1983. It was the year of the Internet, of NASA missions, of the very first cell phone call, and it was the year that Aldo Cascio first opened his restaurant in Wyckoff. Named after himself, “Aldo’s” was in its infancy in 1983. Today, it’s a well-established staple of the community, celebrating its fortieth anniversary. Aldo’s is the place to go in Wyckoff for its fabulous atmosphere and unparalleled Italian cuisine, and it’s thanks in large part to Aldo himself, a chef who knows his stuff.
“I had a passion for the business,” Cascio said of opening Aldo’s as his first restaurant. “Every immigrant likes to be their own boss, so I looked for the opportunity. The struggle was being in business for the first time, I’d never been in business before. I tried to build a clientele. Then after, everything fell into place.”
“The longevity is definitely an accomplishment,” he continued, “being able to be in the same town, to be a part of the community.”
With outdoor patio seating, several private dining rooms, and a wine bar on top of the extensive menu and selection of drinks, there’s a lot more than just a delicious Italian dinner to be found at this local treasure. That said, all Aldo’s needs is the impressive daily menu to blow you away. “We always have appetizer specials,” Cascio explained. “The spidini, the artichokes are good, the antipastos. My recommendation would be a pasta. As the main course, we always have specials, fish, chicken, veal, pork chops. We try to keep a variety, a lot of different things. I stick to traditional Italian!”
With brick oven pizza and a menu of Mediterranean delicacies that goes on for pages and pages, traditional Italian is certainly something that you’ll find here. There’s a little something for everyone– homemade pasta like cavatelli, tortellini, and ravioli, seafood specialties like clams, mussels, and calamari, even the chef’s self-titled Chicken alla Aldo, cooked with onions and garlic and topped with mushrooms and a lemon sauce. Combining welcoming Italian flavors with its upscale interior and wide-ranging drink menu, Aldo’s knows how to please a customer.
The Wyckoff community has had as much of an impact on Aldo Cascio as he has had on it in return. After living in town with his family for so many years, he’s a Wyckoff staple and something of a local celebrity. Nearly everyone in town has heard of Aldo, and not always just because of his restaurant. Cascio has been involved in the community for a long time, coaching soccer for the Torpedos and the high schools, holding fundraisers to buy computers for students, and even giving classes on Italian cooking. “I’m in it, I’m not going anywhere,” Cascio declared.
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Even with the great success of both of his restaurants, Aldo’s is still Cascio’s baby, a sign of his hard work over the years. “My favorite part of having my business in Wyckoff is that I can come to work every day and know most of the people, it’s very nice,” he said. When asked how he helps his restaurant stand out from the crowd as something special, he simply responded, “I always believe that it’s people that make that decision! The food is good, the prices, the service, so it’s a combination. Having a restaurant is more than food. You need to have everything working in harmony.”
"Having a restaurant is more than food. You need to have everything working in harmony.”
