Title: A 32-Year Legacy Tarnished by Toxic Leadership, Saved by Bella" My husband and I have been loyal patrons of Italian Affair since its debut in July 1988 near the college apartments. For 32 years, we have admired the kind and attentive family-led atmosphere established by former owner Bruno, his sister Laura, and now her son Giuseppe, the current owner. However, our visit on May 30, 2026, was deeply distressing due to a host named Pinot, who represents the complete opposite of this community staple's values. From the start, Pinot was dismissive and rude. We were horrified to witness him openly berating and criticizing Caucasian employees in front of guests. This toxicity directly impacted our meal when Pinot instructed our server, BELLA, to hurry us along. When I mentioned feeling rushed, Bella nervously reassured us to take our time, but was reprimanded immediately after for doing so. We were told she had a 'family emergency,' but it was clear she had quit on the spot due to Pinot's unjustified actions. Furthermore, Pinot assigned busboys to watch us throughout our dinner as if we were a risk to 'skip out' on the bill, making us feel unwelcome in an establishment we've called home for decades. It was only after speaking with Giuseppe about Pinot's blatant ignorance that Bella was called back to complete our service. Despite the hostile environment created by the host stand, BELLA was EXTRAORDINARY AND ULTIMATELY SPECTACULAR. Her professionalism from start to finish truly saved our evening. Giuseppe, your legacy is being damaged by Pinot; please recognize that it is dedicated professionals like Bella who uphold the high standards your family has built over the last 35 years." read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Laura, mother of the owner, Giuseppe and myself d'Artagnan P Dumas, a long time patron. - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

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Sat in their separate heated cigar section. Very relaxing with other cigar smokers. Great ventilation. I've been to cigar dinners where there wasn't the ventilation but no one minded because everyone smoked. Ordered their filet Pittsburgh' medium rare perfectly cooked accompanied with roasted potatoes and broccoli rabe, all perfectly cooked. My server Umberto was the professional all wait staff should aspire to. I will return here often in the future. read more

Great family run restaurant. The best in Gloucester County. Great food and a great wine list.

Walked out absolutely disgusted! The food was okay I am rather talking about the service. I cannot even imagine what the servers lives are like. The manager hovers over you the entire time and is completely rude. He walked up to me and corrected me for my foot touching the other side of the booth?? I am a paying customer and was causing no harm. It ruined my entire experience and I will never recommend this place to someone. read more

My friend picked this location for her bridal shower and we got our own private room with a bar and koi pond! I loved the room and the roof was retractable, too bad it was still winter time. The food was very lack-luster here, as the name is Italian Affair, I expected some Authentic Italian food. It felt more like an upscale chain restaurant to me. We received some burrata and bruschetta to start which was tasty but the bread wasn't that crispy. Next was the fried calamari which I could tell was frozen and not fresh just by the chewiness. We also received a salad with a basic vinaigrette dressing, no tomatoes or cucumbers. Lastly, for my entree I got the grilled salmon. The lemon really saved it, otherwise it would have been pretty dry. The saving grace for this restaurant was the service! The waiters were super attentive and always checking in to see if we needed anything. Not to mention, anytime my drink was low or empty, they would bring out a refill without me having to ask. Most likely will not be returning to this place unless I have another event to attend. read more

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Early weeknight dinner with friends. They arrived late, we were seated and the service timing allowed for the staggered arrival to where we relaxed, had our drinks, then the appetizer arrived as the others were seated. Perfect. Haven't seen that in a very long time. Meals were excellent as was the staff. Really relaxing evening with friends over a good meal. read more

Christmas Eve For the first time in several years, the whole family was in town. I figured I'd take them out for a nice dinner. We made reservations at the Italian affair when arrived to our surprise, we were seated in the outdoor patio, which was heated by a garage type heater and seating was folding chairs horrible the menu was extremely limited which when we made the reservations, they could've said so and very overpriced. The bang bang shrimp appetizer was a joke three shrimp a little bit of sauce poured on top. $15. The food was at best fair but what a huge disappointment I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. And one person in our party got very sick approximately an hour after eating. read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

