Amici Restaurant

I came here with a co-​worker who swears by the place, but I wasn’t terribly impressed. I did kind of like the décor, like others have commented I felt like I could have been in a scene from the Godfather or Sopranos. The food was good, but the service was a little lacking. The waiter asked everyone at the table if they wanted more wine, we all said yes. He came back, filling everyone’s glass but mine. Okay… next time he came back I asked for a refill again. He said he’d be right back, but didn’t come around again for another 10 minutes. And when he did, no wine. Let’s be brutally honest here, I can’t in good conscious recommend any restaurant that keeps me from a good glass of wine! So I give it three stars, mainly for the ambiance.

This place shouldn’t even classify itself as Italian. The food is almost inedible! All of the sauces taste musty… if that makes any sense. Chicken parm is thick & undercooked, hot antipasto is pathetic… penne Mario, NO. Servers are nice, I will give them at least that. Don’t waste your time or money.

I hosted a Baby Shower here, had not had an opportunity to try the food ahead of time, just chose it based on recommendation from a friend, package prices and the location. Just let me say, the food exceeded my expectations. On the day of the event, the staff was accommodating and very conscientious of time, making sure everything flowed according to schedule for this 4 hour event. Based on the food alone I would consider hosting another event here. My tip to anyone hosting an event here is to beware that there is a $ 1.00/per person «cake cutting fee» if you bring your own cake; in addition, soda is not included in the packages; these are things that I didn’t notice initially although it is written on the back on the brochure and can drastically effect the pricing. My favorite thing on our menu was the Penne with Voka Sauce and the baked Salmon; I absolutely loved it and I’m sure you will too.
Please note: I have not tried their restaurant or bar services, therefore this review is based solely on Amici’s banquet services.

Love this place. The food is amazing, as is the staff. Have not had one thing on the menu that I did not love.

Beautiful restaurant, I mean the place is gorgeous. I went there with my boyfriend. We got some Pinot Noir and Pasta. He was very happy with his pasta which was nice and light. My Fettucini Alfredo was amazing but very heavy, I don’t know what I was expecting… but yea the place looks good.

Love this place !
From the food to the service everything is just fabulous. Everyone is welcoming and attend customers at a good speed.
The food is always satisfying. My favorite is a basic steak salad. It’s light, tasty and cooked to perfection every time.
I strongly recommend this restaurant (:

Great after hours spot! Can always count on this place to keep the party going the staff is pretty nice and the music is cool — drinks are raining priced

I hosted my husbands 40 th surprise party here. Food was delicious. Service was beyond my expectations. From start to finish, working with the team at Amici really made my party a success!!!
I will definitely host more parties here.
We had 100 guests who enjoyed every minute of the party.
Amici has a great outdoor patio that provide another locale for guests to mingle. Additionally, we were able to move into the bar upstairs for an after party.
Great place!!!

If there was a way to give a negative star rating then that’s exactly what this place would get! We had reservations for Mother’s Day, and ended up walking out because of horrible service! We were seated right away at a table with dirty plates and no utensils, and given menus that were splattered with a sticky residue (soda, maybe?) Then we waited… and waited… and and waited. Finally, a busboy asked us if our waiter had been by. He stood by for several minutes until our waiter walked by then informed him that nobody had even taken our drink order. The waiter shrugged then walked away without even acknowledging us! The bus boy was horrified and apologized profusely. He followed the waiter into the kitchen. A few moments later we heard them arguing (the bus boy told the waiter he was being rude and unprofessional then the waiter fired back with a few obscenities because he didn’t like being told how to do his job.) That was enough for us. We left and will never return. If the bus boy had came out before we left, I would have given him a tip because I’m certain that his tips were probably low because of that horrible waiter! We went to D’Italia ’ s in Avenel, and had a delicious meal. Amicis should consider being showcased in one of those restaurant disaster reality shows.

This place is the yearly location for my company holiday shindig. The décor is well… very goodfellas. The food is good and the service is really great. Our waiters are always nice and very personable. «it is de best yes» That’s what they say if you ask about one of the specials. I look forward to my visit here yearly but probably wouldn’t hit this place up on my own.

I was not impressed. I made a reservation for me and my date to come here. We arrived promptly at the time of our reservation to find one customer ahead of us at the host’s stand. The person in front of us did not appear to have a reservation and was seated promptly. When the host came back we told him that we had a reservation but he told us we’d have to wait a little while– despite the fact that the entire dining room appeared to be empty. He came back about five minutes later and asked if he could help us, he’d forgotten that he’d told us to wait. Another five minutes went by and he came back again and told us that we would have to sit in the rundown looking bar area since there was no room in the restaurant (again, the whole dining room appeared to be empty). He then wandered off again and we gave up and left.
If the restaurant is going to accept reservations, they should be prepared to honor them. If they legitimately didn’t have the space to sit us, that’s fine, however given how the customer in front of us didn’t appear to have a reservation– and how the whole dining room appeared to be empty, I don’t have any confidence that this business has any clue what they are doing.
I won’t be back. Which pains me since I live only 3 minutes away.

Great restaurant, food is very wonderful, staff is friendly, price is right
A Resturant you can go to once a week and still enjoy yourself

At this place tonight, very happy with the service my friend and I are receiving. Good drinks and good food, special thanks to Michel; crab cakes were to die for ! Bread and butter with their exquisite vegetable house vinaigrette, good music. Couldn’t ask for more :)

Love this place! Food is awesome, staff is great and the margaritas were fantastic!!! The bartender Miguel used all fresh ingredients and it was perfect! Definitely recommend this place if you want good Italian food and awesome cocktails!

