Val was perfect! She was best wait staff ever. Love her! She suggested the best entrees! Xoxo Ann read more

Polpo, you should be embarrassed. $19 for a kids penne with butter and $25 for a kids gnocchi with butter. Literally pasta with butter. Figured it was a mistake. I called the restaurant the next day and the manager would do nothing more than offer a free gelato at our next visit. read more

Polpo - Italian Near Me - Avalon, New Jersey

With an 8pm reservation we waited 30 minutes. Finally we were sat at a table that had just been added to the outdoor seating and was wobbling. Service took forever. The food was mediocre and a table of 24 was sat next to us. Overall a terrible experience. read more

I've been here a handful of times for dine in/take out (not many options in SH/Avalon), and it's ok. Nothing exceptional. Menu hasn't changed - the ravioli special has been the same the past 2 summers (and probably will be the same in 2021) - and quantity isn't overwhelming for the price. Service has never been great. I would recommend Luciano or Il Posto if you're looking for good Italian on the island read more

Very busy night , our service was a little slow but our waiter did a great job keeping us updated on our meal status. BYOB was an attraction we we sat outside at a table all the way in the corner which was fine for our loud group. I have to be honest the Caesar salad was terrible but the calamari appetizer was good , gnocchis were good and our entree's were also very good. Veal ,Chicken, and pastas all good choices skip the fish dish. read more

Made a reservation for 8:15 and arrived at 8:10. When we arrived we were told it would be another 20 minutes until we were seated. At 9pm we were finally seated, a full 45 minutes after our reservation time. If you are even slightly worried about COVID-19, do not go here. There are no tablecloths, they quickly wipe the table down with a wet towel, plastic menus that are not wiped clean, placing silverware on the table to be reused. I was cringing the entire time. The food was decent at best. We got very basic dishes, so not bad, but not good. And we were starving because it was almost 10pm when we got there. read more

I would not recommend Polpo. Mediocre food and poor service. Avoid if you want a good meal

I don't know why it got mediocre reviews. I think this place was amazing. Service was fantastic. And every dish we ordered was great. I live a few blocks away, have been several times and would go back in again. read more

As Avalon residents Polpo is our favorite AV restaurant. They always do a great job even during CV.

Solid Italian restaurant in town. It was great eating outside - I saw the comments on noise level inside and I definitely agree with them. It's definitely on the loud side - so if you want a quiet dinner for two sit outside. In general all the food was solid. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could. read more

My husband and I were in search of restaurants that took reservations during the pandemic. Polpo came up and we decided to try them even though our summer condo is in another shore town close by. We made a great choice and visited three different time over the summer. Two times outdoor dining and the most current indoor dining. The food is delicious we recommend the veal ossobucco and the linguini pescatore. Both were delicious. The service was on point every visit, and the restaurant had paintings from a local artist displayed. I loved their show of support for local businesses. All the painting were for sale. Keep up the great work Polpo we will be returning soon. read more

It's a shame that the exceptional food was overshadowed by the miserable service we received the entire night. We started off on the wrong foot here by being sat outside for our indoor reservation. While they were clearly understaffed (on a Friday), there was no communication or even care towards their customers, as many of the tables around us appeared unhappy as well. We hope they can figure it out and may visit again in the future, because the food was fantastic (once it finally came out)... read more

Food good . Table for 6 cramped. Didn't like sitting by kitchen door and bathrooms Lauren was a great server always accommodating and pleasant read more

Food was decent, but overpriced, which I suppose is to be expected at a seasonal resort location. Burrata was probably the best item we ordered, salad was sparse but had good flavor. And the best part of my chicken parm entree was the side of pasta. The server was below average, never offering to pour a glass of wine, refill a water, or ask how the food was received. My biggest issue was the presence of fruit flies, that we were constantly swatting away. Overall, not my worst dinner out but it was certainly underwhelming. I doubt I'll be returning. read more

Wonderful food, amazing service-thank you Valerie! Sam this is an amazing establishment!! Highly recommend and will be coming back

Over charged for a ravioli special. $51 for 4 raviolis!. Tacked on $3 for using a credit card. Service was terrible. Very disappointed.

