Rocco’s Pizza and Pasta

Never ate in Riverhead before so picking a place wasn’t easy. Wanted Italian like every other Friday night, but after a long day and plane ride, driving to places I knew toward the city was out of the question. So we took a shot. Very pleasantly surprised. My first impression was not good but it was based on stereotyping. Looking at the staff I didn’t see a single Italian. But we were there, so be it. At least some of the customers looked Italian (good sign in an Italian restaurant). The place is part pizzeria, part casual restaurant (shorts & polo shirt are fine). They brought drinks and garlic knots. Some people love knots, but to me they’re just excess pizza dough, nothing special. I started with the clams oreganata (which you can’t get here in Florida) and my wife had the pasta fagioli. The clams were great and the bowl of soup could have fed a small nation. The salads were fresh with a tasty house dressing. For dinner we each had a chicken cutlet based meal. She had Chicken Francaise, which was very good, and I had the «Jimmy’s Chicken Paisan» (equally delicious). We went with cutlet based dinners because we remember what good cutlets New York has (in general), and we miss that in Florida. Here you either get a pressed patty of chicken parts from Costco or something so thick and tough you think it’s a pork chop. Rocco’s pounded these cutlets to almost paper thin and so tender you didn’t need a knife. So to the staff that I prejudged, Salute! you did a great job. And wherever «Rocco» is, the place is in good hands. BTW… can’t comment on the desserts, we were too full to even look at the dessert menu. Maybe next time.

Sat down in the dining room, ordered some baked Ziti and chicken francaise (idk how to spell it). They were out of the beer I ordered as well as the soda my wife ordered, but they quickly and politely informed us, no big deal. There was a woman standing in the dining room like a bouncer (manager?) Who was very on point and the wait staff obviously feared her. I whispered to my wife, asking if she wanted bread. when she slightly nodded in the affirmative, the mystery bouncer woman screamed at a waiter to get us bread immediately, and it was delivered with haste. When the food got to us, it was as ordered and delicious. the young waiter was very polite, accommodating and on point. As the misses pointed out, there was no music playing (atmosphere!!!) But the food was delicious even without. As far as local Italian eateries go, I believe it beats out Sergios (their delivery guy, also known as father time, is a moron) and the road house (tourist trap). So give it a try. Even if you don’t like the food, you’ll see a great show starring Mrs bouncer/​manager and the fear she puts into the young wait staff.

I stopped in there last week to try it out and I just stood there waiting and waiting to be helped meanwhile the knuckle heads behind the counter goofing off. i spoke with some others and they experienced the same thing. There a lot of other pizza joints that treat the customer better than this place…

I go to Riverhead a lot for work so finding a pizza spot worthy of a pit stop finally paid off! I was getting work done on my car when my stomach made it known that it was time to refuel. I saw Rocco’s and pulled right in. Very nice modern looking building, with a great feel about it. Coming in I saw that business was good because of all the traffic, but I needed confirmation on that the only way I know how… eating for myself. I sized up their large selection of specialty slices and got two that fit my appetite, the chicken marsala slice, and the chicken parmigiana slice. My brother chose the buffalo chicken slice and the chicken parmigiana roll. I was impressed with all the selections. My brother understanding my quest to eat and review for Unilocal allowed me to try his food. This place does not let down. Each item had a unique taste and style about it. My favorite was the marsala slice. It was thick, however the bottom was crunchy, while the top of the crust was soft because of the marsala sauce. They used fresh mushrooms as well and blended it all together with a rich homemade gravy.
The staff was very nice too. One of the waitress there talked about the place like she owned the business herself. This made me believe she cares about what she does there. Trust me when I tell you I will go again. I loved my experience there. I feel that’s what matters the must when dining, the feeling that you enjoyed the sights, sounds, and food, that is what drives us to dine out. Rocco’s of Riverhead did that for me.

