Russo’s On 33

I had a similar experience to a review below… as it’s tough to give this place even a 1 star rating. I have never been to Russo’s before (living out the area) and will NOT be making any effort to getting there again. We had a large party and out seating was in some sort of converted «sun room» where room and seats where freezing — except where the overhead heater was blowing directly. After indicating to the hostess that it was cold and these would not be suitable arrangements, she barely acknowledged me and walked away. We found the manager and were finally moved after a lot of convicing.
Service was slow and our hot appetizer came out almost 15 minutes after the cold. What we wanted from the lmited Valentine’s menu was unavialble — we were told it was an error.
The rest of the meal came out together, but in terms of quality — I would rate Olive Garden 3 stars above Russo’s.
Eat there again — I don’t think so.

I had high hopes for this place unfortunately it let me down. don’t even bother going there if you have more than 4 people in your group. The panini I ordered was cold and not grilled, the chicken was ice cold and the cheese was right out of the fridge. The mama’s platter some of the people ordered was good but they left out the shrimp. I wont be going back to this place any time soon.

Great atmosphere. Large portions of great tasting food. Our server Miles, was very nice. My wife had the chicken Murphy, and I had the Cajun shrimp & scallops dasaro. We were so full there was no room for dessert.

We hadn’t been back here since they changed ownership. It was New Year’s Eve and really didn’t know what to expect. They had a fixed menu on top of this that I have never been a fan of. Anyway, toy our surprise, there were no options! everything they offered was brought to the table family style. Fried calamari. A big plate of burrata. The burrata was fantastic! Fried calamari is played out to me, but for the sake of the review, these weren’t bad. Next up, salad course. Then, a couple of big plates of penne vodka. again, another played out item from every Italian restaurant you’ve ever been too, but very good any way.
Main courses were Salmon oregenata, a beef dish and stuffed chicken. forgive me if I don’t know the names because I never saw the menu options. My wife booked the whole thing. Big plates of all three were served and you could have all that you wanted ! The chicken seemed to have a ricotta stuffing and was pretty good. The salmon, while tasty, was a little overcooked. The beef which had a good taste, also had a lot of fat which took away from being able to enjoy it.
Finally, dessert and coffee. Again, multiple options. Trays with tiramisu, and almond ice cream cake, cannolis and chocolate chip cookies were served. All very good. Especially the almond cake which almost tasted like tortoni in a cake form.
They had live entertainment and our servers were all very nice and on the ball. all in all, a pleasant evening and a nice meal. Happy New Year!

Simple, basic Italian fare. Just what we eye in the mood for. Menu is standard ‘red gravy’ style pasta dishes, with a couple baked pasta offerings, as well. Soups, salads, chicken, steaks, and seafood dishes round out the menu. Wife and I both started with stracciatella soup. Large bowls, with tasty broth. Lots of flavor. Wife had veal parmigiana with side of linguini, while I tried the penne with vodka sauce. Both came with simple side salads. Portions were very large. Veal was full flavored and red sauce was great. Penne was VERY al dente but sauce was good.
Overall, a very nice meal. Nothing fancy, but a good standby for those nights when you desire good, simple, basic Italian fare.

I don’t even think this place deserves one star. My friend and I went for dinner last night, we were there for 3 hours. We ordered two dishes, no apps. It took over 90minutes to get our food, apparently our order was cancelled and even though I spoke with 3 different «mangers» who went to check on it, no one came back to update us on what had happened. We stayed calm, even after the long wait.
There was a table of ten older women seated next to us, they ordered their food after we placed our order and they complained a lot. When they called one manager over he told them he would take care of them. I called this person over and said nicely that we had ordered before them and someone said they were checking on our food but hadn’t come back yet. This man came back in checking on the table of ten but kept his back turned to us and never followed up. A half and hour after that table received their food, we still hadn’t. I called this man over again after hearing him tell another table «we have 200 people here what do you expect us to do, everyone is waiting» I said excuse me I understand you are busy but we have been waiting a very long time and this table ordered after us, we only have two dishes and no one has come back to let us know what is going on. He rolled his eyes and told me «Jimmy» is taking care of you — I said ok, but I spoke with you and you have not come back to update, every time you come in you ignore us and keep your back turned to us. He told me again that «Jimmy» will handle you. I told him we are human beings and deserve not to be talked to in that manner and all we ask was for an update. He walked away and exclaimed «God bless your soul because you have none»
I was appalled. another manager came in and apologized but the damage had been done. I’ve never had such bad service and the food was cold and not even good after the 3 hour wait. Needless to say our entire meal was comped but we will not be going back.
–in the middle of waiting for our food our waiter brought us a mix up plate of pasta (penne vodka) — we told him that wasn’t what we ordered and he said it was a mistake and to just keep it. So I took a few bite of it (undercooked) then he came back and scooped some off onto a smaller plate and served it to the table behind us. I could not believe what I was seeing

