A half-dozen Wellfleet oysters, an espresso martini shot, and a premium cigar are not exactly the trio most people expect to find waiting on Main Street in Hackensack. But that is the fun of Cigarro Bar and Lounge.
It does not feel like the old cigar-room stereotype, all heavy leather chairs and members-only energy. It feels more like a polished Bergen County night out that happens to understand cigars really well.
The address is 91 Main Street, right in a downtown Hackensack corridor that has been steadily leaning into restaurants, bars, and evening plans instead of shutting down after work.
Inside, the idea is simple but surprisingly rare in New Jersey: order an actual dinner, settle into a real cocktail, choose a cigar worth slowing down for, and let the night move at its own pace.
A Hackensack cigar lounge with a very different kind of vibe
In New Jersey, an indoor cigar lounge is not something you stumble into every few blocks. The state’s Smoke-Free Air Act prohibits smoking in most indoor public places, with specific exceptions for cigar bars and lounges that meet the law’s requirements, including ventilation standards and registration rules.
That legal backdrop is part of what makes Cigarro feel unusual before you even get to the menu. It is not just a cigar shop with a few chairs tucked in the back, and it is not a restaurant asking smokers to step outside after the check comes.
It is built around the whole ritual, from the cigar selection to the glassware to the pacing of the meal.
The lounge describes its own experience as one where “the pour, the savor, the ritual” are all part of the same visit, and that comes through in the way the place positions itself: curated cigars, refined cocktails, and a room made for lingering rather than rushing.
The atmosphere is also helped by a state-of-the-art ventilation system, which matters here more than it would at almost any other bar. It lets the room keep the cigar lounge identity without turning the evening into a smoke cloud with a bar attached.
The space is intimate rather than sprawling, so it reads more like a tucked-in destination for a date, a small group, or a business conversation than a giant nightlife machine.
Hours listed by Cigarro run Tuesday and Wednesday from 5 p.m. to midnight, Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., which tells you exactly what kind of night it wants to host.
The husband and wife team making cigar culture feel more welcoming
The story here gets a lot more interesting once you know who is behind it. Cigarro is owned and operated by husband-and-wife team J.
Carlos Gomez and Lorena Llivichuzca, and the welcoming angle is not accidental. Lorena wanted the lounge to move away from the old-school, male-focused cigar-room mood and into something more comfortable for everyone, especially women who may have felt like cigar spaces were not really designed with them in mind.
That does not mean the place waters down the cigar side. It means the cigar side is treated with enough confidence that it does not need to be intimidating.
Gomez brings years of cigar-industry experience and is also connected to The Cigar Room, a retail cigar shop in Fort Lee, while Lorena brings more than 25 years in financial services.
Together, that makes the concept feel less like someone chasing a trend and more like a very specific vision: a serious cigar lounge with the hospitality instincts of a modern restaurant and bar.
The best part is that beginners are not treated like they wandered into the wrong room. A guest who knows Davidoff by wrapper, strength, and draw can settle in happily, but so can someone who is there for dinner, music, or a cocktail and is curious enough to ask questions.
That is a subtle thing, but it changes the energy of a room fast. Instead of cigar culture feeling like a private club with invisible rules, Cigarro makes it feel like a shared table.
Premium cigars meet real dinner plans on Main Street
The quickest way to understand Cigarro is to look at the food and realize this is not a pretzel mix situation. Chef Timothy Silva’s menu is built like someone expects you to actually eat here, not just nibble between puffs.
The Cigarro Cheeseburger is the headline-grabber, made with an 8-ounce Pat LaFrieda brisket and short rib blend, American cheese, Russian dressing, a toasted sesame bun, and hand-cut crispy fries for $38.
It is the kind of burger that makes sense in a room where people are already prepared to splurge a little, especially when the beef blend is doing real work.
The menu also has cigar-lounge luxury where you expect it: fresh Wellfleet oysters by the half-dozen for $25, caviar service with Plantin Kaviari Oscietre Prestige for $180, and a Cigarro charcuterie board with Jamón Serrano, chorizo, Manchego, Brie, figs, Marcona almonds, baked olives, and crackers for $59.
But the kitchen gets more interesting when it moves beyond the obvious.
