About 8 months ago I wrote a scathing review. Went back last week and I wanted to update you on the improvements. Il Guardino changed hands about 2 years ago and it went steadily downhill. I am happy yo report much improvement. The owners have completely renovated the restaurant and menu. The food was good. I had fish and my companion had a pasta dish. The service was very attentive and caring. They have many new plans and ideas for this restaurant. I think with time, it will be a "destination location " for this area. Try it! read more

This place had new owners take over, so it wasn't as crowded as I was used to but the food and service are still great. We were given complimentary bruschetta and delicious crusty bread. Highly recommend checking out their weekly specials, this week it was the eggplant rollatini for me. The rest of the table raved about the Italian cheesecake and the pomegranate martinis. read more

Il Giardino Sul Mare Restaurant - Weekly special - eggplant rollatini - Italian Near Me - Forked River, New Jersey

Over priced, no customer service , food quality poor especially for the price. I would never return to this establishment.

One of the worst experiences. Prices were ridiculous. SERVICE was awful. Food almost reached mediocre. 3% credit card fee, which is acceptable and a 10% service charge. Which is not acceptable. Drinks were half a shot and there was an up charge if you ordered it straight up. 5 o'clock reservation and we were the only ones in the restaurant. 6 o'clock as we were leaving one another couple at the bar. No one eating. Not surprised. Awful experience. I wouldn't even give this place one star, but 1/2 star isn't an option read more

My first time eating out on a major holiday and I was so impressed. il Giardino had a fabulous Christmas menu. Wonderful staff..so personable and helpful Javier was wonderful and our food was excellent. The seafood salad was plentiful and fresh and not too heavy on the oil A+. I had the surf and turf, my wife the zuppa di pesce. Both were absolutely perfect. We enjoyed sitting in the azalea room which has a river view. We enjoyed the ducks swimming by. read more

See all

We were very disappointed with our recent visit to I'll Giardino Sul Mare of Lacey. While it was clear that the wait staff and perhaps the chef were overwhelmed--the overall experience suffered as a result. Service was slow, our dinner was significantly delayed by two hours and when the food finally arrived, the plates were cold and the dishes lacked flavor. Additionally one of our guests never even received her dinner at all despite requests. This entire encounter was especially surprising given that there were only about 40 patrons in the restaurant at the time. Unfortunately, the experience was far from our expectations, and we do not plan to return. We would caution others to carefully consider before spending their money here. We are hopeful that honest reviews such as this are taken constructively and can lead to improvements in both service and food quality for any future guests. read more

The food was absolutely wonderful, and plentiful! The ambiance was spot on. I highly recommend to this place to all who want a fantastic and tasty dining experience! read more

took way too long for our party they didn't even serve us our food and we have been here for about 2 hours

A family member chose Il Giardino Sul Mare Restaurant as the destination for her birthday lunch. She had been to the space many times, but being that the rest of us lived further north, we were new to the place. We pulled into the parking lot for the Saturday afternoon meal and discovered that we were the only patrons. In fact, it definitely seemed like more of dinner place on weekends, as their lunch menu was only available during the week. That meant that we had to pay full-price for a large-portioned meal. The white tablecloth restaurant offered a very traditional Italian-American menu that was more comforting than it was unique. In addition to the main dining areas, they had an enclosed patio, which offered nice views of the river. The efficient server brought over a basket of 3 loaves of toasted Italian bread and took our orders. I opted for the Chicken Marsala, which came with my choice of soup or salad AND roasted potatoes or penne pasta with marinara. I started with the salad topped with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was a basic blend of mixed greens and shredded carrots that was too heavily coated with the acidic dressing. My chicken was sliced thin, topped with a generous portion of fresh mushrooms, and served in a rich wine sauce. I found the chicken excellent, but I was not thrilled with the roasted potatoes. They were seasoned perfectly, but a bit mushy and oily. Il Giardino Sul Mare Restaurant was definitely a nice restaurant that served familiar Italian classics. I would go back if I was in the area, but did not find it a "destination" spot. read more

A Christmas gift for my family. An embarrassment, and a costly one at that. Waiting for one and half hour to have food served only to find it was ice cold. One missing dinner, and no resolve. Vic acknowledged lack of staff yet he continued to open the restaurant and take our money. Very upset read more

