they get it so crispy when it's that thin?? it's a cheesy miracle!)
The downside is, they don't take reservations! Â We came here with a big group of family several weeks ago and the only space they had available for our whole group was up a flight stairs, and my grandpa couldn't make it all the way up there. Â There was enough room for us all to mingle around the bar until seating became available. Â However, we did have to split into two tables.
Our waitress was awesome!! (Don't know her name but she said she normally works at the bar). Â However, some of the other waitstaff seemed to be giving us Looks because we were a little loud and would occasionally go up to our other table. Â (It was a big family reunion!...AND my cousin was doing the double XL pizza challenge, so we had to check on his status/well-being every now and again!)
We ordered the tiramisu for dessert...interestingly enough, the waitress said there were two types of tiramisu and one was made in house and one was not. Â We got the house version of course, but it was still pretty sweet.
All in all, it was a great experience and pizza was outstanding, but I just don't know if I'd recommend it as an ideal place for a group bigger than 5 or 6.
one word about the pizza: SUCKS Â Really? Must cost them like 30 cents to make a plain pie.Stick with the appy's and don't even think about ordering a dinner that has some kind of flavor. For all the Bennies that come down and want to say "I ate at P&E" then go for it ...spend your $$$ elsewhere for a REAL pie.If you're taller then 5'6" you'll hit your head on thre ceiling...wait an hour for a crappy pie? LOSER!!!
It's a good place if you're drunk at 1:00 and don't care what you're eating....
Man oh Man is this place great!
Obviously i'm going to rave about the pizza because it is THAT good! Crust is insanely thin and delicious, toppings are great. First time my GF brought me to this place i had 4 slices of the pizza and felt like i could do more. A year later i took on the challenge of the double XL pie. I felt like man VS food lol But i came out triumphant and have the shit to prove it.
Pizza aside, everything else on the menu is delicious as well. Definitely one of my favorite places of all time.
When my husband was a lifeguard he won 3 Pete and Elda's t-shirts for eating a double XL pie. Â Yes, I'm a very proud wife. Â Now that many years have passed he wanted to revisit his old haunt so we met his parents there one night for dinner.
We started with a salad which was what you'd expect. Â Iceberg lettuce (why do restaurants insist on serving this in place of romaine?), peppers, red onions, tomatoes, roasted peppers, tomatoes and rather randomly, chickpeas. Â Still, it was fine and a good thing to eat before we stuffed ourselves with pizza.
3 of us ordered a double XL pizza, though it wasn't long before we polished most of that off and then ordered a large pizza. Â The crust is very thin, almost cracker-like. Â It's easy to see how people can polish off a pizza on their own. Â I should have stopped at 4 slices but it was so good I ate a total of 5 slices. Â I regretted it later but it was delicious at the time.
The only reason I'm docking them a star is for the disappointing beer list. Â It was almost exclusively made up of big name brewers, not a craft beer in sight. Â But the pizza is more than enough reason to return. Â Hmm, I could go for a slice (or four) right now.
Uggh....uggghhhh
What are these people thinking. Â The best? Â The best of what? Â Having the best sauce and cheese on a cracker? Â Fine...it's the best cracker i ever had to have sauce and cheese on top of it. Â Congratulations. Â This cracker is so good, that its totally worth the $15. Â I say, why not charge more because there are obviously people in Neptune NJ that have the same taste buds as a parrot that will pay more for your cracker pie. Â And why would i wear a t-shirt, which is extremely easy to get, to tell people I gave money to this establishment. Â Times and places like these, makes me proud to live in NY
I always come here after I get a tattoo. (well, that's not the only time, but you get my drift.)
It's the best refuel ever after enduring an hour+ of needles puncturing your skin to deposit ink forever. The crust is SUPER thin and very well done. Some people complain, but let's be serious...the crust is merely a cheese delivery vehicle, so who cares? I usuall get a vegetable or two on top, and fake being healthy.
If you're really hungry, take the P&E's challenge. I've never tried, but plenty of friends have (and finished!).
I'll most likely be back here Saturday, with tattoo #5!
