It's been quite a while since I have visited but this month, we stopped by twice. Both times we had exceptional service with 2 very bright, cheery waitresses. I love that dinner comes with soup, salad and that delicious garlic bread that's impossible to stop eating. My daughter raved over her minestrone soup. The first visit I had delicious creamy Italian chicken soup. I'd order extra just to take home. Appetizers of crostini topped with burrata and prosciutto were very good. Simple and tasty. Maybe next time I would ask for a drizzle of balsamic over everything. The husband inhaled his meatball sub and complimented the crispy and light rolls. Meatballs got rave reviews as well as the baked pasta. I tried the chicken cutlet with bruschetta and burrata. It was served on top of spinach and a side of pasta. Dessert of a dark chocolate cake was dense and sweet. Portions are huge. Really good service. Enjoyed this experience and felt our money was well spent. read more

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PRO TIP: Come hungry. PRO TIP: Pace yourself. First of all, our server was AMAZING. So wonderfully polite and gracious for a young lady. I wish I remembered her name. This is the place to go nowadays to get bang for buck. With every meal, you'll get the best ever garlic bread (ask for more, they'll happily bring seconds); that creamy Italian soup is to die for - gimma a gallon; and a small spring salad with your choice of the usual dressing. For our appetizer, we split one that was a toasted crostini with a slab of creamy burrata and a generous sliver of prosciutto. It could have used a drizzling of balsamic vinegar but it was delicious. Came with 3 pieces. By the time my actual main entree arrived, I was fully stuffed. My evil plan worked! Load up on the freebies and appetizers, take a few bites of the main, and have a huge batch of leftovers. With a diet coke and tip, this was $42 and easily can be split into two very generous meals. read more

Went for dinner and tried something new. The chicken bruschetta, you can get it grilled or cutlet. I chose the cutlet, served on top of sautéed spinach, topped with fresh bruschetta and burrata cheese. It was a huge portion and the presentation was was perfect. It was delicious! I took half home for lunch the next day. My suggestion is to put a drizzle of balsamic glaze over the top. I suggest trying this dish, I'm looking forward to having it again read more

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sunday night dinner calls for delicious italian food and boy did we get it!!!! the lore of this place was nice to read, and the service is just as nice!! our waiter was very kind and attentive. everything came out at staggering times so it never felt like too much. we got the aldo calamari to start which was very yummy! our entrees came with soup and salad and lemme say....soup in the summer is usually a no for me but this garlic bread and creamy tomato soup combo....i will be thinking about it for days. chicken cacciatore and chicken parmigiana were both great, but we were so full from the other course we both took about half of it home. if you are in the area and are looking for classic yummy italian food, i def recommend giving this place a shot! read more

Cotardo's Ristorante Italiano - chicken parmigiana and chicken Cacciatore - Italian Near Me - Clementon, New Jersey

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Never have I ever had so much delicious AMAZING Italian food during lunch for such a good price! The bread the bring to the table is to die for! Close your eyes and point to anything on the menu, I be you you want be dissatisfied or disappointed! The atmosphere gave me old Skool old world Italian restaurant vibes and the customer service was top tier. We'll be returning most definitely! read more

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We recently had a surprise retirement party for my wife here! The management and staff were extremely professional ,helpful and accommodating! The half of the restaurant we had was perfect for our 50 guests . The 2 appetizers and 3 entrees choices for each table were all wonderful. The price also included soup and salad. They were excellent. Great house dressing. The waiter staff was excellent . You can not get a better deal with this quality anywhere. I looked at 6 places. Check the event menu and prices. This is unbeatable for the quality of the products and delivery of the service. You made my wife's special day perfect! Thank you Dario and staff!!!! read more

I don't give 5-stars easily, nor often. This was outstanding, I don't understand why they only have 4 stars overall. The lunch menu is delicious with generous portions & affordable. Such a value, we have a complete meal for our dinner to take home. EVERYTHING was top tier: lentil soup, salad with homemade italian dressing, arancini, garlic bread, spaghetti carbonara & pasta ariella with homemade bush sauce. The scallops on that dish was chefs kiss. The service was fantastic with Shawn our server & everyone. The ambiance was wonderful as well, old school italian vibes, you can tell it's family-owned. Sinatra in the background- we love it here!! read more

Food was excellent and reasonably priced! Service was awesome! Our server, Megan was tremendous She didn't rush us, timing between appetizers salad and dinner was perfect. She frequently checked on us and asked if we were ready for the main entree and if we wanted fresh garlic bread to go with it. Her personality was friendly, funny and professional. She made our experience even better. Definitely will be back! read more

