Val’s Seafood Trattoria

Everything was amazing!!! The bang bang shrimp as our app, So delicious! There seafood pasta dishes and there Crab legs amazing!!! Even the wait staff was great. I can’t complain about a single thing. Great dining experience! And there cheese cake deserts have to be one of the best I have tried! Will go again and again for sure!

What a dreadful experience! Brought my family out to try this new location. I was a patron of the original establishment years ago. This was not remotely the Vals I recall in the 1990s. The location was convenient with their shared parking lot. First impression was an airy, well decorated and light establishment. Tempting home made deserts bombard you when you first enter the building. Everything looked appealing, until we were seated. It went downhill from there. We were seated in a booth towards the back near the rest rooms. Mind you, when we entered at 5 PM this past Friday evening, no one was there! It soon filled up after us.
The booth we were seated at literally had electrical tape covering assumed holes in different locations! The seat was lumpy and uneven. That struck me as odd, since the rest of the interior and exterior were well maintained. I noticed not every booth had similar home made repair seating. Lucky us. We were promptly waited on, a bit too promptly, we had not even taken our coats off to settle in when this rather gruff waitress approached us. We felt rushed the entire meal, it began cordially enough but again, the waitress had a rather unpleasant mannerism about her. It absolutely turned me off, she really showed her true nature at the end of our meal, when she would not accept our refusal for desert. I have to been to several restaurants in my 48 years and have never experienced anythign this rude before. Our party were blown away by this peculiar behavior.
Back to the meal, they offer wine, but you must purchase the bottle, as they cannot legally sell it by the glass. Understood. I opted for their unsweetened ice tea, it may have been the worst iced tea I have ever tasted. The restaurant utilizes plastic glasses with cheap silverware, and ten cent napkins. I had the Manhattan clam chowder bowl, it was lukewarm, and barely contained any sea food. It was basically red broth and potatoes. Very disappointing. In addition, I tried the house salad with broiled shrimp. It was supposed to be 6 shrimps as advertised, there were four o there. They were under cooked and rubbery. The seasoning was lackluster and the salad was smothered in a house dressing, it ruined the entire taste. My family enjoyed their meals, but obviously I did not. What was the final nail in the coffin was the astronomically overpriced bill for this lackluster experience. I could not wait to get out of there, just praying none of us experiencing food poisoning. And what seafood restaurant did you ever hear of that offers pizza? Just a truly offbeat experience. A pushy waitress, poor quality-​over priced food, on damaged seats. And before I forget, shortly before we were finished our meals, these rather shady couple came in, the guy was wearign one of those sleeveless wife beater white shirts, mind you, it was like 40 degrees outside. Just not the restaurant for me. I am avoiding that place Good luck if you try it.

Been here a few times and Val’s has never disappointed me. The plank salmon is to die for. The shrimp in the shrimp cocktail are large and fresh. I also have had the meatball appetizer which is very good as well. Usually when you go to a seafood place, you have to be careful ordering meat. This is not the case at Val’s. My husband and I ordered the filet last time we were there and it was delicious and cooked perfectly medium rare! I got mine with shrimp and he got is his lump crab meat. We were there once with friends and one of them knew the owner, Val. She sent us over a pizza that was crazy good. It was a white pizza with spinach and bacon. Yum! Last time I was there, they had pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. It was fantastic. Service is always very good — everyone is friendly and helpful. I love that it’s BYOB.

Absolutely phenomenal food. Great rustic dining atmosphere. BYOB. And amazing service. Chicken Parm dinner is literally enough to feed 3 people lol

Everything on the menu is amazing. Have been there multiple times and it has never disappointed.

