Russo’s Neighborhood Ristorante & Bar

The warm Brie cheese appetizer is amazing. Then I ordered the Valentine special lobster heart ravioli and it was really good. Will be back

Ate there tonight. Wow excellent food the atmosphere superb! We were all very very happy. Yes I highly recommend it.

Came in on 2016 eve. Called ahead and made reservations. When I arrived there was quite the crowd for this little place. That’s always a good sign. I was seated immediately and my table was ready. Had some champagne to start off with just your ordinary chadon. I had the pleasure of having the minestrone soup cup which was delightful. My wife had the salad which see said was good. I had the fettuccine Alfredo which is very rich and creamy. Big serving but I managed to leave no left overs. Wifey had the lobster tail which was partly over cooked but for the most part she enjoyed her meal. Justin our waiter was in top of us and took really good care of us even for a crazy busy night hats off to him. Definitely will be back for those Alfredo! Also had the chocolate cake dessert. Not a huge on chocolate but it was the perfect blend of chocolate and cake. If you come here you won’t leave your taste spuds disappointed.

Had a Christmas Party here. And it was Fantastic. Great service, great Food and great Atmosphere. Couldn’t ask for anything More. Will Be back for sure!!!

Not worth it.
Group of 7 plus baby. Went in with high expectations, but was quickly let down. The two best things were the wine and the bruschetta. From the time we ordered, it took an hour to get our food and the food was very much below average.
The fact they call the dish Carbonara is embarrassing. I understand chefs that take small liberties to be creative with a dish, but when the dish is a bowl of bland cream sauce and a little pasta, don’t call it something it’s not. Maybe call it, «bowl of cream sauce with a little pasta»…
Our group had other dishes that included lasagna and bolognese, but none of them were good enough for how much it costs. If you can’t get the classics right, nothing else could ever be very good.
Also noticed on the way out that the food inspection review indicated that corrective action was taken to remedy violations of «food source and labeling». Wish we would have seen that on the way in.
Unless they hire a new chef to remedy violations of ruining classic Italian dishes, I would recommend going somewhere else like Domenicos down the street.

I have eaten there for many years, since we used to live one block away. Last night I took a friend there for her birthday. They were very busy but I have to say the service was poor. They seemed to be understaffed to handle a Saturday night crowd. It took 20+ minutes for the waiter to come over. He apologized, and said our waters were coming. They did finally come. We were supposed to get bread with their flavored oil, but it didn’t make it until after the entrees came and we specifically asked what happened to the bread. But no oil to dip it in! The food was okay. Just okay. I ordered something I have ordered many times before, and it was pretty much flavorless. I am disappointed as it used to be a really good restaurant. Not sure if I will return.

This place is cute! Food was good! My fiancé took me here on a date night for Halloween! I had the fettuccine Alfredo, and their sauce is very creamy, my fiancé had the lasagna and he said it was very good, but the fettuccini was the best out of the two! The reason I give three stars is because the service wasn’t that great, our server although nice, had us waiting for even our complimentary bread, he made us wait for our drinks when all my fiancé wanted was water, as well as our bill. Not to mention the other waitress who was trying to close early because they had no more customers, and a new couple came to eat, and she was just very sarcastic and rude! I hope they didn’t tip her!

I didn’t care for this place. We first walked in and I didn’t care for the smell, kinda like old cleaning products. Which is not desire able when eating. So we sat outside. The bread was hard and the oil had more herbs than oil. I had their house Can Sauv and at first I was thrilled with the robust size glass I received, however it was the last of the bottle and clearly had been opened for a while. My date enjoyed his carbonara however my mushroom and scallop risotto was dry and the scallops weren’t even whole. There must be better Italian fare in LB!

Nice place with good service. I had a pasta seafood dish that was very good. It was not a marinara sauce, but still very good.

I visited with a group of friends on August 14, 2015. It was a Friday night and surprisingly it was not all that crowded at the time of our arrival. We had made a reservation and were seated really quickly. We chose to sit outside as it was a beautiful night in Long Beach. We were a party of five so it took a few minutes to set up our table outside. We were greeted by a lovely young lady named Savannah. She was extremely pleasant and showed great skill at servicing us. There was a special going on for martinis. The choices were great and we were determined to try them all. The menu had so many delicious sounding items that we were hard pressed to decide. We finally came to our own conclusions and promised to share with each other. Our drinks arrived and we made our appetizers order first. Let me say that the Russo’s Special appetizers was far and around the best appetizer I have ever tasted in my life. It is a highlight. Everyone should try that because it is so good. All the other appetizers we ordered were equally spectacular. The Focaccia Bread basket was stellar and very tasty. The food took a little while to arrive but the service was so good and the drinks so delicious that we didn’t really care. Our server went out of her way to make our experience great. Dinner arrived and each one in our party sampled every one else’s plate. We each wanted the others plates. From pasta to pizza to lasagne we were not disappointed. If you’re in the Naples area of Long Beach you should check this restaurant out and give it a try. The food was delicious. The atmosphere was pleasant and the service was excellent. I would recommend this place to anyone who asked where to find a good Italian place. Thanks to the wonderful staff at Russo’s for a great and memorable night.