Dined here twice now and think I can make a fair evaluation.
Pros
Huge parking lot
Huge restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating
Miles our waiter for our first visit was excellent.
Although they have a wine list you can still BYOB.
Cons
The food, obviously one of the biggest reasons you dine out, is hit or miss depending on what you get. The baked clams were all breadcrumbs, steak was terrible, the pappardelle was good.
The crowd is old, 65 and older seems to be the going age here.
Quantity over quality is the theme.
Prices are on the higher side but portions are huge so you can easily share with two or three people.
Overall this place is pretty mediocre but they seem to be trying. If you’re looking for big portions this is the place for you.

Was at Russo’s twice during the last week and each time the food and service was great.
The owner, Tony, is very helpful and anxious to please and Miles is a great waiter and knows how to tkae care of the customer.
HIghly recommend.

This place was a BYOB and had wine on the menu. The inside was very nice. The booths and tables were close to each other however. The food came out quickly and the service was solid. Our waiter was very attentive and provided us with entertainment with some stories.
The bread was very good. The seasoning with the oil added in just made it that much better.
There was also a salad that was included for the whole table. It was a normal house salad. It was a very big size. There were no complaints regarding this.
For an entrée, I ordered the Salmon Lucci ($ 26). It came with asparagus, plum tomatoes, and shallots in a white wine sauce. It was real good. I wish the piece of salmon was bigger. I am usually not a fan of plum tomatoes that are cooked, but these were solid. The salmon was cooked to perfection and the sauce was pleasant. The asparagus was alright, but there was not too much. There was also a rice that I chose over pasta or garlic mashed potatoes. The rice was tasteful and was even better when mixing it in the sauce that came with the salmon. However, I tried the Chicken Danielle that some one of my party ordered and it was even better. It was a special they were having. I would have ordered that given the chance between the two. It contained pine nuts, feta cheese, and some other ingredients that I forgot because it was not my meal. It was great though. If this chicken appears again, I highly recommend it.
Will I go back? No doubt.

Pretty good. We went here for my birthday and had a great time! The garlic bread rounds were fabulous!!! A must when you come here! I ordered the penne vodka. It was wonderful. Perfectly creamy and filled with pieces of ham! Awesome!!! My mom ordered the pasta primavera. She said it was good too. They used lots of garlic for flavor. If you’re a garlic person, this is your dish! Because of my birthday, the waiter gave us a free dessert. I ordered the chocolate cake. It was just fair. It was rich in flavor with a hint of mint. The cake itself was just dry and subpar at best.

Liked it better before. Only welcoming staff was the hostess, every waitor/​waitress was chewing gum. Only good thing ordered was the sangria. Chicken parm was chewy, meatballs were served with only 2 and were nothing special. Way to overpriced for terrible service and mediocre food, also it is way too loud in their especially when a party is going on in the back (they need area rugs or something to defuse the sound) Used to come all the time but will NOT return

Just finished a solid meal at Russo’s. The outside seating is nice, but we were overwhelmed by flies so moved inside. The main meals we had were definitely A’s, as was the bread, all nicely done. The appetizer of the calamari was pretty average to poor on a Friday night. The wine was a challenge so know going in that they clearly have an issue with their liquor license and you can only get wines made in New Jersey — which is really limiting.
All that said, our server was a very pleasant older Italian man and they took pretty good care of us overall. If I could give it 3.5 I would, so I guess I round up to a 4.
Pros: mains food, service
Cons: apps, lack of any non NJ wines, flies

When it come to Russo’s On 33, nothing could get any better. Where else are you going to get a live music show, dancing for all ages, best Italian food, wine bar, dessert bar and an outdoor cigar bar ?? BTW, THEY MAKE AN EXCELLENT SALMON !

