This spot is now open for outdoor dining! The food was absolutely delicious! The drinks were great! All staff had masks on and everything was sanitized after each table got up! My favorite thing is their menus were small pieces of paper with QR Codes to look at the menus on your phone so there is no passing of germs!! read more

We ended up at Ovations for date night. I have been several times & was always pleased with the food, it was my husbands first time. We wanted to try the sushi, however I frankly found the menu less than spectacular. I am accustomed to trying speciality rolls, which they did not offer. However, they did showcase nearly 10 specials which the waiter was able to describe for us. By the end our mouths were watering!! So we each got one sushi roll as an app and shared an entree of the Coconut crisped Scallops and asparagus with risotto. It was super tasty! I also do not normally drink martinis however I tried their Pineapple upside down cake martini and it was fab! They have a great drink menu. Overall great date night! I gave it one less star for these reasons: It is small space, in general, so to hang or wait for your table it is a bit of a pain. The bar were tight and all occupied and the dining room is directly adjacent, so there is little room to walk around. There is another room but it was taken by a large party, I can assume we would not have waited had the party not been there. Other downside, bathroom was very messy, paper towels strewn everywhere, definitely not what I want to see when I am paying nearly $100+ for my meal & drinks. read more

Ovations - Scallops wrapped in bacon and crispy coconut, with mushroom risotto and a pineapple bourbon sauce. Mmmmm - Italian Near Me - South Bound Brook, New Jersey

Sushi/Italian? It actually seems to work here. The place was a bit loud on the night we were there but perhaps that was only because of the very large group that was there that night. We found the food enjoyable and though I was focusing in on a sushi dinner I detoured the Italian way when I went for one of the specials. Overall a great first time experience and it is nice to know about a place when you can enjoy a sushi dinner while still dining with people that would rather go for Italian! read more

Really like the cocktails- some of the best I've ever had. Don't like the Manager waiting on me not wearing a mask. I saw other servers with a Mask on but he must think he's special. Don't like how super close the indoor tables were with the door that opened to the patio when indoor only dining was only allowed. Don't like being hit on by the Waiter who is the Manager. My message to this guy is- "I'm a woman coming out by myself for a drink and to eat a meal, keep your comments to yourself, you are there to work and not hit on women. Definitely NOT following pandemic rules. Food is Ok- their Sushi was the best thing on their menu but they aren't serving Sushi anymore because they can't get their Sushi people to come back from NY. read more

I've been living in the area for 2 years and always wanted to try Ovations. I made a reservation for outdoor dining and was shocked when we were seated at an indoor table that connected to the patio with the doors open so I'm assuming that's why it's considered "outdoors" (NJ currently prohibits indoor dining). We sat at the table for 15 minutes before anyone noticed us and brought water. We flagged down one of the servers and asked for drinks and an appetizer at which point a different, unmasked, server brought us drinks and then asked if we wanted to see the menu. We placed our orders and the appetizer came out rather quickly which was great. Our entrees, however, took forever and once they did come some of them were room temp, not hot. Overall the food was decent but I would definitely not go back as they are not following pandemic protocols. Only some of the staff was wearing masks, the indoor dining area was stuffy and the tables were not spaced out. I wanted to love ovations but my experience today definitely left a lot to be desired. read more

This was our first time here and we enjoyed it. Great drinks, delicious food and friendly service. Try the little neck clams for appetizer, fantastic. Dining room can be a bit loud as it was a busy night. Will definitely return soon. read more

If there's a large private party when you get there turn around and walk out. After the party got there service disappeared. We have to ask for a check four times. We only got it when we had our coats on and we're walking out the door. read more

Just an average place, nothing special about it Environment is nice and service quite good read more

Great to be back. Kudos to Peggy and all the restaurants coming back from the pandemic. The service and welcome were spot on and the food was excellent read more