5 stars. Fresh and delicious. Customer service Excellent. Sitting at home eating leftovers so I had to give them a shout out.

They advertised a special evening for Father’s Day and there were several great reviews here on Unilocal,so we decided to take the children (4) and go celebrate dad! Well, long story short, after waiting 30 minutes for drinks, having to ask for some bread, and after an hour without entrees, dad insisted we leave a $ 20 on the table and head to In N Out burger. He was terribly disappointed and pissed off that no one seemed to acknowledge the bad situation. There was no manager to be seen. A hostess that seemed a bit lost, our server who seemed to be new at waiting tables, and a busser who had turned into a bread server, too. Our children, who love cooking and restaurant shows more than kids’ programming, suggested we call a «restaurant intervention» show. LOL. It was just sad.

I don’t know how this restaurant has four stars…
I will start with the good:
The focaccia bread, that was really well done, though it did need a little more salt (no biggie).
The server was good, not great. She could have been a bit more attentive when we asked for our bill, but again, I’m easy, I’d give both the bread and the service four stars.
Now for bad:
First off, how is this even considered Italian, I mean the food is «Italian» in that «Hey, Joey, bring the gabbagool with the proshoot and fah-​zool». It is so diluted to the point that I am amazed that this place is still in business. There are so many dishes on the menu that have ingredients in them that just don’t work. For example:
Ravenna Drive Gnocchi: Basil cheese gnocchi with roasted bell peppers and asparagus in a creamy roasted red pepper sauce.
*Get rid of the peppers and the pepper sauce and you might have a dish. Or just make a bechemel and serve that with the gnocchi
or
Garibaldi Risotto di Nonna: Italian rice with grilled chicken, asparagus, red bell peppers, fresh basil and a touch of cream.
*Risotto should only have 1 – 2 «other» ingredients along with the base risotto– get rid of the peppers and basil, and you have a nice risotto (assuming its already not a sticky mess) or take out the chicken an peppers, for a basil & asparagus risotto, and of course there’s nothing wrong with a plain cheese risotto or an asparagus risotto.
or
Florence Walk Tortellini Scampi: Rock shrimp and cheese tortellini mixed with sun-​dried tomatoes, asparagus, roasted tri-​color bell peppers, red onion and pine nuts in a creamy pesto sauce
*Make up you mind. What are we eating? Tortellini or scampi, we shouldn’t be having both (separate courses, sure– BUT NOT TOGETHER!). Also, a scampi is garlic, white wine, butter, lemon zest and juice, and parsley (salt and pepper to taste)! It is not a creamy pesto, there is no red onion, no bell peppers, and no pine nuts!
Jesus Christ, get a cookbook, search the internet for GOOD recipes– these are ideas that a five year old or stoned college kid who knows nothing about cooking would come up with! The guy preaches his Sicilian back round on his menu saying «Jack Russo comes from a long line of Sicilian fishermen, most born and raised in Trappeto, a small fishing village 24 miles from Palermo» and «Jack enjoys visits back to his roots where he still has family. Several of the family photos hanging in Russo’s are from his earlier visits to Sicily with his parents.» Jack, get your Nonna’s caponata recipe, cook that, make simple sausage and peppers, where’s the bottarga, where’s the real Italian food?!
And now onto what we ordered for our dinner:
My wife got the Sorrento Drive Arrabiata Capellini with:
Angel hair pasta with pepperoncini, bacon, crushed chilis and sun-​dried tomatoes in our house spicy marinara sauce.
WAT.
Seriously, what the hell is this because this isn’t arrabiata. They put pickled, green pepperoncini in pasta, with sun dried tomatoes and apple wood smoked bacon? Is the chef high? How hard is it to screw up arrabiata?! All arrabiata is, is garlic, crushed red pepper flake, capers and tomato sauce! It’s delicious that way, so why change it, I mean if you want to add bacon, add pancetta, but sun dried tomatoes and pepperoncini have no business in that dish.
To top that off, the base sauce was terrible and pasta was well over done and of poor quality.
I got the San Remo Spaghetti Bolognese.
It was all sausage, gristly, cheap, bulk (caseless) sausage. blended in with a very insipid tomato sauce– straight from the can. Again, the pasta was over cooked and of poor quality and it was cappellini, not even spaghetti.
And put real Reggiano or Pecorino Romano on the pasta (if you must) not this domestic «fresh Romano cheese», it’s sharp provolone, dammit!
My wife had a few bites of her pasta and pushed it aside, I offered mine, but sadly it wasn’t much better. We went home disappointed and $ 100.00 poorer (two salads, a bottle of wine, and two entrees). This has to be one of the worst, perverted examples of Italian cuisine I have ever had in my entire life. If you want real Italian for a similar price, go to La Perolaccia or Michael’s on Naples if you want to spend some cash.