This was a first for me on a Friday night - and unfortunately, not a good one. We arrived with just under an hour left for Happy Hour, but I could tell right away the experience wasn't going to start off well. The host (possibly the owner, judging by how he carried himself) tossed the menus down with clear annoyance when we corrected him, letting him know we were headed to the bar for Happy Hour. Their website clearly states: "Available at the inside bar seats or anywhere on our patio." Yet, when we entered the bar area, not a single table or booth was occupied-everyone was crammed only at the bar with only one vacant stool. To make matters worse, the patio was "conveniently" closed, leaving just that one open seat at the bar. We went back to the host to raise the issue, but he was completely unwilling to even attempt a solution - clearly, he didn't care. He didn't offer to determine how to make the situation work, didn't suggest we grab our drinks and perhaps sit at one of the many empty tables, and instead projected attitude, shrugged exaggeratedly, and gave us a look that made it clear he had no interest in helping. That dismissive shrug was enough to have us walk out on the spot. Perhaps this is why their parking lot was mostly empty, while just up the road at Terra Nova, the lot was packed. Respect your customers. Anyone with common sense knows we would have ordered our HH drinks, then stayed for dinner and dessert at full price which was clearly more profitable than a few Happy Hour specials. Instead, this host (owner?) managed to alienate local customers who will think twice before returning anytime soon. read more

Food was excellent! My wife had Branzino which was deboned expertly table side by our server! Eggplant was great. Server was a bit forgetful ; otherwise a 5 star rating would be earned. read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

We try to go there a couple times a year. A very authentic Italian menu and great staff!! A little on the higher side but it won't break your bank. read more

My go to place for Friday afternoon with my son who has Autism. Great food and service. They cater to my son's food allergies and treat him like family. Love the place. Highly recommend. read more

Visited this restaurant with a bigger group last night. The interior is beautiful. It is very romantic and dimly lit. Our server was super sweet and accommodating. The food itself here is okay. I had the mare monte panini which was decent, but the rest of the table didn't like their meals. read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

What a fantastic place! Great for large and small gatherings. We hosted a wedding rehearsal luncheon here for 40. They had no problem taking care of everything and everyone's needs. The apps, main courses and desserts were excellent. All raved about the experience. The inside is very nice with main dining areas and side rooms for larger groups. Also covered outside bar and seating area. Wonderful service. Can't say enough good things. read more

So, some of my work friends decided to have our Christmas get together here. We can say Christmas because all of my friends and I are Christian. Let's begin with the service. The waiter wasn't bad, but there were 15 of us. So, you would think the manager would maybe have someone else coming around to help out with drinks etc. Nope, just our waiter. They did help him carry the food out. For 15 people they brought out two baskets of bread with one plate of oil to dip the bread in. The food was nothing exciting. I had the Veal Oscar and my wife had the chicken parm. The portion of chicken was small, the gravy was hard and it lacked flavor. My dinner was a decent size, but had zero flavor. The only reason they got two stars was the cheesecake was good and the food was edible. read more

I have been coming to Italian Affair for about a decade now, as it's my in laws favorite place to celebrate every occasion. At first I was hesitant to love it, because I'm Italian and we are inherently super critical of Italian restaurants. However, the owners are Italian, and one simple "Ciao" from Mama Laura, and you'll know you're in the right place. That and the fact that mozzarella sticks don't exist on the menu is a telltale sign. The menu has something for everyone from traditional pasta dishes to more unique offerings like sachetti with pears in a cream sauce. They also have a full bar with seasonal speciality cocktails, which I like to try whenever I visit. On this particular evening I opted for their fall sangria made with a rosemary vodka, which was equal parts sweet and almost savory. The bread consists of warm little dense, chewy rolls with seasoned olive oil for dipping. Entrees come with a choice of soup or salad and if you haven't tried their take on chicken noodle you're missing out. They also had pasta fagiole and lentil. My mom got the lentil and my husband and I opted for a Caesar salad. As far as entrees go, I'm obsessed with their pistachio pork. It's basically pork cutlets pounded thin and breaded. Over fettuccini Alfredo with pistachio crumbles. Every time I get it everyone wants to try it and remarks about how great it is. It's fantastic and I hope it stays on the menu. While it's a challenge to save room for dessert you NEED to. Trust me. The cheesecakes are made by Mama Laura, and they're phenomenal. One of our personal favorites is the coconut cheesecake but you can't go wrong with any flavor. We had the pumpkin this time, and it was just amazing. It's so nice to live so close to a great family owned Italian place. My only criticism: skip for holidays like Mothers Day That has been the only time I have had less than fantastic experiences. read more

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Terrible experience here. We came during happy hour and wanted to take advantage of their specials. HH was bar and outdoor patio only but there was a private party on patio. We asked the owner who was at the hostess stand if we could still order HH inside and he sharply replied "No!" The owner then whispered something to the hostess who was seating us. We were then seated in a secluded room because we had a baby. The lights weren't even on in the room. Every other patron that walked in was seated in the main dining room. Food was below average at best. My wife got shrimp fettuccine. The shrimp tasted like it came out of a packet at the grocery. read more

they hit it outta the park every time!!! the chicken oscar is loaded with lump crab, that sauce its in to die for, the chicken is tender as can be, the crab cakes loaded with lump crab with hardly any binder or filling, you cant get a bad meal here ever! the service is top notch, the wines are perfect and the servers knowlegeable how to pair, and trust me when i tell you the prices are perfectly fair!!! its worth every dime on the high end like for those crabcakes. you wont find a more pleasing crabcake because of the amount of crab in them! you get 2 and its,hard to finish even one!!! highly reccommend italian affair!!!! read more

