Via Sposito in Old Bridge, NJ is incredible. A family run restaurant with great people and the most…read moredelicious food. We have eaten there 3 times in 6 days. Absolutely amazing!!! Appetizers to die for - fried calamari, clams oreganato, everything is DELICIOUS. Pasta dishes that make you cry they are so delicious. Now let's talk about the pizza. True Neapolitan pizza. The crust is light and crispy and so special. The margarita pie is killer, the Emiliano - with prosciutto, Arugola, truffle oil and Parmigiano Reggiano is the best pie in Old Bridge. It is not even close. Via Sposito is a hidden gem and among the best restaurants in NJ. Get there as soon as possible. You will be blown away.

On a recent vacay to visit family, we met up with some north Jersey cousins for dinner at Via…read moreSposito. I loved that they accommodated our group of 12 with just a few days' notice. They're an Italian restaurant with a good selection of dishes to meat various diets: salads, pastas, meat dishes, etc. The food was also pretty good, and service was fine. Better Italian food can be found in NJ, not too far away, but the location, quality and price point served our purposes. The servings are generous. I had the "Sunday Supper" (pasta served with red sauce, braciole, sausages, meatballs, and ribs), which I shared with my husband, and even so we had plenty to take home for another meal! I found the decor unusual in that there was a noticeable religious motif. In fact, a life size statue of the a Virgin Mary stood in the corner behind our table observing our little reunion. Odd for a restaurant, but it made for some fun comparing of notes afterwards.

If you're driving down from anywhere to central NJ and Rutgers University area & want that "I found…read moremy spot" feeling -- Victoria's Tratta Italiano is "it". You walk into this warm amazing & friendly place on Church St, New Brunswick, smell that brick oven firing, and the owners themselves, might pop by your table to ask how the pasta & food is. Isn't that amazing & extraordinary!! You can truly enjoy this family own spot. The owners and staff "show up", and say how's the food, how are you doing? Not once's but multiple times!! Each time with an amazing attention, jokes that we could not stop laughing pleasantly. The waiter was also amazing, pleasant and very gentle. We came down to New Brunswick for our daughter graduation at Rutgers, and looked at various restaurants in the area and selected Victoria because they had a great variety of food for each member particular preference. We had: - Garlic Bread with Olive Oil. - Fried mozzarella calzone - Pepperoni Pizza - Fettuccini Alfredo Chicken - Wild Mushrooms Filet Risotto - Chicken Parmesan And I had the Papa Mango Salmon which was amazing. If you like Salmon I highly recommend it. To top it off limoncello and sambuca did its final touch. Thank you Victoria Tratta Italiano. It's a go-to before a show at State Theatre or Stress Factory, which I have been to before, because it's literally around the corner, parking's easy in the deck, and they won't rush you out. Service feels amazingly cool. Bring a date, bring your kids, bring your parents, bring the whole birthday crew. They do it all, and they'll make you feel like you are family at Home.

The picture of the buffalo chicken pizza looked too good not to try. The sad part was that there is…read moretoo much stuff on the pie, and since they threw it in the box so hot and gave it to the driver like that, all the stuff slid over the edge of the pizza and into the corner. After doing some Dr. Frankenstein rearranging of cheese and chicken, we were able to eat this pie. The good part is they use Franks, which I love, so the pie was spicy and had a familiar taste. But the crust was bland and the chicken breast tasted like it had no seasoning. There was a ton of it, but it was just a chore to get through. So overall I say 3 for that pie, but I bet if I went in and ate it there and it wasn't such a mess it would be an easy 4.

I cannot explain why it took 7 years after Florence, Italy natives Alberto Buglione and Ivan…read moreGuarducci took over this restaurant for me to visit. It is outstanding! Over the years I have heard nothing but good from friends -- "Excellent" "Exactly like they make it in Florence!" "Best Italian food I've ever tasted." I went with a party of four. For appetizers we split the Polpo E Patate (grilled octopus & potatoes) and Patate Fritte (French fries). The octopus was amazing, tender almost like perfect scallops with a tasty pesto. The French fries with herbs, garlic bread crumbs and pesto were crunchy, tasty, delicious. For mains my companions had Branzino with eggplant carponata, an amazing 4-cheese Gnocchi, and swordfish. I tasted all, and all were spot on; everyone loved their main course. I had Linguini Vongole (clams and linguini); the clams were perfect - tender and tasty; but the star of the show was the homemade linguine, seasoned perfectly and cooked to al dente perfection. We finished with cappuccino and Tiramasu. The service was excellent. Attentive and quick, and our waitress, Merin, was able to answer every question about the menu with authority, and even about the ingredients and preparation. The ambiance is understated, relaxed, and what you hope for when enjoying a special meal. I am quite stingy in passing out 5-Star ratings; I reserve them for the best of the best, for restaurants where I'm confident readers will also enjoy an outstanding meal. Mangia Toscano is clearly 5-Star; it is *the* must-do restaurant in Metuchen.