Across from the west canal, right near the ramp for 287 in Boundbrook, NJ you will come across this fantastic bar and restaurant. From the outside it does not seem like much especially since it is nestled in a Bound Brook neighborhood, but upon walking in you will feel the ambiance right away. The parking lot is small and often full but you can park anywhere on the street in the neighborhood. The owners are very friendly and talkative. The hosts (not sure if they also are family owners) greet you right away. They take reservations but I have never had to wait in the many years I have been coming here. Ovations has 2 main rooms and outside seating. The outside seating is very nice especially since it is right across from the canal. One room contains a dining area with darker lighting for a more romantic feel. The waiters are very responsive and helpful. The specials they read area always delicious and always changing. In the middle of the room is a giant cheese block and an array of olives that is always fun to look at. The other room is a louder bar area with tables and booths. If you're up for more of a beverage kinda night then this is the room for you. ANYTHING you order is prepared with the utmost care. I have never eaten one thing I did not think was out of this world. They offer something for everyone. The sushi is top notch but so are the entrees. Last night my boyfriend got chicken parm and replaced the mashed potatoes an vegetable sides with linguini. He said it was the most succulent chicken he was ever tasted. I ordered the AR sushi roll and was very pleased. We also got a few drinks which included the Selfie, a kamakazi, arnold palmer, and another cucumber drink which name I can not recall. All were strong and delicious. We also ordered the mac and cheese gnocchi. UGH so good. The boy said he would have gotten it as an entree if it was available. I look forward to even many more meals now that we are moving to Queens Gate apartments in Bound Brook. read more

We arrived at our reservation on time at 6:15, granted we were a larger group. We placed our order about 25 minutes after we arrived because it appeared that our waiter had more than one table, which was totally fine. Main reason for the low star rating was because we didn't get any appetizer for at least an hour after that and after being in the restaurant for nearly 3 hours we were finally served our dinner after the waiter had laughed with another waiter when realize he didn't serve us anything and served a different table before us who had arrived much later. I'm not giving a one star rating because they did provide us with a complementary sip of a drink, and another waiter was gracious enough to try to charm us while we still waited. It seemed like none of our orders were placed when we were served, and I honestly expected more from such a small establishment. It's kind a hard to mess a table of nine loud people in such a small space. The service was so poor that they didn't even remember to bring us water unless we flagged someone down and asked. Overall the ambience was great, but I would say arrive at noon to try to have dinner by six. read more

Looked up a nice sushi place in the area and stopped in here. I am SURPRISED this place doesnt have higher reviews. The service was great, the food INCREDIBLY delicious and the prices were very reasonable! We will def be coming back here! read more

It's good food. Nice eggplant rotini, veal scallopini, red snapper stuffed with crab. Marinara was light and not oily. No gluten free pasta here. They use a lot of garlic which I like. House Pinot Noir was nice. Tiramisu was generous portion and good. read more

See all

Awesome place. The inside has a very nice cozy ambiance to it. Booth seating is available. Perfect for a romantic date! The drink options they had were seasonal we assumed. I got their Moscow mule while my boyfriend got the Pomegranate Poloma which was a tequila mix drink. We loved how they had an option for sushi since we got a roll as an appetizer. The lobster shrimp ravioli was AMAZING! My boyfriends penne vodka with chicken was super delicious. To finish off our dinner we had the creme brûlée which was perfection as well. All around a great experience. First impression was beyond what we expected and we're definitely coming back! read more

See all

Food was great! Staff was very attentive! Unfortunately, way too noisy, you can't hold a conversation and the place is quite cramped! Expansion would be great and necessary! Other than that food was delicious! read more

Very poor management response to an Open Table dining certificate. Presented small ($25) reward certificate and management refused to honor it. Didn't even want to look at the certificate instructions on how to process it. Just said (rudely) that they never saw such a certificate before and we can't honor it. The worst part was that the manager who came to table to discuss it had NO MASK. When I asked why, he said that he was vaccinated and did not need to, "want to see my vaccine papers?". A ridiculous comment to a paying customer. I guess they are not aware of NJ restaurant employee rules. Will not be returning. read more

My all time favorite hidden Gem. Everyone make you feel like home but in a sexy dark environment Private room for small party private dining experience Lunch. Dinner. Always a great time. Tony will make amity a special drink! #tonysKiss! read more

1. Our waiter was awful 2. Why is it so dark in this restaurant?! 3. The food was forgettable 4. Basically no reason to ever come back here Now that I gave you the highlights, I can elaborate. Our waiter was probably the most uninterested, laziest, and awful waiter I've had in years. We only saw him twice: once to take our order, and at the end of our meal, after our dirty plates had been sitting on our table for 10+ minutes, and he asked us "are you guys finished?" Yeah we are done so please do your job finally and take the plates away considering he did not even come to our table not even once to check up on us or refill water. It was empty when we got there and he took forever to come to our table to take our order. The bread was cold and was no fresh. The bread dipping sauce is WEIRD. Like what is it? Is that tomato? Red peppers? Ugh. So weird. Someone else brought our food, he seemed nice enough. The plate my sushi came on was dirty. It had some weird sauce smudge that wasn't anything that was in my sushi roll so ..... I couldn't even say anything about it since OUR WAITER NEVER CAME TO CHECK ON US. The sushi I guess was ok. Nothing spectacular, and I'm just hoping I don't get sick from it. I contemplated not even tipping our waiter, that's how bad he was. He never smiled at us, didn't look happy to serve us, and trust me - the feeling is mutual bro. There's nothing worse than a nasty waiter to bring down your mood when you're trying to have a good time with your friend. He's lucky he got 10% out of me. Also some guy came and brought us a shot to our table. Nice enough but he was a little weird about it and I just got a weird vibe from that guy. Whatever at least he wasn't a jerk like our waiter. Also can you TURN UP THE LIGHTS! The people around us were all like what the hell why is it borderline pitch black in here? As a joke me and someone else from a different table turned the flashlights on our phones on - that is how dark it was. Maybe they make it so dark so you can't see the bad food and dirty plates and bad servers. I'll never come back here! Our waiter tonight was waiter #10, whoever that is. Waiter #10 should go get a different job since he seems to hate working there. read more

