Something is different? We came in through the front door with the hostess station. What's up with the unpainted drywall? Where are the cool old pictures, thank-you letters, and awards? Anyway we were seated right away, but waited five minutes before anyone came over. The table was sticky, the server was OK but wasn't really friendly until the bill came out. And the food was OK. This time my review is meh read more

Villa Rifici - Where's all the cheese at? - Italian Near Me - Absecon, New Jersey

My friends and I visited for their first Girl Dinner night where they had a book mobile called Austen's Shelf in the parking lot which was the main reason for our visit. When it was first advertised on Instagram, my friend made a reservation. However, when we arrived the staff were confused and overwhelmed by the big turnout and made no effort to assist us promptly. They sat us inside since the patio tables were already taken, and we waited 15-20 minutes for someone to take our order. The ambiance was casual and the noise level was very loud. They have a bar on the main level and the place just looks like a casual pizza joint. The patio seats looked more appealing and I found out after we left that they were doing a giveaway which we weren't included in. The girl dinner menu options were very basic with no meat or seafood options. I probably should've ordered off of the regular menu. I started out with an espresso martini which was okay, not the best and not the worst. Next I had a Caesar salad that was drowning in dressing that was too creamy and rich for me. The cheese pizza had a nice dough but the marinara and cheese were below average. I've had better pizza from a gas station, but I was starving since I'd already been there for 45 minutes. My friend only ate one slice of hers. I suppose we got what we paid for since it was only $25 per person. By the time we got our checks and were ready to go check out the book store, there were very few options left. If it weren't for the great company and the chance to check out Austen's Shelf, this night would've been very disappointing. read more

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Food : Pretty average at best. Chicken parm flavorless and dry chicken, probably frozen abd deep fried. Tomato sauce very acidic and no spices or garlic to give it flavor. Service: Very attentive and friendly waitress. Stayed on top of everything , no need to ask she had it. The only glitch was the bill. Her fault but it was resolved. I do not want to go into detail. Ambiance : Kind of like a diner feel to me . Nothing special, table felt sticky , they need to do a proper wipe down and clean . Sticky is not good cleaning. Prices : Rather high for average or sub average Italian American food. I only had dinner entrees so no comment on salads , soups , sandwiches or most appetisers . Close to my home , I used to eat here for years many years ago, now the new chef or owner has made it less gourmet italian and just ordinary. read more

Terrible experience tonight, and unfortunately, in this case, the poor customer service came directly from the owner. I placed a DoorDash order and, as expected, paid a service fee, delivery fee, and tipped the driver. I ordered traditional wings, only to find that they arrived completely without sauce. Apparently, they serve them dry with sauce on the side, which was not clear when ordering. I called the restaurant and asked if they could have the sauce ready when I arrived. When I got there, I had to wait several minutes while they went to get it. When I was handed one small cup of sauce, I asked for a second because there was clearly not enough for the order. I was then charged $1.11 for the additional cup. I understand that businesses have costs, but the sole reason I was there was due to an issue with my order. I had already paid delivery and service fees specifically so I wouldn't have to make a trip to the restaurant. At that point, waiving a dollar to make things right would have been the obvious customer-service decision. What made the situation significantly worse was the owner's response when I questioned the charge. He was dismissive and incredibly rude, essentially making me feel as though I was at fault for questioning it. When I explained that his handling of the situation had lost him a customer, his response was, "I don't care at all." When he later tried to explain himself, I told him there was no need, and he responded, "Oh, I'm definitely not explaining myself to YOU." That is an shocking way for an owner to speak to a customer - particularly a customer who had just spent over $60 at his restaurant on 2 apps and a burger. Unfortunately, the food itself wasn't much better. The wings were over-fried, extremely dry, and had very little meat on them. Overall, neither the food nor the customer service gave me any reason to return. Mistakes happen. What matters is how a business chooses to handle them. An owner has the opportunity to turn a frustrating experience into a positive one, and unfortunately, that did not happen here. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area that value their customers. I would personally recommend spending your money elsewhere - Black Cat, Roman's, or just about anywhere else. Based on this experience, I certainly won't be returning. read more

Went to a catered party here and the food was amazing! Could not have been any better. Definitely going back for a lunch or dinner.... read more

Love this place! Great service. The one server has been there forever! Try the oysters franchese (spelled wrong?!). It's the oddest dish but absolutely delicious!!!' read more

