Gaspare’s Italian Bistro

Grew up loving this place in the 80’s but Gaspares has become just another pizza/​pasta joint. Had magherita pizza a few months ago, 2 of us had to run to the bathroom within a half hour of eating it. Ordered an appetizer to go more recently and was shocked at how ordinary and small the portion was. So many better options for the same price out there.

We have been going to Gaspares for at least 25 years during the summers in Margate
I can’t believe the negative reviews on Unilocal
Their Italian dishes and sauces are excellent. They could easily raise their prices with a better location
Sauces like Marsala, Piccata, Vodka, etc are as good as south philly Italian restaurants, like Villa da Roma or Ralphs This place is excellent but yes, a little tight seating. I can live with it if the food is good. Prices are very fair. It can’t be too bad for the length of time it has been serving homemade Italian dishes.
Go there. It’s excellent

The food isn’t bad, just saw the roach comment… ugh. Makes me not want to go there. Waaay too expensive tho. Lower the prices, clean up and then everyone will be on board.

Large pizza with 1 topping wil cost $ 20 and then some. Go to bone fish grill. .3 course meal $ 14.50

Don’t get me wrong the food is good. But the prices are very high for what you get. The menu changes almost every month — which comes with an increase in prices every month. You have to order online just to make sure you know the prices upfront.
We got eggplant rollatini that said it was $ 8. They charged us $ 10. & it was 1 piece of eggplant. We got a pizza with 2 toppings that cost $ 24. We ordered pizzas & they said 20 minutes. We got there after 25 minutes to pick it up. They hadn’t even made them to put in the oven yet. No sorry, no discount, nothing to make up for having to sit there another 20 minutes waiting. There are tons of pizza & Italian restaurants nearby that you’d be better off going to.

ROACHES
I ate dinner there and it was decent.
As soon as we got the Check, on the wall next to us in the dining room was a roach crawling on the wall. My friend, who is not afraid of anything grabbed it off the wall in a napkin and gave it to the server to show the manager. The server seemed not to care and went to the back. Several minutes later the manager came to apologize, telling us they were trying to keep the problem «under control».
Disgusting. Filthy. Unprofessional.

Not the best dining experience, although the food was delicious. The multiple TV screens are very distracting and take the attention away from the food. The waitress seemed inexperienced and exclaimed «Made it!» when my husband finished his meal. The dining room is so small that I felt I should introduce myself to the other patrons. I recommend doing take out instead.

This is a hidden gem in a nondescript strip center. This place only seats 36, and probably does a great take out business. Even with a «call ahead» we still had to wait for a table. And no wonder… the 4 of us each had one of the best meals we’ve had in awhile.
A very large menu selection. Seafood, chicken, pasta, soup… all prepared perfectly. Sauces (or gravy) were all very tasty and not overly spiced. Prices were very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food served.
We’ll definitely return next time we’re in the area. There are more entrees we want to sample and enjoy.

I’ve been here twice and that’s only because I had a gift certificate. The food was so so, the waitress was nice. The first time I went I had clam spaghetti it was just regular red sauce with some clams thrown on top no clam flavor at all. I won’t go again too many other good Italian restaurants around.

The food is nowhere near the best in the area. It’s below average Italian at best. The food would earn a 3 star on it’s own, but I haven’t mentioned the customer service experience yet.
I have never felt so unwanted by a restaurant. They made me feel like I was inconveniencing them by being a customer. You’re in the service industry, but heaven forbid you actually have to serve. There are plenty of Italian restaurants that want my money and from now on I’ll be going to one of them.

I’ve never had a bad food experience at Gaspare’s. They serve decent Italian food in good portions. I used to order their gnocchi and spaghetti and meatballs in meat sauce a few times a month. As a few other reviewers have commented, their customer service can be horrible. I would usually place a take out order and both the experience calling in the order and picking up my food were unpleasant. I was always treated as if I was holding up their day and inconveniencing them. When I would come in, everyone would ignore me even after I had said «excuse me» a few times. I realized that I was starting to dread ordering from Gaspare’s and suddenly suggesting anything other than Italian food for take out. I do not think I will ever go back.

Gaspares is my favorite pasta restaurant when I am at the jersey shore, with the only downside being its location. It isn’t just around the corner. It has unbelievable red sauce and I have taken it home «a la carte» and frozen it, for a special home cooked meal. Well, partially home cooked. The menu is huge which makes choosing difficult but I tend to order the pasta dish that you create yourself. I can order a whole wheat pasta and add lots of fresh veggies and melted mozzarella. I love it there. It’s very, very casual so you can go as you are.

Food is good, a little pricey. especially for their lack of courtesy and friendliness when ordering. Fix the unpleasant attitudes and u might get 5 stars.

So what if the food is good when the service and demeanor of the work staff is deplorable. Called ahead in the afternoon– was told we would be seated after 10 to 15 minutes of waiting. Stood at the door for an hour and 20 minutes before being sat at a table. Super inconvenient. Very frustrating. The staff did nothing to make the experience more accommodating. After coming to this restaurant for the good food for the past several years, this was on experience sure to deter any future return. I hate this place. Horrible service. Do not go here. Not worth the wait.

Ah Gaspares, how do I love thee?
Ok, so the place is SUPER small and cramped and probably violates several fire codes. The food (They have a separately together pizza business as well but This review is for the SIT DOWN restaurant) the star here. They do almost everything well from seafood to ‘red sauce‘ dishes but my favorte is anything scampi. They have a liquor FULL serve license and decent prices on wine. You can get martinis & beer. For such a SMALL place this is amazing. The dessert options limited to a decent tiramisu and decent canollis. The capuccino is machine aided but real milk frotehd is an A+ in my book. Appetizers are OK, but the excellent garlic bread and sauce they give you when you sit down is usually an app into itself and very tasty.
I think this is one of those places, that doesn‘t get alot of reviews because people don‘t wan‘t to get the word out and keep it to themselves!.. I hope to get the word out so they think of expanding.
If you want to be in the table next to yours conversation, this is teh place. I‘ve never once went there and didn‘t eitehr hear or get in on innocent conversation as you are practically dining with the strangers next to you anyway.
The service is ALWAYS very good here no matter who is serving you, it seems they do train or hire right. For a little place that isn‘t exactly around teh corner from us, we look forward to the drive there for a meal. There are a few plasma tv‘s with menu pics and lately the family trip to Italy and if tehres a game on it i usually on one of the tv‘s.(As a sport fan I can appreciate this).
The menu is extensive and can be confusing to a novice as it offers many ways to have something prepared and many sauces for that preparation. So apart from the confusing menu, a very satisfying dine. Also the cutlets are breaded on site not the factory– a nice touch, I assume almost everything is home made.
PS-it‘s not quite the ‘gourmet elegant‘ they promote but it is steps above most local Italian joints.

I have only eaten at the establishment once but I have ordered delivery from them quite often… The menu is quite big and alittle confusing, I cannot say anything bad about about them, They say it will take 45 mins they are there in 20 mins, the food is good, they may want to condense the menu. the portions are huge you can probably share with someone… so all and all it is not a bad place to eat.