Food was excellent and freshly made. We were with friends so we didn't mind the long wait to receive the initial bread or our meal. Polpo is BYOB. read more

Polpo - Avalon, NJ - Italian Near Me - Avalon, New Jersey

See all

If you ever have a bar mitzfah buffet that sits out about two hours too long, you have been to this restaurant. The entree took 2 hours. We asked to speak to manager and that took 45 min. When he came out he said "I waited to see you because I didn't want to interrupt your meal." But there was no meal to interrupt!! No food! When it came it was cold, underdone, n just plain bad!! Ok sorry rant over. read more

I expected little from looked like a your standard Italian style seashore restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised. Early dinner at 5:30, party of 6. Personally, I am pretty particular. Asked if we wanted inside or outdoors. I politely said indoors but I was thinking, if want to eat outdoors it better be on the Avenues des Champs-Élysées. First, the seating was adequate. It was a BYOB so the stemware was heavy but sparkling clean. Silverware was good quality and clean (no spots). Waiter was very nice, knowledgeable and skilled. He opened 2 bottles of wine. He did not pour. That's OK. We ordered our mains, no appetizers. Orders were: 2 Veal parm (sorry, I swore I would never order veal or chicken parm ever, but I did), 1 chicken parm, 1 bronzino with risotto, 1 veal Francese, 1 spaghetti with red sauce. Desserts: tiramisu, NY cheesecake, cappuccino, coffee. Everything was served quickly but not too quickly. Servers were very good and efficient. Overall the food hot, properly served and nicely presented. Not white glove, Not Alenia, Not Eleven Madison Park. The prices were fair. Food quality excellent. Bronzino was excellent. I was pleased. Parking right in front. Quiet but only about 6 of 15 tables in use. Only issues I had were many of the small appetizer plates were chipped and the bread was not crusty. I give this place a 4.25. I would go back. 9/25/2022 read more

Made a reservation. They basically told us to check other places out. Waited an hour before we found another place. Oh yeah they called to confirm our reservation earlier in the day. read more

Favorite summer spot !!! Great food,Creative cuisine

Waited almost THREE hours for the food. It wasn't good. Fish was inedible and the chicken parm was legit cold, not like room temp, cold! People next to us said their food has bugs in it. Also the man that came out to talk to us when we complained PRETENDED to be the manager. It was very funny but then I saw another review where this happened and now I'm thinking what the heck!! Why !! Where is the real manager!! read more

I gave this restaurant a second try after not even being seated last year. Polpo can be so much better than it is. The potential is there. The food is good. The restaurant is just not run well. You can't blame the pandemic and staff shortages for the shortcomings on this one. You are just not getting a dining experience you are getting fed and that's about it. You can tell the wait staff is overworked and fatigued. There is no hi I'm _____ and I'll be your server. It was are you ready to order. Oh good evening to you too. Yes I am absolutely ready to order with 3 children after being seated at 830 for my 800 pm reservation. The hostess is extremely rude. Train these people. If you want to be a restaurant that people keep coming to make it a friendly and warm experience for your patrons. I was asked do you need something by the hostess when I went to check in. Most restaurants you walk in and are greeted. Good evening, welcome to Polpo would be a nice start to your dining experience. The owners need to train their staff to make it a dining experience that people want to visit again and again. The food is good. It's not great. The overall experience ruins the meal. Sorry to be bluntly honest on this one but hopefully Polpo will get the message to make it better for others. I will suggest the burrata appetizer if you happen to get seated for your reservation. The gnocchi carbonara was also very good and worth ordering. Nobody asked if we wanted dessert or coffee and honestly I don't know if they serve dessert or coffee since it was sadly not presented as an option. read more

Excellent service by Valerie at Polpo! Knowledgeable and kind to all of our diners. Food was delicious and inventive. Love the indoor and outdoor options for seating. Thank you for a wonderful time we'll be back! read more

We had a very negative experience here last night. The staff from host to waiter to busboy were rude and dismissive. When we arrived we were asked if we wanted indoor or outside seating. We chose seating outside but we were quickly attacked by gnats. We asked if we could move inside, the original response from the waiter was simply "No" When we questioned further he said there was a sudden surge of diners so we couldn't move. We were waiting for the 6th person in our party to arrive so asked if we could order some appetizers for the table. Again response was No"! We were shocked but waiter said the entire meal had to be ordered at the same time??!! Some in our party had brought vodka drinks. We were never asked if we needed any glassware even though we requested a glass of ice. So we used the glasses on the table. Midway through dinner the busboy inadvertently topped off the glass of vodka with water - an honest mistake but no apology was extended-again we were just dismissed. The food was mediocre at best. Needless to say, we will never dine at Polpo again. read more

This place is the fucking best. Best service on the whole island of avalon. I'm never going anywhere else again for food.