The food, service, and atmosphere were definitely a vibe! Everything about the experience was…read moreenjoyable from start to finish. I had the Salmon and the Gnocchi Al Pesto, and both dishes were delicious, savory, and full of flavor. The staff was attentive, the ambiance was great, and the overall experience made me want to come back again. Highly recommend!

Another wonderful meal. Had their special Eggplant Lasagna…read morefor dinner. It was excellent. Hope it is added to the regular menu!! The service is always the best. Always a great night out in a lovely place!!

4/10/26 - Been a bit since I did a review so I figured it was time. I was driving by Camillo's in…read moreSayreville, NJ and haven't had their pizza in quite some time so why not? For those of you who have not been there, Camillo's is more of an Italian restaurant, than a pizzeria. It has a pretty large seating area in the restaurant part of the building. It looks to my untrained eye that they had some extra room and decided to put it in a pizza oven near the entrance. From what I've described, I had the feeling this was going to be a disaster. But there was also a lot of foot traffic and diners in there which always make you optimistic. I ordered a large Sicilian (square) pie and a large pepperoni (round) pie. The crust on the sicilian pie had that great sicilian pizza flavor. It is thick and very chewy, but surprisingly light. If you are a cheese and sauce lover, this pie is for you. The cheese is fresh and tasty and is definitely premium. The sauce is well seasoned and very tangy and delicious. My opinion is they should probably cook it a little more because with all that cheese and sauce, there's not a lot of crispiness on any of the crust. I'd probably recommend eating it with a knife and fork because it can be that messy. The pepperoni pie that I ordered what was surprisingly thick. Again, this offering is of the thick and hearty variety. This pie, however, was not soggy and the slices stand up. It's not exactly crispy and crunchy, but it's not limp. The sauce is definitely the star here. Overall I was pleasantly surprised. I want to go back and sample some of the restaurant offerings. Overall Rating: B

Absurdly good. This place has been a staple in the area for a long time, and they really make the…read moremost of their space. The strip mall itself isn't anything special, but the surrounding area is beautiful , and once you're inside, the restaurant feels warm and inviting. The food is fantastic, and the variety on the menu is impressive. The chef clearly knows what they're doing because every single dish we tried was genuinely delicious. It's the kind of spot where you can't go wrong: date night, dinner with friends, or anything in between. We brought our own bottle and had a great time. Our waiter was super knowledgeable, friendly, and patient. The staff even joked around with me when I forgot my to‑go bag, and yes, I absolutely took it home because the food is that good. I also appreciate that they don't act like offering takeout is beneath them; even the takeout bag was nice. I honestly wish my meals were this good every night. I hope everyone who works here is paid well and enjoys what they do, because they're running the place exactly how a restaurant should be run. It feels like a true community staple somewhere that transports you a bit and makes the whole experience feel special. Lovely all around.

Celebrated my husband's birthday with dinner here. The spot is moody and dark. Service was fine, no…read morecomplaints. What we ordered: - POLETTE (pine nuts raisins beef meatballs, tomato sauce, melted cacio cavallo - CALAMARI (fried squid, spicy tomato sauce) - SALTIMBOCCA (veal tenderloin scaloppini, prosciutto, bufala mozzarella, spinach, crispy sage, brandy sauce, fingerling potatoes) - CINQUANTA (fifty layered lasagne, spinach pasta, veal tenderloin stew, cheese, mushrooms, marsala sauce) - NON-ALCOHOLIC SPRITZ - NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINK BELLINI The food was good. It was a good experience overall.

Ok- might be even better than last time- we loved the specials and I had the best tilapia with…read morespinach. Huge and yummy portions- wow, had it for lunch two days later and it was delicious. Adore ease of Civile- great food and a quiet room .

