Lu Nello — Restaurant in Cedar Grove

I have visited the place 3x in 2 wks. The very reason is the appetizers that caught my attention on my first visit. The grilled watermelon and the soft shell crab were so good they made me come back in a week. The first visit was for lunch. The servers were attentive and knowledgeable of their menu. It was an enjoyable lunch. No compmaints.

I came back the following week for the same foods. It was lunchtime again. Same person served us, he gave us another excellent service. The food was a bit different, especially the grilled watermelon with crabmeat. There was something missing that i cannot figure out. It could also be bacause they put too much watermelon that diluted the entire salad. Was a bit disappointing. Also, the iced cost 4 bucks..it tasted like water..there is more ice than tea in that small glass. But what was disappointing was that i got charged for every refill i ordered! I understand if this was juice or soda, it is reasonable to charge for refill. But for iced tea that has more than half ice??? I think it was a rip off. But i learned my lesson.

On the third visit after another week, i brought family members with me. I let them try the same appetizers that drew me twice to the place. They liked both. However, the softshell crab did not come with the sauce or dip it came with the last 2 times. I asked the server ( different crew maybe because it was dinner) for it and instead of giving it to us, decided to argue. Until finally, he gave us what i was looking for. Their free bread appetizer was cold. It was totally diffrent on my second visit when they served hot and crunchy. When we finished our meals, i asked for the menu for the desserts, not for me but for my family because i know what they have and i know it is limited selection too. One of the guys came and said he will bring the menu out. Our main server came to us after a minute and when i asked him for the menu, he said they dont have one! I know they do because i have seen it the last 2 visits. What he did was he just said the 5 or so desserts and made us choose. For a restaurant that charges a lot for everything, i expect an excellent service. Dont give these waiters who argue with customers and lie! The owner needs to realize that they are lucky to have customers who come back to their place despite being very pricey and with the many other competitors around and the effect of covid 19, a customer who came back 3x in 2 wks must be finding something good about the restaurant and that should be maintained every visit. The third visit was disappointing and i know that i am done with Lu Nello, at least for this year. I hope they improve their service. I may recommend them to others to try but...

I’ve been to Lu Nello in Cedar Grove several times, and every visit has been nothing short of outstanding. The food is always exceptional, and the service inside the restaurant is top-tier. Their history and reputation for excellence are well deserved, and I truly enjoy bringing clients here for important meals.

However, my recent experience with the valet service was disappointing and did not reflect the hospitality I’ve always received inside. I had a 12 PM lunch meeting and arrived at 11:50 AM, ten minutes before the restaurant opened. Since there was no valet at the time, I parked myself and waited. During that time, I ran a software update on my Tesla, which takes about 50 minutes and prevents the car from being moved.

At 12 PM, as I started walking toward the restaurant, an older valet gentleman approached me and asked for my key card. I smiled, said sure, and right away gave it to him. He immediately told me the car needed to be moved. I explained politely that the software update had just started and the car would not move for about 50 more minutes. His response was abrupt, saying it still needed to be moved, and then he added, “That’s why I hate Teslas.” At first I was shocked and tried to remain polite, but when he continued with attitude, I finally told him that it does not matter if he likes Teslas or not, it is my car and I am a customer.

It was clear that the valet had an attitude problem, with no filters, and his behavior was far from what a place of this caliber represents. Someone with that approach to customers should not be servicing at a beautiful venue like Lu Nello, which otherwise exemplifies outstanding hospitality.

This valet experience was the worst I have had anywhere. That said, the venue still deserves 5 stars for the food and service inside, so I will not take away from them for the poor valet experience. I only hope management sees this and addresses the issue with the gentleman at valet so the service outside matches the...

If your looking for a TOP NOTCH Italian restaurant Lu Nello is it! It has a beautiful Italian decor inside, an extensive menu from house made pastas, seafood, to top of the line meats. There was really something on the menu for every budget. They have your basic Italian dishes also an extensive list of specials of the day. They also give you a list of specials of the day all written down which is nice because I’d never remember them all. I ordered a half order of the strozzapreti pasta as an appetizer topped with lump crab meat. The half order was a huge portion that I asked my waiter if this was the dinner size or appetizer portion! It was absolutely delicious, and despite the large size it was so good I managed to eat it all! For dinner I asked my waiter if the chef can make me veal chop parmesan. They have veal Parmesan on the menu, but I just love veal chop parmesan! I’m not kidding when I tell you this was the best veal chop parmesan I ever ate, and believe me I ate a lot of them! It was pounded very thin and lightly breaded topped in a fantastic red sauce and fresh mozzarella. The veal melted like butter it my mouth! They had lots of house made desserts to choose from, and I chose one of the dessert specials of the day which was a house made cinnamon crunch donut topped with vanilla gelato. It was AMAZING, and a perfect ending to my fabulous meal here! Lu Nello is definitely one of the best Italian restaurants in NJ, and it’s definitely worth a trip...