AVOID!! As an Italian, this so-called Italian restaurant serves nothing close to authentic Italian fare. I was there with a group of 4 and I ordered the eggplant parmesan. IT WAS DISGUSTING. Clearly, the chef does not know how to prepare eggplant so it isn't hard when you eat it. I took one bite and spit it out and asked the server, an older lady, to take it away. She was not at all nice about it. Instead of asking what was wrong with it, or apologizing, she copped an attitude with me and said she'd take it off the check (after I asked her to) but said she'd have to charge me for the house salad that came with it. Now, I should pause here to say that it is a very rare ocassion when I send food back or find it so horrible that I don't eat it. In fact, this may have only been the second time ever that I've done it. One of the people with me ordered mussels. It was in a garlicky broth and, instead of the server moving to the other side of the table to place it in front of her, she stayed next to me on my side of the table and passed the dish over my head. The broth spilled out on my shirt, on the table and onto the floor. SHE NEVER APOLOGIZED. This is the very reason restaurants should not have carpeted floors, by the way! I spent the rest of the night cleaning off my shirt and enduring the garlic smell emanating from it. And, to make matter worse, I never did get the stain out of my shirt. I FOR SURE will NEVER go to Catardo's again. read more

The food is everything that a family style dinner is seven course meal for a low budget especially now for these days they gave me so much food you can even share it and they don't charge I recommend the food is all tired the service was great and it's always packed so try to get there early read more

Not very much flavor and overcooked dry chicken. Sauce was okay. Service was decent. read more

Been coming to Cotardo's for many years. Had to write a review after reading the ridiculous 1 star review by the gentleman who decided not to return to Cotardo's after 40 years, simply because he AGREED to a salad upcharge and then was mad about it- lol. Cotardo's has always been an excellent value. Good food, nice portions with FREE garlic bread, side salad & soup. Plus, being BYOB saves so much money if you have any drinkers in your party. We find their prices to be quite reasonable, as costs have recently skyrocketed. I'm guessing the man complaining about the salad upcharge hasn't been shopping for produce in quite a while. Should the restaurant lose money because you think since its your birthday, or whatever, you should get something more expensive instead of the free option already offered? Restaurants have had to adjust due to costs- I think Cotardo's has done an excellent job of balancing value with quality. Also want to mention that their servers are amazing! Always friendly and accommodating. read more

Very cozy restaurant, excellent food, large portions. Very good garlic bread, soup and salad with every meal. read more

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My family has been coming to Cotardo's for 40 years. It has always been the special occasion restaurant for our life events: birthdays, anniversaries, achievements, rehearsal dinners. On big occasions when we all couldn't make the 40-minute drive, someone would pick up takeout and bring it back. It was never even a question where the big Italian celebrations would take place. It was Cotardo's. Sadly, we said goodbye to Cotardo's for the final time last evening. That decision had been building over the last couple of years, marked by a decline in customer service, food quality, and inevitably, pricing. We noticed a while ago that the side salads that come with meals no longer included romaine lettuce; they had switched to a medley. When we asked if a substitution was possible, the server seemed confident it would be fine for the five of us to have romaine instead. She returned a few moments later and said it would be $6 to substitute. The way she worded it, it sounded like she meant $6 per person, but surely, we thought, she must mean $6 for the table. Although that's odd math, how could $6 per person be justified for such a simple substitution? I asked for clarification a few minutes later, and she confirmed: $6 per person. She gestured apologetically, and we accepted our fate (minus two substitutions). After the meal, our dad casually went to find the manager. He told him how special the restaurant had been to us over the years, and that we've never complained about anything, but the $6 upcharge per salad was excessive. Instead of exercising even the most basic customer service skills, the manager defended the charge by immediately pointing out that the server had told us in advance and that we approved it. Dad replied, "We're not asking for any money back, just pointing out that it could have been handled differently." The manager then said, "I can see there's not going to be a conversation here," and continued to defend the cost of romaine over the medley. They went back and forth, the manager dismissing the feedback each time. It wasn't just about the lettuce, of course. It was the principle; the feeling that something so small had become a nickel-and-dime moment in a place that used to feel generous and celebratory. It was the final nudge in a series of changes that slowly eroded the magic Cotardo's once had for our family. Further, and more importantly, the approach the manager took to the feedback was defensive and dismissive. It didn't have to go that way. It's hard to let go of a place tied so closely to the story of your family. But when the spirit of hospitality fades, and pricing overshadows the joy of gathering, the time has come to say goodbye. Thank you for the memories, Cotardo's. read more