Terrible. Was there on Christmas and had the worst experience. Waited for hours and still no food. My mom went to talk to the manager about it and he was completely useless. Zero customer service skills. He needs to find a new profession because he has no clue what he's doing . I feel bad for the cooks, bartenders, and servers read more

BAD. WILL NEVER GO BACK. My family has been going to this restaurant for almost twenty years and we will never step foot in there again. The last couple of years have gone completely downhill due to a change in management. Completely ruined our Christmas. We waited over two hours for our food and when we got it it was disgusting. Only a couple of servers working in a fully packed house. The server was nice and she apologized the entire dinner but there was not much she could do. It's obvious that the manager took every reservation they could get without caring about the customer experience WHATSOEVER. But now he's lost customers for life. I'm not usually one to complain but this was absolutely crazy - EVERYONE was mad so many tables were walking out without getting their food. Never again read more

Just got home from this restaurant without eating dinner. We have had a lot of wonderful years of celebrating Christmas Eve at this restaurant today was not one of them. They were very under staffed for a holiday that they excepted reservations for. We had drinks and appetizer but our dinners were never coming out of the kitchen. Our waiter even had to make our drinks. We are crossing them off our list of Great Restaurants! read more

Where to start every thing was just over the top. The food was simply outstanding the flavors out of this world. Our waitress was very welcoming and sweet. The atmosphere was light and inviting. I wish I could taken them back to Southern California with me... read more

See all

Have been going there for 25 years, have never walked in on a sunday night to see only 1 table occupied. We were a party of 8, so called for reservations at 6, we're asked if we can make it 5:30 due to other parties coming in at 6, to which we obliged. Turned out the hostess was the waitress, the only waitress. She took our drink orders promptly and returned with only two at a time, guess she couldn't put all drinks on a tray and bring them at once. Took the appetizer orders, and they came out in a very good amount of time.All hot as they should have been.But again 2 at a time. The menu has changed, items removed and the price has increased, which is the same everywhere, so we can't fault them for that. We ordered our dinners at which time The bread came out, no, longer does the bread come out as soon as you arrive with the olive oil and herbs. In a good time in a good amount of time out came our dinners.I guess they don't serve salads anymore or we just didn't get any however the other tables that came in did. Food was all good, no complaints on that At all except not all coming out at the same time.Because again she could only bring two at a time . the hostess / waitress was very overwhelmed with the four tables that were in the entire restaurant. They really need to hire a waitress. Food was good, but will we go back there again?I really have my doubts. read more

What once was the place to go in town is now the last place I would go. Such a shame. Service, food, have all fallen way down hill. Sad.

Delicious food and atmosphere. Service was very good also. Full bar. Cocktails were excellent.

ABSOLUTELY INSANE.... soooo bad, omg. Had a reservation, they calle dus back to "move" our reservation due to people calling out... so unprofessional. Waited 5 min. shy of TWO HOURS for our meal with a bottle of wine. Bartender was serving, owner was seating and serving, it was a mess. Cold antipasto was missing FOUR items on it. Coul dnot even bite into the chicken, grisly (not tenderized), threw it out at home. It was so long that we packed up our meal to go home. Rediculous amount of pasta, extremely small portion. Waiter said "lots of chicken, not alot of pasta, that's the we do it"... absolutely crazy. Celebrating 39 years? They have to be going out of business soon. Nine dirty tables we had to look at through our meal. Would have rather them say they had a kitchen mishap and close for Christmas. RUINED our Christmas, terrible. Owner did not even care. Waiter said he was sorry about 5 times, what good does that do? I mean seriously. CLOSE if you are not prepared. Waiter told us people walked out that night... not good, not one thing besides the wine I can recommend. Ba Hum Bug! read more

If I could give this a zero I would! Service is garbage, the manager is useless, and the owner is never there. We waited 30 minutes for 4 glasses of wine then we never got water. The appetizer was late and only 2 out of the 4 entrees came. Forget about getting change for the bill, what an absolute joke! The food is just okay, nothing great but the service is horrible! The servers are also making all the drinks! We will NEVER return and I suggest no one waste their time or money there. Go to 3 Flags, Captain's Inn, or Clemmy's!!!! read more

