Hands down, one of the best Italian restaurants in New Jersey…read more From the moment you walk into Fiorino, you feel genuinely welcomed. Everyone greets you with a smile, and there's a warmth to the hospitality that makes you feel less like a customer and more like family. This past Friday night, I had one of the best dinners and overall dining experiences I've had in a very long time. Mentor has done an outstanding job creating something truly special here. The service, food, wine, atmosphere, and hospitality all come together seamlessly. The ambiance is cozy, intimate, and full of energy. The dining room always seems to be buzzing, and you immediately understand why. The cocktails are always a hit, but the wines... oh, the wines! There are some incredible bottles to discover, along with an excellent selection by the glass. If you appreciate wine, this is definitely a place where you can have some fun exploring. Every dish that hit our table was spectacular. Everything felt thoughtfully prepared, from the pasta to the entrées and all the little details in between. There wasn't a single miss the entire evening. And now I apparently need to come back for the "Happy Meal" . As someone who works in the hospitality industry, experiences like this mean a little more to me. When you dine somewhere where the food hits, the drinks hit, the service hits, and the hospitality feels genuine, it reminds you exactly why you fell in love with this industry in the first place. Thank you, Mentor, and thank you to the entire Fiorino team for an unforgettable night. I can't wait to come back. -- Jeffrey Umaña @jeffrey.umana

Great authentic Italian spot! The menu features a lot of fresh, daily specials and an impressive…read moreselection of seafood dishes. We especially loved the shrimp risotto, it was perfectly cooked and full of flavor. The pasta fagioli soup was also excellent and tasted very homemade and comforting. This place is clearly a local favorite because it gets extremely busy, so I highly recommend making a reservation ahead of time. Would definitely go back!

Family friendly restaurants with pizza, pasta, salad and other great Italian favorites. Great…read moreservice. Delicious food. Variety of beverages. Quiet. Great parking. A favorite of my daughter in law.

Service was spot on. Great place. Ambiance is a little NYC secret and local fav. Drinks were…read moregood. Food was great.

I was looking for a new Italian restaurant to try on my drive down 78 and discovered Lupa. I was…read morehappy to find a spot at the bar, and the staff and customers were all friendly. The ambiance is pretty, modern, and clean. For dinner, I ordered the pappardelle and broccoli rabe, which also came with fresh bread and a cold tomato spread. I finished my meal with a slice of tiramisu, and it was moist and flavorful. One of the staff mentioned that everything is made in-house. The restaurant is conveniently located just down the street from the train station, and parking was easy next door at the bank. Altogether, I really enjoyed my experience at Lupa, and I look forward to returning with friends to try more of the menu!

I was looking for a well rated Italian restaurant in Union County and Lupa Ristorante came up on…read moremany lists so I decided to check it out with friends. Lupa is located in a section of Berkely Heights that has seen a lot of recent construction, so it is very pretty and clean. You couldn't be blamed if you bypassed the restaurant. It is not very flashy looking and that is part of its charm. Be warned, there are not a lot of parking spaces behind the restaurant so you may wind up parking in the bank parking lot next to it (when the bank is closed of course). The staff at Lupa is super friendly and treats you like a regular even if this is your first time. The host was super nice, the waitress fantastic and the chef even came to our table to talk to us when we were done eating! The interior is very clean and modern looking. It's elegant and perfect for virtually any event including dates, anniversaries and family get togethers. We wound up sitting in the same area as the bar, which mostly has 2-4 seater tables and of course you can sit at the bar as well. The other side of the restaurant is where the larger tables are located. Here's a rundown of what we had: CLAMS ON TOAST Baby clams. crispy ham. thyme When I ordered this, I expected to see slices of toast with crispy ham and baby clams on top. Instead, it is two large pieces of wonderfully toasted bread with crispy ham on top. The actual clams sit in a *delicious* broth. Taken altogether these various components form a delicious bite. Be sure to dip that bread into the broth! SQUID INK SPAGHETTI lobster knuckles and claws. broccoli florets. grape tomatoes. Sherry Cream Sauce This dish has a wonderfully deep and earthy flavor. I've had squid ink pasta before and this was a wonderful example of it. The sauce was perfect and it was cooked beautifully. HANGER STEAK Truffled pomme frites. Chimichurri The steak was beautifully cooked (we had it medium rare) and the chimichurri sauce was great. However, the steak needed a bit more salt (and I'm not usually one to add salt to food). The pomme frites were wonderfully crispy and tasty. BROCCOLI RABE lemon. Kilos Broccoli rabe is a simple side dish but it is one of my favorites. It is also one that can easily be overcooked. These folks cooked it perfectly and it made for a fantastic side dish. My party and I loved our experience at Lupa and we all agreed we would happily return any time!