Food was delicious, I had the filet Italiano. It was loaded with crabmeat & shrimp w spinach & roasted red peppers. Cream sauce was so tasty! Generous with the lump crab The chicken parm was okay. The chicken breast was not fried or crispy. It was soggy and not very hot. I like a fresh fried breaded piece of chicken not a premade frozen cutlet. Service was great but the acoustics made it loud inside the restaurant. I will definitely be back for the filet. read more

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Ate here on a Sunday for a party. We had the mozzarella sticks, and charcuterie board to start which were both good. The salad that started the meal was too oily and had no flavor. The main meal was salmon which was over cooked, dried and flavorless. The eggplant parmigiana was also not great tasting as it was too thin with not enough eggplant. The service was good, waitress had a very strong Italian accent which we didn't mind, she was pleasant and efficient. read more

We went for New Year's Eve dinner and everything was good. You definitely could tell it was a prefix menu for the evening. The lobster ravioli was a little on the salty and watery side. We order our filet medium rare and it was more on the medium to medium well side. Definitely overcooked or over rested. Our app and salad came out before our bottle of wine was delivered. We were finished with our app before it was even delivered. Service was a little slow, but she was very sweet and nice. They had a live band playing on the outside patio which was closed in. Prices were reasonable. Wine list was extensive and prices weren't too crazy for bottles. That was definitely the route to go. I can't wait to go back on a regular night to try other dishes. read more

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Review: Where do I begin? I started coming to this restaurant last fall and somehow have become a regular (at least 2x a month) even though it is not located in my county. The staff is absolutely incredible...and you feel like you are amongst long distance relatives that came to your Nonas for a hearty yet delicious meal. The vibe is exactly what you want because, somehow the staff knows how to tune into your mood. I am a flight attendant and have had the opportunity to dine in many different places, yet this place is so much more than just a good dinner out. Tonight my boyfriend and I ended up having dinner at a later time than our typical schedule. We were greeted with a fantastic smile when we walked in and placed a seating request to yet encounter another heartwarming smile at our table. Austin managed our entire dining experience as if he has been taken care of our dining for years and it was the first time we met. I suggest, if you have been skeptical to try this place, Don't be! Such a well versed menu that can and will cater to anyone's preference! I hope that anyone who reads this review and decides to eat at this restaurant, is able to savor the same experience as I have. And to the entire staff: Thank you all for all that you do and your consistent and incredible service. read more

I have not been to Italian Affair in glassboro in years and I can see why. These dishes look good but was not that good and I will tell you why it was the crabmeat it taste like it came from starkiss like from a can. The lobster raviolis were good and the sauce was tasty, but something about the crabmeat was a little off. These meals were very expensive $38 for the lobster ravs. My sis got the chicken Oscar and the sauce was bland.the service was great and the restaurant was nice inside. I know some of the people love this place but we did not care for it. For $38 the crabmeat should have been fresh. They have a large bar with booths and tables plenty of parking. I recommend Luna Rossa in Turnersville the food was fresh and prices were more reasonable. read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Chicken Oscar - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

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Great service , we had Laura , she was really good. She brought our dinner quickly, checked on us to see if we needed anything. Food was really good, we had the shrimp & crab in a marinara sauce on pasta. Tasted good, salad was good as well read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Salad - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

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Poor excuse for a Cesar salad. This is lettuce, disgusting chicken with croutons. Not a single piece of cheese. Will not return. read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Poor excuse for a Cesar salad. This is lettuce with disgusting chicken, and croutons. Not even a piece of cheese. Won't be returning. - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

Excellent service and food. The bar scene has great vibes and nice atmosphere. Highly recommend

Before I start the food has always been excellent the this establishment as has been the service. Unfortunately, seeing that they are now charging a 3.95% service fee for a credit card I simply cannot dine there anymore. Normally I don't mind the service fee for credit but when you are charging an excessive fee for top dollar food It is unacceptable. The area is full of excellent Italian restaurants that are not charging 3.95%. It is also interesting to note they do not mention that fee on their webpage. They may be good, but not good enough to pay an extra 4% for it. Not in an area that's full of great Italian food. As we say, ciao. read more

Loved it. Good service! Will definitely be returning in the near future. Great dishes!