After a very long, long day (01÷01÷16) of hanging with family at the outlets, we were starved. We’d already done Applebee’s for breakfast, Panera was out of the question, and the other fast food joints were not appealing. We wanted table service. It was 9:00 PM after all!
We took a chance at what we thought would be just a pizza joint and were very pleasantly surprised. It was Saturday night, the place was filled with two small families and a few pizza patrons. We were a party of 6 and were quickly seated at a round table in the corner. Small place but very comfy and homey feeling.
The garlic knots were amazing! Freshly baked, warm and oozing garlic butter.
Our waiter, Matt, was toooooooo nice! Very accommodating and helpful. He took our orders and a short while later the orgasms began.
The Baked Clams were out of this world (I am allergic but everyone at the table raved about them)
The Eggplant Parmesan was so delicious and flavorful that it made my mouth water.
The Lasagna looked delicious and my brother loved it.
I order the Pasta Mama Teresa and I was 100% completely satisfied. The pink sauce was sweet/​savory, the pasta perfectly cooked to al dente, the mushrooms and peas were beautiful and I want to eat it every day!
This place totally exceeded all of out expectations!
I KNOW I will return to Rocco’s! Fo sure!!!

I have friends who have recommended this place but it was the first time I tried! We came in for dinner and we were greatly surpised at how good the food was.
I had Chicken Calabrese which was recommended by the waiter. My relative had the salmon which was on the list of specials. The food was:
Served in a timely manner. The salad and bread was excellent. The garlic toasted taste on the top was a nice addition. I didn’t like the salad on a small plate but the waiter obliged and gave me a larger one so that my salad would stop falling on the table. The chicken pasta dish was a great combination with the fried chicken, vegetables and alfredo sauce to blend it together. My relative said the salmon was good but could have been fresher. The rest of the meal was great for them as well.
I would definitely come back again but would like to try their pizza or calzone!

A great slice at Rocco’s! The Sicilian is old-​style almost like a Grandma. And lot’s of other great Italian specialties as well. There is also the more formal restaurant attached next door.

An out east journey to get a thin crust clam riddled pie from some spot way down the road, I passed Rocco’s, but not before pulling over to check them out; because why not try all the pizzas from all the places?
I walked in and was greeted with a smile, my eyes went all over the place looking at their normal pies, and what I imagine was a special: this heavenly slice with an almost scampi like shrimp, a broccoli that was plucked from a teriyaki dish, and the most amazing balance of sauce and cheese, all on a nice crispy crust.
Man oh man, I have been back a dozen times hoping they’d have it and no one really knows what I’m talking about; one girl said yeah sometimes they just throw things together one day, but you can order anything you want and they’ll make it… My imagination spiked, my wallet hand clenched… The possibilities, Roccos is awesome!
Great eggplant tower as they call it, super good and crisp crust on every slice, great slices! I should really come back on a pasta night or to order a full pie, I’m a bit far away but I’ve made trips out there because they are that good.
Can’t wait to try my luck again next time
(I doubt they’ll ever have this slice again, but a guy can dream)

We ordered takeout food from this quaint, family owned restaurant. The food was hot, fresh, flavorFUL, and exactly to our specifications and affordable! The order was difficult seeing that we were dealing with a shrimp/​lobster allergy, a gluten allergy and picky eaters. They improvised the menu with no attitude or extra charge. The portion sizes were huge, so plenty of left overs and full bellies! Keep up the good work Rocco and staff:)

Pizza is great when ordered a fresh pie. The items in the showcase you order by the slice look as old as the leaning tower of Pisa. Stick to ordering a whole pie.
Pastas are always great as well as the garlic knots. Call ahead because it takes a little bit of time to get the order ready if you order it there

Very nice restaurant with good food. My husband and I spent the weekend in Riverhead and were looking for a place for lunch. I had a Greek salad with grilled chicken and my husband had pasta with garlic and oil. Service was good. I will return the next time I am in Riverhead.