Felina Summit is absolutely beautiful. The restaurant, located inside the Albion Summit Hotel, has…read morebeen stunningly renovated and feels elegant, modern, and welcoming. The floor-to-ceiling windows create a gorgeous atmosphere, and the food was delicious. Service throughout the meal was very good, and our server, Abby, was friendly and attentive. That said, there were a couple of disappointments. It was my birthday, and we were asked multiple times throughout the evening whether we were celebrating a special occasion. However, nothing was ever acknowledged at the end of the meal. We even had to remind our server about the limoncello shots that typically accompany dessert, which felt a bit awkward after being asked so many times about the occasion. My biggest concern is the seating issue with the windows. While the floor-to-ceiling glass is beautiful, the sun glare was extremely uncomfortable where we were seated. The sun was directly in our eyes for much of the meal, and we found ourselves switching and repositioning our chairs just to be comfortable. The restaurant should consider installing shades, scrims, or another solution to help manage the sunlight during certain hours. Overall, Felina Summit is a gorgeous restaurant with excellent food and good service, and I would certainly return. With better management of the sunlight and a little more follow-through on special occasion acknowledgments, the experience would be even better.

The renovated space of the old Summit Hotel is exceptional. Really love the space and the…read morepotential to hold a meeting in their facility. I wish I could say the same about the food. The food was okay. Not worth the price. There are better places in Summit for food. We had the farm salad and the Frutti de Mare (seafood pasta). The salad was mainly greens with sliced tomatoes soaked in dressing which was uninspired. The seafood in the Frutti de Mare was tough and rubbery. The shrimp was overcooked while the lobster was difficult to extract even though it was completely cut in half. The dessert which was a peach cobbler was both overly sweet and tart. The service was great. Food came out promptly. Our server might have been overly attentive and checked in on us at least 5 times during the meal to see if we enjoyed it. So a great place to visit and enjoy the ambience but not a great place for eating.

Service was great, we dined outside since weather was nice. Parking is limited street parking and…read morethe bad part about dining outside are the cars parking with lights on you. Now let's get down to the food, the diners around us had interesting looking plates. We were not that hungry so we only ordered entrees. I ordered the shrimp cavatelli and my friend ordered the penne allá vodka. Food was ok mine was a little bland. My friends did have good flavor. I did have nice pieces of shrimp but they were inconsistent in size. We did order a full bottle of wine. They also brought out bread but it needed some seasoned olive oil dipping sauce. At the end of our meal they did give us some complimentary lemoncello shots. I also did get the affogato which was good. All in all a good experience I think I would order something else next time.

Recommend, food taste you have to go and check it out, service was friendly and super helpfulread more

We haven't been here in maybe 10 years and we were very impressed. It was a busy Friday night and…read moreit was packed but we were able to get seated pretty quickly. As soon as we sat down, the waitstaff brought us bread and water and opened our wine, well done. My wife and I shared the brussell sprout salad which was delicious and we both had the amazing chicken thigh and sausage entree, delicious. Our 4 entrees were all delivered to our table at the same time, a big plus for me. Great job, we'll be back!