I have been here three times. The first two times were amazing. Miles was our server. He was super friendly, talkative, and attentive. The food was great… And the rolls that you get before appetizers are amazing. I went last week, after Luchento’s was switched to Russo’s on 33. The chicken parmesan was super saucy. I felt like they handed me a plate of sauce with two small pieces of chicken cutlets with cheese on top. We has a different server and he overcharged us on our credit cards. We gave him cash and told him to put the same amount on each credit card. Instead, he assumed that the cash was his tip and charged each card more than we were planning on giving. We didn’t complain because we figured it would be a mess to go back and fix this mistake over $ 6. Also, as of right now, they only sell wine. You can BYOB.

This was one of the most pleasant dining experiences I have had in recent memory. Before I forget — make sure to request Miles as your waiter. He delivered an excellent customer service experience!
We had been trying to get into another restaurant on Friday night and because it was packed to the gills, we decided to shoot down 33 and check out Russo’s, which we had heard of but never been to. Apparently it had been a couple different restaurants in the past. It was crowded when we walked in, but we did manage to snag a table. The décor was dark wood and nice, and it seemed a little tight on space, but that’s not usually a big deal to me.
We started off with a caprese plate, which was decent, and followed with myself ordering the Moneybags Carbonara, with my dining companion ordering the lasagna. Just as a side note — the Moneybags Carbonara was AMAZING — little gnocchi-​like pasta «bags» of something (cheese? potato? who cares! it was awesome!) in a great thick creamy carbonara sauce with ham and bacon. I am most certainly going to get this again next time I am there. According to my friend, her lasagna was very good too. At the end of the day, the food was very, very good.
Our waiter, Miles, was a consummate professional, and that stands out because you don’t see his caliber too often in «normal» (read: not super high-​end) restaurants. Great service, great advice, and great personality — can’t ask for more than that! We actually took the time after our meal to discuss Miles with the manager — apparently he is requested often, so good luck getting him. I know I’ll be requesting him next time!
Overall, this was an excellent dining experience; from the décor, to the food, to the people, and to the service, everything seemed top-​notch. To be able to walk away from a meal completely satisfied is a rare experience for me, but I am happy to share that Russo’s allowed me to do exactly that. I will definitely be back, and I highly recommend it to you as well.

We have been here several times. The food is delicious. The waitstaff seems very attentive. There is outdoor seating, but on the occasions that we’ve been, it was sweltering or pouring cats and dogs. There is no bar, but you can order wine from a local winery that is very good.

Went to celebrate my husbands birthday. Since we had over 20 people they set up a private room just for us. Food was delicious. Service was very good. Overall everyone had a great time. My son even tried fried calamari for the first time at 3yr and loved it :-). Would definitely come back.

We went to Luchentos and found out it changed to Russos on 33 and we were not disappointed! The food was awesome, and the ambiance was the same. Glad to know that nothing changed but the name.

Got there at 7:30 left at 10:30. There was obviously an issue in the kitchen– food was average. Jokes by older Italian men became annoying. The «complementary» dessert after the long wait was almost insulting. Don’t know if I will ever go back.

So now they changed the name to Russo’s on 33 to make you think that there is new owners but its the same people serving the same low quality fare. This once great place now has gone dramatically down hill! Maybe they should have fixed the menu and the food!
We have been going there for years and it was always amazing up until last year. Not sure what has happened but we did try and give them 3 chances and it got even worse. Last time we were there was the end of January 2015 and we will never go back!
The food was absolutely horrible! The salad was wilted and watery with zero taste, the special grilled stuffed calamari was cold, raw and rubbery, the homemade spinach fettuccini was mushy and way over cooked liked it was microwaved, the Chicken Parisian was not even edible (Tommy Lunchento use to make this dish amazing) and the carrot cake was clearly frozen and not fresh.
Years ago it was a nice cozy place with amazing food. The menu had Rock Shrimp Fra Diavolo, Farfalle Desoro, Andouille Sausage, Chicken Sofia etc. etc. etc. This place went from a thriving country Italian restaurant that was so busy that you had to wait to be seated on any given night. Now it’s just like every local pizza and Italian restaurant… it’s all the same style food and you can walk right in and have a seat without any wait.
All that for over $ 100.00. We have no problem spending money on good food but this wasn’t even close to being good. The portions have gotten smaller and the prices have gone up. Not worth the trip or time. There is really no helping this place. Sorry Russo’s…BIG THUMBS DOWN!