First I want to say that I come from an Italian family with a grandma that cooked for the family. For me, there is a big gap in the market for great Italian restaurants in Cali in general, especially after being in New York a few times as well. I have ate here 4 times now in the past year, and every time it was great food, bread, and attentive service.
There are two Italian places in the area I would recommend to my friends or family and this is one of them along with Vino & Cucino near LBCC.
There is a more expensive, more popular, highly publicized Italian restaurant near Russo’s, but for my money Russo’s is a much better value. I do wish they would change the carpets out for hardwood floors though for a cleaner look. Thank you.

We were twice a week regulars for years. Then, the poor service started (as many other reviewers have noted). Then, the quality of food went down. We gave up. After several years, we made the mistake of trying again. What a disappointment. The food was almost inedible. My chicken was uncooked. While the server did a fine job, the food was awful. I honestly don’t see how this restaurant stays in business. Perhaps the residents of Naples just aren’t willing to drive five minutes to a good restaurant.

Hands down the best Italian place in Southern California. Jack and Vikki (the owners) are extremely nice and you can tell they have a passion for this place. The food is amazing as well! So far I have tried numerous dishes and each one has never let me down. Fresh ingredients and great taste. Their cooks are top notch.
Recommendations are the Russo special for appetizer and the Linguine De Mar. Also the bread they serve to your table is delicious on its own. It comes with oil and cheese to top on it.
The décor is nice as well. Very warm and inviting. Servers are also very nice and friendly.
If you ever want to get bonus points on a date or wow your friends, Russos is the place to go!

We recently hosted a party at our house, and asked Russo’s to cater it. Jack was great in suggesting a menu. They delivered the food, complete with chafing dishes and serving utensils. The food was fantastic, extremely plentiful, and very reasonably priced.
Thanks, Russo’s for a great party!

As a resident of the area, Russo’s really is about being THAT place in the neighborhood to get a great Italian meal, dine in a terrific atmosphere and be served by a knowledgeable staff that actually cares about your experience there.
My girlfriend and I have been here several times over the last year and love the ambience on a spring, summer or early fall night where we can sit on their patio that turns the romance factor up to 10. Our experience last night was the best yet.
Our waiter, Justin, was top-​notch and made us feel right at home. It was as if we were old friends. Beware: His spiel about the specials had our mouths watering.
As a starter, I had the Gorgonzola Wedge salad that was so wonderful I nearly ordered another one and would leave totally satisfied. Luckily, I thought better and ordered what was to be a godsend of an entrée. I had the Venetian Walk Ravioli that was spectacular — in both flavor and presentation … Dios mio!
Do not miss this dish… Please!
They run killer coupons via email. Last night’s was $ 10 off any bill over $ 30 and free corkage, so we brought own wine. So be sure to sign up for their email list.
Overall, I rate Russo’s one of the best the LBC has to offer. Particularly if you’re a local, I urge you to support this terrific dining venue.

An Father’s Day let down. After visiting this restaurant several times in the past year, always having positive experiences I must say last night was a real bummer. To start, the bread and fried calamari were good, bread more than the squid. We thought this evening was off to a good start. Order was taken semi promptly, my wife ordered the chicken pram and I had the Italian ribeye. The only reason I ordered that was because my wife got it by mistake, she ordered the regular ribeye and they brought out this breaded one on the last visit, it ended up being very good.
Food arrived in about 35 minutes. Far too long for a restaurant that was at the most 30% full. We got great portions and looked very good. But then we tasted it. Chicken was so over cooked and dry and I’ve had a better steak at sizzler. The steak had no taste, I was expecting a plethora of flavor with all these Italian seasonings. But I couldn’t really taste anything. Server stopped by asking how everyone was, said «it’s been better» and she just said «ok let me know if you need anything «both of us have a few more bites before were just done with it. We full up on the amazing bread and side sauce that’s extremely addicting.
Dessert time. We ordered the banana flambé. So I guess it sat so long we ended up getting ice cream soup with some really good bananas soaking in there. Taste we good, presentation was awful. $ 110 later, disappointed and still a bit hungry were home looking for a snack. Must have been an off night, probably just hit up Michael’s next time. 2 stars for the bread and the good bananas.

I met Jack on a cruise the weekend before my birthday – super chill guy – and he told me a little about the restaurant’s history, I decided to try it out for my birthday. I brought 14 family members for dinner and we were created very warmly.
The wait staff was attentive, and very knowledgable about everything on the menu.
We ordered 3 calamari for appetizer but they served a basket or just delicious bread. The olive oil that came with the bread was also delicious!
We ordered ribeyes, chicken masalas, gnocchi, 3 different kinds of pasta, and risotto. We opted to just have to food be served family style so we can taste everything. My favorite was the gnocchi. It had mozzarella in the middle (I think?) and was not too rich. The seafood pastas were also very delicious!
At the end of the meal, Megan, who was fabulous, let us know that Jack remembered us and took care of some of the items we ordered. I ended up paying $ 250 for the entire meal for 14 people.