will definitely visit Panico's again. their food was really good with good portion sizing for the price! the waiter was friendly. there is seating inside on main level, downstairs, and outside. even though we called to make a reservation, we waited about 10 minutes to be seated. the only downside was it was really loud since it is a busy restaurant! read more

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Last time I wrote a review of Panico's Bistro was in 2019. They did not take reservations at the time. Well they do. Now. Wow!! That simple addition as well as the downstairs dining area which is somewhat quieter make a heck of a difference. We were sat promptly for out 6:15 reservation done via Open Table. Easy to use, easy to do. Service was good. We had a waitress who was only in her first week. She was attentive and quick, but not 100% unforgetful, but I get it. First week. No wories. Food was good! Not great, but good. I ordered the Battered Jersey which featured tomatoes layered, crab, bleu cheese, baked as an appetizer. Good dish. Tasty treat. My wife ordered Burrata consisting of artisan fresh mozzarella, candied walnuts, sea salt, honey balsamic drizzle. She loved it! Entrees ordered were Shrimp & Lemon Bianco which was sautéed shrimp, pancetta, sweet peas, penne, lemon infused drizzle. Mine was made sans pancetta. My wife had the Romana personal pizza which had sun dried tomatoes, artichokes romana, chilies, sea salt, basil drizzle, mozzarella, white. She did not like it and found that the artichokes were way too large for a pizza and could have been chopped up a bit. They basically were artichoke hearts placed all over the pie. Too big to chew, too large to cut. Sounded promising, but left a flat feeling. Very Disappointing. No dessert today. Our trip today certainly put this restaurant back in our top ten. read more

Although it's not a large restaurant, it has an inviting dining room with a large attractive brick oven. Staff is friendly and attentive. Tables have an upscale setting. Food presentation is very pleasing and meals were fresh and full of flavor. Alcohol is BYOB. read more

The food is out of this world!!! So much to choose from that we will make this a staple for our special occasions. The service was very friendly but also professional. Very tasteful decor. P.S. My wife also loved Panico's Bistro read more

This is such a hidden gem. This place is gorgeous inside and the food was great. I highly recommend the Truffle fries and Buratta as a first plate. I got the Three Cheese Chicken as an entree which was very good and my boyfriend got the Veal Pecorino and he enjoyed it. Our waitress was very nice but she was also busy, i'm not sure if they are understaffed or if it was a busy night for them but we sat for awhile waiting for her to come back to the table. But were open to coming back! read more

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Pork Chop was excellent, but room was overly crowded, very noisy to the point I could not converse with my party or our waitress. Too much food on our plates. Reduce the amount of food and lower the price a bit. One of the Sunday bowl items was about 2 lbs, and being a visitor to Cape May, we cannot take it home. With all the noise generated by other diners, music is unnecessary. Our server was excellent. read more

Made reservations three weeks in advance because we had a party of 13 for a family reunion. When we arrived, we were put in two tables side. We tried to get all the adults together, which required moving a chair... the host came over and with attitude. Said we could not put the chair at the head of the table. We complied and smushed in... he LITERALLY came back over and said the chair right side chair leg was "an inch past the table"... kid you not.... "You are one inch over and we can't block travel". seriously?!? YOU look at where we are placed and ask yourself, what travel? Food was over priced for the quality. And be prepared to BYOB. read more

Panico's Bistro - Pizza Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

Panico did it once again! what a great experience!! From the front of the house to the back!! Ellie and Manuel were so kind and accommodating to my elderly parents. we arrived a little early, and without asking, they set up 2 chairs for My parents to sit until our table was ready! It means so much to me when people go the extra mile for my parents. Our waitress Nataliee was helpful and patient. She has a great disposition and smiled the entire time. Our order was perfect!!! Couldn't ask for more!! what a great meal! thank you!! see you next year!! read more

Food is OK but if you live in or very near a city like NY or Philly you can do better. But the reservations are the worst. Almost an hour wait after our res time. Worse is when we were told "a few minutes" when we arrived. And when we checked 30 min later and asked them to be honest because other local restaurants would be closing, we were told "10 minutes." That's not an error, that's a straight up lie to avoid the table loss. Uncool. Not even a "sorry for the wait." How about a sorry and an app? Nothin. read more

The food was delicious! And The service was excellent. We've been to Cape May for thirty years and this was our first time going to Panico. It was an unexpected Adam's great find! We will definitely be back. read more

Our go to place in Cape May. Great menu, atmosphere and service. It is BYOB as a heads up. Recommend reservations. read more

