A Little Bite of Italy

One of a kind on LBI! Executive French Chef Francis is the chef and owner! Amazing great food. A must go to for «foodies.» All pasteries and food prepared by the chef/​owner. The French inspired dishes are amazing!

Homemade tiramisu was phenomenal. The cappuccino was a delight! We order the Osso buco (a little dry) and the flounder, two great dishes. The atmosphere was intimate and cozy. I would come here often, as the chef and owner is making the food. Support mom and pop !!!

Went there in July owner’s wife was very rude. Thought she was just having a bad, so we tried again today. Bad mistake! In the middle of our order, the owner’s wife pushed us aside to help her friends who just came through the door. We tried politely to let her know and she became confrontational immediately. Also, their food is awful and there are tons of flies everywhere in the store. AVOID this place and go to Mario’s down the street. Trust me.

Horrible experience. Food could be delicious but the Female manager behind the counter is so incredibly rude. I used to still go because I felt bad for the employees but they also now have an attitude. Poor management whose bad attitude is trickling down. Unpleasant experience every time for the last two years.

I enjoyed a great meal here. The arugula salad was fresh and a good combination of flavors. Our entrees were wonderful; the duck with cherry sauce was great.
The dessert list was enormous and the teardrop chocolate dessert was divine.
It’s BYOB and the small dining room was nice and not too loud. I will definitely be back.

MUST NOT MISS!!!
I had dinner here with five couples on a Sunday at 8 pm. The service was impeccable, the food was divine, and not a single member of our dining party left feeling anything but enjoyment.
We did the 3-​course prix fixe menu. I had the jamon Serrano wrapped melon, scallops with black ink cappellini, and the lime mousse. Sounds like a lot but the portions were perfect. I left feeling satisfied, but not stuffed.
Also on the menu, was an arrabata (white fish), lobster ravioli, and escargot. Everyone ordered something different so we could all taste each other’s dishes.
I cannot stress enough that this place is a MUST for dinner, and the deli is pretty spectacular, too.
Bottom line: Eat here!

If you are a person with a good palate or somebody who enjoys an amazing dining experience prepared by a most amazing chef, then «A Little Bite of Italy» is the palce for you. If you are a tourist to the LBI area who normally eats at McDonald’s, I highly recommend that you continue to do so whilst on LBI. Bennnies and Pineys, this place is not for you. Do not bring your kids, but do bring your joy of fine dining. The value of the menu is unbelievable for the amazingly high quality food that is offered, prepared by a most amazing chef (have I mentioned the amazing chef already?). Please don’t ruin my evening with your Piney presence and your 12 pack of bud plopped on the floor next to you. I go to A Little Bite of Italy to enjoy an extremely fine dining experience, one which is rare in the LBI area. I actually consider A Little Bite of Italy to be probably THE BEST restaurant in New Jersey. so there. Stay away you frigging Pineys with your Bud. Any negative reviews below are from people who wouldn’t know a good dining experience if it slapped them in the face, which is what I would like to do to them.

Shame on me for not checking Unilocal reviews before dining at A Little Bite of Italy. It came highly recommended by acquaintances, so I’ve wanted to try it for some time. The quality of the food was very good — fresh ingredients, nice presentation, well prepared — but not at all what we were expecting. We mistakenly thought (because of the restaurant’s name perhaps) that they would offer a more traditional Italian menu with pasta options in addition to meat/​seafood entrees. Instead the $ 39 prix fixe menu (two entrees including my lobster ravioli were an additional $ 11) had many choices with little to appeal to a «plain» eater — my 16 year old daughter had difficulty finding something to suit her «tender palate» which is never the case at a traditional Italian restaurant. (My lobster ravioli had wonderful chunks of lobster, but it wasn’t really ravioli — more like one large super thin dumpling. My daughter’s sirloin steak was quite grisly although she enjoyed the taste. My husband loved his scallop entrée but was bummed that it only had three scallops.) If I read the reviews in advance I may have realized the food was more French/​Mediterranean than «Italian-​American», and unnecessarily fancy for our family’s tastebuds. Our meal averaged $ 55/​person with tax and tip, and the portions were on the smaller side — definitely not the type of restaurant where you will enjoy your leftovers the next day for lunch. I thought the wait staff, including the Chef’s wife, were nice and accommodating to us. My husband mentioned to the waitress that the sirloin was really grisly, and she told the Chef who relayed a message back that he was «very sorry to hear that».) The food did take soooo long time to come out, and we were the last seating of the evening — for that reason and because they had no pasta options on the menu I gave them 3 stars. This place would be a good pick for people who consider themselves to be «foodies» — not good for families with small kids (or picky eaters) or for groups because it’s so tiny. Reservations are necessary. We are glad we ate here, but it’s a «one and done» for us — not the restaurant’s fault that it wasn’t what we expected, although who would think that a little restaurant attached to a cold-​cut store called «A Little Bite of Italy» wouldn’t have at least one simple pasta dish with red sauce?

