Lu Nello

Had dinner here tonight — one of many dinners. As always, it was excellent. The drinks are great and the bar is a fun atmosphere. The food is outstanding. Very special solid dining experience. Love it!

This is one of the best and most unique high-​end Italian food establishments in North Jersey. The food can be truly amazing, especially when the main chef is in the kitchen. I find it a bit off, when he is not. The bar is small and very entertaining. Both food and wine selections are extensive, you will find something for everyone. Even the list of specials is amazing. This is a two hour fine dining experience, Jersey style. Give it time and enjoy it! Valet parking is provided at no cost.

WORST SERVICE EVER (RACIST?)
My girl friend and I had a weekend trip in NJ and decided to have a great dinner at Lu Nello. It turned out to be the worst experience we’ve ever had.
Our waiter gave us an attitude since we sat down. He seems much more enthusiastic while he served other tables. I don’t know is it racism or what but we were the only Asians there.
After we finished our main courses, we waited about 20 minutes but he did not come to our table. So we had to ask another waiter if he could grab us the dessert menu. 10 minutes later, another waiter came and told us we needed to order our desserts again. Since we forgot the full name of the dessert we ordered, we asked if we can have the dessert menu again. He then gave us a disgust look. Another 30 minutes for our desserts and they were not good neither.
When it came to the end of our dinner, our waiter would rather stand there and did not even want to give our check. After another long waiting, we had to ask other waiter to have our check again. And we saw that when another waiter told our original waiter we would like to have our check, HE WAVED HIS HAND and DON’T EVEN WANT TO GIVE OUR CHECK. This is not the end of the story. When we put our discover card for the bill, he finally walked over and THROUGH OUR CARD ON TABLE saying «we don’t take discover’ and LEAVE!!!
I don’t know what we have had done wrong and he served us like that, but it was definitely unacceptable.
Again, worst dining experience and service I’ve ever had.

–The wait for food to arrive on my last two visits was unusually long (35 minutes)
–Though the food is excellent, the portions seem to be smaller than typical. Went home hungry!
–The specials never change and take waiter about 10 minutes to recite. Do yourself a favor and politely tell waiter you do not need specials recited. Specials are purposely recited so prices do not need to be posted. If you order specials your wallet will pay dearly.
–Be warned staff and owners only cater to the regulars.
–The food is excellent though. Lou (the owner) always does an excellent job.
–The one Maitre’D, is kind of arrogant, unless you are a regular.
–Unless you are a regular, wine glasses a quarter full, not a quarter empty!
Sear House Grille in Little Falls seems to be on par with Lunello and «more bang for your buck». Nicer looking restaurant too. Lunello is beginning to look dated on both inside and out.

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My Husband & I had lunch Christmas eve at Lu Nello. I made reservations 2 weeks before &
requested the main dining room to the right as you enter restaurant. I was told sure no problem. When we arrived we were escorted to dining room behind bar which had no customers and the only table that was occupied had about 5 employees lounging
since restaurant was not busy. I said to host that I requested the main dining room that is to the right as you enter restaurant. Host got defensive but did offer a table eventually in area
I reserved. Everything went down hill from there. Our waiter was extremely unfriendly and
when we were done with appetizers the plates laid on table for at least 15 to 20 minutes. They
had so many employees and empty tables therefore the dishes left after we were done for so
long was rude & unprofessional. When our main entrees finally came after about 30 minutes they were the size of an appetizers. We left hungry and disappointed and we spent over $ 100
for lunch. I suppose the treatment and food we received was pay back for not eating by
ourselves in empty dining area where employees were lounging

Amazing! I have absolutely no complaints about Lu Nello. Wait staff is wonderful friendly and attentive atmosphere was great. The specials were a mile long I didn’t even open the actual menu. Spedini as an app was so good I’ve never had anything taste as good! Steak tip and sausage risotto for dinner was delicious not a single thing I would change. Looking forward to coming back.

So far so great! Free valet, very friendly service. The server has a memory like no other. The specials were about a minute long but who’s counting. Very awesome experience! I had the scallops she had the roasted chicken delicious. This place is the definition of fine dining. Five stars all day!

Very disappointing meal here. Maybe it was because I came during the holidays (week between Xmas and new year). Food was so so, but the service was really the most disappointing part of the evening. For the prices they charge, food and service should be much better. Way too many places like this in NJ to justify a trip back.

This is as good as it gets. One of my absolute favorite places for dinner and certainly the one place I always have to visit for my birthdays. The food and service here is second to none. I assure you that the meal you order here will be cooked to perfection and of course a very interesting meal to boot. When you are seated drinks and bread are brought promptly to your table and an immense list of specials, appetizers, entrees, and desserts are read to you. I find it amazing how the waiters are able to remember nearly 30 different specials and describe them just perfectly. In summation, LuNello’s is quite pricey but I can say that I have never ever been disappointed with anything here.

Went here after reading so many excellent reviews. It was my birthday, a Saturday after Christmas and we were only able to get reservations at 6:30 but it worked out fine as dinner was leisurely and it was fantastic!
There were 4 of us, we ordered 3 appetizers, all of which were among the best we’ve ever had.
Waiter recited a list of specials that was so extensive, we had to ask him to repeat a number of them.
All dinners, veal medallions with black truffles and speck, fettuccine with artichokes, shrimp, tomatoes and garlic, short ribs braised in wine, etc.
It was spectacular.
Very pricey but will be back any time we are visiting the area!