The food is delicious however none of the waiters wear a mask and the tables are 2 feet from each other. I do not recommend coming to this restaurant during Covid. read more

I've been here a few times, all for work events and I always leave wishing I had stayed in the office. I don't get the hype for this place because I've tried several different dishes on different occasions and always have the same feeling: should've had a V8... The service is usually good, but can't be insanely slow depending on the time of afternoon. I've only ever been for lunch so I can't comment on the dinner menu, but I don't like the food I've had so I won't ever go if it's not for a work function. read more

Ovations is a hidden gem! The happy hour drink selections are decent and they are not watered down. Their happy hour food options are limited, but the portions and prices are good. The service is always great. read more

Ovations - Double serving of $3 calamari during happy hour. - Italian Near Me - South Bound Brook, New Jersey

This spot came highly recommended by someone who knows the owners well. We came out to celebrate a major family milestone. The drinks and the food are top notch. The service was deplorable. Certain tables received really close attention, as for others did not. Not cool especially for an early dinner where there were such few guests. Not pleased. Sad because the food is very good and the venue exceptional. Even so, those fine attributes are overshadowed by sub-par service, which if I'm honest was slower than molasses. Very sad and not sure that even a well seasoned and prepared dinner special will bring us back. read more

This is a tough place to review. First off it has three distinct "zones", the bar room,the dining room and the patio. We sat at a booth in the bar area which was loud but very friendly. There was a "party going on" atmosphere. The dining room was a lot quieter but the host suggested the bar and I was curious as to the experience. The patio looked attractive that evening and I may well sit outside next time. It really seemed like a party in the bar room. Very nice decor, comfortable seating, busy, music, loud. Two of the servers were brothers, young Italian guys, very personable, attitude might be over the top in another place but it worked very well here. Lots of regulars. Our waiter was introducing two guys at one table to an attractive brunette sitting with her mother at the next table. I would not have minded an introduction myself, but my wife might have objected :) Food is good but not exceptional. I had the pasta with clam sauce. My wife had a chicken dish. Good enough to take the leftovers home. Wine by the glass was nothing special but a good size pour. Prices are about average for the area. I would go again. I did not try a cocktail but the bartender was serving out mixed drinks by the carload. Looked like he knew what he was doing. read more

My fiance and I shared the gnocchi mac and cheese. It was good, but a little too salty. We weren't super hungry, so for our entrees we shared two salads: the fresh mozzarella and the beet salad. Both of them were pretty good. read more

I'm not sure what the review below by Claire is stating, but I'd like to state the EXACT OPPOSITE. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this restaurant and will be a returning customer for life! On Saturday, we hosted a baby shower at Ovations for 60 people and it was great from start to finish. Since we live out of state, we worked with Tony over the phone to make sure everything was perfect. He allowed my family and friends to stop by multiple times to get pictures and video, so we could plan the shower from 500 miles away. When they called me with updates about their visit, they commented that the customer service was excellent each time they stopped by. It was also excellent each time I (and the other hostesses) called with questions. When we arrived on Saturday morning, we decorated the banquet area and the staff assisted us with every single request (like changing tables around) as we decorated. In the afternoon, the guests arrived selected their salads and entrees and they were served with the upmost professionalism. Again, every time we had a request, they accommodated. I wish I took pictures of the empty plates after the meal because they were bare. Everyone loved the food and asked how we found this place. They even cut and served our dessert (cake and cupcakes) to the guests. Our event was wonderful thanks to the scrumptious food, beautiful venue, great customer service, and awesome staff. We received excellent service from servers Feim (the best!), Jesus, and Izzy. Also, when we left, Tony (the manager) hugged and kissed my family like they were his family while thanking us for hosting our event. His warmth and cordiality was an extra touch on a great day. When I return to NJ, I'll definitely be back. And I'm sure the 60 people that attended will be back as well. (By the way, the 8 months pregnant guest of honor had the fish of the day and was fine.) Thanks for taking the time to read my review. :) read more

