There are not many Italian restaurants in the West Milford area except pizza places, but Blinis, located on 216 Cahill Cross Rd. stands out for its exceptionally good Italian food. The downside to the restaurant is its secluded location; you can not really tell it is there and what it is unless you’re looking for it.

Upon arriving the exterior look is average, but the interior is quite elegant. The walls are a creamy color with white trims. The owner was friendly to his customers. The lighting is fairly dim with candles lit everywhere and a fireplace is located on the right wall by the bar. The fireplace and the dim lighting with the candles create a comfortable, warm ambiance which is perfect for this frigid winter weather. Since it was my first time at Blinis, I don’t know if the warm atmosphere would be suitable for hot summer weather. On the left side of the restaurant there was additional seating location which was booths, and then another more private seating area, which is suitable for corporate, birthday or other parties. What I really liked was how they incorporated the pizza place feel by adding a counter with a glass case displaying different pizza slices just like a traditional pizza place like Frank’s or TJ’s Pizza in West Milford does. There were dividers throughout the restaurant separating the different seating options and parts of the restaurant. What I didn’t like was the bar was a little too close to one section of the seating location.  Overall the appearance was great. Enough with the appearance; let’s get to the food!

It was decided to separately get a pasta fagioli soup then share a penne alla vodka pasta dish and a penne alla vodka pizza( if you couldn’t tell, we love vodka sauce.) It is better to share your dishes since the food portions are fairly large. An anonymous student stated, “I have not been there, but I know that my dad said it was very expensive.” I do not believe it is that expensive considering the sizes are very large. If you are splitting the cost I suggest sharing the food and each paying half.  The pizza was $18 which is expensive for a pie, but it is much larger than a regular pizza pie. The soup was satisfying, but the only problem was there were too many beans. The penne alla vodka was great, but penne alla vodka is hard to mess up. The pizza pie seemed expensive at first, but then when you realize how large the pizza pie is, you realize the price is worth it. However, my friends and I weren’t fond of the pizza. The sauce was bland and they did not ask if we wanted penne pasta on it. Since I work at a pizza place, I was very critical of the service and I know, since I work at a pizza place, that that you are supposed to ask if the customer wants penne pasta on a penne vodka pizza. Unfortunately I did not have a variety of food, so I cannot give the best review on the other food items. Other than that, I would say the restaurant had good, quick service. Our waiter was not very friendly, but the owner was overly friendly, so I guess that makes up for it. Blinis is a good restaurant and I would recommend this restaurant to friends and family.

Ratings 1 out of 5 (5 being the best)

Appearance: 4.5

Service: 3.5

Food: 4

Price: 3.5

Friendliness: 4