Il Gabbiano Restaurant / BYOB — Restaurant in Cranford

Updated Review: see bottom in response to whomever answered this review at Il Gabbiano. You should take what patrons are saying and Do Better. Get a new hostess for starters.

We have been eating at this restaurant for years. Saturday night 1-11-25 I made a reservation for 6:45pm, we got there on time & hostess grabbed menus & started heading out to the tent area outside. I told her we preferred to eat inside as it was 22 degrees that night. She stared there were heaters and it would be ok/warm enough for us. I told her again we preferred indoor seating and she stated next time to request inside seating, it was not available. She could have cared less if we left or stayed, but we did decide to stay. This was a big mistake and I want everyone to understand that we live the food here, the owner is super nice/cordial & wait staff are always phenomenal. The outdoor seating area had 1 heater that was not sufficient. We ate dinner with our coats on. The part of the tent that meets the ground was flapping in one area, which was allowing more cold air and leaves to enter the dining area. The zipper on the tent was broken also, so it was left open to allow freezing air to enter the whole time we were there. There’s train tracks behind the restaurant and a fast moving train whizzed past two times! Very very loud. They also have “live music” in the tent….sort of karaoke, guy singing to preset music. Not horrible, but why not have the same music as inside? We expected a quiet, romantic dinner and instead were freezing cold with loud music blasting in the tent. At one point, a lady from another table asked if she could “sing” … did not know il Gabbiano had actual karaoke on Saturday nights. She sang two songs, hitting very high notes in such a small area. One song was aerosmiths Dream On. Really? During dinner? With her mom gushing over her singing, taking video and pictures. This was totally unexpected to witness and very unprofessional of the restaurant to allow. We really were shocked by the whole scene. So disappointed in Il Gabbiano! When a customer states they do not want to be seated in a tent, please respects that. We spent a lot of money that night, and it was very unenjoyable. We would have waited for an inside table. At one point the owner came outside and stated, “it’s really cold out here. Are you guys okay?” We told him the food is good, but we were freezing. Il Gabbiano management should reconsider serving meals in a tent when it’s 22degrees outside, without proper heat. OR at the very least honor the patrons wishes in seating, especially given we had a reservation We have never had a meal we did not enjoy at the restaurant, but this evening has ruined our view of this establishment.

The owner did NOT offer to move us inside and did not offer us or anyone else anything when he came out to the tent to “see” how things were going. He said, oh it is so cold out here. This was at 7:30pm after our meal came out. They had been serving folks out there all night. Be better and don’t take advantage of folks like that. If you don’t have a proper outdoor tent that keeps the wind & leaves outdoors and proper heating in said tent, give your patrons a choice to eat indoors. I told the hostess we didn’t want to eat outside and she stated this is all we have. I made the reservation days prior. We only decided to stay as it was a 6:45 reservation and kind of late to go anywhere else. Setting the...

Updated Review based on the business’ response. Disclaimer: My review is my opinion based on my experience (not of those in my group.)

Food: Did not eat the salad that was given. Appetizer, Meatball Ricotta, I did not believe the three meatballs in sauce with some dollops of ricotta were quite worth the value for cost. Not seasoned to my taste and nothing special. Entree: attempted to get the Tortellini Alfredo and Cajun Shrimp but they were out of tortellini. Opted to try the Mama Mia Pasta. It was not seasoned to my taste either. The shrimp, noodles, and oil made it very wet and was a really strange combination.

Service: was decent given the place was very busy, we had the unfortunate accident with one of the glasses knocked over by a server and shattered on our table/belongings. Very friendly.

Atmosphere: very busy on a Friday night, very loud in a crowded small area. Not the atmosphere to my personal liking in a dining experience. We were squeezed in and that was noticed due to having servers/other guests trying to squeeze by. I did not particularly enjoy the food or loud atmosphere, the servers and staff were nice.

Original Review: Server took away the salad before we were finished and ended up knocking over and shattering a glass onto us. When we went they were out of a certain type of pasta and we were informed after we had given the server our order.

Business response: I'm answering this review half an hour after yours so i won't forget any details we do it every night. It is very obvious that you are coming from a bad day, your table was the only table where the three waiters on duty attended, including me, came up to apologize for not having the pasta and you were the only person who was looking to the side or towards the table, your family members were very courteous and said that everything was very good with the smile and without mentioning any problems. You finished the appetizers and finished the entire meal nothing left on the plate. As you could see, the room was completely full when you arrived, and we made space for your table. It would be nice when making a review give your opinion in general of the good and the bad...

The spoon university ( a website ) about food recommends to get over finding a hair in your food, but In my case it’s just gross 🤮. But as a Google local guide( over 22,000 people reads my reviews, confirmed by Google ) I need to be fair and square. Arrived at 545 pm on a Saturday, not crowded. Edgar walked me and my party to our table ( under a tent ) the rest of my party arrived 15 minutes later by then I already ordered the awesome sweet and spicy calamari ( heaven on earth ) as an appetizer and the homemade meatballs covered with Ricotta cheese ( not all that ).

Main courses chicken parmigiana ( Regular sauce ) they have I believe the vodka sauce version for a couple of dollars extra. The chicken parmigiana was pretty good the pasta was just on point so bad I found hair on top of the melted cheese ( maybe prep ) don’t know so I returned my plate ( did not order anything else ) my guests had veal and another the linguini pasta full of seafood ( they loved it ) I tried a piece of veal ( not bad ) but portion was very small compare to the pasta dishes. Edgar is fabulous and he makes sure you have a nice time. Bring your own alcoholic drink ( bottle of wine for example ) they had some guy playing music 🎶 ( music man ) oldies but goodies, other guests joined the guy and play instruments and did some type of karaoke. Not a bad place to go for a fun time with friends. For me it was just a one time experience ( nothing to do with the hair on my chicken parmigiana ) just that instead of investing my money on the same place over and over I like to experience other places as well. In resumen 1-great atmosphere 2-fair prices ( cheap not expensive ) 3-Yes ! There’s plenty of parking 4-Menu choices for everyone 5-Great staff ( including the owner ) So give it a try maybe you become part of IL Gabbiano culture. Ask for Edgar he is a super star.

P.S calamari ( a must have ) the bread 🥖 nice and hot. Bring some wine you will need it depends who is...