This is truly the best food in town.
Had the pumpkin appetizer. Beyond perfect, delicious.
Had the frog legs, amazing.
I am 100% going to be a regular here going forward!!!

The service is top notch and the food is outstanding every time. at the bar, the 2 bar tenders are reaaally nice !!! they let you sit at the bar and take excellent care of you and did I forgot to say it, food is excellent, if you don’t mind waiting sometimes a little bit.

My wife and I love this place. Good service great food A little pricey but an over all great experience

LuNello never disappoints. The service is top notch and the food is outstanding every time. Great for special occasions because it’s a little pricey– but worth every penny. Intimate seating; the tables aren’t crammed together like most restaurants today. Italian food at its best. Period.

Been to Lunellos a dozen or more times for business over the past few years. Always great but took wife for dinner tonite and it was even better than usual. Quiet when we arrived, but we got there earlier than our reservation so went ahead and sat. Service is impeccable, food was absolutely fantastic. Short ribs for me, wife got the homemade raviolis which she loved. Nice measured service reminded me of being in Europe. Each course was followed with time to sit and chat. No rushing at all. Finished with a few desserts to sample, all fantastic. Nothing more to say, great food, great service. This place is a winner every time.

The most unusual experience at a restaurant at this price point. The food was absolutely delicious! The most delicious fresh halibut, fig appetizer, calamari… all fantastic. Now the strange part… service attentive yes… but attitude. Group of 6
Ask for 2 checks between 6… attitude. on my check left 23% tip with cash. Person leaving Credit card payment waiters added extra $$$ onto their card without them authorizing… what? !!!
Food great! Service sadly shady…

I have loved this restaurant for years but last night they outdid themselves. We had the calamari which was feather light served with two sauces you could drink. Then came the locally sourced salad from Morgan’s Farm, organic greens perfectly dressed. Pasta was a pappardelle with mushrooms, not heavy and very flavorful. I had the pan seared halibut with cauliflower mash and summer vegetables. It was amazing as the fish was lightly browned from the pan, the sauce was a light better herb. Beautiful. My husband had a chicken and sausage with long hots in a brown sauce. It had a deep rich flavor he loved.
We keep going back because we always have lovely food. The service is attentive.

I love this place. The food is always phenomenal. Tonight I had the soft shell crab with white wine/​lemon sauce and capers. Normally not into capers but they weren’t overly salty. The two crabs were nice and plump with a little flour on the outside — not breading — which is how it should be done. Wife had the black Angus steak which was great. Lump crab and watermelon App was tasty as were the fried zucchini flours.
Very classy place and they know how to make a great Manhattan!

This place is amazing
I highly recommend it for a business or date night dinner
Great food and outstanding service at a very reasonable price
Atmosphere was relaxed.

This is actually a retrospective review, as we dined here in November of 2013.
Ambiance — 4.5 Stars: Lu Nello has some upscale features that I’m sure some people would really enjoy. The coat check is fine during winter months, but I always feel a bit odd giving away my coat. Additionally, the only parking option is valet — and I HATE valet. I do not like people messing with my seat position, fiddling with dials, and burning out the clutch in my car. The parking lot isn’t even that big, so it’s not like you have to walk a half mile to get into the restaurant from where you would be parking your car. This is just my opinion though. There seems to be a trend with Jersey restaurants forcing you to Valet your car — whats up with that?
With that being said, Lu Nello’s interior is nicely appointed. It’s very cozy and warm inside. The night we went was very empty, however, and that made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I would say they need to get rid of the carpet though, there’s something that grosses me out about carpet inside of restaurants.
Service — 4.5 Stars: The service here is great. Not sure how the wait staff manages to memorize all the specials, as they are abundant. I had read some complaints about people not being able to remember all the specials that are rattled off — but when we were there they did offer us a print out (after he completed his speech). Wine glasses were continuously filled. End of the meal they came around with a tool to scrape the crumbs off the table, for some reason this always makes me giddy. As with many other upscale restaurants, I did feel as if the servers were a bit cold to us due to our age.
Food — 5 Stars: All three of the dishes we had were specials. Appetizer was a small pumpkin stuffed with mushrooms, cheese, sausage, and a few other things. I was hesitant to try this — but I’m glad we did. It was amazing.
Entrees were the Gnocchi and Halibut specials. The gnocchi were much different than any gnocchi I have had before. House made, obviously fresh as they were still quite tender, but they were MASSIVE. Each gnocchi was the size of a stuffed shell or manicotti, and there were about 5 or 6 on the plate. It was served with, of course, Bolognese. The sauce was very very good. Halibut was also quite good, considering I don’t like fish.
The pumpkin appetizer was very creative, and the gnocchi was a change from every gnocchi I have had before — so accolades are deserved for these two dishes.
Plating — 4 Stars: Nothing over the top about the plating. Everything came out looking good.
Price — 4 Stars: It’s quite expensive, but I believe it’s justified.
Overall, very good experience at Lu Nello. We may just return again this November for the same special occasion.