Great for a dinner date! -The Occasion: My boyfriend, his uncle, his sister and I agreed to go to Ovations for sushi on a Thursday night around 7pm. His uncle kept raving about how delicious the sushi was, and since we love sushi we agreed to give it a go! -The Atmosphere: If you're not looking for Ovations, the exterior almost looks like a nice office building until you see the vertical banner with "Ovations" on it - this reassures one that it is, indeed, a restaurant. It also has an outdoor patio which is hard to see in the dark, but it is a nice size building. The interior is dark with low lighting - a romantic feel. When you walk in, to the left is the bar area with tables and booths (which also has private rooms branching off) and to the right is the dining area. It has a classy feel. For 7pm on a Thursday night, the place was fairly full. -The Service: Our waiter was a nice gentleman, only spoke to us a couple of times throughout the night, but took great care of us. He made sure that our water was always full and that we had any other drinks when needed. -The Menu: The main menu was typical - food ranging from a chicken sandwich or a burger to seafood - a squid salad, jumbo shrimp and such . Their sushi menu was nice - every single item that went into the roll was listed - no surprises! -The Food: I ordered the "Sushi Burrito" which had avocado, spicy crab meat and toasted white tuna, wrapped in soy bean paper and let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS!!! I also ordered my usual "Philadelphia Roll" which is salmon, cream cheese, avocado and white rice. Delicious as well - and for ONCE in my life, I was actually full after eating sushi! The display was also beautiful. -The Total: For the four of us (we all ordered 1-2 rolls, a few beers and such) the total was $100 with tip. -The Experience: Ovations has delicious food - excellent service and a wonderful atmosphere. The only reason why I am giving 4 stars is because I would have expected a larger menu, both for dinner and sushi / special rolls. read more

You don't typically see sushi and Italian food on the menu... At a restaurant owned by Albanians. But it works! Stopped in for dinner with colleagues and was torn between sushi and pasta. I mean seriously: my two favorite cuisines. I ended up going with pasta; and was not disappointed in the slightest. I tried the penne vodka; and the pasta was perfectly al dente and the tomato sauce was fresh and creamy. Initially I thought the serving looked too big... But then I quickly devoured the whole thing. My dinner companions tried chicken Parmesan, veal picatta and a fish special: and there were clean plates all around. The Italian was excellent, and I'd like to stop back and try the sushi sometime soon! read more

We have been to Ovations many times and we usually enjoy ourselves. This time is A LOT different. My husband got Food Poisoning from the tuna. I will spare you all of you the details but it was the worst 3 days of my husbands life. He was so sick that he also went to the Emergency Room. My husband asked what the fish special was and the waiter which had a little bit of a language barrier said "tuna" nothing else. Just the word Tuna.. So my husband said OK. The waiter gave my husband a little bit of an attitude. When the Tuna came the portion was very large and tasted okay... Nothing special. We pay our $70 dollar bill and leave. Right after he was ill. He missed 2 days of work and missed a very big appointment. I called the restaurant and spoke with the manager and owner Peggy They were very embarrassed & felt badly. She said she owns 2 restaurants & this has never happened. Peggy offer us a bottle of wine and I told her I don't think we would be back for a while if ever. I'm surprised she did offer to refunded our money. Since we paid $70 for just OKAY meal & for my husband to be sick as a dog and miss work for 2 days. read more

I have been to Ovations a least a dozen times for both lunch and dinner as I work and live in the area. On Tuesday I went out to dinner with business clients and found that the dinner was not quite up to the levels that I had experienced previously. First issue was that the bar did not have any brand of tequilla at all to serve was a bit unusual to me. The second was a request for their cheese platter in which they normally have available but not on this night. And the last was the special yellow fin tuna special that a couple of us ordered was way over cooked and dry. However the server was on target as always with a complete memorized account of the specials in great detail (which always astounds me) I hope that this was just an off night and not a trend to the quality that is often high. Will update upon next visit for those interested. read more

I came here on a Monday night with a large group of collegues all staying at a nearby hotel for business. As expected, it was slow. The maitre'd asked us if we had a reservation even as we looked pointedly around the empty dining room. After being seated, the wait staff was very accomadating with our large party, getting our drinks and our food out promptly and separting our orders so we could pay individually. The restaurant decor was tasteful Italian, dimly lit and romantic. The food wasn't particularly spectacular but the menu was a nice variety of seafood and meat dishes, and soups and salads. They also had a sushi bar in the restaurant and a small selection of sushi rolls. Our table ordered a variety of cocktails and my white grape martini was delicious. All in all, this place is nothing to write home about but I will likely eat here again as it is convienently located by my hotel and has a pleasant atmosphere. read more