We Waited a little bit after we got seated to have a drink order taken but once we were acknowledged and had our drinks and orders taken, it was great. We ordered the crab legs dinner. 2lbs of snow crab legs for $ 30. $ 5 more dollars got you a side salad and a side of pasta so we did that. The crabs were tasty. Even though they are frozen, they weren’t stale or old. I got the garlic and oil flavoring too. That was good. The side salads were huge. Came in a big bowl. The pasta was good too and we ended up taking it home and having it the next day. We also got dessert — apple streusel cheesecake and cannoli dip. Both were really good. Def try the cheesecake. Staff was great. Def going back soon

Definitely 5 stars!!! Our dinner was absolutely delicious. I heard about Val’s from Facebook and printed out the menu. We decided to go last minute on a Friday night. Didn’t have a wait at all, only for the booth to be cleaned. Pleasantly greeted and asked we had been there before. We hadn’t so our waitress explained the specials and what they do. I decided to try the fried tomatoes which were absolutely divine. The waitress made sure to correct me when I asked for fried green tomatoes… but the tomatoes were absolutely scrumptious! Nice size, sweet and cooked to perfection with a nice, light, crunchy batter on the outside. My husband ordered the spicy seafood bisque which was the soup of the day. It had a little kick to it, was full of seafood and was very good. I ordered one of the specials — shrimp and asparagus risotto. The shrimp were enormous and were firegrilled, the asparagus was abundant and the risotto was cooked just right — YUMALICIOUS!!! My husband ordered a dish which consisted of linguine pasta, red sauce with seafood which he enjoyed as well. We enjoyed the garlic knots while waiting for our entrees. Overall. we were very happy with the ambience, which is like an open cafeteria which rustic walls and decorations. The selection of the menu varies from fried seafood to pasta, in addition to specials for appetizers and entrees. Oh, hubby got the key lime cheesecake which was delicious as well. Everything is homemade and we will definitely be back to enjoy Val’s again.

I only had the crab Maria ravioli, it was OK. Not sure it’s worth the price. The fries task like fish.

I wasn’t too sure what to expect with this place. The fact that it was seafood and Pizza just threw me off for some reason. I really was hoping for the best since we came here for an early fathers day dinner with my fiancés family. To my surprise this place was awesome! The inside décor is a interesting, in a good way. Nothing to make you say, OMG I need to dress up or come in sweats.
The staff here was extremely nice. We called ahead and they reserved a table for us. Fresh bread and butter was served as soon as we ordered. The entire table stuck with seafood. Everyone was beyond satisfied with their entrees. From seafood pastas. stuffed fish, to the crab feast, it was all well prepared and portions were HUGE.
My fiancé and I had the crab feast, 3 lbs of snow crab legs and Dungeness legs. AMAZING!
Its a huge size so we shared one… for $ 65 bucks we got our moneys worth and even took some home.
I really liked this place and look forward to coming back. It may not be that appealing on the outside but its one of those «don’t judge a book by its cover.

Well we had a large table, they were extremely polite and nice, I had the stuffed flounder with crab imperial. The platter was small the menu noted wine no flavor bland. This was most disappointing. My hubby had a pasta dish with mussels and crab, scallops, and shrimp. Value but later on the way home had diarrhea. The others that ordered the crabs were extremely pleased. The Twins had pasta seafood they enjoyed. My daughter had a broiled seafood combo said its just ok. The bill for 8 of us was just about $ 300. No alcohol. 4 beverages, 4 waters, I will not return but the others said yes they liked it.

Hidden treasure with amazing garlic knots, delicious home made food and yummy desserts! Also serving Auburn Road wines– bonus! :)

I have been going to Vals since the days they were located on egg harbor road. The current location is a little off the beaten track but well worth the visit. A very casual BYOB setting. Great assortment of food from fish to pasta to pizza. I am a big fan of the fish platters. They usually have specials. For example last night I had a very nice spinach salad with warm bacon dressing. They also serve a nice plank salmon and the pizza is pretty good too. Only reason I don’t give 5 stars is that they starting to get a little pricy on some of the entrees.