Second time at Panicos. As always, the place is always busy so make a reservation. We ordered the brick oven pizza last time and it was terrific and reasonably priced. This time we ordered eggplant parm and three cheese chicken entrees. The eggplant was very good. The chicken was good but not great. The red Sauce and pasta side was again good, not great. Definitely not the best Italian if have had, not even close. But solidly "good". read more

"You know the rules; one bite".... The one bite app from the barstool pizza reviews rated panicos very high. They were absolutely spot on! Excellent crust with lots of toppings; definitely a pizza place you need to visit while in cape may. The ricotta pizza "slapped" as my kids would say; in middle age parent speak that means it's damn good! read more

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My wife and I went to Panico's tonight. Our meal was good. No complaints there. We had a 7:15pm reservation, we weren't seated until nearly 8:00pm. Our waiter didn't come over until about 8:15. She was lovely and it wasn't her fault. She was just too busy. Our wait was not an anomaly for the night. The people sitting next to us had an 8:00pm reservation and didn't get seated until after 9:00pm. If you can't accommodate that number of people, just take less reservations. read more

Food was outstanding and service was amazing! Can't wait to go back . We stayed around the corner from there last year and missed it ! It's our new Fav! read more

Panico's Bistro - Tomatoe and crab tower - Pizza Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

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Had the pleasure of eating at Panico's last night. One of the best meals I have ever had. Everything about the experience was excellent! Very comfortable, plenty of room between tables. Was very busy but noise level was great. Anthony our server was terrific as well! I strongly recommend trying this restaurant. We already made reservations for next Saturday night!! read more

Came here on a Sunday night in January during COVID. The parking lot was nearly full when we arrived but we got one of the last spots in the back. We had a reservation and were seated immediately. Last empty table. Our waiter was knowledgeable and friendly but had many tables to service. He kept our water glasses full. The hot bread with seasoning on top was served with a dipping oil. It was delicious and impossible to resist. Don't hesitate! The four of us started by splitting a Margherita pizza. One of the best pizzas I've had in a long time. It reminded me of the pizza I get in Rome. That wood burning stove did the trick!! Odd was the order that our appetizers came out. Our pizza that the 4 of us planned to share, came out first which made sense. Then my friend's soup came out. Then the other friend's mussels. My salad was forgotten. My four cheese pizza main course was delicious! No words. Loved it!! They forgot the arugula and later brought out a small portion in a small bowl/cup. Maybe I liked the Margherita better? The salad was ok. He had said it came with candied pecans but later when I checked the board, it said almonds. The dressing was delicious and they used good balsamic. Everyone loved what they ordered. We wanted the recipe for the sauce in the mussels but forgot to ask. The architecture and ambiance inside was nice but a little disappointing because it didn't look like a church anymore. I was hoping for lots of stained glass and religious art. The twinkle lights were really nice. And the high ceiling gave the room a feeling of airiness. For dessert we split 2 items- the chocolate peanut butter thing and the donut stuffed with ice cream. All agreed the donut was better; it disappeared quickly. The next day I tried many leftovers and agree all was good, especially the clams and spaghetti. For breakfast I had a slice of the four cheese pizza with an egg and some arugula on top- breakfast of champions! If I lived closer, I would have this pizza weekly! read more

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Sauce was from a jar or can, not house-made. Sausage and meatballs were from frozen or pre-prepared store bought food. Pasta was the cheap kind from a box. I'm wondering why people like this place. But beach towns usually have overrated and disappointing food. Not worth it. read more

Wasn't impressed with the money I spent. Food was cold in the middle. Tasteless garbage. Got the check & left. Cape May isn't what it used to be.. read more

The food was absolutely incredible! The bread and ambience was peaceful. Enjoyed the service and the gelato as well. Thank you to our incredible server Donna :) read more

The food was amazing! Gnocchi was one of the best things I have eaten. Great ambiance and would recommend 10/10! Donna was amazing and very kind. If you are in cape may, Panico's is a must! read more

Fabulous as always had the fussili with meat-sauce. Yummy Hubby loves the Sunday dinner. Never disappoint with dine in ir take out. Love panicos. Staff is fun, knowledgeable and always cheerful. read more

We were a party of 12. Ordered many appetizers and entrees. Everything came out hot and delicious. Desserts were decadent and a nice finish to the evening. Highly recommend this restaurant. Diversified menu and moderately priced. Plus great service. read more

