Il Giardinello Ristorante

Whenever I’m in the area I make it a point to visit El Giardinello, it’s simply the best Italian food down the jersey shore.

Once again, upon Unilocal reviews, decided to dine here… big mistake. Of all the great Italian food at the Jersey shore, this place should be near the bottom. I’m Italian/​American, born and raised… that being said, my meal, along with the others in my party was a HUGE disappointment. My veal was old and dry… my wife’s chicken overcooked and dry… friends meals were not very good either, as they really did not eat much, and they were STARVING! Take it from me… skip this high dollar mall restaurant and go to a REAL ITALIAN RESTAURANT!

We were invited to a Graduation party held there and the food was amazing. From the bread to the dinner every single item was done right. The service was very good as well, friendly and courteous. Many of the party took food home including me, who has never done that before. There was more than enough for all to eat. We rolled out the front door. Fat and happy!

Great food and service we have been going to this restaurant for years. The staff is so courteous and polite.

Excellent food as well as table service. pleasant atmosphere… Authentic Italian cuisine…

Four stars because it’s above average Italian and you can use coupons for this place. Portions are huge. This is not upscale Italian so let’s not go crazy with the five stars my fellow Unilocalers.

All around great Italian restaurant, from the bread to the very generous portions
All the usual Italian specialties plus more
Waiters and staff very attentive
You would never know this quality could be found in a strip mall

I’ve always found the tuxedoed waitstaff a bit incongruous as Il Giardinello is situated in a strip mall. But they can dress however they like as long as they keep serving the quality food they do. Portions are generous and everything I’ve eaten there (been coming here for a very long time) is usually spot on in terms of freshness, taste and quality ingredients. They keep things simple in the best tradition of Italian cuisine. No dish seems overly complicated so that the taste of the primary ingredients is the focus. They don’t confuse flavors or make them compete for a spot on your palate. I’m glad to see that their success continues. They are quite reasonably priced as well. Good value for the money.

Pros:
Excellent Selection of Food.
Service is the very best in the area.
Large portions, easily take home half your meal.
Beef Braciola Pizzaiola is superb
BYOB
Top Tier Italian on Unilocal and Tripadvisor
Cons:
None… but consider the wait can be 30−60min for a table on Friday night.

Great Italian meal. Was not disappointed. Definitely coming back. This was a referral from a great client…

The food is outstanding! I am from Staten Island and had eaten here after a funeral with my entire family. I plan on going back because the food was that delicious. The service was great as well.

Second visit, as great as the first. Service is on point. Food is delicious! I love their house salad dressing and their cold appetizers. Chicken scarpiello is delicious and unfortunately because of that I probably will never order anything else.

My uncle came back to visit from Tuscon. He was a New York guy for several decades and wanted some decent Italian food. This place delivered! Packed on a rainy Thursday night. The service was good for the size crowd. Portion sizes were very generous, eye popping actually. Food quality was very good. My 5 Star rating is based on location, quality and value. One of the best Italian dining experiences I’ve had in the area.

My boyfriend and I came all the way from Boston to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and decided to eat here and it was amazing, customer service and the food was GREAT. Chris were our server and he recommended everything we had and it was delicious. Definitely recommend this place! Thanks again Chris.

Came here Sunday afternoon in a party of seven for dinner. Our server (not sure her name, but she had blonde hair) was super friendly and smiley. The bread was hot when served to us! Love that. We ordered appetizers, like fried calamari and a fresh seafood salad. The calamari was really good, very fresh. For dinners, a few people in our party ordered the salmon/​shrimp special with angel hair pasta. Other people got pasta dishes, fritta di mare and another ordered veal and chicken. We couldn’t believe the SIZE of the portions!!! Very big, but they make great leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. I was vying for linguini with clam sauce, but they were out of clams. I’m not sure I understand how that happens in a restaurant, adjacent to the New Jersey shore areas… But that’s ok. I settled on penne with garlic and olive oil. It was so good!!! Now dessert… their special was a mint chocolate chip Tartufo, but of course it was out! Two strikes! Lol! But that’s ok, I settled on a chocolate lava cake which was super good! I would definitely come back here and I recommend this restaurant for larger groups or for a special occasion.