Strip mall italian food in New Jersey always hits a certain spot, and this spot did exactly that for us. The night before Cotardo's we were at Torrisi's in the city, and the juxtaposition is quite a lot. I'll start with the garlic bread - it's acceptable, but not good. I think everyone gets some, and truly with the right sauce is not a bad bite. The salad was very meh, but the creamy italian dressing was bright and flavorful, so that's not a loss. The soup tasted like nothing. The chicken parm did not have near enough cheese for how dry the chicken was, and the gnocchi with alfredo was downright the worst gnocchi I have ever tasted. It was like mush, as if it had been cooking forever. The one saving grace of the meal was the stuffed shells with bolognese which honestly were not horrible. They weren't great, but the cheese made up for anything else going on. The service was friendly and prompt, and the ambiance was strip mall +. The fact that it's BYOB is always nice as you can control what wines you have. We won't be going back again...but I've had worse meals. read more

Cotardo's is a diamond in the rough. Located in a strip mall, you will be amazed at the generous portions of homemade Italian dishes. My family loves coming here for special occasions and when we want true Italian food. The soups are delicious, as well as the homemade pastas and desserts. Delizioso!! read more

There aren't many place that still offer soup and salad with your meal but Cotardo's does. The calamari was crispy without being chewy. The mussels looked to be a good size in a red sauce and the burrata cheese was on top of a piece of crunchy bread with prosciutto and basil with olive oil on top. The soups was hot and flavorful. Very enjoyable way to start your meal. The salad unfortunately was drowned in dressing. The garlic bread was plentiful - garlic butter deliciousness. Everyone but me enjoyed there meal without complaint. I ordered the spaghetti carbonara and was very disappointed with it. It smelled and tasted bad. The server however was quick to remove it offering me another meal without questions or hesitation. I ordered the chicken parm which was a nice size piece of chicken thin and crispy coating over penne pasta. read more

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Came here last night for my boyfriend's birthday dinner and it was amazing!! Our dishes were delicious, the atmosphere is cute and quiet and our server, Sam, was so nice! We'll definitely be back! read more

Cotardo's Ristorante Italiano - Italian Near Me - Clementon, New Jersey

Food is great. Literally everything is wonderful. Great service, nice menu, the black lobster ravioli is a standout, but so are the other dishes I've had. Their blush sauce will make you blush. Dinner salads, bread, garlic bread, all done right. You can't really go wrong but I will make one negative comment. The veal isn't their best thing. Don't let scare you, this place is busy on a Friday or Saturday night and there's a reason for it. Honorable mentions: broccoli rabe with cannellini beans sautéed with fresh garlic, perfect with crusty bread, and the sides of meatball or sausage. With that sauce, it's perfect. Nice dining room, relaxed but not a pizza parlour. Buon appetito! read more

the best italian combo in the white sauce. i highly recommend 1000%. it is fantastic. the bread the soup phenomenal fantastic.

For as long as I've lived in the area, Cotardos has been a solid Italian restaurant in our area. While a lot of spots have come and gone, this one remains quality and steady. Their good is always good, reasonably priced, and their garlic bread is amazing!! Never had a bad experience with their staff! When guests come in to visit our business, this is a common spot we take them for lunch or dinner! read more

I really like this place! We were looking for something in the area on our way home, and when the Misses and I both had a hankering for pasta, we threw "italian" in our Apple maps, and this place popped up. Nestled in a tiny little non descript section of a strip mall, was Cotardos. (The strip mall is actually HUMONGOUS, but its a bunch of shuttered buildings, and Cotardo's is off to the side.) Initially entering, it was dark. It's one of the only knocks on Cotardos, is that the ambience is DARK, and the seating is a LITTLE tight. The only other knock is that it is BYOB, but that's only a knock because I didn't know it beforehand. Our server told us that there is no corkage fee, even scoffing at the idea that people should pay for it. Nice. About our server, he was totally fine. Pleasant, efficient, and very accommodating. Not to us specifically, but I heard another table ask for something that they didn't have, and he was like, "sure....I'll ask the chef to make it.....not sure how it'll be, but I'll ask him to do it." Spoiler, the chef DID do it, and it was fine. I don't remember what everyone got, but I got the carbonara, which was delicious. AND, not only were the servings well portioned, but you get bread, salad, AND SOUP included with your meal! NO where does THAT anymore. The vibe of Cotardos felt very local, regular, "meet me any time you want, at our italian restaurant," Billie Joel vibes, which works absolutely fine for me. We will definitely be back, and soon. read more