I drive by here several times a week and can’t believe I never stopped in. I started seeing some Facebook posts for this spot and decided to give it a try — I sure am happy I did!
You walk directly in to the dining room — it is a large open space and despite there being no foyer it still seemed warm on a night that was below freezing outside. The noise level is a little high when the room is full so be aware of that if you like it on the quiet side or are expecting to have conversation with a larger party.
There was a wait on a Saturday evening, but it was not too long.
Our server, Jessica, took a few extra minutes to greet our table, but was apologetic. The menu is a combination of seafood and pizza. The pizzas come from the brick oven on one side of the room while all the other dishes come from the kitchen on the other side.
I struggled between a 3 and 4 for this restaurant. Everything we ordered was a solid — served hot, good taste, cooked as ordered, good portion size, and friendly service. However, nothing was what I would call amazing.
We started with the bang bang shrimp and parm fries because they were recommended by other reviewers. Bang Bang shrimp are on special on Tuesdays for $ 5.
The shining star of the entrees was the broiled seafood platter — 4 medium sized sea scallops, 4 large shrimp, and a surprisingly tasty piece of flounder. On most broiled seafood platters, the flounder is the most forgettable piece, but on this platter it might have been the star. We chose the pasta as a side dish with the fra diavlo sauce — a nice blend of sweet and spicy.
We also got a pizza — delicious, but I expected it to be thinner and crispier coming out of the brick oven. Our teenagers really enjoyed it.
Prices are on the high side, but not outrageous.
I encourage you to try out Val’s for a solid local experience to avoid going to the mall for a nice family dinner out. However, if you want something really special and unique, you will probably still have to go to the city.

Very inconsistent since their pizza chef is no longer with them. Being a picky eater, the other food I’ve had wasn’t very good. However, please keep in mind I would usually go here for the pizza.
On a lighter note, the staff is always wonderful and very friendly.

Good service, reasonable priced Italian seafood
To pizza are good choices, wine available
Home made chez cake… leave room

This was our third outing to Val’s restaurant, but for us three times wasn’t a charm. The first two times were decent so we decided to give them another try on a Saturday Evening.
Details: I had the chicken parm which was very thick and over done (deep fried burnt) with parm fries (cool and under done). Maria had the roasted beet salad (pretty good) with a bowl of penne pasta (also under done).
Our waitress was responsive and immediately replaced the fries (which are superb when made right) but offered no solution to the obviously over done, dark brown chicken parm.
It was very crowded last night which might explain why the food quality wasn’t as good as before.
We may go back in the future, but we are going to avoid peak nights and times. But I also think I would go back to having a seafood dish or maybe try the pizza.

We enjoyed our meals at Val’s. We particularly liked the shrimp! Everything else was pretty decent. I had fish, my husband chicken parm. Not the BEST, but good. The place itself has no ambiance to speak of. One large warehouse ferl with booths and tables. Nothing special. Parking is easy, plenty of that.

Almost everything here is homemade and delicious. Especially the desserts. The fried shrimp, crabs, pasta, bread… etc. out of this world. Kids loved the pizza.
Staff is extremely friendly. Worth the travel if you must.
Will definitely be heading back.

The ambience is nice and the service is excellent. The food, not so good and overpriced. We got the mussels and clams, which both tasted like they were microwaved. The clams over linguini had a funny taste to it and the shrimp parm was good but way too much cheese.
Dinner for two was $ 60 bucks with no dessert, coffee or drinks.
I would go back to try their pizza… I hear it’s great but prob my last dining experience there.

Walking into Val’s was like stepping back in time… to Neena’s, the former inhabitant of the space. Now, I’m not sure how long ago Neena’s closed (or relocated??), as I hadn’t made a trip since high school (or maybe early college? I forget…), but the décor had not changed one bit. It still has its very cozy, ‘Tuscan’-like vibe with a big toilet sign, a row of booths, a scattering of tables, and the counter area where you walk in.
I’m on a limited diet post in-​mouth surgery earlier this week, so I bypassed the pizzas, which sounded delicious, and went for the chicken parmesan (soft enough), with sides of apple sauce and parmesan fries.
Yes, you read that right. Apple sauce. You could pick either pasta or any two sides from a varied list, so I chose the apple sauce. It tasted like the smell of a Christmas candle, and I’m not complaining.
…The parm fries and chicken parm were also great. The chicken was also huge. Huge! Food total: $ 16! A serious bargain.
My friend, who didn’t have a surgery hindering her chewing ability, went for a pizza. She chose the white pizza and added broccoli and ricotta — and raved about it.
I can’t leave out the complimentary bread either. Make sure to try those garlic knots.
Val’s has a lengthy selection of seafood on their three-​page menu and some specials for those of you who enjoy your fish. I’m not one of you, so I can’t vouch for that part of the menu, but I *do* really like that they sell Auburn Road wines on site. Great, local touch!
I’d go back for a low-​key meal if I’m in the area again.