Experience up front- One Star Dining Service once seated -…read moreFive Star Food - Four Star Overall 3.5 Stars. Decided to try this as the wife's pick for her birthday- first timers. We had a confirmed reservation at 7:45p and checked in at 7:40p. There were a few chairs in the entrance area, of which one was open so my wife sat and held our 2 yr old. 20 minutes in, a staff member arrives and simply asks her to vacate the chair as they needed it. So you take the one chair with the woman and a toddler- classy. The other individuals seated next to her were also appalled and so kindly stood up themselves offering my wife their seats. A 40 minute wait ensued despite a confirmed reservation. The attendant said it gets busy once it hits 7:30- I get that and that is a great sign for business, but what is the point of even confirming a reservation? We were told a few times a table was nearly ready and just had to be cleaned but the wait continued. Thankfully by the time we were seated we knew what we wanted to order and after placing the apps- our first selections arrived within minutes. Note- despite the terrible service up front waiting, our server(s) were on their A+ game! Fried Zucchini- shoestring cut and crispy- dare I say as a french fry lover that these were a wonderful alternative. The kiddos devoured them too. Burrata - this was a huge hit with the wife and perhaps one of the highlights for her. Rigatoni spicy vodka sauce- we ordered 2 to share amongst us and one bowl was gone quick. This was perfectly spiced and a hit for all. Bucatini Cacio e Pepe - this one fell flat. Thank goodness at least our toddler ate some. The other three of us found it way to diluted "watered down" - and muted flavors. The lone miss of the night- food-wise. If you like sundaes- get the Sundae Royale- enough for 3, maybe 4 to share and be more than satisfied. Odd note: While the name of the restaurant is Focaccia, the pieces they bring to the table once seated are rubbery and chewy. The other bread included was about an hour from being a crouton.

Had a lapse in judgement and picked this restaurant based on google reviews instead of my trusted…read moreyelpers. Yelp reviews would've informed me about the hits and misses. It was a full restaurant and even without a reservation they accommodated us outdoors after a long wait. The focaccia bread for the table was so good. I ordered the chicken palard and the waiter made a point that it doesn't have any sauce, that it's "just chicken grilled with sautéed mushrooms on top". Despite this resounding endorsement, I ordered it. If I was the waiter, I would've said it's a simple, comfort dish of tender chicken with a savory blend of sautéed, buttery mushrooms. It's served with small side of penne marinara and I enjoyed the simplicity of this too. Unfortunately I was the only one happy and here are the misses. Cavetteli con ricotta, unlike the picture online with a dollop of ricotta on top, they blended the ricotta into the pasta. This diluted the flavor and made kind of a mush of things. The pasta was al dente and all the food was served hot, big points in my book. No need to write about the disappointing pizza, just look at the picture. Service was good and the atmosphere sitting outside was nice. The table before must have made a mess and there were fries all over the ground. I would've preferred they clean it up but never did. I'd come back but not sure I can convince my family.

Great BYOB red sauce restaurant. Love the fried bocconcini. (Fried mozzarella balls)…read moreThe Hotsi Totsi Shrimp are also really good. Go with the Parms and pastas can't go wrong. The chicken Valdostano and the the pork chop giambotta are excellent!

We went here for my friend's birthday. It was the first time we all visited this restaurant and all…read moreseven of us loved it. The restaurant itself had a nice ambience and we loved that it was not noisy. Service was great with various staff stopping by our table throughout the night making sure we had everything we needed. The food was the highlight. We started with a Caesar salad, fried calamari, burrata and prosciutto, and mozzarella Caprese for the table. The appetizers were delicious and perfectly prepared. After finishing our starters, we ordered Linguine and White Clam Sauce, Branzino, Pollo Murphy and Shrimp Fra Diablo. Each meal was perfectly seasoned and were generously portioned. The Pollo Murphy was massive with plenty to eat at the restaurant and plenty to take home. I was visiting from New York however my friends who live near Madison New Jersey will now make this a regular restaurant in their rotation.

The food and service were excellent. The spicy rigatoni with homemade sausage was amazing. Highly…read morerecommended.