Overall, the food and hostesses + owner are very nice. Some other patrons gave them a hard time. These are high school/young college kids. Be respectful! In terms of my personal experience, this second trip left a lot to be desired. We were seated in the downstairs section and the music ranged from Frank Sinatra to David Guetta. That didn't make for the most relaxing dining experience. Our sever was sweating onto our menus and likely into our food. He came to our table last even though the 3 tables he saw before us were seated after us. We made a 7:15pm reservation, arrived early, and weren't seated until 7:45pm. We got our entrees at around 9:15pm. This happened the first time we dined there. If anything, PLEASE work on turning over your tables more quickly. You have a 15 minute late policy, yet you don't seat people until 30+ minutes later. Honestly, the icing on the cake was the envelope our server included with our check (see picture attached). He shared that the envelope was for us to leave cash for his tip. I don't even have words to describe how inappropriate, unprofessional, and rude this is. Overall - the food is great. But please work on the time it takes you to seat guests with reservation and make sure this server stops giving this envelope out. read more

Panico's Bistro - Pizza Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

After a full day of racing around Cape May trying to squeeze a week into one day, we dined at Panico's. We arrived for our reservation at 5:30 and early is good there. This was our 3rd visit, so we knew our way around the menu. 5 stars for the pork chop with gnocchi, the clams lemon-cello and the chowder. Lobster mac and cheese was delicious but could have used more lobster (duh!) The warm pear salad was lovingly crafted and served in a chilled plate - nice touch. Service was attentive, the setting very is very nice and Lucinda Williams on the playlist is a plus for me. As the evening progresses, the noise level increases, so be mindful. Not perfect, but almost. Capuchino should be served in a small cup with a handle, not a handle-less tea glass. The cheescake was overly sweet and boring. I suspect the desserts are brought in and that rarely pleases me. Overall Panico's is excellent and we will return. PS - complimentary bread is tasty, as in North Jersey bread tasty. read more

I. I visit CM often and have ate here many times including Take out Pizza. My last visit was not very good. Waitress was great very friendly. Pizza was very good. The chicken parm with pasta was a real disappointment. The pasta was mushy and broken it looked like it was the leftover in the bottom of the pot! Sauce was too spicy sweet too. I will stick with the pizza from Panico's read more

Awesome food and service, Thank you Dwayne!! The appetizers, chargrilled octopus and the fried smoked cheese balls were both delicious! Spectacular entrees as usual....See you soon! read more

Panico's Bistro - Herbed center cut salmon, seasoned to perfection! - Pizza Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

Bring your own bottle, no beer or wine there but Un believable good food . Family environment, casual but neat is the average patrons dress code . The device is great the food is great nice Italian/ Mediterranean style food. Wood fired pizza oven. I'm a seafood lover. It's always my number one want when it comes to dinner. Opens 5:30 pm and call to make a reservation for guaranteed seating . Parking lot in rear usually has plenty of room. Go for it. Located on broadway. In cape may read more

Ambiance: we ate in the basement which is cozier then the upstairs. Meal: we started off with fried mozzarella and special salad. Both were fantastic. Our entrees consisted of a margarita pizza and special seafood pasta. The pizza is by far the best you will have at the shore. The seafood pasta had to much garlic but it was still good. Dessert: we were to full and ended up with some delicious cappuccinos. Prices are great and food is defiantly better then most places in Cape May. We will be back!! read more

Panicos is always a solid choice for Italian/ American food. Good pizza, good entrees, and usually not as crowded as some of the restaurants closer to the beach and the mall. It's one of our go-tos every year. read more

Absolutely the WORST service EVER!!! Outside tables were not being used, we're told it would be a few minutes, turned into 20 minutes. Server was never made aware we were seated! Still waiting for our food. Won't come back ever!! read more

This is a bit of a mixed bag review. The good first. We were a party of five and the appetizer's (eggplant and squash slices and sausage wheel special) were very good. Main courses were also very good with a couple of blips though (see below). Finally, our server, Cassie, was outstanding. Attentive, engaged, timing just right. Well done! Now the not so good. We arrived on time for our reservation and the hostess was vague about how long it would take to be seated. After standing in the outdoor hallway with some others waiting, two groups, who also had reservations got tired of waiting and just left after making reservations elsewhere. We did go back in a couple of times to check up and were told the table was being cleared but no other feedback. The hostess is seated next to the front and is fully visible through a window. Well she was playing video games most of the time rather than checking on things and helping out. Totally disengaged. In addition, what appeared to be the owner came up to the front a few times and didn't seem to help solve any of the backlog. We were finally seated 45 minutes after our reservation time. That's pretty bad. On the dinner, the pasta that was served with the eggplant was cold and the sauce was tasteless even though the eggplant itself was hot...clearly, they cook things separately and add together at the end. Asked Cassie for grating cheese and they give the server a tiny grater that barely produces any grated cheese. Only other complaint was that the restaurant acoustics are not good as it formerly was a church. Lot's of wood, no buffering which is understandable. But playing the music way too loud...impossible to hold a conversation. We spent a lovely long weekend in Cape May for the Christmas parade and other functions, but this meal ended up being on the bottom of the list. read more