Love this place. It’s a hidden gem with great service, live piano and the food is pretty damn good too! Cute chandelier Italian type restaurant that u don’t have to dress up to attend — but could to jazz up the night! Highly recommend.

Came to Amici after one of my go-​to Italian places was overly crowded on a Friday night. Walked in and it was relatively empty. Yes the place is showing its age and the room was dimly lit kind of giving it an even more gloomy feel. We asked for a pitcher of sangria and it arrived promptly. They even put extra fruit in the glasses for your (big kudos as I think many places that serve sangria skimp on fruit). I actually liked the sangria too and my boyfriend and I easily finished the pitcher.
A basket of warm bread arrived soon. Would have been nice to have olive oil instead of butter but that didn’t stop me from chowing down on half the loaf! Ordered a calamari appetizer — came nice and hot and crispy, no soggy pieces to be found and the marinara had that perfect blend of sweet and savory. Amici’s stock was rising in my book — my first impression was one of skepticism.
I ordered the veal saltimboca and my boyfriend the grilled salmon. Both arrived, mine with leek? (i’m not on the up and up with all my veggies but it didn’t look like anything I was familiar with) and the salmon came with grilled vegetables. For what Amici may lack in décor, they make up in food. Everything was really delicious and we were both very happy with our meals. The owner (I assume it was him) walked by twice to make sure we were happy with our meals.
I know the area isn’t exactly the best, being surrounded by industrial buildings and it may not look like much, but I’d encourage everyone to give it a try.

I came here for Sangria Wednesdays. That’s all I can review it for.
Each pitcher is only $ 15 but I really wouldn’t come back. The sangria wasn’t that good, the bar area was small and crowded, and the music was terrible. The DJ played a hippy skippy techno mashup of everything from Michael Jackson to whatever KTU plays these days. There’s not really room to dance, if you wanted to but the women are essentially dancing for the men to just stare and gawk.
It’s a much older crowd, too, and a lot of people just stayed from the dinner next door.

THE FOOD WAS GR8!!!
my husband cooks very well and sometimes its hard taking him out to eat, but we went on Wed. 2÷13÷13 a@ 6:30pm was our first time and wont be the last… Although our waiter spilled some of the pitcher of Sangria we brought; was a nice guy and hubby left a nice tip.

I attended a birthday party here last night, so I can’t speak for Amici’s menu items or dining room experience. But I can speak for their hosting duties and catering, so here we go …
The area is one of those forgotten streets in Linden, adjacent to the train tracks & sandwiched between run-​down warehouse buildings & small single-​family houses. As you drive by gray building after gray building, you come to this little restaurant on the corner of West Elizabeth Ave. & Lexington Ave. Stereotypically Italian, they’ve managed to fit a fountain, perfectly manicured miniature trees, white «stone» benches & planters, and a bridge-​to-​nowhere on their small corner lot.
They had valet the night we were there, which was odd considering the size of the lot (small) and the proximity of the lot to the restaurant (very close). Maybe it was only because they were expecting a large group for the party? Perhaps. But it was free valet, so we handed over our keys and headed inside.
Goldleaf! Wallpaper! Mirrored walls! Heavy drapery! Ah, the comfort that is an Italian banquet room. As we walked in, the dance floor was in the middle, and either side of the dance floor held 4 – 6 tables. A buffet line was to the right, and an unused bar was directly in front of the stairs. There was more than enough room for approximately 75 guests.
Once our guest of honor arrived, the buffet was open. Italian antipasto, garlic bread, beans, salad, pasta salad, German potato salad, Chicken Marsala, Cavatelli & Broccoli, Fish Francese, & Sausage & Peppers. The staff kept the entrees hot & full, always ready to replace a dish that was running low. I do, however, wish there were signs on the dishes; we had no idea that the Francese dish was fish until we took our first bites. There was a lot of «Oh! This is fish? I thought it was chicken,» at our table. (Speaking of the Chicken Marsala, the piece I had was dry.) And each table had two bottles of wine: a red (Chianti?), and a perfectly chilled white (Pinot Grigio?).
The staff was very attentive, replacing plates, refilling pitchers, and keeping the place clean while staying out of the way of the partygoers. And, most importantly, we all had a great time.
At the end of the night, we ducked into the adjacent bar for change, and then got the car from valet. It seemed silly, as our car was parked right next to the restaurant. We could have easily walked the extra 5 steps ourselves. Nevertheless, the valet attendant ran to our car & pulled it up for us. What service!
Overall, this restaurant may be in desperate need of a makeover, and the location is less than desirable, but the people at Amici III sure know how to host a party.

As another user mentioned, this restaurant is in a broken down industrial area and sticks out like a sore thumb with its gaudiness. Tons of lawn decorations on the outside and a dozen chandeliers and oil paintings on the inside. I came with 2 friends because we had a
coupon, and I’m glad we did because this place is not worth paying full price.
There was only one more table occupied in the restaurant and although there were 3 servers, it took forever to get our drinks, order, and more bread. The servers were on cell phones, eating and chatting– all in plain view of the diners.
Crappy service aside, the food was so-​so. My friend ordered the penne vodka and laughed at the tiny cereal bowl that it came in. My fettucine alfredo was so bland that I needed to pile on salt and parm cheese just to eat it. My sister did enjoy her lasagna, though. For pasta dishes costing 13 – 14 bucks, I expected better quality and bigger portions. Oh, and better service!