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    Monica's Cafe Restaurant

    4.0 (131 reviews)
    ModerateItalian, Soup, Seafood
    Closed 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, 4:30 PM - 10:00 PM

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    Monica's Cafe Restaurant Photos

    MONICA'S CAFE RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Monica's Cafe Restaurant

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    Donna V.

    A few friends that live near here wanted to try this restaurant since the pass it frequently. Very quaint place near the old train station. Staff was very nice. There are about 8-10 tables. I would suggest reservations. We started with a bottle of wine which was priced very reasonably. Stuffed mushrooms were pretty good. ( I wasn't too fond of the sauce) but everyone else liked it. Mozzarella Fritta was excellent. Lentil soup was awesome as well as the tortellini soup. We then ordered the white Sangria!! Wow First time I ever saw it look like water. Loved that they filled your glass with ice and fruit and put the sangria mix in a decanter as to not get watery. It was delicious and refreshing. We had the Mara Mistro which was shrimp, scallops and lobster tail over capellini in a garlic herb sauce. Delicious and plenty of seafood. Chicken parmigiana was excellent very large portion. Veal parmigiana was also delicious, very tender and flavorful. Also very large portions. Capellini primavera was very flavorful. The pink sauce was delicious. Prices were very reasonable for the portions they give. Definitely a place I will go back to.

    Dianna N.

    Each time I try a new place on a holiday I am disappointed. Not the case this time! The food was AMAZING and the service wonderful! Excellent from start to finish! The portions were huge and we have plenty for tomorrow. Authentic Italian food made with fresh ingredients! I loved the nice touch of the fresh Italian cheese plate with the garlic toast. They also gave an amazing salad with the entrees . My pasta was cooked perfectly ! I cannot wait to go back!

    Penne Ala Vodka with chicken
    Daniel M.

    Here on a Wednesday night and since there was no room inside and upstairs was closed off they sat us outside. No problem. After being seated everything was an extreme long wait. From water to bar drinks to menus to bread to everything. We waited and waited. If you can't handle people sitting outside don't sit them. There. It was our table and one other one and we both had same issue. I don't mind waiting a bit but this was excessive. I had fettuccine with shrimp in a light sauce. To me there was no flavor at all. Very bland. Susie had cheese ravioli that were good. Sandra had penne francese that was basically the same sauce and flavor as mine-none. We sat at a table in the back of the tent and it was a bit windy so all night the tent kept smacking me in the back. Lol. Oh well. Overall not a pleasant experience. We have been here many times in the past and enjoyed it. Not sure if we will return.

    Great Italian salad with fried calamari!

    Monica's was great! I had a light lunch but loved the dressing, just like my mom used to make! The fried calamari was amazing

    Side salad
    Annie A.

    Cute place. Had been meaning to go for quite a while and finally made it. Limited parking. Huge portions, excellent service and plenty of options for every palate. The calamari was crispy and fresh. The entree came with a salad. The shrimp and scallops in creamy pesto sauce with Arborio rice was a very rich dish- one that is fit for two. Extremely creamy. The bow tie pasta with pesto was lacking flavor- somewhat bland but with one can tell the ingredients used like olive oil and pesto were very fresh. Had no room for dessert.

    Fettuccine pasta

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    1 year ago

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    10 months ago

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    9 months ago

    First class experience from beginning to end. Great service and great food. We will definitely be back!

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    5 years ago

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    9 months ago

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    6 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Service is always very good and friendly and the food is very good I have gone here for years and have never been disappointed.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Food was very good. Ambiance was nice. Service was ok. Our waiter was a bit rushy but got better over the dining experience

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Monica's was very accommodating to all of my requests! the food was amazing and the staff was very kind ! will be back!!

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    11 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    Vila Verde

    Vila Verde

    3.9
    (234 reviews)
    1.2 mi
    $$$

    Great food and generous portions! The shrimp with garlic sauce had a ton of flavor, and the paella…read morewas excellent. Everything was fresh and tasty. Looking forward to coming back. We went during the week for celebration of our anniversary. I could just imagine how busy this place could be on the weekend overall still good service and wonderful food to take home. The chips are addicting.

    Things started off well, good bread on the table, olives, fast drink requests. Commented to the…read moregroup, that I liked that, although typical for Portuguese restaurants . Waiter asked if we are ready to order, I suggested taking appetizers first, waiter said he can't do that. I know the rational is it helps the chef manage the order, however I don't buy it. Apps were ok but the oysters were off, flavorless and shucked improperly, the cocktail sauce had a weird consistency, didn't enjoy them at all. Traditional mains were all ok, my wife had the paella and I had an another seafood dish, all good and satisfying. 3 guests had the cowboy steaks. I think over $90.00 each. No complaints , but a personal pet peeve of mine is items listed market price. Personally I'm not paying over $90 for a ribeye but that's my prerogative. They enjoyed them but didn't ask the price. So despite my opinion, so no star loss. Desert and coffee after, here's where the lose another star. Ordered the crème brulee special, the custard was some over sweet loose goosey stuff, glass top that was quickly hit with a torch. Spit it with my wife. I wasn't looking for an exchange was just politely informing him it wasn't good. His response was others order it and like it. Thats nice, but I don't. It was the lack of concern , you ordered it you eat it attitude . Also said you can try something else next time, we're open tomorrow. I didn't respond with , perhaps you should return to your old waiter job at Dennys. So instead they lose a star

    Photos
    Hallway entrance
    Hallway entrance
    Camarones Al Ajillo
    Camarones Al Ajillo
    Nice view of Pompton Lakes

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    Nice view of Pompton Lakes
    Axton's By Chef Anton Testino

    Axton's By Chef Anton Testino

    3.6
    (228 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$

    04/05/2025 We've been here a few times and always enjoyed…read morethe food. It was a little busy when we got here, but the service came pretty quickly to open the wine. The Jekyll & Hyde calamari is always a hit, as were the mussels marinara. The 2 orders of scallops that my daughter and wife ordered were a bit small in size, when compared with all the other dishes... and a bit overpriced, in my opinion. My wife had the Seafood Marechiara which she enjoyed. I opted for the Chicken scampi over a mushroom/brown risotto. The risotto was very good, but the chicken breast was too well done... not tender at all. What saved the dish was that the risotto was 'saucy' enough to help moisten up the chicken. It is a BYO, so that is a plus.

    Okay, so here's the good news! The only good news. The food is very good. Period. And here's the…read morerest of the story. A shout out to a "new" friend sitting at the table next to mine. I promised I'd write my review tonight when I got home and here it is. We're gonna give Chef Anton a time out for twelve months and we'll probably try it out again in the hopes that some things can get pulled together. The word "hospitality" simply isn't a part of their lexicon. The hostess insists that "Chef" requires all parties to be present in order to be seated. So regardless of whether you're three people or seven, you're gonna be standing in the vestibule. Any thought of sipping a little wine at your "reserved" table while waiting for your friends to arrive......it ain't gonna happen. Tonight was a service disaster. The place was busy. Without hyperbole, we waited fifteen minutes before we could convince someone that we needed a corkscrew. You don't have to open it for us.......we can do it. (Note to self: it's a good idea to bring a corkscrew from home) It's a real shame. Sour pusses on server's faces. Really? Who needs that? There's so much potential there.........I hope they can figure it out. TAM

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    Cannolis yum
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    Monica's Cafe Restaurant - italian - Updated July 2026

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