Absurdly good. This place has been a staple in the area for a long time, and they really make the…read moremost of their space. The strip mall itself isn't anything special, but the surrounding area is beautiful , and once you're inside, the restaurant feels warm and inviting. The food is fantastic, and the variety on the menu is impressive. The chef clearly knows what they're doing because every single dish we tried was genuinely delicious. It's the kind of spot where you can't go wrong: date night, dinner with friends, or anything in between. We brought our own bottle and had a great time. Our waiter was super knowledgeable, friendly, and patient. The staff even joked around with me when I forgot my to‑go bag, and yes, I absolutely took it home because the food is that good. I also appreciate that they don't act like offering takeout is beneath them; even the takeout bag was nice. I honestly wish my meals were this good every night. I hope everyone who works here is paid well and enjoys what they do, because they're running the place exactly how a restaurant should be run. It feels like a true community staple somewhere that transports you a bit and makes the whole experience feel special. Lovely all around.

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.

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.

OMG. Finally was able to make it to this restaurant and it totally blew me away. The food was…read moredelicious & authentic, and the service was amazing. The ambiance was beautiful, quiet & peaceful. Our drinks were also delicious! Def recommend the what we ordered. Can't wait to visit again!

We were raving about this place after our first visit so we were excited to return and suggested it…read morefor my friend's birthday dinner. Unfortunately the food and the service both did not live up to what we experienced the first time around. The 3 fish dishes we got left much to be desired, pretty bland. The mocktails were ok but not as wonderful as the ones we had the last time we were here and ones we liked were no longer on the menu. - Melagrana Sprint - Rosso Vivo - Rosemary Lemonade - Lemon Gassosa - Toscana Salad (Tuscan black kale salad with gorgonzola cheese, pine nuts, crispy prosciutto crudo, balsamic vinegar) - Guancia Brasata con Polenta (Slow-braised beef cheek glazed in gravy sauce, served with creamy and crispy polenta) - Capesante (Gratinated scallops with lemon jelly, cauliflower vanilla sauce and marinated cauliflower) - (2) Pesce del Giorno (Fresh fish of the day selected by our Chef) - Cernia alla Mediterranea (Grouper with Mediterranean sauce, garlic confit, cherry tomatoes and capers) - Bigoli all'Anatra (Bigoli pasta with slow braised duck leg and crunchy breadcrumbs) - Espresso - (2) Melodia D'autunno (Vanilla cream, cinnamon crumble, puff pastry, caramelized almond, and warm flambé apple) The space is still beautiful and we did appreciate that we were able to dine upstairs this time. Not sure if we will be back as it no longer was a five star place for us.

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!

Went for lunch on a weekday. I haven't been to a French restaurant in a long time in part because…read moreso many have closed which seems strange to me . I take it,it's a matter of fashion. Any way I had an escargot appetizer. I love snails. I wish they had frogs legs! I had the lamb shank for the main course. My wife had the bouef Bourgogne pot pie (apologies for misspellings ; auto correct is fighting me on this one). The food was excellent. The service was good.They make good cocktails and I a sazerac , something I last had in New Orleans, a long time ago. The ambiance is pleasant and parking is easy.The prices, about what you'd expect. We had dessert and coffee. Oh the bread is very good. Highly recommended!

This was our second visit to this very pleasant restaurant, and it won't be our last. Our party of…read moresix including two young children was hungry after a busy day. Our order included the following: * Deep Fried Brie served with caramelized onions: $15.95 * (2) Soupe à l'oignon Gratinée - traditional onion soup: $14.95 * Jambe D'agneau Braisée - new zealand lamb shank braised in port wine reduction served over israeli couscous, carrots, mushrooms and onions: $36.95 * Steak au Poivre/au Poivre Vert - two 4 ounce medallions of filet mignon with black peppercorn rub: $39.95 * Pommes Frites (hand cut french fries) $8 This place has the casual look and feel of a Paris bistro, and I really like the vibe. You can sit at tables or the large bar, we chose the former. The service was very good, accommodating and friendly. The food was nicely executed. My lamb shank was tender and tasty. I sampled the steak and thought it was nicely cooked, loaded with flavor and also very tender. The brie was tasty, and didn't seem to heavy, which was surprising as it was deep fried. If I lived in the area, I'd be a regular here.