Mom's birthday so we asked her where she wanted to go. I'll Giardino was her choice. 530 reservation for 5 on a Saturday night. We were greeted and seated promptly. Our server greeted us and was fairly pleasant to start but as the night wore on he became very robotic and less friendly. We all ordered a drink while we looked over the menu. After 20 minutes our drinks finally arrived. Our server proceeded to serve everyone from one side of the table reaching over the table and handing everyone their drink. Come on that's ridiculous. The menu is extensive and has all the Italian staples with a few chefs creations mixed in. We ordered 2 stuffed artichokes,seafood salad and a bruschetta for appetizers. The seafood salad was excellent with lots of calamari mussels clams and shrimp. The artichokes were small but had good flavor. Instead of salad I opted for lentil soup, it was flavorless and lukewarm warm at best. As our server was delivering our apps and such he again proceeded to hand us our dishes. Not good. For dinner I had risotto marimonte. It was a nice serving but to me lacked flavor. The risotto was very bland. Sandra had fettuccine Al giardano. The flavor was spectacular, probably the best dish of the night. My mom had capellini arugula gamberi it was light with good flavor and big shrimp. My sister had veal saltimcocoa ala romano and my brother in law had veal parmigiana. They said both were nothing special but good. Again with the main course the server handed us our dishes. I just don't get that. For dessert we had a few different things. Ice cream, crème brûlée which was fantastic and tartufo. All were good. Overall we had a great time celebrating but I really cant pinpoint what this restaurants identity is. It wants to be a high end high price Italian restaurant but definitely lacks a few things and for the prices they charge, definitely on the high side the food should be more consistent and the service should be a bit better. Plates/ glasses should be put down on the table instead of handing them to us. This isn't a diner. Not sure I will return unless mom wants to go back. Enjoy. read more

See all

Not sure what all the bad reviews are about. I'm italian and grew up on italian food and one of my favorites All 4 in our party raved over their meals. I reserve 5 stars for the best of the best. read more

The service was wonderful and very pleasant. The food...oh the food! Take a look at this stuffed artichoke-delicioso! I had the fettuccine Al Giordino and spaghetti with clam sauce. We'll be back. read more

Il Giardino Sul Mare Restaurant - Stuffed Artichoke Oreganata - Italian Near Me - Forked River, New Jersey

This place was a hidden gem! We just moved to the area about a year ago and came here for the reviews on google and I am so incredibly shocked yelpers here have no taste. I tried the clams oregano, the stuffed artichoke, the coconut shrimp, and the bruschetta and all were amazing. As for the entree I got the lobster ravioli...just as good. Jerry our server was the friendliest guy the world. Everyone here was so pleasant and helpful. Definitely will be coming back to supply this place the best reviews there is! read more

Il Giardino Sul Mare Restaurant - a plate of food - Italian Near Me - Forked River, New Jersey

Looking for great Italian cuisine ? This is the place to go. You must try the stuffed artichoke it's filled with breadcrumbs and amazing flavors. They always have great specials to offer. Not just your ordinary parmigiana. So much more. read more

See all

Absolutely one of the best dinners I've had in a very long time!!! We made reservations for 3 and had know wait. The service was great. The atmosphere is casual dressy. Very clean. They gave you plenty of time between the salads and entree to talk and enjoy your night but not so long you where looking for your food. The waiter was very friendly and pleasant. He answered all our questions about the different entrees. I had a special of the night. Filet with shrimp. It came with a small bowl of pasta and a house salad. Again everything was perfect! I highly recommend this hidden gem!! read more

Unfortunately I can't give more than 3 stars. We booked a room a month in advance with the owner. Gave them a deposit. Originally we were going to be downstairs with a time limit. There were going to be 25 of us for repast dinner. I called back and spoke to owner again and asked if we could have the upstairs room, he agreed and even told me it was a better idea since there would be no time limit since we hadn't seen some of our family in years. We arrived at the restaurant and they crammed us in a room downstairs. Apparently they booked another party for upstairs. The bread, salad, and antipasto were very good. I got the veal dish and it was burnt around the edges and tasted terrible. Everyone one else seemed to enjoy. The service was good. read more

See all

Well went there for dinner at six. Waiter came over took drink order and brought them back timely Then no one came back for 30 minutes, then asked if I wanted another drink. Yes, 20 minutes later took our order brought salad. 15 minutes go by they don't have clams for husband order so reorders. 30 minutes later come back and tell me they don't have gnocchi for mine. So I said forget it and asked are they going to Bill me for drinks. 20 a drink. 20!!!!! They said sorry and no they didn't bill us. They were bought in 2022 by a husband and wife. All The original waiters gone I will never go back. What a disaster. A shame. read more