We decided to try this restaurant based on the Unilocal reviews. They must have servers write phony reviews because I don’t get it.
We dined on a Sunday night, it wasn’t super busy or slow, just average. First thing I noticed was how cramped you felt in there. The tables are too small & too close together. Our waiter Josh came over & took drink orders for 3 of us in our party of 4. He totally ignored my 16 year old daughter & walked away. We hailed him down a few minutes later & let him know she wanted a coke. I still don’t think he realized he forgot about her & the coke was flat to boot.
Josh offered no enthusiasm, no smiles, no sense of anything honestly. We felt like we were keeping him from doing something important. When I asked him a question about an appetizer, he had to go check, which took about 5 minutes. He took our orders with the personality of a wet blanket. Offered no suggestions.
Our appetizers were the cheese stuffed bread, which was a glorified grilled cheese sandwich with no flavor & stuffed shrimp which were tasty. The meals we ordered were the veal saltimbucca (2), rigatoni with vodka sauce & a penne dish with a spicy tomato sauce.
The pasta dishes were ok, nothing fantastic, but good. The veal was a huge disappointment. The prosciutto was very gamey tasting & thick like canadian bacon. It was inedible to me. I had to take it off. The sauce tasted like flour & nothing else. They must have forgotten to cook it long enough & forgot salt.
Dessert was good. I got the amaretto gelato dipped in chocolate dish (honestly, why has no one thought of that flavor before. Delicious) & my daughter got the chocolate volcano type cake & said it was good.
When time came to pay the bill, Josh asked my mom is she had a coupon because he thought he saw one in her purse. (what?) Anyway, she says yes & starts looking for him. Josh rolls his eyes, puts his hand on the back of my dad’s chair & started tapping his foot like we were keeping him again. Ugh, one of the worst waiters ever!
We won’t be back, Rivoli’s is better & that’s not saying much. One bad waiter can ruin en entire dining experience & restaurant.

The excellent customer service is what sets this Italian restaurant apart from so many others; the staff is consistently polite, professional, and friendly!
The food is wonderful … great dishes on the menu! Our shrimp and chicken dinners were done to perfection. If you’re not sure what you’re in the mood to eat, try any one of their daily specials. You won’t be sorry!
Ambiance is classic and refined. We find it a lovely way to spend an afternoon lunch or dinner with close friends and family. Thank you for never making us feel rushed through our meal.
HINT: Go to their website for discount coupons toward your meal. Don’t forget to bring your favorite bottle of wine.

Picked this restaurant for a family get together after a funeral Friday. Joe, Rene, Ray and staff were top notch in setting up for 50 guests. Top notch food and service for everyone after a difficult few days. Would recommend them anytime for any type of gathering. BYOB, so just use the liquor store across street and everything will be set up and taken care of.
Wish I was able to give 6 stars, but this is the max!

Just got home from our first visit to this place… Off the hook !!! Service team is on top of there game and food is FANTASTIC !
Love the salad with the house dressing !
Broiled Oysters stuffed with crabmeat is an amazing app. The Veal you can cut with a fork. The owner… Joe made a point of stoping by our table just to see how we were doing. Really felt the love of a fine dining experience. Highly recommend this place!
Be prepared to wait because the tables are all taken!!! Can’t wait to go back!!!

Quick update 2 years later. Stopped in for a meal last night and it’s still by far best food and Value at the NJ shore though they are not on the beach the 10 –12 minute drive is well worth it.
Ray /​Jessica and a bevy of servers made sure everything was handled to perfection.
Appetizers: Mozzarella in Carozza with Spedini sauce is still to die for.
Stuffed Eggplant with Ricotta and fresh marinara another 10 on the Rector Scale.
Salad again solid with balsamic vinegar and spices a really nice dressing.
My Veal & Shrimp Francaise special was off the charts fresh and good with the shrimp butter flied fresh and clean while a serious amount of fresh milk fed veal garnished this dish with ample sauce of lemon and wine. YUM.
Only thing dragging this down was the stuffed chicken special with garlic mashed potatoes was kind of just OK…
Sides of pasta also outstanding and coffee and espresso piping hot and good.
Owner Joe was around stopping at each table to insure everything was done properly. A very nice touch.
NO complaints here a don’t miss if you’re in the area. Going to try their beachside Normandy beach location next.