We heard getting reservations here can be difficult but we were fortunate to grab a reservation on a weeknight for the 5 of us the day before. This is a BYOB Italian restaurant. It's not a big place and they have put as many tables in there as they can. While we were there, nearly every table was filled and it was pretty loud in there. I was a little worried about service given some of the reviews, but we had a wonderful server. She was very friendly and fulfilled all of our requests. Only once were we some of us left with empty drink glasses. Not sure what was going on, but the ice in our water melted very quickly. You are given complimentary Focaccia bread, which was heavy on the garlic, but we enjoyed it. We went with the Mozzarella Fritto and Calamari for our appetizers. The Mozzarella Fritto are actually fried Mozzarella balls with a smoky flavor. Both were very good. Many at our table ordered the Ravioli while my wife had the Eggplant Pesto and I had the Three Cheese Chicken. My wife was very happy that they offered gluten-free pasta. Food was fresh and you could tell quality ingredients were used. We enjoyed our entrees as much as we could because honestly, we were kind of full after bread and appetizers. Be prepared for large portion sizes. None of us were able to finish our entrees and some of our leftovers will likely be more than one meal. We looked at the desserts but aside from being stuffed, didn't see anything that interested us. We were hoping for more typical Italian desserts like cannolis or Tiramisu but they really only had four cake options. My only real complaint is that they had no handicap parking as that was taken up by their outdoor dining tent at the moment and the parking they did have behind the restaurant was full. Look forward to coming back and trying the pizza next time! read more

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Going down hill. Using Canola oil and olive oil mixed. So does Secondo. You can taste the difference and see it. I've called them out multiple times and they then bring out olive oil. What else are they using or diluting? read more

Once again Panico's comes through. We had the salad special watermelon, arugula,walnut,feta with balsamic dressing. The Baked Jersey deep fried tomato slices layered with crab meat blue cheese and a balsamic glaze. The alla Antonia pizza arugula and prosciutto with a thin crust. I'm a pizza snob and the best I can say is "it's North Jersey worthy ". Very good. read more

Panico's Bistro - Arugula and prosciutto - Pizza Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

The check-in and meet and greet were woeful. Absolute garbage - we had a reservation for 8pm and weren't seated until after 8:30. We had to wait in the doorway with others in a similar predicament. When we were eventually seated, we were taken downstairs to what looked and felt like someone's grandad's basement (at least that was how one of the other patrons described the 'vibe' which was 100 percent accurate) and seated at tables that had no napery or cutlery. Our server was very young but proficient enough. So that's the bad stuff out of the way. The pizza (pepperoni and peppers) and salmon cooked with asparagus on a bed of basil rice were phenomenal. And the pumpkin spice cheesecake perfect. The evening redeemed itself, for sure! The waitress was energetic and quick on her feet and super helpful with the specials. A mixed bag experience and not sure it's one I'm prepared to repeat. Having said that, I might come back on a weeknight when things could potentially be less chaotic. read more

Fantastic food! The bread is wonderful. The peach appetizer special was one one of the best appetizers I have ere had. The crab and spaghettini had so much crab I couldn't finish it all. Everything was excellent. And our waiter Paul was knowledgeable and attentive with a great personality. Can't wait to go back!! read more

Panico's Bistro - Pear appetizer and bread plate. - Pizza Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

Went Saturday night. We were staying at Congress Hall. We asked the concierge for a recommendation and she said Panico's. Made a reservation for 7 but weren't seated until almost 8 o'clock. Out waitress was an older blonde woman. She was not the least bit attentive. The bus people were much better. Her attitude was as if she was doing us a favor. No follow up during the meal, didn't even ask if we were interested in dessert. I ordered the four cheese chicken. It was over a bed of penne. The chicken tasted reheated and the penne was overdone. The sauce was even somewhat burnt tasting. It definitely didn't taste fresh. We are beginning to visit Cape May much more frequently. There are many other places to try. I would not put this on a list to repeat read more

MARGARITA PIE. Made very sloppy. Big clumps of cheese, and cuts made with large and small pieces. Pie was tasteless. The only con is from the dogs. read more

We love love love Panico's! We use to always go to Sapore but Sapore has gone down hill since new ownership. We love how Panico's doesn't rush you, and you can take your time. The food is also great, I recommend either the 3 cheese chicken or the rigatoni vodka and ask for the chicken breaded! It is also nice that it's a BYOB, so it is inexpensive. The ambiance is also really nice! Service has always been good and haven't had one bad waiter/waitress. If you're looking for good Italian food in Cape May, please go here and AVOID at all costs Andrea Trattoria. 10/10! read more