Bella Napoli

We went here with family after a funeral. The food was excellent. We were stuffed before they even brought out the main course. They did have an issue of keeping enough wine on the tables. With 8 – 10 adults at a table, one bottle of wine goes very quick.

There is no hosted. We waited to be seated for 5 mins to be seated at the wrong Tbl. We were then asked to go to another Tbl after bread and water was given to us. We were still waiting for more ppl to arrive. They sat the rest of our party at a separate Tbl. Poor communication between staff and there was a lack of management. Didn’t seem like anyone was running the place. The food was good for the most part some of our party didn’t love their meal but overall good. One of the orders didn’t come a mistake was made while ordering. And the waitresses and waiters call out your order instead of actually writing it down by were you sit and just know what order goes where. Overall Service was lacking, food was okay, they need better communication and management running the place. Seemed very disorganized.

The wife and I found this place while searching for a spot for our engagement party. Sal is beyond professional and made us feel at home right away. We were offered cappuccinos and went about doing our business. The day for the actual party went off without a hitch. The food was amazing, the drinks were aplenty, and everybody enjoyed themselves immensely. The staff even helped set up balloons and props, as well as bringing out gifts to the car! From there, BN has been recommended via word of mouth from over sixty of our guests. And they deserve it all!
We went back a few days ago for dinner, and I had the pleasure to thank Sal in person for everything that him and the team did for us. We also got gifted with Michelle as our server again. Tip her generously because she earns it folks. I recommend all flavors of the sangria, but the fig is a new favorite. We will be coming here much more often as long as the place is standing!

The food here is great. The people who work here are really nice. I definitely would say to go here for lunch or diner.

Very sad. There were maybe 8 tables of people eating dinner on a Saturday night, but we thought it was due to it being the summer. That may have been part of it, but really the food and service is terrible. Once upon a time this place was really good, but not anymore.
The appetizers were unappealing. I asked if the tomatoes in the Sliced Tomato and Mozzarella were good, since we’re not quite in tomato season, the tomato was hard and had no taste. I sent it back, which they didn’t give me a problem about; and got a caesar salad which was ok. Others at the table thought their appetizers were ok.
The dinners were all just ok, from one of their signature dishes with an unforgettable special sauce, which was brown gravy, to a veal milanese that had what looked like the mozzarella and tomato salad on it from the appetizer menu and a bland chicken scarpiello. All edible, all forgettable. At 9pm they started putting up french doors that separated some of the inner rooms from the indoor garden area while two other tables and us were still there. They were hammering hinges and generally doing something that signalled it was time to leave. We left and we won’t be going back. Dinner with tip wound up being about $ 50/​person (only 1 alcoholic drink was ordered with the meal $ 9, and no one got desert, just 2 coffees.) There are far too many really good restaurants around to spend $ 50 pp on really good food.

So I’m a bit torn on the following review. Not sure how to rate this place because I was pissed off before I got thru the door.
Upon pulling into the lot there was a a sign for valet. I pulled up and waited only to be told no more valet. It ended at 5:45 pm. Because I had already passed many primo parking spots I was annoyed. So, I had to climb back into my car and move it.
We had reservations, but still had to wait several minutes (at least five).
Our server has been working at this restaurant for over 20 years and was very nice and accommodating.
We were all happy with our meals except for one of the specials. It was $ 26, a scallop and shrimp dish with pasta. I will post the pics. One of the dishes only had two shrimp and for that much $$ there should have there should have been more. However, we told the waitress about it and they brought more shrimp. There were four scallops in the dish.
So while the food was good, I thought the price was a bit high for pasta. Plus, the dish didn’t come with a salad. $ 4 extra for that.
There seemed to be a lot of birthdays that day, we heard them singing several times.

Worst Mother’s day experience ever starting with not being informed about the preset menu to the Lukewarm food. Waited for dessert for 30 minutes. During this wait, the workers broke down the tables around us and the valet parking attendant handed us the keys in the dining room, which was very rude. Considering this, it made the wait even more frustrating. As dinner went, the chicken parmigiano was tough, shrimp cocktail overcooked, and white clam sauce fishy. For the price we paid, we could have gone to a 5 star restaurant, but for the quality of food, we could have gone to a diner for half the price! Not even an apology for the dessert wait!