We have gone to and ordered from Rocco’s many times since we moved here 2 years ago. Most of the time we are very happy. The stuffed mushrooms are superb and I can’t go here without having them. But on our last visit we were quite annoyed. My husband and I ordered appetizers and entrée’s. I am telling you this so you realize that we weren’t just having pizza which might explain their behavior. But we were having dinner! My husband ordered the veal parmigiana dinner and it comes with a side of pasta with tomato sauce and a salad. Well, he told the waiter he doesn’t eat salad and asked if he had no salad could he substitute vodka sauce for the tomato sauce. Are you ready… the waiter told him it would cost another $ 4.95 to sub vodka sauce!!! Are they kidding??? This is on a side of pasta, not even a whole dish of pasta and he wasn’t getting the salad!!! Rocco’s is not that good… it’s a pizza place and just a convenient place to grab something quick. I think they need to learn something about customer appreciation and service. $ 4.95 extra on a $ 16.95 entrée is quite ridiculous. I have been very patient with lots of other mistakes they have made in the past but my quick stop place will now be Mema’s, or Wading River or Bella Gusta’s!!!

The World’s Best Italian Food

Dont waste your time !!! Pizza sits all day on the counter all day !!! And he swears they just came out ! «10 minutes ago «even a 5 year old would know better !!! Not fresh just go to road house

Garbage, best way to describe what this place is now. When Rocco’s first opened we got food here once or twice a week minimum between work and home. But in the past year or so it started to slip… now it’s almost not edible. Not one of the original staff can be found anymore, kitchen or dinning room. Like everyone else in this town they went with cheap labor and it shows. We ordered a single alfreado dinner and it was TERRIBLE! It was a giant bowl of pasta with melted butter and a sprinkle of powdered Romano cheese, it came with a small container of lettuce and three pieces of stale bread. Needless to say I will not be returning and I recommend you save your time and money and go elsewhere.

Pizza is expensive and doughy… So thick it’s raw in the middle. I can also do without the counter service, and (Rocco) and his big mouth soprano tough guy persona in the background… If anybody thinks this is good pizza I’m sorry you haven’t had good pizza

I couldn’t be more happy than to write a review about this fine establishment. I was staying in town for a couple of days and wanted some Italian food. This place certainly did the job!
There’s two parts to this restaurant. One side is your typical pizza joint, take out, sit down and the other is waiter service, full service restaurant with full plate entrees. We decided to sit down and enjoy our meals. We first ordered the mozzarella appetizer. Very delicious. I like the warm bread (garlic knot type) that they brought out. The salads were very good. Our main entrees were linguini w/​pesto sauce and the wife got bow tie pasta with a garlic/​oil olive sauce. Both dishes were fantastic. The waiter that took care of us (sorry, forgot the name) but he did a great job being attentive to us and my lil’ daughter enjoyed his company as well! Very friendly. I put in a order to go for the lil’ one and every thing came out in a reasonable time. Even the baked ziti was out of this world! I thought my hood made good ziti. Guess I’ve been wrong all these years. The prices are very reasonable. I enjoyed myself so much that we decided to come the next night. The service that night was a little slow but the food was still fantastic.
Now I’m part Italian and I know how to make a mean dish of pasta but this place makes delicious sauce if not better than mine and totally exceeded my expectations. I would make the 1 ½ drive to come here again, hopefully in the near future.
Thanks Rocco!

Updating my review again to just say… Pepperoni and cheese stuffed garlic knots. What more could you want in life? Haha

Rocco’s one of my favorite in Riverhead. Food is excellent and clean. Everything fresh and delicious. Dining area nice and specious.. And Rocco is one nice Italian and very friendly. I go there almost every week. Dominic make the pizza any way you like. Just tell him. And he’s claiming he makes better pizza than Rocco.

‘Meh’ is perfect way to describe my experience with Rocco’s. Here’s why:
–Delivery took 1hr 15min. I was told over the phone it would be 45 min. Rocco’s is only 1.3 miles away from where the ‘za was to be delivered. 75 min for 3 pies to travel a mile? Wack. If you’re ordering from here you better not be hungry. Btw, it was a Sat at 4:45. Not exactly ‘prime time’.
–Possibly overcharged. The online menu (which may or may not be reliable) says a plain pie is $ 11. My bill for 3 pies was $ 44 or roughly $ 14 a pop.
–Pies were small. 8 slices, but 2 – 3 in every pie were mini-​slices and it’s not bc others were large. I was literally calling them ‘baby slices’ when distributing them.
–Taste. Bleh. So f’n average. Nothing memorable about the crust, crunch, cheese or sauce. This is pizza I expect anywhere outside of NY. To get it on LI is poor.
I will not return for pizza here.