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.

Clarissa & Kenny took care of our table . An impromptu visit for a light meal…read more Garlic bread - 10/10 Meatballs - was delicious Cheese burger medium well - one of the best I have had in a long time Apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream - warm and creamy perfect to share on a date night Intimate romantic dim lit . The perfect hangout spot to enjoy a good meal and great conversation

The environment was the star of the show. Pretty dining room, classy and well-furnished without…read morebeing anything close to over-the top. The steak we ordered was very good, but overpriced. $10 for some sliced hot cherry peppers to accompany it did not help the restaurant's cause. The side plate of broccoli rabe was disappointing. Highly recommend the stuffed mushrooms appetizer - delicious and actually a good value. Nice wine list, but you'll struggle to find much that's affordable - I chose the bargain wine (Tannat from Uruguay) at $79, and it was very good. Service was attentive - excessively so. You might like this, but I had to hint, hint again, then pretty much say explicitly to stay away. I was on a date, you see. 'Nuff said? If you have lots of money and don't much care how you spend it, you'll adore this establishment. Lots of service, really nice environment, and very good food. If you're value-conscious, I think it'll be a coin-toss.

Excellent service and the food was phenomenal. Food is an…read moreextension of our heritage, reminiscent of our grandparents. This restaurant, from the moment you sit at your table, you realize the food represents the authenticity of our Italian culture.

Absolutely loved Jozanna's! The service was great, and the staff was so friendly and welcoming. It…read morehas such a warm, family-friendly atmosphere that makes you feel right at home. The portions are generous, and the food was delicious. We definitely left full... practically had to be rolled out! Would absolutely come back!

Very cool speakeasy vibe located in the basement of a building. We were seated quickly on time for…read moreour reservation. The menu is small but hits every pallet craving. We ordered the pork chop and Frenched chicken, both were very tasty and perfectly presented keep in mind the pork chop has some spice to it I loved it. I'll be back!!

We ordered a variety of appetizers. The spinach artichoke dip was my favorite, very creamy. The…read morebacon had a nice flavor. The calamari was just ok, not crunchy and the mushroom croquettes came with a sauce that didn't match the croquettes. Overall though we enjoyed the apps. The location will be closing in a week to move to a new location - so we wanted to visit and bid farewell to this longstanding New Brunswick icon.

We celebrated my birthday at Giovanni's Italian Restaurant, and even though we didn't have a…read morereservation, the staff was incredibly accommodating and quickly found us a table. The restaurant was very packed, but the atmosphere was wonderful. Everyone was dressed beautifully, enjoying their meals, and having great conversations. You could really feel the excitement and happiness throughout the restaurant. Once we were seated, our server introduced himself, took our drink orders, and brought bread and butter to the table. The only thing I would suggest is improving the bread. The selection we received was quite hard, and I think warming it up or simply serving fresh-sliced bread would have made a big difference. One of my favorite moments was when the hostess who seated us came over with a beautiful wooden basket filled with toys for the children to choose from. I thought this was such a thoughtful and unique touch! It really showed how much they care about making families feel welcome. Our server returned with our drinks and took our dinner order. We decided to try the Epic Meat Board and the Seafood Pescatorie. The wait for our food was a little long, but honestly, it was worth the wait! Everything came out fresh, delicious, and seasoned to perfection. You could tell that a lot of care went into preparing each board. The portions were packed with flavor, and the quality of the meat and seafood was excellent.I especially enjoyed the mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, but the Seafood Pescatorie was definitely my favorite! Overall, Giovanni's Italian Restaurant knows how to make you feel special when celebrating an important occasion. It's also a great place for large gatherings and family celebrations.Giovanni's is definitely worth experiencing. Trust me everyone can enjoy themselves while enjoying the quality and flavor of the food!

Food was not as good as on the tik-tok $120 person. This is a high end pizzeria that serves steak…read moreand seafood. Basura! Will not be back. Bad lobster tails spoiled as hell. Just you average place where food is served. What was the trouble?