**Scratching my head**
Yeah, I don't get it. ^shrug^
My dad lived walking distance to this place for several years and by sheer convenience we ended up here. Â How this place gets consistently better ratings on Yelp than Vic's is beyond me.
I would rate them just slightly higher than Fed's, but I swear Federici's had Bruce Springsteen eat there like once, it's on reputation only (brainwashing too, I would suspect). Â But why come to P&E's when Vic's is just barely 10 minutes away? Â The cheese to sauce ratio is not cool - unless you get extra cheese, it's very saucier. Â The crust - uh, no thank you. Â Flavorless thin crust that gives Jersey thin crust pizzas a bad name. Â I give it maybe 1/2 a star over Fed's. Â
I just don't get it. Â My dad loves them, but I think his taste buds are burned out maybe from all the drugs he did in the '70s (love ya Pops). Â But to say this place has grade A pizza...trust me, people don't know what they are talking about.
Wife, the Bacons, Lobsterpup and I were hungry after attending the Belmar Seafood Festival. Â There were plenty of good food options there but it got VERY crowded VERY fast.
Mrs. Bacon urged us to go to Pete and Elda's for a local thin crust pizza treat.
Yes, it is very thin crust pizza. Â
Cracker-like?...yes. Â
Matzoh-like?...yes. Â
We were forewarned that it was thin crust pizza. Â Like you are being forewarned right now.
The place was packed for a summer Sunday afternoon. Â However, our party of 5 were seated upstairs in under 10 minutes.
We began with some fried calamari. Â Nicely done, not rubbery with a very good hot sauce. Â We were offered a choice of 3 types of sauce.
Next, we ordered 2 larger size pies (one plain and one half garlic half pepperoni) and a smaller pie with sausage, mushrooms and  onions.
The crust held up very well under the weight of the sausage, mushrooms and onions. Â I would have liked more mushrooms.
The only other piece I tasted was the pepperoni. Â It was excellent.
Their cheese and sauce are somewhat mild and certainly do better with strong toppings.
We passed on dessert.
Service was outstanding.  My wife had asked for some hot sauce.  Our waitress brought  out some Tabasco and a few minutes later came out with Tabasco sauce with chipotle stating it was her personal fave.  Great call!  On  our way home we picked up some  for home use!
In the race to see who has the best "Jersey Shore" pizza??? Vic's wins!
I was eagerly looking forward to my taste testing of Pete & Elda's, and was overall disappointed. It was a Sunday night and there wasn't much of a wait at all ... maybe 2 minutes or so, but I am a patient guy anyways, so that didn't matter.
I was seated upstairs and wasn't smelling pizza by any means. A bad odor .... but got used to it after awhile. I enjoyed the romaine salad
[ additional charge ] and the bread was also delcious served hot.
It went downhill from there. Pizza arrived, and it was too thin. Wafer thin. I was disappointed with the crust, it had no taste, or dough for that matter. Felt like I was biting into air. Cheese was good, and sauce was similar to Vic's ... The crust really destroyed the overall taste of the pie .. it didn't help that the staff couldn't get straight who was serving our table or that one of the waiter's kept hitting on my date, which was annoying ... but, who is he anyways? Â
Vic's has absolutely nothing to worry about.
Unfortunately, herd mentality has affected the reviews for this restaurant on Yelp. Â From all the reviews on Yelp I chose to explore Pete & Elda's anyway; it was either going to be the best pizza place on Planet Earth - based on the reviews - or an unbelievable disappointment. Â It was neither but much closer to the latter. Â Only a few, mostly bitter reviews, revealed the truer quality of P&E's pizza.
I knew that despite the 15' I was told it would take to be seated, that it was probably wrong; it took 45', and the meal took as long again to get. Â We were prepared based on the too few reviews that noted this, so we were not put out by the long delays. Â The service, despite estimation errors, was attentive although we had to ask for bread to survive the long wait the waitress warned about, but we shouldn't have had to ask. Â We shouldn't have bothered anyway because the bread, although piping warm, was low quality, institutional mix, off-the-shelf, white bread mini-loaves without decent crust, texture, or flavor; a waste of calories, time, and potential enjoyment. Â It was nice that the manager did a drive-by to ask how dinner way; too bad he was too in motion to hear or take seriously the reply.