I can not believe the horrible service we received last night. Now I have been a waitress for years and I know how the restaurant business works. We had a waitress that totally ignored my father and I. She instead decided to talk to a larger table about her brother in laws condo. On top of that… After that conversation she decided to sit in the booth behind us and talk to her other set of friends. While we were waiting for 20 minutes to order some food. The bus boys did a way better job than the waitress. Fix your wait staff!!! Food was ok.

We are spoiled here in NJ with Italian food, but this place is not one of the better places. Table of six, everyone ordered different italian dishes from seafood to penne vodka, and everyone felt their food was just OK. It’s too bad because the inside is very beautiful.

I waited until my second visit to write a review… it was just as good the second time!!! Truly thrilled to have found a restaurant that has all my favorites… Stuffed artichoke, mussels with white wine, calamari and chicken cutlets like my mom makes! My first time to say this, but judge the place for yourself… If I listened to a few reviews I would have missed this gem of a place!!! Ask for Antoinette she is absolutely the most attentive and informative server I have ever had the pleasure of meeting! Huge portions each time as well, so be hungry!!! Prices are great and your not packed in like sardines!

Terrific «red sauce» place for traditional italian food. Would give it a higher rating if it weren’t for spotty service.

Tonight was a great night for a group of us Dads. It usually the Moms who do everything with the Girl Scout Troop for our daughters but tonight was Dads date night with our little ladies as a group at Bella Napoli. We were given a large room. Played music over their speakers using one of our phones and our little Girl Scout Ladies had a blast.
First thing to come out was Penne Vodka and I will say it was good. Followed by a small salad which had a tasteful dressing. I chose the Chicken Francese with some mixed vegetables. Delightfully good. We had the room for 3 and half hours and even at one point I suggested for the song «Dance with my Father» by Luther Vandross and many of us fathers took to the middle of the floor and held our little ladies through a memorable moment. These moments they will all remember and it these moments that us as parents cherish.
I will definitely be going back for simple dining just to see if Bella Napoli has what I think it takes to be a great place too enjoy. For now they have made a fan of me. A combination of good food… good music and more importantly a very memorable night with my little lady. Thank You Bella Napoli!!!

I really wanted to like this restaurant because it’s close to our home and so pretty inside. Our server was very sweet and accommodating. Unfortunately the food was so so bad. :(

I’ve never had a bad experience here regardless if it’s eating at the bar while watching Monday night football or getting together for a family gathering to celebrate a birthday.
The food is incredible; some of my favorites include the broiled veal chops with peppers & onions, egg plant parm and the zuppa di pesce. Always full of flavor, fresh and more than enough; every entrée is large enough for two.
The servers, bartenders, hostess, owners and kitchen staff are very friendly; honestly it’s like eating at home.
Plenty of off street parking, usually with a valet on certain busier nights or if they’re hosting event.
When they get extremely busy, sometimes you’ll wait a little longer for a table or your food, but it’s well worth the wait.

Hornswaggled!
We decided to go for a staff holiday lunch and in order to be able to fit it in during our extended lunch break we pre-​ordered our meal so i would be ready to go. We ordered off of their online website menu (
) gave them a heads-​up as to when we’d be there and everything was set.
We called about 15 minutes ahead of time to let them know we were on our way. When we got there, our table wasn’t quite ready. There were ample tables available, but they just seemed inexplicably unprepared.
So they finally sat us and began to bring out our appetizers. As an aside, two glasses of sangria were ordered – served in glass goblets easily weighing close to 5 lbs a piece… The fried calamari was quite good. The escarole which we’d asked to be made with beans was served without beans, but it did have chicken which was not mentioned on the menu. They whisked away our escarole to add the beans. The mozzarella en carrozza had some bland lifeless tomatoes.
The entrees were just not up to snuff. The cavatelli and broccoli was absolutely drowning in oil. The chicken cacciatore was way too heavy. The calamari salad was over the top with onions.
The cavatelli was so inedible that they offered to replace it. We asked for penne vodka. We got manicotti. It was a disaster!
As I mentioned earlier, we had pre-​ordered our meal. We ordered off the online menu provided on the website. The bill seemed peculiarly high, so I took it with me. Sure enough, every item was priced about $ 3 – 5 higher on the bill than on the website. So, taking a page out of Ben Edelman’s book we called to question this unscrupulous tactic. We were told that no such online lunch menu exists. Really? Then why are we looking at it right now?!?
We asked for a refund both on principal and due to our general dissatisfaction with the meal. After some internal investigating on their end, they called us back to say that they would be giving us a credit.
Had a decent enough dinner here a few years ago, but my recent lunches have been dreadful. Bella Napoli, you’ve run out of shots with me.