Very disappointed last night. Food was not very flavorful and prices were ridiculous because of the up charges! Seriously ... a $3 up charge for Caesar salad?? And nothing special ... lettuce and a few croutons ‍. And a $3 up charge to change the sauce from Alfredo to blush on my entree?? And it was dry with no sauce on top of the breaded pork medallions. Also the waitress Nikki never mentioned an up charge so I could decide if it would be worth it. Oh and $16 for an Old Fashioned. Sure it had Angel's Envy bourbon but I buy that one and charging for one drink a third of the price for a whole bottle is outrageous!! We've come here often for our girls night out but will definitely reconsider in the future. read more

Tasty, generous portions of good Italian food with a very large menu, nice dining atmosphere, and close to Rowan campus. One of the better restaurants near Rowan University and worth a stop if you're in the mood for Italian food. A really nice Italian vibe in here, nice tables very good service and atmosphere. Their menu is loaded with selections from seafood Italian entrées to personal pizzas! Something for everyone and good for groups. We ordered a margarita personal pizza as an appetizer. I was impressed with the size and it was definitely tasty. A salad comes with your dinner and was pretty good. They also bring a very nice and generous bowl of bread to your table with olive oil. For dinner I had the chicken paisano, with hot cherry peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms over homemade fettuccine. I definitely enjoyed it, although it was heavily soaked in oil. I'm not sure if the chicken was moist or it just had a lot of oil. But it was good, although I'm not convinced the fettuccine was homemade. The gnocchi fantasia had fresh tomato, zucchini, chicken and artichokes in a spicy garlic and olive oil. Very generous and very good dish but again lots of oil, too much I would say and unnecessary. But definitely tasty! The cavatelli Alfredo was another big dish with lots and lots of Alfredo sauce, rich and creamy for sure! Very tasty, and if you love Alfredo sauce you're gonna like this one. Again I thought it was a little too creamy and too rich, but I'm sure others would disagree and love it! I wish I could give this place four stars because the restaurant atmosphere, the servers, and the dining experience were definitely above par. I thought the food relied a little too much on lots of oils and creams vs. spices and recipes. It seemed that many of the menu dishes had cream in them. I want to make it clear that this is one of the best dining options near Rowan University and you should try it if you frequent the area. Recommended for Italian food with a good Italian atmosphere! read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

This restaurant is completely deserving of five stars. I'm saddened the overall score is lower and encourage reading all reviews! This is the Italian restaurant that Italians go to to Eat Italian! THATS SO TRUE! Italian Affair is run by an Italian family who also act as many of the servers. They also have very friendly staff as servers in the main dining room and Bar. There are four parts to the restaurant- two main dining rooms that can be combined by removing the partition. This is where we hosted my sisters bridal shower back in 2016! Then there is a bar area with a bar as big as the room! And the patio section which is either heated in winter or opened in the summer. All areas serve all food and happy hour specials! But what impressed me most of all was the BABY CHANGING STATION. My sweet nephew had a few too many egg nogs (kidding) but we needed to change him and there is a whole stall dedicated to it. It was very easy and efficient to do so. We were so impressed. The food is phenomenal. It's undefeated in South Jersey. Their Italian dishes are on point. And That Chilean Sea bass was so great. Their little breads are soooo cute and easy to have too many! Their oil spread is perfectly seasoned. I love it here- it's worth the trip. read more

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When walking into the restaurant, there was no warmth by the staff to greet you, however, our waitress was very nice. Mother's Day menu was limited and overall bleh. The best part of my meal was my Diet Pepsi and leaving. It's not the waitresses fault about the food, we tipped her well. Hopefully she'll find a better job where the food is good. Never again. Save your money. Taco Bell across the street has better flavor. read more

Was my favorite Italian restaurant for a long time. I was there for lunch and that was ok- so go when it's not busy you might have a better experience Dinner was just meh. Companions had pasta dishes that were good. We ordered gnocchi which was sad- overcooked balls of dough that stuck together We had asked for a specific server we had always loved but she was more engaged with customers in another area and had others serve us. Food used to be of a much higher quality. Not going back read more