Overall rating: A disappointment. I rate it overall 2.5 out of 5.0 Star. The Food is 2.0 Star, but the ambience is only a 2.5 Star, it needs a complete revival (it's stuck in the 1950's). Service is a 4.0 Star. Visit Day/Time: 6:30 pm on a weekday, visited numerous times. Wait for table time: None. Ambience: A long time local establishment in Absecon, NJ. A multi-room restaurant with a separate 3 sided full service bar. Sufficient seating for everyone. May be a bit noisy at times. Conversations are quite easy. Menu Selections: Italian with Seafood. Wide selection. Look them up online. Prices: Quite a bit above normal, especially for average to below average quality/tasting Italian foods Food ordered and served: It was just a bit slow. Every food items really was well below par. Service: Excellent and very effective. Best bets: None noted. Issues: As noted. Avoids: As noted. Would we go back? Probably. Reason(s) to go (or not go) there: They could make better tasting/quality food(s).....oh well. read more

The atmosphere was nice and the service was great. The food was a little disappointing. It was pretty bland. I ordered the Seafood Penne pasta with Vodka Sauce. It had absolutely no flavor. I asked for a side of marinara sauce to help make it more edible. The sauce did give it a little flavor and it was edible. I would've preferred to take it home and add some garlic powder and some seasonings. The bread was delicious. Most people ordered the pizza. I have a feeling their pizza is probably good and maybe what they're more known for.. read more

Villa Rifici - Seafood Penne pasta with Vodka Sauce very Bland - Italian Near Me - Absecon, New Jersey

Off the top of my head, the ambiance in the restaurant was great! Parking was easy and there was no line to get into the restaurant. The food is where it gets tricky. The bruschetta was solid, 5/5 The tomato tower I'd say is a 4/5. But the presentation was a 5/5 The chicken Francese was solid, the chicken was cooked well and pasta was nice. Only problem was it was SO lemony, 3.5/5 The fettuccine Alfredo was good but basic. No additional seasoning. 4/5 The eggplant parmesan was nice too. 4/5 Overall 4/5! read more

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Grew up I Italian neighborhood, spent a lot of time in North Newark NJ. Rificivs felt like "home turf". Genuine Italian cuisine, fantastic atmosphere. read more

Whoever handles the social media for this restaurant needs to update all the websites as I ordered the seafood Rosa and was quoted at $26 and when I went to pick up was charged $38. The MOD told me that there was nothing he could do about it. That was the price that was on the menu when pulled up in google. read more

I had a party of 11 join me at this restaurant as part of a Mother's Day Outing. The service was great. Staff was friendly and kind. The food was delicious and tasteful. I have never been to this restaurant but it was a good choice to cover everyone's appetite. I will definitely go there again. read more

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Quick and to the point. Called to place a take-out order here last night. Good: Super easy to place the order and to pick up the order. Both were very fast. The pasta e fagioli soup was very good. Nice broth flavor and definitely full of pasta and beans. The alfredo sauce for the chicken alfredo. Thick and creamy versus the oil slick/broken version you seem to find at too many places. Not So Good: The chicken quality/prep for the chicken alfredo was no bueno. Rubbery and overdone almost like it was boiled for a few hours. No sear on it at all. Ditto that on the chicken for the chicken parm except this one was too hard and overdone. Inedible: The small bread loaf that came with each dinner was black and charred on both ends and inedible unless you have drill bits for teeth. In reality this experience from VR should probably be a 2 or a 2.5 but I'll generously go three because the staff I encountered were all very nice and the food was done on time as advertised even if the quality was a little sketchy. read more

Sat down right away on a Sunday evening at 8:00 pm. Met Lauren our server who was very helpful with choices... Ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir! Wife had the Bolognese (spelling ? ) and I had chicken parmigiana with pasta. All was delicious. Bottle of wine was fine, and all was right with the world Thank you to the kitchen as well! read more

Villa Rifici - Wine choice - Italian Near Me - Absecon, New Jersey

They have a good selection of Italian entrees and bar food like burgers and chicken tenders. Had no problem being seated and service was very quick. Food came out quickly also. They served bread with what was supposed to be seasoned olive oil. um... this was vegetable oil which was really gross. The chicken parm was good on a bed of rigatoni and wife's shrimp far diablo was also good- not the best but not the worst ever. As for ambiance, it reminded me of a converted bank- that's the feeling I got. Again. Not the worst but not the best. Would I give them another shot? Yes. But neither will I go out of my way. Warning: there is a 3 percent surcharge on card transactions. Bring cash. read more