Imagine a restaurant including not just salad with your entree, but soup AND juicy, garlic bread. No need to imagine, just visit Cotardos. My husband and I were introduced to Cotardos about a decade ago by my father in law. Coming from an Italian family, we are picky about dining out when it concerns Italian food. Most things we can make better ourselves, so we don't usually like to go out to get them. However, when I am not in the mood to cook and I want Italian, Cotardos is always in my top 5. Located in a small strip mall, the restaurant is bigger than it appears from the narrow entryway. While they don't take reservations, there are usually only wait times on the weekends. Cotardos is a BYOB, and as stated before every entry comes with their signature Aldo's juicy garlic bread. This stuff is addictive and I usually need all the willpower in the world not to eat several pieces. Their soup varies but our latest visit it was Stracciatella - Italian egg drop soup. Everyone loved their soup and what's not to love when it is included?!! Salads are your run of the mill basic lettuce, a few carrot slices, maybe a tomato or two with your choice of dressing. Nothing spectacular, but salads don't usually make or break a restaurant visit for me. While I have tried various poultry and pasta dishes and always was pleased, I went with the special this visit, the pesto burrata pasta: Fettuccini pasta with pesto and a ball of burrata on top. Everyone at the table sampled my entree and all agreed it was great, and possibly the best choice of the evening. We skipped dessert this time around but have had it in the past and while I'm not sure if they are all made in house, they have always been great. If you're into quaint little neighborhood Italian spots, add this one to your list. read more

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Food and service is still top notch. But one thing I've noticed is that recently they've defaulted to regularly having what they call "creamy tomato vegetable soup"! C'mon guys. You can do better than ketchup and milk with some celery. How the hell about a chicken based option?? Also, let's get on the reservations bandwagon. Nothing like having to stand shoulder to shoulder with strangers in a narrow cold walkway especially during cough/cold/flu season. Not very considerate of the health of your clientele. read more

Recommended by a good friend. Old school Italian restaurant... dark, maroon, etc but very clean and well maintained. Service was excellent!! I made a substitution on the menu with no problem. Garlic bread was excellent old school!! Soup and salad included. Soup was good not sure what kind it was... slightly bland .. salad good fresh greens but a tad more dressing than I prefer. My wife had the veal and shrimp parm generous portion she enjoyed it. I had the shrimp and bay scallops with capellini pasta prepared well. The marinara was slightly bland I prefer some garlic. Shrimp prepared well but the bay scallops suspect to me.. all the same size and fishy smell.. shark perhaps? Generous portions friendly service hidden away in a strip mall.. I'd like to try the lunch menu read more

I don't know what happened . . . did I order wrong, or did the food here decline? I got a parm combo - chicken and eggplant. The eggplant looked (and tasted) like the Celentano I buy from damned Shoprite on occasion for myself. WTH?!!!! The chicken was good - not stellar, but good, and you could tell that it was quality chicken. Joey got a combo too - lasagna and chicken parm. He liked his a lot. I tried his lasagna - it was pretty good (I almost never order lasagna out), but it didn't knock my socks off. ALL WERE SMALL PORTIONS. (Covid cut backs?) I guess we're spoiled by the exceptional ones at Fieni's and Tarantella's! Now, for my side of spaghetti . . . I normally don't order this pasta choice, but I was in the mood. We are talking diner quality and no big whoop. In a taste test, you would never think it was from an Italian restaurant! I was very disappointed. The total bill, with one root beer, was $50. NOT WORTH IT! I / we will NOT be giving our patronage here again. For God's sake, Carrabba's (best Italian food chain in my humble opinion) last week was better than this food, and of course better priced. ps - the winner of the night was sadly, the garlic bread! VERY GOOD! read more

Cotardo's Ristorante Italiano - Happy Halloween 2020 - Italian Near Me - Clementon, New Jersey

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My wife and I enjoyed another great meal and service from Megan this evening. Even though it was a busy Saturday night, drinks and food came relatively quickly. Kudos to the staff and the waitresses for an excellent and relaxing dining experience! read more

Absolutely love the black ravioli the best We love to bring our own wine and the service is unmatchable read more