There is crispy sushi rice yellowfin tuna tartare with smoked chili aioli and micro chives, char-grilled marinated octopus over potato puree with green olive and tomato salsa fresca, shrimp gambas al ajillo, and linguine Maine lobster pasta with white wine Sungold tomato sauce and micro basil.
The high-end choices are not shy either, including a $125 caviar and truffle burger and an 18-ounce dry-aged cowgirl cut ribeye for $138. It is a menu that turns Cigarro from “place to smoke” into “place to make dinner the plan.”
Cocktails designed for slow sipping and good conversation
The drinks at Cigarro are clearly not playing second fiddle to the cigars. They are built for the same kind of unhurried night, where the point is not to knock back two rounds and race to the next stop.
The cocktail program mixes classics with house creations, and the bar seems to understand that a drink in a cigar lounge has a job to do: it needs enough structure to stand beside smoke, enough polish to feel special, and enough approachability that guests do not need a glossary to order.
One of the signature examples is Sikar, a mezcal and rum tiki-style cocktail garnished with a mini cigar.
The name nods to the Mayan word often connected to the origin of “cigar,” which is exactly the kind of detail that could feel gimmicky somewhere else but fits here because the whole room is already built around the ritual.
Independent coverage of the lounge has noted cocktails in the $15 to $22 range, with options such as stiff Old Fashioneds, Spanish Estrella beer, and rum drinks that lean playful without losing the plot.
That price range also tells you what kind of bar this is: elevated, not casual-cheap; polished, not precious. This is where you order something sturdy, sit back, and let the conversation stretch.
The best cigar lounges have always understood timing, and Cigarro applies that same patience to the glass.
Oysters, espresso martinis, Latin music, and nights that actually feel social
Wednesday night at Cigarro has a very specific personality: 99-cent fresh Wellfleet oysters, espresso martini shots, wine-by-the-glass and spritz specials, and a complimentary Misbehavin cocktail for women during Ladies’ Night. That is not the programming you expect from a dusty cigar lounge, which is exactly the point.
It gives the space an easy entry point for people who might be more interested in the social side than the cigar side at first. Come for oysters and a drink, stay because the room feels grown, lively, and different from the usual Bergen County dinner rotation.
Then Thursday shifts the rhythm again with Latin Thursdays starting at 7:30 p.m., bringing salsa, bachata, cumbia, and Latin hits into the mix. That detail matters because it moves Cigarro out of the “sit silently in a chair” lane and into something more communal.
You can dine, sip, smoke, and dance without the night feeling like it has to become a club scene. The schedule also fits Hackensack’s current downtown mood.
Main Street has been adding the kind of places that make people linger after dinner instead of treating the area like a daytime errand strip, and Cigarro lands neatly in that next-phase version of the city.
It is stylish enough for a date night, relaxed enough for friends, and structured enough that the evening does not have to be invented from scratch once you arrive.
The oysters and espresso martinis may get people in the door, but the music and pacing are what make the night feel like it has a pulse.
Why Cigarro feels like Bergen County’s new grown up night out
Bergen County has plenty of places to grab dinner, plenty of cocktail bars, and more than enough spots where a night can get loud fast. Cigarro’s appeal is that it gives adults a different lane.
It is not trying to be a sports bar, a nightclub, or a white-tablecloth restaurant with a cigar gimmick tacked on. It knows its shape: premium cigars, serious drinks, a real kitchen, and a room that rewards slowing down.
That also means it is not the cheapest night out in Hackensack, and pretending otherwise would miss the point. The cigar menu leans premium, with one review noting sticks commonly in the $40 to $70 range, while the food menu includes everything from $16 pan con tomate to a $64 lobster pasta and a $138 dry-aged ribeye.
Cigarro also offers locker membership, with access to curated tastings, rare releases, and member-focused experiences, which makes sense for regulars who want the lounge to feel like part of their routine rather than a one-time novelty. But for everyone else, the draw is simpler.
It is a place where dinner does not feel rushed, cocktails do not feel like an afterthought, and cigars are treated as part of the evening instead of something that happens before or after it.
On Main Street in Hackensack, that combination feels surprisingly fresh, and Cigarro seems comfortable letting the night unfold one pour, one plate, and one slow conversation at a time.