We recently dined at Nunzio's Italian kitchen (new ownership) and had a fantastic experience. We…read morestarted with the fried calamari, which was perfectly prepared and a great way to begin the meal. To our surprise, three huge garlic knots arrived at the table--they were absolutely heavenly and worth the visit on their own! Also received a sample of a chicken Parm with vodka sauce on a garlic knot, incredible! The service was friendly, attentive, and welcoming throughout the evening. The dining room, especially the back room, was clean, inviting, and provided a comfortable atmosphere to enjoy our meal. Great food, excellent service, and a warm environment make this a place we'll gladly return to. Highly recommended! Entrees were pasta with broccoli, chicken marsala and a cheesesteak all delicious!

Majorly great place. Delicious food, variety, righteous prices, big potions. Love their marina…read moresayce!

Food was delicious. Our server was very attentive. This is a place you need to try. I know we…read morewill be back for dinner again.

Had a fantastic meal, a perfect place for a date night. The clam linguini was delicious, and my…read morewife had the chicken cordon bleu special. Everything was great, as was the service. A bit pricey, but it's worth it. We'll be back!

Via Sposito in Old Bridge, NJ is incredible. A family run restaurant with great people and the most…read moredelicious food. We have eaten there 3 times in 6 days. Absolutely amazing!!! Appetizers to die for - fried calamari, clams oreganato, everything is DELICIOUS. Pasta dishes that make you cry they are so delicious. Now let's talk about the pizza. True Neapolitan pizza. The crust is light and crispy and so special. The margarita pie is killer, the Emiliano - with prosciutto, Arugola, truffle oil and Parmigiano Reggiano is the best pie in Old Bridge. It is not even close. Via Sposito is a hidden gem and among the best restaurants in NJ. Get there as soon as possible. You will be blown away.

On a recent vacay to visit family, we met up with some north Jersey cousins for dinner at Via…read moreSposito. I loved that they accommodated our group of 12 with just a few days' notice. They're an Italian restaurant with a good selection of dishes to meat various diets: salads, pastas, meat dishes, etc. The food was also pretty good, and service was fine. Better Italian food can be found in NJ, not too far away, but the location, quality and price point served our purposes. The servings are generous. I had the "Sunday Supper" (pasta served with red sauce, braciole, sausages, meatballs, and ribs), which I shared with my husband, and even so we had plenty to take home for another meal! I found the decor unusual in that there was a noticeable religious motif. In fact, a life size statue of the a Virgin Mary stood in the corner behind our table observing our little reunion. Odd for a restaurant, but it made for some fun comparing of notes afterwards.

Another wonderful meal. Had their special Eggplant Lasagna…read morefor dinner. It was excellent. Hope it is added to the regular menu!! The service is always the best. Always a great night out in a lovely place!!

4/10/26 - Been a bit since I did a review so I figured it was time. I was driving by Camillo's in…read moreSayreville, NJ and haven't had their pizza in quite some time so why not? For those of you who have not been there, Camillo's is more of an Italian restaurant, than a pizzeria. It has a pretty large seating area in the restaurant part of the building. It looks to my untrained eye that they had some extra room and decided to put it in a pizza oven near the entrance. From what I've described, I had the feeling this was going to be a disaster. But there was also a lot of foot traffic and diners in there which always make you optimistic. I ordered a large Sicilian (square) pie and a large pepperoni (round) pie. The crust on the sicilian pie had that great sicilian pizza flavor. It is thick and very chewy, but surprisingly light. If you are a cheese and sauce lover, this pie is for you. The cheese is fresh and tasty and is definitely premium. The sauce is well seasoned and very tangy and delicious. My opinion is they should probably cook it a little more because with all that cheese and sauce, there's not a lot of crispiness on any of the crust. I'd probably recommend eating it with a knife and fork because it can be that messy. The pepperoni pie that I ordered what was surprisingly thick. Again, this offering is of the thick and hearty variety. This pie, however, was not soggy and the slices stand up. It's not exactly crispy and crunchy, but it's not limp. The sauce is definitely the star here. Overall I was pleasantly surprised. I want to go back and sample some of the restaurant offerings. Overall Rating: B

Outstanding food and service! This place is very unassuming on the outside but cozy on the inside…read more We have been here several times before and always enjoy it. The special stuffed pork chop was delicious and enough to split between two people. Loved the calamari with balsamic glaze appetizer and the veal parmiggiana was a huge portion, very tender and yummy. Service was excellent. We had a group of six. The other plus is the restaurant is BYOB.