Haven't been to Rifici in a long time. It's now under new ownership. The place itself looks nice inside. My only complaint is that the main dinning area is very noisy when it's crowded. The menu is extensive, like a diner, which leads me to believe the items can't all be fresh. But, as far as the food, it was good, but I've had better. I got the shrimp parm with penna. It came with soup or salad. The caesar salad was good and tasty but over dressed. The shrimp parm was also good except that the shrimp could have been fried a little more as the tails weren't as crunchy as I'd like, which made some of the bites off putting. The sauce was good, but not as thick as i'd like. My wife enjoyed her soup (pasta fagioli), but the spaghetti and meatballs she ordered needed more sauce and it could have been thicker. It only came with two medium sized meatballs which didn't seem like a lot given the amount of spaghetti with it. Our friends ordered two of the specials and lasagna. The two specials were an Egg Plant tower and stuffed mushrooms. They both enjoyed the specials. They thought the lasagna was bland. Our other two friends ordered a pizza and enjoyed the sauce, but thought that it didn't compare to many of the pizza places found in Hammonton where we're from. The service was very good. read more

As much as I would love to give this business a 5 starts I have to say customer service is not a priority at all . When you walk in you literally stand there waiting for someone to actually acknowledge you . When you finally find someone , they ask table for , and seat you with a non personable attitude. I'm the type of person that I believe in bad days and I've came to this restaurant several time and the only reason we come back is because the food is delicious and fresh. The ambience is both casual or laidback . The portions are great and I can't ever say I've had a bad meal . read more

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I've gone to this restaurant with my family for many years and we loved it but now they opened the entrance to the bar so you can hear all the goings on like curse words. So it was upsetting and then the alcoholic drinks seemed to have gone up in price. Now they charge for a salad when you're paying $27 for a meal and they rearranged the menu. We complained about the man at the bar cursing since it was 10 times. The waitress just giggled and said "He just went to a concert and he's all drunk" So the waitress didn't care about the man cursing and no one tried to tell him anything. So disappointing read more

We love this place! From the food to the employees, all employees! Not one thing would we change! They treat you like family, great experience always!!!!! From:Keith and Denise read more

Needed an Italian restaurant that can fit 14 people. I called for reservations day of on a Saturday and they were able to take my party. The people around me ordered the shrimp parm and mussels. I ordered the pescatore sauce. I requested for a creamer sauce and they were able to make that for me without charging extra. Each dinner dish came with a soup or salad. The waiter was patient with repeating what the soup options were. The dishes were a decent size. I definitely got full and there was also a good amount of seafood. I would definitely stop by again for dinner and order a different item. Their menu was huge! read more

Villa Rifici - Salmon Shrimp parm Mussel pasta Pescatore sauce pasta - Italian Near Me - Absecon, New Jersey

Food was good but restaurant has no atmosphere. Just tables and chairs..very plain. Waitress was excellent.

We had a large order from work - everything arrived hot. Everyone said "it's good" ... I ordered the hot n honey tails. They were tender and you could break them apart with the side of your fork. Very saucy (which I prefer). I appreciate they left them in the tin foil. Will definitely order from them again. Most of the celery was white read more

Villa Rifici - Hot n Honey Tails $13 - Italian Near Me - Absecon, New Jersey

My boyfriend and I frequent this place and are never disappointed. Food is always great. The feeling in the restaurant is very comfortable, even at the bar. Sarah at the bar is great and knows our orders by heart. The wings are delicious as is everything else I've tried! Worth going! read more

Food is ok. Service is good. Do not under any circumstances use them for any sort of banquet - party of twenty, we were billed $100 for a few small pitchers of soda that was supposedly included in the price we had been quoted and upcharged for "desert" (exactly 2 mini cannoli's and a few small plates of unripe fruit which no one ordered.) long time occasional diner of this restaurant but I'll never return after this shady underhanded practice. Unconscionable business move taking advantage of a woman mourning the loss of her mother after a viewing across the street at the funeral home. read more

The place to eat if you're in the mood for great food. Nice place to take your family, or friends. Service is good. Server's, and bartenders do their best to keep you wanting to come back for more. read more

