Jimmy's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Asbury Park

Came here last night to celebrate my girlfriend's and brother in law's 30 birthday. Upon arrival they had valet parking which is nice for anyone who would need it. Once we got inside, we waited for a hostess to see us, she walked us back to our table which interestingly enough we had to walk by the entire kitchen to get to. For a moment we thought we were going to be seated in the kitchen. The decor was old and outdated. It looked like a banquet hall turned restaurant, dingy carpets, Dusty picture frames on walls etc. Once we sat down our waitress came over right away to introduce herself and give us menus. Then we were left alone for maybe about 20 minutes, after that she came back and offered drinks. We got our drinks about 15 minutes later, and after we had been looking through the menus for another 30 minutes THEN she informed us about the specials which we could barely hear her as she was wearing two masks and it was very loud inside the small room. We placed our orders and appetizers took a while to come out but once they did they were worth it. After placing our dinner order we waited a little more over an hour to receive our food which was decent but some of the prices seemed a little over inflated for what they were serving. The chicken with prosciutto was served in a watery butter sauce that was unappealing and not tasty at all to three of us who tried it. Pasta dishes were basic Italian, penne vodka and Alfredo which again, basic nothing special for 17$, my mother-in-law got fish that she enjoyed, and we also ordered two pizzas which were okay. After giving us another hour to eat our food she came by to start collecting plates, and after being asked if they served coffee she gave an interesting attitude towards my mother-in-law, it was just a question, no need to tell us how you clean tables. They brought out our cake for us to sing, they cut it for us and served it. Ultimately didn't seem so bad for a Saturday night until it came time to pay. We broke down our bill and tip and some came from cash tips and some on card. Unbelievably, our waitress mentioned something about our tip not being sufficient before actually totaling how much was given between the two payment types. We thought it extremely rude of her to say something about it, I'd understand if we low balled the tip, but we did leave a correct amount for the service we got. We arrived at 830, didn't leave until 11:15. 3 hours almost to serve food and then give us an attitude as we're leaving. For this being our first time here,( and having to drive an hour to get there) it left a bad taste in everyone's mouth and it is in fact going to be the last time we go...

Classic old school experience in a not so trendy corner of very trendy Asbury Park. Super warm welcoming service, starting from the Valet Parking, to Maitre'D, to bar tender, to dining room. That being said, depending on one's taste, some comments to help you 'customize' and maximize your experience: if you like all aspects of old school NJ Italian, then just waltz in, enjoy the warm service, and expect to be stuffed in a super festive atmosphere. Come early and enjoy some soppresata at the bar if you can (though on a weekend, even the bar counter can be booked up and packed - admire the photos of illustrious stars who have made their way here before) if you want to enjoy the atmosphere AND only want the star items on the menu, then don't miss (i) a pre dinner drink at the bar with above mentioned sopressata (as well as old school pimento cheese); (ii) hot antipasto for two is a stand out, and fried calamari is notable for it's delicacy and unparalleled volume - served with TWO home made red sauces (regular and spicy) which are incredible displays of homemade artistry in a classic style - very comforting sauce that is clearly not an afterthought but an integral part of the experience; clams casino or oreganato - very well executed old school style; sausage or meatballs in homemade red sauce; and rice balls and seafood salad looked great too if available as a special, (iii) house salad - don't miss it, and if you can combine with your dining party, have everyone's salad served family style - will come perfectly seasoned and mixed - it's a bit funny to talk about salad, but it is strangely good at Jimmy's, (iv)mains- shrimp or lobster, branzino special if they have it that day, Veal parm or chops, fiorentina or similar if they have it; now, if you like sole with REAL crab meat stuffing, then the combo is very good (but personally I think their shellfish or veal/beef mains are more notable) - NOTE everyone carried half their main home (a feature seemingly appreciated by the older crowd there), but if that is not your thing, definitely consider sharing one main for two persons; (v) dessert - they specialize in cakes, made by one of their long time waitresses it seems - probably by now in the evening it's not a great idea to order one per person, but if you can, go for it! Else share at least one for the table - the cakes are delicate and lovingly made. Somewhat to my surprise, no cannoli. You can't...

We went to the Asbury Christmas Bazaar with the fam and decided to try somewhere new versus our go to Porta. Place was very dated inside. First table was wobble mess so they moved us. Second table had 2 broken chairs we swapped out ourselves. We waited about 10 min at 5pm with an absolutely empty dining room for our sever to show up. We order a bottle of Super Tuscan because duhhh, thats what your supposed to do lol. We also asked for a side of marinara for the kids for the bread. Apparently the chef needed to make the marinara so after 3 times asking and walking over to the kitchen to politely ask for a cup of marinara we finally got it 20 mins later.... Thank god the wines good. Mussels come in cold...so we send them back. Mushrooms were pretty good. We noticed other tables getting a specials menu so i asked to take a look. This seemed to confuse the server so i had to ask twice over 10 mins. I express i'd like something off the specials menu if possible verse what I originally ordered. She says no problem, they havent started yet so sure. Perfect so I place the new order. Guess what i got? Lol They brought the original order and said Yeahhh well they did start it sooooo......Well again at least i have a Super Tuscan, so i decide to send it back and cut my losses because I'm full on disappointment. Rest of the food comes out and we ask to see the manager "which I Hattteeeee doing" but its been a hot mess to this point. Surprise no manager on a Saturday Night. So they bring over the "Head Waitress" who was very nice and apologetic, felt bad telling her considering its not her problem. Wife takes one bite of her Chicken Parm and its warm at best and the cheese is all hard on top and cold, side pasta even colder. We both cut our losses and send it all back. Chalk it up as a failed attempt. They credited us our full meals which was amazing but the damage was done which is why they were able to keep a 2 rating vs a zero. So to recap the good...Super Tusan yay, stuffed mushrooms yay. Crediting an absolutely horrible dinner a huge plus. Could have been just a 1 in 1000 bad run but ya never know. We still tipped good because I have guilt issues. Good luck out...