I have been going to Cotardo's for about 28 years. Sadly since the restaurant manager tragically passed away, the food has not been the same. First it was something simple as the bruschetta, it was made with way to much balsamic vinaigrette to where it had a brownish red color. Tonight I ordered Pasta Ariana and the sauce taste like it was a jarred sauce you would buy from the grocery store. My kids whom all are adults, even asked me a few months ago, "What happened to Cotardo's?" I'm hoping they turn it around. read more

We had dinner here last Friday night. Our server was Donna and she was amazing. I had the ravioli and my friend had the gnocchi. The food was delicious and the restaurant was so cute. I would definitely go there again. read more

I've been coming here for over 30 years and it's one of my favorite places until recently. The past three times the service and food have gone downhill since the beginning. The salad changed to this nasty tasteless spring mix with only three options of dressing and no longer the delicious Cotardo's ranch. The clams in linguini is WAY too smothered in oil and butter and the pasta instead of linguini just didn't taste the same. The waitresses did not tell us what the soup was before they brought it to the table nor did they ask us about any allergies which is extremely important when serving dishes that aren't on the menu. read more

I live near Catardos and I have been thinking about the Calamari I'm going to be going back soon. Good food, soup and salad with your dinner, good service and friendly. See ya there read more

Dined here recently with friends and while service was friendly and professional, we found the food just ok. Nothing was really "wrong" - it just seemed mediocre. I would not rush back but all in all it was fine. Atmosphere could be updated but it wasn't annoying. read more

Party of two went there for dinner on Thursday at around 6:15pm. Place was packed. We waited like forever to get served with drinks and bread. Bread came out first and then for awhile we didnt even get water. it was kind of upsetting. For like an hour, we only got soup and bread and drinks....and then served with salad , which was not appealing, and entree... i already kind of filled my stomach with bread while waiting forever so was not that hungry... so the entree was.. so so..... while servers were nice, the service was extremely slow.... At the end, our server apologized that they were short staffed. Place has pretty large space with lots of tables , two separate dining area... So it was understandable that it is too much for only 3 staff to handle, but wish we were informed earlier so we could expect less... Will i return?? Hmm.... highly unlikely........ read more

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My favorite place to go for nice Italian dinner. Food is the best in the area. Service is always fast and friendly. Chicken Parmigiana is my favorite. The portions are nice sizes. read more

The food was good. I like the sauce because it was not too sweet. The thing is, I ordered veal Parm and chicken Parm, and when I got it home, turned out to be chicken, Parm and eggplant Parm. read more

Excellent food. Reasonably priced. Service is very good. The Shrimp Parmigiana w/ Angel Hair is fantastic. The soups are delicious and the garlic bread is so good that it will almost ruin your meal because you cannot stop eating it. If you visit Cotardo's you'll be pleased. read more

We have eaten here many of times and the food and service is always excellent! First time we have gotten take out and they didn't disappoint! Food was as always EXCELLENT and just love the soups they make! My only disappointment was the garlic bread, and only disappointed because we love it so much we usually have 2nds! Lol. read more

Cotardo's offers cheap, classic Italian in a Clementon strip mall. I only knew the place existed because when my grandmother was alive, she walked a mile there nearly every. single. day. to eat her meals. I blame her for my love of restaurants. I never once saw her cook in her lifetime. It's been about a decade since her passing, and this spot hadn't come to mind until recently when I was nearby and hungry. It was lunchtime, which is actually the perfect time to visit. Prices are cheaper but the portions are still quite large. I ordered the carbonara pasta as my meal. We were given bread and butter to start, but it was extremely average. Not really worth the carbs to me. The pasta, however, was awesome. Creamy, cooked perfectly, just all around nice. I'd get it again for sure. It came with a basic house salad to start also. Our server was nice and the decor inside likely hasn't changed since whenever the place opened. It's a very chill, no frills place. The kind an Italian grandmother would like. read more

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First time visiting this restaurant and we'll definitely be back. Great Italian food at a great value. We had a wonderful experience. Fettuccine alfredo is my go to at every Italian restaurant I visit and I have to say this is one of the best I've had. Very creamy and flavorful and far better than many of the more expensive places I've tried. All entrees come with homemade soup, house salad and garlic bread which is amazing because the entrees are already priced very well. Dessert was great - we tried three different ones (the special - pumpkin cheesecake - was divine). And to top it off - its BYOB so that's mega bonus points. The servers were great, we didn't feel rushed, the ambiance was nice for a date night or a girls night. 10/10! Highly recommend! read more