Google roll was delicious! Had the selfie martini which was cucumber vodka with St. Germaine. My main was just okay. Came here for dinner and service was good. Tiramisu was great but very cinnamon-y. read more

We sat at the bar and our bartender was amazing. Very attentive and took an interest in those around him. We ordered the oysters off their happy hour menu and they were great. Very nice to have found a place with fresh reasonably priced oysters in the Bound Brook area. He told us which sushi rolls he liked and we did the hi hater roll as suggested which was great. Highly recommended. We also got a tuna avocado roll which was very well portioned and delicious. The drinks were made well the food was served fresh. Highly highly recommend. read more

Great food, great service. Only reason I'm giving 4 stars is because they had ran out of the cocktail and the entree I ordered. However, the other cocktail and entree I ordered as a back up were delicious! read more

First time here and what a great experience. Staff was warm and welcoming and the sushi was tasty. Our dirty martinis were deliciously dirty ;-) Definitely going back read more

Staff was nice, but food was underwhelming. Diverse menu. I got the seafood risotto, which was just "okay", not much flavor. We had a work dinner here with a party of 7 early in the week. Restaurant wasn't packed by any means, but the service was still disappointing. Would be interested to see how they manage on busy weekends. Despite many staff members standing around, there was long waits for our drinks, staggered entrees brought out leaving some people at our table with dinners and some without. After 6 out of 7 dishes were brought out, one guy in our party was waiting for at least 10 mins for his dish to come out. Likely won't return. read more

I come here for pretty much every business meeting and it never disappoints. It has just about everything including sushi, I ordered the hi hater roll and it was delicious along with the scallops and shrimp over risotto which was pretty tasty, I usually order their penne but this was pretty good. For apps I had their stuffed mushrooms (it was a special) and it was AMAZING!!! Their Mac and cheese gnocchi was really salty though, I was pretty bummed about that. Overall I'll be back! read more

We saw the overall great review on Yelp and decided to try Ovations. The experience left me wondering where all the great reviews came from and why the kitchen generously thinks that salt should be the main and dominant seasoning ingredient in all dishes. Grab a big glass of water, you'll need it, and here we go... The feel of the restaurant is mixed, as if unsure of its identity, much like it's menu - a mix of Italian and Japanese. The outside decors were well planned to showcase the restaurant's location - across the street from the canal, with a modern Mediterranean feel. Inside, coldly modern, minimal on comfort. The staff is good, courteous - they're the reason for 2 stars instead of 1. The bread was very salty, with an oddly orange colored dip that was well flavored with garlic. The arugula and spinach salads were good - but relatively small in portion. I must take exception to the Homemade Gnocci appetizer, written as Mac & Cheese in parenthesis. Expecting pillowy gnocci cushioned with melty gooey cheese, covered in toasted bread crumbs - what came out was runny salty cheese soup with a few crudely fashioned gnocci, no bread crumbs. On to entrees - averaging $23-27 per person. Salt, so much salt. So so much salt. Presentation? Minimal. The food appeared slopped on, off-centered, to every plate. This is not a big deal if it costs $15, but it doesn't. Most of the table ordered linguine with their entrees, the portions were very small. Sadly, I'd have liked more pasta simply to dilute the incredible amount of salt in the sauce. Perhaps sushi is the highlight of Ovations - but we will not be back for that experience. For better Italian, head to Bound Brook or Somerville. For better restaurants in S. Bound Brook - try Kabab Paradise or Pancho's - not as upscale, but you'll enjoy your food for a reasonable price. read more

Ovations - Homemade Gnocci (Mac & Cheese) - not what I expected. - Italian Near Me - South Bound Brook, New Jersey

Previously loved this establishment! The service, clientele , and ambience have gone down hill! The sushi chefs are still amazing but a 27 and under dunk obnoxious clientele have taken over the establishment. read more

The food is very mediocre and the staff was very weird and took food forever to get to us but would come back for the hi hater roll. The lady was nice though read more

ItalianSushi! You can't go wrong there's something for everyone and OUTSTANDING! Whether you creative sushi or the comfort of pappardelle, there are 2 separate menus (I personally recommend sticking to one menu, the Italian Sushi thing) Ovations is well worth the trip to Bound Brook. read more