If your looking to eat dinner in a dump that smells like a$$, this is the place! Not sure why the…read morehost is so rude like this is the hottest ticket in town. The place looks like a dump and we questioned even getting out of the car. Not sure what was worse, the rudeness, the smell of mold or the dumpy atmosphere.... Read on and I'll share what we experienced. Mistake #1 deciding to go here Never heard of the place but saw on the gps there was an Italian spot while cutting through town. We went for it! Mistake #2 getting out of the car We pulled up to a gross old building, crumbling parking lot where people were creating their own parking/ blocking in each others cars. It was completely bizarre. After much debate about how to park and not have our car hit, we parked. We kept seeing people coming out of what looked like a rear kitchen/ service door. Odd. We walked through the horribly lit parking lot, in bad need of a repave and made our way to the front door. This door is street side and has an unlit sign over it. I pulled the handle only to have half of the metal handle pull off in my hand??? What in the world! Two elderly gentleman cutting through the lot on a walk let me know that the "kitchen entrance" was actually the main door. When they saw how perplexed I was, they laughed and said "There in lies the problem. This place is weird and doesn't have a proper entrance. Did you try the broken handle yet?" Followed by their laughter. Wonderful! They told us to not have big expectations as this is the local greasy spoon and to hold our nose when we entered. I'm not going to lie, we debated getting back in the car again as we walked past it.... Which brings me to mistake #3 Mistake #3 Not getting back in the car when we had the chance We entered into the building and were immediately hit in the face with a smell that I can only describe as that of and old wet basement paired with a moldy wood smell and a kitchen in need of an air out. It was not good. A guy came up to the host stand (a random podium in the dining room) and asked for our reservation- not if we had one- but the assumption that we must have one to dine at this fine establishment. I told him no we just came in and he immediately snickered at us and said, "come back in an hour" Ok Peter Luger. Best Decision We Made #1 immediately leaving It's really unfortunate for a place to have such crummy interactions on the heels of giving gusts every reason to run before even coming in. A simple- hey we are booked with reservations, let me peak to see what we can do- ok first spot will be in about an hour. Does that work for you? Or how about, have chairs???? There's literally nowhere to wait. You'd have to stand in the smell waiting and hoping to not get legionnaires disease. I would not recommend this dump.

Celebrated my husband's birthday with dinner here. The spot is moody and dark. Service was fine, no…read morecomplaints. What we ordered: - POLETTE (pine nuts raisins beef meatballs, tomato sauce, melted cacio cavallo - CALAMARI (fried squid, spicy tomato sauce) - SALTIMBOCCA (veal tenderloin scaloppini, prosciutto, bufala mozzarella, spinach, crispy sage, brandy sauce, fingerling potatoes) - CINQUANTA (fifty layered lasagne, spinach pasta, veal tenderloin stew, cheese, mushrooms, marsala sauce) - NON-ALCOHOLIC SPRITZ - NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINK BELLINI The food was good. It was a good experience overall.

Tucked away in an unassuming strip mall is one of those places you almost don't want to tell people…read moreabout--because then you'll have a harder time getting a table. Luca's Ristorante is a hidden gem that proves you should never judge a restaurant by its parking lot. Not long after we were seated, we were greeted by Luca -- a Luca and not the Luca. Still he was warm, welcoming, and genuinely passionate about his restaurant, taking the time to walk us through the menu and checking in throughout the meal without ever hovering. Luca's has a partial liquor license, offering a modest wine selection but is otherwise being BYOB. As we were told with a smile, they're much more interested in what's ON your plate than what's IN your glass. We started with two excellent appetizers. The arancini, already a family favorite, were crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and disappeared from the table faster than anyone was willing to admit. The Polpette, Luca's signature meatballs with pine nuts and raisins, certainly earned the praise they've received from NJ.com as some of the best in the state. Even if raisins in meatballs sound unusual, trust the process. The restaurant proudly calls itself "A Taste of Ischia," the beautiful volcanic island in the Bay of Naples, and the seafood absolutely lives up to that promise. My squid ink pasta with octopus (the Polypus) was outstanding, with perfectly tender octopus and beautifully balanced flavors. The scallops were buttery, sweet, and cooked to perfection, while the Ischia -- loaded with mussels, clams, and calamari -- was every seafood lover's dream. The rest of the menu proved just as impressive. The Pappardelle, featuring burrata and a rich Bolognese sauce, was a huge hit, while the Romolo, a comforting combination of chicken, pasta, bacon, and sauce, was another winner that had no leftovers to speak of. If you somehow still have room after dinner, Luca's offers a nice assortment of gelato. But do yourself one favor: don't leave without ordering a cappuccino. Rich, foamy, and expertly made, it's the perfect finale to a memorable meal. If you find yourself in Somerset, just a few turns off Routes 287 or 1, make the stop. You'll be greeted by a wonderful staff, treated to outstanding food, and very likely leave wondering how a restaurant this good has been hiding in a strip mall all along.

