Cafe 72, 72 West Upper Ferry Road, Trenton (609) 882-0087
(Directions) (Open for dinner Thursday-Saturday)
There are some very good, very reasonable Italian eateries in central Trenton, but most have liquor licenses, which means you have to buy your wine from the restaurant. While most Trenton eateries don’t totally gouge you on the wine list (they’ll charge 2x the retail price, instead of the 3x which is more common in ROWOT*), it’s still a hefty premium.**

Think of it this way: that $10 bottle you’d buy in your liquor store and split with your partner will cost you at least $20 in the restaurant. Add 7.25% tax, and then pay a 20% tip on the total, and you’re out $25.72 for that same bottle – nearly $8/head for the “convenience” of ordering your wine from the restaurant.

So…I’m always looking for decent byob eateries.

Cafe 72 is a pleasant little joint near the Trenton/Mercer Airport, so called West Trenton (actually Ewing). It does mostly a lunch business, but recently started doing dinners.

They do an “all you can eat” pasta night on Thursdays, and a regular dinner menu on Fridays and Saturdays. The cooking is solid – not extraordinary like Settimo Cielo’s, but darned good. Service is very friendly, and the decor is pleasant, if slightly Ewingish.
*ROWOT – rest of world outside of Trenton

**This is not always true is some of the more established restaurants in Trenton, with their premium wines (usually $40+). Some added these to their lists a number of years ago and have never repriced them, despite price inflation at the store. So you can sometimes get great deals on high end wines.

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