45 minutes for bruschetta to come out, then another 20 min for entrees. Maybe saw our waiter once. Heed the warnings of others who left reviews here. read more

I did pickup of Polpo at Fratelli's next door as instructed. Valerie was trying her best, however very stressed. Very chaotic pickup. Most concerning were the two gentlemen working the pizza oven and gelato area that were not wearing masks, exposing all of us who were waiting for our orders. Additionally, I usually love my food from Polpo, but I was very disappointed last night. It was bland and tasted like no one cared. I will chalk this up to the Pandemic and try again but the Masks are a Non-Negotiable! read more

extremely disappointed. Service was lackadaisical to poor. Two meals came out and when we asked where the other two meals were the server started to argue with us about what we ordered. Finally he agreed with us and just walked away. Nearly 10 minutes later the other two meals came out. we asked the waiter what happened and he just shrugged his shoulders and said he was trying. we asked for an apology but he refused. while we were waiting for our dinner we asked for butter. the first person we asked said they ran out of butter because they were busy. the second person we asked said he would get some but we never saw him again. we finally got butter just before the bus person began removing our dinner plates. the evening was a fiasco. the food was just ok and definitely not worth the high price. I've had better meals at roadside diners. Don't waste your money. read more

Thoroughly unimpressed. Really don't understand why this place is still in business as each of our meals was not good

The best meal we've had during this vacation week! Octopus app was good but the Chicken Milanese was the star of the night - simply incredible! Also the fettuccine Bolognese was outstanding. Bread fantastic as well. Outside seating was comfortable. Mentor took good care of us. Definitely go!!! read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. To start, the bread was cold and tasted stale. We sat down, realizing it was a BYOB which is not advertised anywhere. We decided to get a couple of appetizers, one of which ended up being $23. The food was luke warm at best and tasted as it was reheated after being frozen. To say the least we were completely underwhelmed and would not recommend this place to anyone. Hard to imagine a place like this is even still in business but maybe people don't care what their food tastes like. read more

Has to be the best meal in last six months and best ever had on seven mile island. Both meals were perfectly prepared and could not of been hotter when they arrived. Doing a great job during COVID as well. read more

What can I say, another amazing meal in Avalon! This place is a MUST EAT. Our waitress made it that much better. Everything was scrumptious and on time! Nothing like good old Italian food from a well-rounded, knowledgeable, beautiful, young lady: Abby. If you go, make sure she's your server. And don't forget to get gelato from Antonio! read more

Terrible service. Tom was our server & was very snarky & rude to our table. Tom was not helpful in finding vegan options nor did he care to take the time too. Very subpar food for the price. read more

This is the most poorly run restaurant on the island. I ordered takeout it was supposed to be ready at 7:10 and I sat for an hour and got my food at 8:10. Don't bother making a reservation you'll never sit at that time. They also do not give the tips on takeout that you order online to the hostesses they go into the pocket of the management. My daughter worked there last year as a hostess never once got a tip and people said that they left tips for her all the time. It's a shame because the food is decent. read more

Okay so there are many problems with Polpo. To start, we asked for an ice bucket for our wine when we sat down and the server never brought one. Second, there were gnats flying around the table, two of which landed in my drink. This was particularly disgusting and kicked off a rather unpleasant dining experience. We also asked to see the manager around this time to mention the issue as a courtesy... we were greeted by our waitress along with another woman who pretended to be the manager. I've noticed that this has been a recurring issue recently... where is the real manager??? The bread was stale, not fresh, and completely mediocre. We had to keep asking for water throughout the meal and struggled to get refills. We ordered the calamari, burrata and the grilled shrimp. Everything was average - nothing to write home about. Our entrees took an extended period of time to come out... We ordered two gnocchi dishes which were actually quite nice, but the ravioli and lamb specials - while decent - were extremely overpriced. (The last time I forget to ask for the price of the specials.) It was noticeable that most people around us were not enjoying their dining experiences. One woman actually came up to us to share our complaints. Spark Notes: bad service, unsanitary, mediocre food, overpriced. Would not recommend. Hopefully just a bad night... read more

We ordered our food 90 minutes ago. Salads came out at about 20 minute mark. They were average. Service is at best average. I would like to tell you how the main courses were but we are still waiting. If you value your vacation time DO NOT COME HERE. Ohh- main courses just came out. Some hot some not so hot. Food is average at best. Don't waste your time. read more

Piss poor management and service. Called in advance to confirm we'd be seated at the time of our reservation and were assured not a problem. Arrived at the restaurant to crowds waiting outside. Asked the hostess and was told "15 to 20 minutes" which was a line repeated to everyone in the crown, as we overheard. After 15 minutes past the reservation time, we returned to the hostess stand and asked for a straight up answer, since the crowd did not thin out at all. They then told us there are ten tables in front of us, with reservations dating much earlier than ours. They did not seem to care that they were not honoring reservations, and simply said "our boss makes us do this." Left and ate elsewhere. read more

Super sad to see this place go down hill. not family friendly. Super slow and RUDE STAFF. Food was average at best! will not be back or recommend. I couldn't believe the way the staff spoke to me!!! read more