This is as good as a gets. And it is all because of their Red Sauce. You would be a fool not to order a dish that includes that sauce. It is the money maker for me that separates it from all other surrounding Italian restaurants. It is so good that I order a few quarts to go after I finish devouring the chicken parm and penne. It’s so darn good that I could take a spoon and dig away like its ice cream and wish it was acceptable to lick my plate, because I would do just that.
The bread? Solid. Warm. Crispy. Salad? Solid. Does have a strong amount of pepper and salt (which I like!)
The chicken is normally cooked fine, however I have had an overcooked or «tough» piece every once and while, but there was no problem exchanging it for a brand new dish.
The servers are very accommodating and Sal always welcomes you into the restaurant. It is extremely nice inside and is great for parties. I will actually be booking one for next year. This is a classy place that would be great for a date or meeting.

I used to like this place but went recently and just had a horrible experience. We asked for dressing on the side of the salad but it was served swimming in it, the mussels in marinara sauce LITERALLY tasted like poop (had a strong manure smell and funk to it), my friends Caesar salad dressing was too sweet and the sauce on my eggplant parm was too sweet for my taste. Service was pretty crappy too. Def a pass for me!

Wow! What an awful experience. First and foremost the food was bad. The mussels tasted like straight up poop (sorry but it’s true)! The eggplant parm was too well done and the sauce was too sweet. Speaking of sweet… my friends Caesar salad tasted like they added too much sugar to the dressing. Strange. I ordered a house salad which was pathetic and the waitress didn’t listen when I asked for dressing on the side which is a huge pet peeve of mine. The waitress was horrible. Not only did she keep forgetting items we asked for, she acted as if she was resentful about something. Definitely doesn’t have the right attitude to be a server. The bill process was a procedure too. I will never come back here again. Done.

This place does a solid job with private functions. They have several rooms, which are very elegant, nicely designed, and that can accommodate large parties.
The manager Sal is very hospitable and did a nice job breaking down the in-​house catering menu before we booked one of the rooms.
We had already eaten here once and enjoyed the food through-​out.

There veal is pounded paper thin and cooked perfectly, which is always key for me, as I rarely eat veal.
I have to say, overall — we were treated very nicely during the booking process and through-​out our event.
On the day of the event, they allowed us to arrive earlier to decorate the room as we wanted. Service was very attentive and our guests were very happy with everything.

This place has really changed and not for the best. Bella Napoli used to be our go-​to restaurant for family affairs. Over the past 8 – 12 months, we have really noticed a change. Waitstaff seems less than interested in taking care of you of answering questions. Food has become bland. Their pasta vodka used to be my absolute favorite, but now it tastes as if straight from the jar. Even their house salads seem wilted and lacking flavor.
We will be choosing elsewhere for other family outings in the future unless we see Bella Napoli return to what we once knew and loved.

Bella Napoli is really an on-​site catering operation for private parties on weekends that happens to be open to the public at the same time.
If you can find a time when an event, such as a communion going on when we we there, is not going on, then a Bella Napoli meal might be more pleasurable. There is no escaping the noise or meal delay.
We were greeted warmly upon arrival… but no one apologized for the long 45+ min delay because the kitchen was backed up or the inescapable noise.
So my advice: call ahead.
Tip: The parking lot is small and valet parking is mandatory… so just park on the street.