On Wednesday my wife and I had a wonderful dining experience at Il Giardino Sul Mare in Forked River. The atmosphere, service and most importantly the food was excellent. It is a fine dining establishment featuring Italian cuisine. They have 5 dining rooms including a porch facing the water which they open up in the summer. So if your looking for a great dining experience try them out. read more

Unassuming Italian and seafood restaurant on the water. Gorgeous atmosphere, top notch service and incredible food! The spiedino is a MUST HAVE! We celebrate every important event or milestone here. read more

See all

Great southern Italian restaurant. Lots of class. We both enjoyed dishes with shellfish and linguine that were very unique. Sicilian I think. Nice atmosphere and setting, loyal crowd, somewhat isolated in Forked River but a culinary treasure NTL. read more

Food is mediocre Service is ok with some, some service workers look like they've been through hell.. Ambiance is dated, which could be accepted but there's nothing else redeeming it Place is so dirty.. biggest red flag to me You can tell whoever owns this place is worried about their profit and the customer is second or third to that. Sad. Always felt at home here, now I feel like I need a shower. AVOID! read more

Nice upscale Italian restaurant Very good service and food Wide menu choices Good for special occasions read more

My wife and I went Friday evening. Service was slow. Table of 5 walked out and did not wait. Mushroom Stack appetizer was the only good part of our meal ---- very good. My wife had a a Ribeye and shrimp ($49). Steak was so tin and subpar shrimp was just OK. I had shrimp and Scallops. Shrimp was overcooked. In review total waste of $200. Will never go back! read more

The service was excellent and so was the food. Very clean. Jerry was really nice. Kid friendly and disability friendly. The fried calamari was the best I ever had in years. I got the gnocchi ala Romana and it was tasty, wish I got pictures of the food! Would definitely go again. The Tartuffo was amazing. read more

We have been eating at this restaurant for about 30 years and we are sad to see new owners. The minute we walked in yesterday we knew it was different from no Italian music playing to a new staff since we had been here recently. Our waiter was very good but the menu was different from the size and price of the carafe of wine to the ice cold butter pats and stahl bread. My husband and i ordered our usual appetizer but when it came out it didn't look anything like what we always got and it didn't taste good either. They were always a classy place but no more they used to offer fresh grated cheese when your meal came now just a bowl like a diner! I forgot the salad is now served in a Corelli soup bowl and the blue cheese tasted bottled not fresh and swimming. So disappointed we will not return time to find a new place. read more

I came here a few weeks ago and will now be a regular! The restaurant was delicious and had live music which was super fun. We started with the mozzarella in carroza and it was delicious! They have soup or salads with every entree. I had the risotto dal contadino and it was so good, I just wish it had more asparagus. My partner had the pollo carlino and it came with a small side of pasta! The only thing that was a bit disappointing was their white wine sangria pitcher was very clearly from a mix and not fresh. It was so sugary and filled with syrups instead of the 'real deal'. read more

Il Giardino Sul Mare Restaurant - Risotto dal Contadino - Italian Near Me - Forked River, New Jersey

I had gone to this restaurant quite a few times in the past but it has been a while since I was here. I was in Lasey on Saturday and decided to go. I pulled into the parking lot it was empty should have been a warning sign got into the restaurant it was empty should have been a warming sign. The food was just OK but for what the charged it should have been much better. The drinks were outrageously expensive for a very light pour. Then to add insult they charged a credit card fee, after what I considered being overcharged for the food and drinks. Sad to say I won't be back. Next time I pull into an empty parking lot on a Saturday night I definitely go elsewhere. read more

Great dinner @ IL Guardino Sul Mare. Our waiter Jerry was not only friendly but also very helpful w/ the menu specials. Very nice place w/ a wonderful waiter!! We recommend very highly!!! read more

First time customer, my sons mother in law was a frequent customer in 90s.there are new owners and all was great. Wait staff very kind,knowledgeable and helpful. The drinks were terrific with a very generous pour. The Italian food unlike some negative reviewswas outstanding: veal Chop-was perfectly cooked, veal parmigiana had a very delicious sauce We live in Beach Haven West and I think this place beats them all. I believe the owners are new I know they will keep up the great job read more

Drove an hour to one of my favs that I haven't been to in a couple of years. Did not disappoint. Ambiance, food and service impeccable. Artichoke simply divine. Shout out to Isabella our server that made the night extra special! Worth the drive read more