My latest favorite place. Pretty restaurant, great service, and terrific food. Outstanding salads…read moreand apps. The colossal meatballs were outstanding as was my main course tuna. Eight of us all in agreement that this place was great. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the baklava from a 100 year-old family recipe.

Went here last night with another couple. It's a BYOB which is nice in these times of rising costs…read more Has own parking lot, but can get filled because they share it with a Japanese restaurant located above them. Plenty of parking in street if needed. Inside is dark and inviting and they have a cute outdoor dining space as well. They start out by serving fresh Foccacia with seasoned olive oil. For starters , my wife and I shared an eggplant tower, fried eggplant layered with mozzarella and tomatoes. Very good. Our friends shared a salad and enjoyed as well. For mains our friends both ordered the hanger steak, my wife had the salmon, and I ordered their chicken special ( a boneless breast wrapped in pancetta). Everything was not only delicious but plentiful. Owner checked on us several times during our meals. Highly recommend trying this establishment.

An excellent way to ring in my Womb Exit Anniversary. My top-tier chum who literally went to the…read moreschool of hospitality brought me here last Sunday for a birthday dinner. I picked it knowing the solid rep of Jessica's Cafe in Plainfield, so I can't say I was stunned to find out this was awesome - but given the expectations coming in, this probably even slightly exceeded them. Pretty cool. This was literally my first time in Fanwood, unless you count taking the Raritan Valley Line through here to Hunterdon County back in the day (I don't think it counts). The weather was a little iffy throughout the day, which I'm assuming played a factor in the town feeling a little desolate when we showed up. It reminds me a lot of the Newport neighborhood in JC - super, super gentrified. Maybe it's just the section where Jessica's is though, right across the street from the train station. We parked over there, not entirely sure if that was naughty or not, but given our outdoor seating, we easily could have peeped a cop or tow truck driver before anything terrible happened (I think it was fine, given it was a Sunday night). All that to say though, I'm not entirely sure where the ideal parking is if it's not at the train station. We were only in the restaurant for a minute (enough time to ogle a fridge or freezer of tasty looking meat to the right of the entrance), so I can't speak to the spiffiness of the interior. Even though rain was a possibility, it seemed worth the risk to stay outside due to the temps and large umbrellas. No regrets in that regard. We were seated promptly and ordered shortly thereafter, while also receiving some decent bread and butter with a bit of olive oil drizzle. Quite tasty. Somehow it's become an informal tradition, but if it's on the menu we usually get the Grilled Octopus. One of the better ones we've had. Nice and crispy (texture to me is the key to this one) and seasoned well. The accompanying potatoes were a nice touch to the proceedings - would totally get this again. A lot of the other apps looked good too, but someone accidentally made me birthday weenies on the grill earlier, so I couldn't get QUITE as frisky as I normally would. Both of us gave the lamb a long, hard look (and my chum wondered aloud about the ribeye special for the rest of the evening - possibly the one that got away) but I ultimately went with my classic Short Ribs entree. Delicious. Tender, flavorful and the perfect serving size. I was a little nervous that a puree versus mashed would mean the potatoes were too wet or liquidy, but not the case at all - they maintained their relatively solid integrity as far as I was concerned. I forgot to take a picture of dessert, but I got the Creme Brule. Also excellent, and at the perfect temp. I think there may have been a birthday musical accompaniment with that, but it's all a blur. Arguably just as good if not better was the service. Our waiter was super personable and professional, stopping by regularly and just added a hospitable touch to the meal that brought this to the upper echelon for me. Service is king, and it matters - you can't take for granted the ability of your server to essentially riff for two minutes on their menu knowledge, as well as just good-natured banter. Had that in spades. Coming back for sure - Womb Exit Anniversary or not.

Jessica's is a beautifully designed restaurant serving a continental menu. Our party of four…read morestarted with perfectly prepared grilled octopus, and an order of mussels. Our entrees were the fettuccine seafood mix, the short ribs, and filet mignon. All were delicious and ample portions. Service is impeccable as servers are polite and friendly. There is ample parking behind restaurant in a parking lot.