The salad was reasonably priced at $2.50/one but was of minimal quality food service cherry tomatoes, questionably washed iceberg lettuce, and a few shavings of vegetable detritus. Â The dressings were gallon bucket style food service again, from Pace/Sysco/Aramark or a similar low-quality/high-volume restaurant supplier. Â A lowest-end salad worthy of any other cheapest eatery in America, with nothing to recommend it other than it wasn't spoiled.
The pizza suffered from the same low-quality ingredients as the salad and bread. Â The mushrooms tasted canned and were unflavorful. Â The onions and sausage and meatballs were respectable. Â The anchovies were inexpertly unbalanced, the pie-maker put too many anchovies relative to all other ingredients making the pizza way too salty instead of simply adding an Italianate fishiness. Â Too bad; we would have overlooked the crackery crust which should have had some flavor to recommend it instead of just being thin and breakable, or light and a supportive vehicle for the ingredients. Â
Overall, the pizza was middling, with fair sausage flavor, weak on balance and textures, and not expertly handled.  P&E survives on reasonable prices in a fairly high-priced region, by giving away T-shirts to over-eaters; and where quantity - of diameter and time wasted  - is more important than quality.  This place is for 'DUDES' and duds but not so much for eating pleasure, interest, or excitement.  Maybe that's too much for out-of-stater's to expect from the Jersey Shore?  At least credit should be granted the California reviewer whose comments were found most accurate.
Pizza is good. Â Not the best but it's pretty good for thin crust. Â Sort of expensive though and parking on a weekend night is retarded. Â Getting a free t-shirt isn't hard at all which is sorta fun. Â
I dunno, go here sometime, but don't expect to be eating Jesus' pizza. Â It's not that great.
The only real problem with this place is trying to figure out what to call it. The sign outside says "Pete & Elda's Bar" and directly below that another sign says "Carmen's Pizzeria". We've been going here a long time and everybody I know just calls it Pete & Elda's, so I guess I'll stick with that. Just to make it more confusing the match books have the order reversed from the signs outside.
Anyway the Pizza here is as good as it gets if you like really thin crust pizza. I love my pizza both ways so it works for me wherever I eat. I still think that Federicci's in Freehold is the thin crust champion, but I can see the merit in the argument of those who think this place rules. I heard through the grapevine that the top chef here has left to ply his trade at The Cabin in Freehold Twp, and that their thin crust is now in the running for the area's best. I haven't tried it yet but plan to next time I'm there.
We usually go to P& E's after meeting up with some of the crew to hit the batting cages right behind the place. Always had fun getting in some swings and then retiring to the bar for some icy brews and some great pizza.
By far, some of the best pizza outside of Italy. Â Reminded me of the thin crust pizza you get in Rome. Â Crust stays crispy and intact no matter how many topping you put on it. Â We tend to stay away this time of year as it gets insanely crowded but we'll be back in the fall!
The pizza is definitely better when they arent getting slammed (go in the winter for better pizza!)
THE best pizza ever! Â The crust is out of this world. Â It reminded me of the pizza that I had in Rome. Â It's super extra thin. Â They didn't overwhelm it with sauce and because of it, the pizza stayed crispy. Â In the past, I've had pizza loaded with sauce and after 5 minutes, the crust becomes very soggy and all the toppings fall out.
I will definitely go back very very soon! Â I'm glad that it's only 30 minutes away...
Almost everyone I know absolutely loves Pete & Elda's, however I think this is due to the fact that if you eat a XXL pizza by yourself you get  a free t-shirt. Personally I think it's just so-so and I like real pizza better than their ultra-thin crust version.
The first time I went I tried this challenge and it was fun (if not way too filling). I made my friend finish my pie and I got probably the ugliest designed shirt pete & elda's has ever offered. So a word of advice -- if you are going in for the free shirt check their website and see what the current design is so you don't end up with a shirt that has something that looks like a giant smiling cookie (which is actually a pizza) on it.
The actual flavor of the pizza reminded me of matzah pizza, which could be novel to anyone that has never actually had to eat matzah as a kid.