If your looking to eat dinner in a dump that smells like a$$, this is the place! Not sure why the…read morehost is so rude like this is the hottest ticket in town. The place looks like a dump and we questioned even getting out of the car. Not sure what was worse, the rudeness, the smell of mold or the dumpy atmosphere.... Read on and I'll share what we experienced. Mistake #1 deciding to go here Never heard of the place but saw on the gps there was an Italian spot while cutting through town. We went for it! Mistake #2 getting out of the car We pulled up to a gross old building, crumbling parking lot where people were creating their own parking/ blocking in each others cars. It was completely bizarre. After much debate about how to park and not have our car hit, we parked. We kept seeing people coming out of what looked like a rear kitchen/ service door. Odd. We walked through the horribly lit parking lot, in bad need of a repave and made our way to the front door. This door is street side and has an unlit sign over it. I pulled the handle only to have half of the metal handle pull off in my hand??? What in the world! Two elderly gentleman cutting through the lot on a walk let me know that the "kitchen entrance" was actually the main door. When they saw how perplexed I was, they laughed and said "There in lies the problem. This place is weird and doesn't have a proper entrance. Did you try the broken handle yet?" Followed by their laughter. Wonderful! They told us to not have big expectations as this is the local greasy spoon and to hold our nose when we entered. I'm not going to lie, we debated getting back in the car again as we walked past it.... Which brings me to mistake #3 Mistake #3 Not getting back in the car when we had the chance We entered into the building and were immediately hit in the face with a smell that I can only describe as that of and old wet basement paired with a moldy wood smell and a kitchen in need of an air out. It was not good. A guy came up to the host stand (a random podium in the dining room) and asked for our reservation- not if we had one- but the assumption that we must have one to dine at this fine establishment. I told him no we just came in and he immediately snickered at us and said, "come back in an hour" Ok Peter Luger. Best Decision We Made #1 immediately leaving It's really unfortunate for a place to have such crummy interactions on the heels of giving gusts every reason to run before even coming in. A simple- hey we are booked with reservations, let me peak to see what we can do- ok first spot will be in about an hour. Does that work for you? Or how about, have chairs???? There's literally nowhere to wait. You'd have to stand in the smell waiting and hoping to not get legionnaires disease. I would not recommend this dump.

Finally tried Lubrano's, had heard good things from friends. Decided to just go the take out route…read moreso no comments on dish presentation. We ordered the Pasta Al Forno as an appetizer & Chicken Scarpariello for the main dish. Was quoted 35-40 min when I called it in, arrived ~30 min, paid & food came out near the 40 min quote. The pasta - for us the cheese on top was perhaps over toasted as it was on the dry side. Flavor was fine otherwise. Not sure I'd order this for a main dish without added protein though. The Chicken Scarp - excellent. The chicken & potatoes were very tender. The mild sausage makes this dish come together, it adds a level of savoriness to complement the balsamic sweetness in the sauce. I also like the long angled slices of sausage nicely seared on each side, it was not expected vs other versions that I've had. Meal also came with bread to soak up that chicken sauce. Also noting the place seemed packed, only 2 spots on their lot were open plus it sounded busy inside. Will try it next time onsite with one of my many fine bottles of wine. :)

This location is right off the highway with plenty of parking…read more Cute little place with a diner kind of vibe. We had the calamari and the sausage and broccoli rabe for appetizers were delicious. We all had different entrees, we were all happy with our choices and had enough for lunch the next day. The service here was to par very attentive. I will be back.

My husband wanted to try this place out. We ate there, but it's more or a to go place. Pizza was…read morecooked to perfection. My only complaint was that the sauce had a sweet flavor. That's not really my style.

Really, really good tavern pie, although I wouldn't necessarily call it a traditional tavern pizza…read more When I think tavern, I think crackery crust. That is not this. The caramelized ring of cheese around the edge is brilliant. The bottom was a hair undercooked and therefore a little limp but not too bad. One other reason for the limp is the very generous amount of cheese that solidifies into a shield atop the pizza. The sauce is a tad sweet but not too bad. I know I have nitpicked a bit here but it is still excellent pizza and worth a stop if you are in the area.

We wanted to give this new business a try, but unfortunately we didn't it find the food to be good…read more We ordered Franco's favorite and a pear salad with grilled chicken. The pear salad was supposed to come with goat cheese, but it barely had any. It was basically a bunch of arugula with grilled chicken on top. The lemon dressing it came with was bland. The salad needed more goat cheese and a better dressing. Franco's favorite was ravioli Parmesan with shrimp fra Diavolo. The marinara sauce to the ravioli had no flavor and the fra Diavolo had no heat. The shrimp wasn't even breaded which was very odd. Our waitress wasn't the best either. We had to ask for water and more. coffee. She didn't even know what some dishes on the menu were. Needless to say I don't recommend, and I wouldn't come back.

Absolutely Delicious! Definitely would recommend this place !…read more Great atmosphere and staff are so friendly!

We just celebrated my granddaughters Baptism here. From start to finish, Dee made everything so…read morestress free. She was absolutely wonderful to work with. The food was delicious. We had a large variety of dishes to choose from and there wasn't one person that didn't enjoy their meal. The wait staff was so kind and attentive. The timing of all the courses were spot on and the portions were big. We always had our pitchers of water and soda full at the table. We all had such a wonderful time. This will be my go to place for celebrations or a night out to eat. A big Thank you to Dee and all of her staff.

Service was okay, they were busy and had trouble handling the crowds. The homemade sausage was dry,…read morebut the eggplant rollatini was excellent and really tasty.