Okay food. Came for a work function. We got calamari which was very crunchy and well done. Also the long hots were delicious, not as spicy as you would want, in fact not spicy at all. Also got mozzarella sticks which looked like it just came out of the frozen section and rewarmed. Finally to the entrees, I got the branzino which was delicious. It came with the fish, spinach and potatoes. The lemon dressing was great and the capers added a good salty ness. The dessert was the best part of the meal minus the drinks, obviously. I got the amaretto cake and it was to die for. Not overly sweet but with the perfect amount of amaretto. And all portions were huge except the appetizers. The service was great. She had typical Italian accent and she was really selling us on everything. She got things ordered quickly and everything was refilled quickly. The actual venue itself is an older establishment it seems. Dimly lit seating area. But the most frustrating portion was all the flies and gnats that were surrounding the table. They landed in food, they landed in drinks, we all had to keep swatting them away. Not sure what the remedy is for that but it took away from enjoying the dinner. Overall, a decent place for glassboro. Would be back only if it was another work function, wouldn't go back on personal time. Happy eating! read more

Italian Affair has been around for a long time now. It was a favorite of my parents' when I was in high school and they've continued to visit together ever since. I couldn't remember the last time I tried it since I was never the biggest fan back then so I figured I'd go in with an open mind and see how they've evolved. It's safe to say the space itself has not evolved. It looks exactly the same as it did years ago. But the food seemed to get better or perhaps my taste buds were just more refined..? I ordered a lasagna dish and it was pretty good, but my mom's bowtie something pasta (sorry I forget!) was the star of the table. It had spices and olive oil and it was just really nicely prepared all around. I ordered tiramisu to go, which was also a quality item. In terms of Gloucester County's Italian restaurants, I'd say this is a good met for a nice meal. It's not outrageously good but it's satiating nonetheless. read more

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Terrible dining experience! I ordered the eggplant rollatini. The cheese was literally one solid piece that lifted off in tact, not melted even slightly. The eggplant was total mush. My pasta was cold and hard. Upgraded to a Cesar salad which was SWIMMING in dressing, pretty gross. The mushroom crab appetizer was also cold and the mushroom was rubbery. Unfortunately from start to finish a terrible meal. I highly suggest you go anywhere else but here. read more

I usually wait till I go somewhere twice before I post a review just because I want to insure that everything wasn't a fluke, good or bad, prior to leaving a review. First and foremost, came here twice before once for happy hour and then again for dinner. Was so happy with it decided to try again. What they should have on their website is that they're not doing happy hour during covid as this was why my friends and I chose this place. Despite that, still stayed and just ordered an assortment of appetizers because we were hungry. While we were waiting for food staff was actively waving a fly swatter to kill bugs. An electric one that zapped. 1)I wouldn't do that in front of customers. Not only is it not sanitary but it's off putting prior to eating. I initially let it slide because they were being proactive. 2) Is that professional? I really should have left after seeing that because the booth we were at had also had about 3 fruit flies on the wall. They were off putting but still negligible. As the wine came, more fruit flies came though. Then the food came and We were surrounded. We had to wait to get the servers attention for several minutes but were not able to as he was speaking to another worker who was drinking wine at the bar. (This is not allowed with covid) We moved seats but the fruit flies or gnats followed us so we wrapped it up and asked for our check. We had had enough. Although the sever was apologetic, there was no former apology from the manager. I lost my appetite, didn't finish my food, and was left embarrassed. I had suggested this place to friends as my experiences prior were great but I will not be returning. read more

We went for our first time last week and it was horrible. I wish I could give it no stars. Our waitress was rude and we barely saw her. The veal tasted off and when we complained the waitress only said no one ever complains about the veal. Our bread was so hard you could break a tooth on it. We asked for new bread and she said they are making more and we will bring it out. It was the same bread, hard as a rock. I had an upset stomach the next day. I would never recommend this place to anyone. read more

Gnocchi was amazing. Sangria however needs some work. Very watered down. Tiramisu was alright. read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Gnocchi Formaggi E Spinaci - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

Hands down this is my favorite restaurant in south Jersey! The staff is amazing! I've been patronizing this business for the past 12 years and I always get the same server and she always delivers excellent customer service. I wish that I could provide a review on the food but I always order the same thing, crab fettuccine Alfredo. After having one bite of this meal, nothing else on the menu exist! It is not on the menu, it is a custom dish that you must ask for, thank me later :) read more

Italian Affair Restaurant & Wine Bar - Italian Near Me - Glassboro, New Jersey

Buyer beware! If you aren't prepared to pay your bill with cash then you will get a big surprise. Apparently if you pay with a credit card your charged a percentage to do so at this restaurant. No mention of this charge on there website. I only discovered this practice when I got my bill and saw the charge. I did not see any table toppers or other signage when I was there and neither did my guests. Who nowadays walks around with a wad of cash on them. If knew this before being seated and ordering then at least I could of made a decision to stay or go. I'm sure I can't be the only customer that's ticked off! I will not be going back. I don't like surprises when it comes to my wallet. read more