The food is terrific! A very good variety on the menu for such carefully prepared food. It’s clear the owner/​chef has serious talent. Give this place a try. Promise the meal won’t disappoint. Enjoy!

This review is long overdue.
We enjoyed a lovely, leisurely dinner with another couple last fall. We all found something we would enjoy in the selections from the prix fixe menu. The food preparation showed real care and was delicious.
The hostess/​owner was friendly and gracious both to us and the other diners — even to a late arriving couple who came in shortly before closing. They had just arrived on the Island from NY and were hoping to eat before driving on to their house in Barnegat Light. Though they were in the process of shutting down, they fixed them something special and sent them on their way.
This wouldn’t be my first choice if I had my grand daughter down for the weekend. They don’t give out crayons and coloring sheets. They are something special and different. But if you are looking for beautifully prepared food and an adult ambiance, I would try this restaurant. I think it is a lovely low key bridge between the exorbitantly expensive La Spiaggia’s and Raimondo’s and the many inexpensive restaurants on the island.

I have eaten at this restaurant one time… the past August when I was in Surf City visiting family and they took me there. We had made a reservation and were seated right away; the place is quite small but our table was waiting. The food was wonderful. The filet mignon may have been the best I’ve ever eaten, cooked to perfection and extremely tender. I believe my dessert was called chocolate mousse cake and it was delicious.

I give this place two stars for a few reasons. The food there is amazing. They’re sandwiches are amazing. The best on the east coast. This makes it four stars. The meat the cheese the vegetables are all amazing. But…
They’re service is just terrible. I asked them to cut my sandwich into fourths and they acted like it was a big deal. They are grouchy ²⁴⁄₇. And for this I give it just two stars. If you want good service go down the street to Key West Grill.

Terrible customer service. One customer was ahead of me in line when I went in for some cold cuts. Two staffers were working on the customers order and I stood waiting for 20 minutes unacknowledged by the staff. No one said one minute we are busy, nothing. At one point I went up to the counter and stood half a foot away from on of the workers trying to get an acknowledgement that I was there and she deliberately didn’t make eye contact. Left without making a purchase. I am from NYC and never encounter such rude service. Avoid!

There is absolutely no excuse for the rude behavior we encountered here from the owner. The food was just mediocre but the service was downright insulting. This woman has no business owning a restaurant. The staff is pleasant and personable but she is a witch and we will never go back!!!

Absolutely horrible customer service! The owners are rude, condescending and disrespectful to the paying customers!!! Unacceptable! Ruined my day:(

I’ve been here three times and three time the owner was rude. The last time I came in it was like she was trying to get us to leave when she explained the prefixed dinner menu. I don’t expect too much I used to be a server so I know it’s not fun a lot of the time but just being rude is another thing and especially from an owner. If this place wasn’t in surf city where a good Italian meal is hard to come by it would probably be closed by now. I’d prefer to take my business elsewhere. It’s funny their slogan is «Where we treat you like family» maybe that’s just how they treat their family. The take out food was good so that’s why they gets two stars.

For take-​out, the prices here are ridiculous for what you get, but the cheese calzone was delicious. I guess you can’t escape the «island pricing» even with take-​out pie. Maybe another pizza place would’ve been cheaper, I’m not sure, I at least would have liked to take the chance that they’d have put more cheese on our pies.
PS: don’t listen to google maps’ gps to get here. They’re on 18^th and Boulevard in Surf City, easy enough to find.

My mother and I enjoyed an excellent dinner here. The chef’s specialty reputedly is seafood and he does not disappoint. My calamari appetizer and fish entrée were both excellent.
Our desserts were perfectly accompanied by good cappuccino, hard to find on LBI in my experience.
Our server was charming and unobtrusive, and the chef visited to check on our satisfaction.
As many island eateries, this is BYOB. They do take credit cards however, making the experience a tad more convenient.
We will return!

I can’t give anymore than three stars for a couple of reasons but the primary one being that it’s literally been years… YEARS since I’ve had anything from them.
My family and I used to vacation in a rental house down on 11^th Street and the first year Little Bite opened we had to check it out (my parents having been born and raised in North Jersey knew what hoagies were about and proceeded to then educate me on it as well as my mother being a bit Italian thought like most Italians that she knew best and that «she’d be the judge of that!») So off we went and boy was it great! Similar to a lot of bakery’s, deli’s and sub shops down there they put their sandwiches on a sesame seed roll and it’s the real deal.
Yet I digress…
All this joy and rapture was to be short-​lived as from what I recall they changed ownership at some point during our long tenure of vacationing down on 11^th St. I don’t know if it stayed in the family (they kept the same name) or what but according to my folks things were just not the same however I have no solid recollection of this so three stars right smack in the middle will have to suffice until I can get down there to check it out again!

I love a good, authentic Italian Deli, Pizzeria and quaint little restaurant wrapped into one, but I don’t care for lousy, poor service at the takeout counter. The food here is delicious, particularly the pizza, but I was completely unimpressed with the service. I think next year we’ll give it another shot, and hopefully have a better experience.