I loved going to refugees. Our server was named Abby short for Abigail five stars because I got fried shrimp with french fries and vegetables with a nice dish of coleslaw on the side and it was excellent and the Coke was Bussin. The waitress was so pretty and beautiful and cute. read more

My wife and I ordered takeout and was pleased to see that it looked as good as if it were served on a plate. I had the Salmon, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. My wife had the lamb chops, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. The food was very good, I highly recommend them. read more

Post burial luncheon for my sister. From first contact to after the meal everything was first rate. The room, the service, the food, the price; everything was better than I could have expected. I traveled 7 hours to get to my sister's area, so I had little control. Didn't need it. Thank you. read more

worst food soup was salty, had the french onion soup, they put some cold fried onions on top. salad sucked. Sandwiches were taken home just to get trashed. read more

Villa Rifici is an excellent Italian restaurant that offers delicious food and top-notch service. If you happen to be in South Jersey, you must visit for dinner. read more

Food always outstanding. We've had seafood dishes sandwiches prosciutto and mozzarellah and roasted peppers Every thing is delicious and service is the best! read more

We usually go for munchies or apps. Prosciutto burrata is my go to! I try to get something diff every time, but usually end up with this. Hubby got fra diavolo chicken wrap the good and spicy! Got a side of blue cheese dressing with it. Like there hot and honey tails, Stromboli, & La Villa flat bread. Never disappointed. read more

Villa Rifici - Prosciutto burrata! - Italian Near Me - Absecon, New Jersey

The most amazing stuff long-hot peppers! Waitstaff very pleasant and attentive. My breaded chicken parmigiana was fantastic! Easy to get to on the way to the parkway from the casinos too. Will be back as soon as we can. read more

Excellent service, delicious dinners. Bar service available too. Try the bucatini pasta, if they have it when you're there.

Nice Italian restaurant. It was a surprise find on our trip to the Jersey shore. Waitress was awesome. Menu was very extensive. Hard to choose when you look around the room and see the choices of others. read more

Sat at bar table after a round of golf, nice atmosphere and excellent service. I had veal francese over cappellini it was very good, lemon butter sauce looked a bit heavy but it was just right. Thumbs up on the veal parm and veal marsala from two in our party also. read more

I had heard this place was good so I was surprised by how disappointing it was. I checked the menu online to make sure they had a kids menu and they did, so I brought my son and his friend. When we sat down I was told there's no kids menu. I would have left but the kids were hungry and I didn't feel like driving them somewhere else so my 6 year old got an overpriced dry burger and his friend got chicken tenders off the app menu and soup. I decided to get a turkey burger which is usually a safe bet but this one was very dry and bland. I can make a better one from my freezer. The service was fine I suppose. It was overpriced for what it was and just not good. Maybe the pasta and pizza is better but I'm honestly not interested in trying again. read more

Was traveling by and called in for a quick meal, it was ready in 10-15 minutes, really good portion sizes, good food, good service. The only "complaint" is the bread wasn't amazing, but still gave a lot of bread which I liked. Also the staff was very friendly which helped us who were just traveling through, overall great experience and if we are in the area again we'd love to stop in. read more

Well it's not GHETTO, but it's not anything special either. Dinner on a Thursday night. More people in the bar then in the dining room........get a clue..... Had the Italy Deluxe personal pizza, Chicken Marsala and, "Mamma Peppina" pasta in our award winning tomato sauce choices of penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, linguini or capellini........" Yup that was a mouthful, a mouthful of Bland accumulation of food ingredients disguised as Italian. We think they lost the recipe for the "sauce. Or they were the only ones who entered the contest? Bland thin runny tomato sauce. Waitress wrote down the wrong pasta too! Chicken Marsala also bland flavorless sauce with poor looking chicken parts. Pizza, guess what? It had flavor, BUT, what a soggy doughy mess. "Chef"(?) need to precook/sauté veggies first. Pre-bake crust. DO SOMETHING or rename pizza to SPONGE PIZZAS. Limp dead on arrival pizza. But hey, Service was good, but you can't eat that. Frozen Stouffers and Digiornos would have been better. Take a drive to Ocean City for Real Homemade Italian food at Luigi's Italian Restaurant So if your a local follower and you like this place.......... read more

The special was great and enough food for lunch the next day. We always have a good meal at Rifici.