If you're driving down from anywhere to central NJ and Rutgers University area & want that "I found…read moremy spot" feeling -- Victoria's Tratta Italiano is "it". You walk into this warm amazing & friendly place on Church St, New Brunswick, smell that brick oven firing, and the owners themselves, might pop by your table to ask how the pasta & food is. Isn't that amazing & extraordinary!! You can truly enjoy this family own spot. The owners and staff "show up", and say how's the food, how are you doing? Not once's but multiple times!! Each time with an amazing attention, jokes that we could not stop laughing pleasantly. The waiter was also amazing, pleasant and very gentle. We came down to New Brunswick for our daughter graduation at Rutgers, and looked at various restaurants in the area and selected Victoria because they had a great variety of food for each member particular preference. We had: - Garlic Bread with Olive Oil. - Fried mozzarella calzone - Pepperoni Pizza - Fettuccini Alfredo Chicken - Wild Mushrooms Filet Risotto - Chicken Parmesan And I had the Papa Mango Salmon which was amazing. If you like Salmon I highly recommend it. To top it off limoncello and sambuca did its final touch. Thank you Victoria Tratta Italiano. It's a go-to before a show at State Theatre or Stress Factory, which I have been to before, because it's literally around the corner, parking's easy in the deck, and they won't rush you out. Service feels amazingly cool. Bring a date, bring your kids, bring your parents, bring the whole birthday crew. They do it all, and they'll make you feel like you are family at Home.

The picture of the buffalo chicken pizza looked too good not to try. The sad part was that there is…read moretoo much stuff on the pie, and since they threw it in the box so hot and gave it to the driver like that, all the stuff slid over the edge of the pizza and into the corner. After doing some Dr. Frankenstein rearranging of cheese and chicken, we were able to eat this pie. The good part is they use Franks, which I love, so the pie was spicy and had a familiar taste. But the crust was bland and the chicken breast tasted like it had no seasoning. There was a ton of it, but it was just a chore to get through. So overall I say 3 for that pie, but I bet if I went in and ate it there and it wasn't such a mess it would be an easy 4.

Finally tried Lubrano's, had heard good things from friends. Decided to just go the take out route…read moreso no comments on dish presentation. We ordered the Pasta Al Forno as an appetizer & Chicken Scarpariello for the main dish. Was quoted 35-40 min when I called it in, arrived ~30 min, paid & food came out near the 40 min quote. The pasta - for us the cheese on top was perhaps over toasted as it was on the dry side. Flavor was fine otherwise. Not sure I'd order this for a main dish without added protein though. The Chicken Scarp - excellent. The chicken & potatoes were very tender. The mild sausage makes this dish come together, it adds a level of savoriness to complement the balsamic sweetness in the sauce. I also like the long angled slices of sausage nicely seared on each side, it was not expected vs other versions that I've had. Meal also came with bread to soak up that chicken sauce. Also noting the place seemed packed, only 2 spots on their lot were open plus it sounded busy inside. Will try it next time onsite with one of my many fine bottles of wine. :)

This location is right off the highway with plenty of parking…read more Cute little place with a diner kind of vibe. We had the calamari and the sausage and broccoli rabe for appetizers were delicious. We all had different entrees, we were all happy with our choices and had enough for lunch the next day. The service here was to par very attentive. I will be back.

I cannot explain why it took 7 years after Florence, Italy natives Alberto Buglione and Ivan…read moreGuarducci took over this restaurant for me to visit. It is outstanding! Over the years I have heard nothing but good from friends -- "Excellent" "Exactly like they make it in Florence!" "Best Italian food I've ever tasted." I went with a party of four. For appetizers we split the Polpo E Patate (grilled octopus & potatoes) and Patate Fritte (French fries). The octopus was amazing, tender almost like perfect scallops with a tasty pesto. The French fries with herbs, garlic bread crumbs and pesto were crunchy, tasty, delicious. For mains my companions had Branzino with eggplant carponata, an amazing 4-cheese Gnocchi, and swordfish. I tasted all, and all were spot on; everyone loved their main course. I had Linguini Vongole (clams and linguini); the clams were perfect - tender and tasty; but the star of the show was the homemade linguine, seasoned perfectly and cooked to al dente perfection. We finished with cappuccino and Tiramasu. The service was excellent. Attentive and quick, and our waitress, Merin, was able to answer every question about the menu with authority, and even about the ingredients and preparation. The ambiance is understated, relaxed, and what you hope for when enjoying a special meal. I am quite stingy in passing out 5-Star ratings; I reserve them for the best of the best, for restaurants where I'm confident readers will also enjoy an outstanding meal. Mangia Toscano is clearly 5-Star; it is *the* must-do restaurant in Metuchen.

The food, service, and atmosphere were definitely a vibe! Everything about the experience was…read moreenjoyable from start to finish. I had the Salmon and the Gnocchi Al Pesto, and both dishes were delicious, savory, and full of flavor. The staff was attentive, the ambiance was great, and the overall experience made me want to come back again. Highly recommend!

This weekend I attended a baby shower at Trattoria Toscana for the first time, and the place is…read moreabsolutely lovely. The ambiance was wonderful, and the food was even better. Everything I tasted from beginning to end was delicious. My only suggestion would be to shorten the wait time between courses. The dishes were served very spaced out, and we waited quite a while for the entrée. That said, every appetizer and every dish offered was absolutely wonderful and well worth it. It's a shame they're a little far from me, because otherwise I'd probably be having dinner or hosting parties there all the time!

Food excellent & fresh! Service excellent and attentive!…read moreAmbiance was perfect! Homemade pasta was excellent! Chicken parmigiana was best ever!