Overall, it's a good place to go with a large group of people, however you might want to eat something small beforehand as there is always a huge wait (especially in the summer).
This is my favorite pizza. Â Anywhere.
You are probably now thinking, "Wait! Â You live in Brooklyn, for Pete's sakes! Â How can your favorite pizza be an hour away on the Jersey Shore?"
Here is my answer:
I grew up on the Jersey Shore, and therefore grew up with Pete & Elda's pizza. Â It's thin-crust perfection, pure and simple. Â I have yet to find anything like it in NYC. Â
"But what about the insane wait for a table?" Â -- Who cares. Â The pizza is the best!
"But what about the crazy drunken crowds at the bar?" Â -- Who cares. Â The pizza is the best!
"But what about the fact that it's an HOUR away from your house?" Â -- Who cares. Â The pizza is the best!
See my point? Â The pizza is the best.
While this certainly a shore legend, and the lines attest to that fact, I can think of any number of places where I would eat first. While the pizza crust is extremely thin I find the overall taste to be lacking.
While waiting for your table - and you will almost always wait - you can usually squeeze in around the bar. I find the bar prices to be a little high and the overall experience can be compared to standing in a crowded subway car.
Try it once or twice but I think you will find that there are better ways to spend your time and money. the biggest problem is the amount of time you will have to wait, to be seated at a table and deal with a server who is way too busy to really care about much more than delivering your food.
Awesome pizza, and a "shore legend." Â As a result, this place is packed, especially in the summer when the bennies come down. Â I like to go right when they open for lunch to avoid the crowds. Â To the uninitiated, be sure to order about double what you'd get at a regular place, or more. Â For example, at a regular pizza place, I'd eat maybe 2 slices, but here I would eat a medium pie. Â If I come with my dad, we get an extra large. Â If you can eat the biggest pizza all by yourself, you get a free huge t-shirt that advertises their restaurant. Â Oh, technically the pizzeria is Carmen's Pizzaria, and the bar part is Pete & Elda's, but you have to call the whole thing Pete & Elda's or else you're lame or a benny. Â
P.S. Â A Benny is a touristy type who comes "Down the Shore" (no, not to the shore or any other grammatically correct phrase) in the summertime. Â Typically loud and obnoxious, pushy and annoying, and really rude in their cars. Â Usually from northern NJ or New York, hence BENNY -- Bergen county, Essex county, Newark, or New York.
The "famous" Pete & Elda's in Neptune, NJ is a rather polarizing eatery. Â Everyone I know either loves it or hates it. Â Let's examine both sides: Â
Ok. Â So what's to love? Â First, their pizza! Â Carmen's thin-crust pizza places third on my all-time best pizza list (if you'd like a complete list, simply send me a message). Â As thin-crust pizza goes, this must be the thinnest, but what a fantastic taste! Â Every time I travel to Pete & Elda's, my mouth waters for the entire journey (which, unfortunately for me, is about a 45 minute drive!). Â Other great menu options include the calamari appetizer, the garlic bread with cheese, and their mussels.
So, why do some people hate it, then? Â I think this can be broken down into several categories. Â First -- the crowds and the wait. Â I have never once gone to Pete & Elda's and not had to wait...and wait. Â It is always crowded and there is usually a minimum of a 30 minute wait. Â Always. Â Fortunately, the bar is large and one can usually secure a seat. Â Secondly, some people simply don't like the pizza, finding it way too thin. Â So be it. Â Lastly, the wait staff is either excellent or terrible, but you never know what you're going to get. Â And since the restaurant is always crowded, the waitresses usually try to rush you through your meal in an effort to accommodate more people. Â This can be rather annoying at times.
I haven't been to Pete & Elda's in a couple of years, and typing this review has made me long for their thin-crust pizza, but I can't say that there is much more about this "famous" bar and grill that I enjoy all that much.
Here's a link to their website: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.peteandeldas.com%2F&s=22860c7b07d4b6fc93131c16f6c1cde82b7df49b1fcefa65b4fd9f917b5adc35" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.peteandeldas.…</a>
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,916 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
