Roccos Town House — Restaurant in Hammonton

It's Saturday night and our first time to the place because we were looking for something different. The place seems a bit disjointed. Is it a bar? Is it a restaurant? There are a bunch of tvs hung around the restaurant with different sports playing. There's no host(ess) stand when you walk in. You're right into the dining area next to people eating. Different servers will rush over to greet you and seat you. Tables are covered with the vinyl table cloths. It's a little dark inside, but not to where you need an extra light to read the menu. The drink selection is expansive, more focused on straight alcohol drinks and craft beers rather than cocktails. There are a few house cocktails, which I had the Tavern Old Fashioned. It was good. Muddled with orange and cherry. My wife ordered a Basil Hayden Whiskey. They were out of it. A WHISKEY bar out of a top shelf whiskey. The traditional bread basket is replaced with crackers and a horseradish cheese. For those of you from the area, think Sweetwater Cheese. The crackers were stale and, oddly, another table received bread and butter. We ordered appetizers and dinner. The apps came out separately. I waited another 5 minutes for mine which was their stuffed long hots with prosciutto and cheese. Well, they weren't stuffed The long hots were still fully seed, slightly charred and the shreds of prosciutto and cheese were on top. There were cooked onions on the peppers and all this was on top of two small pieces of garlic bread. Because the peppers were still fully seeded, they were very hot. Of the 5 on the plate, I got through 2-half. Wife got a side salad (ala cart) which was asian style with mandarin oranges. Friends got fried cheese (wedges of fried mozzarella cheese blend) and fried calamari but the sweet chili sauce was definitely jar. The fried cheese was a replacement because they were out of brussel sprouts. Keep count, this is the 2nd item they were out of. Dinner came, finally, after another 25 minutes of waiting. No extra crackers and cheese while waiting. Drink refills were scattered. I ordered tea after my Old Fashioned at the same time out friend ordered a refill of his tea. Server came back very quickly with his, mine took 10 minutes. Dinner was average at best. I had the short rib mac & cheese, wife had the white chicken parm, friends had the herb crusted prime rib which was the special of the night. Friends ordered double broccoli instead of baked potato and broccoli. When served, both prime rib dinners were definitely not herb crusted and the broccoli mysteriously became sting beans. Cold, bland string beans. The server offered spinach as a replacement because they were out of broccoli (item #3). That came out quickly, hot and full of flavor. Friends' comments were "whatever they do to cook the spinach, they need to do the same to the beans." Both prime ribs were room temp, not hot; the short rib mac & cheese was only hot in the very middle but the pasta was cooked correctly- not mushy. Wife's white chicken parm.was hot and side pasta was also cooked well. The server looked like she was trying very hard to keep up, but I watched as she was running from area to area. Her tables did not seem consolidated. I think the food sat on the pass too long because there are no separate food runners. The server does it all. Dessert was their peanut butter pie - which the portion was big and it was tasty. Creamy and strong peanut butter flavor. Friends had the rockier road pie which they liked. Two coffees were ordered. They were "warm" at best. Overall, the food pace was poor, food was not hot, they were out of key items, and the flavors were average. Nothing was bad, per se, average. I was asked if I'd go back. Honestly, maybe - but it won't be my first choice. I think, if there is a next time, I would explore the downstairs bar and music scene, but...

UPDATE 3/18/23: There’s still no vegetarian food on the menu. They were even out of an appetizer. We made do with a baked potato and sautéed spinach. Ordered the polenta appetizer, which was small but good. When we got there, the place was dead. Someone we assume to be a manager came and basically told us to leave by suggesting their basement whisky bar. We ordered as much food as we could, desserts, and drinks, and we rarely have the opportunity to get out away from our kids. We didn’t appreciate being pressured. It was rude. Not good business.

We used to really love it at Rocco’s. They had a full menu—pot of muscles, homemade pasta, homemade veggie burgers, and a cheese plate that I had friends drive more than a half hour for. There was lots of selection and the food was very high quality. Now, instead of a menu, there is a clipboard with glorified pub grub. If you have a special diet or happen to be vegetarian, forget it. The dessert and drink options remain ample and impressive, but even the appetizers and main dishes are pretty sparse. I ordered the crab dip last night. The portion was small and it had too much celery in it. It wasn’t very good. Recently, we attended a church event that Rocco’s generously catered. It included food I never see on the clipboard, like broccoli rabe. It was delicious. I wish they served this quality and type of food in the restaurant normally. Wish we could have the “old Rocco’s” back. I...

Pros: They have a lot going for them. Not my first review. Food is tasty no matter what you get , but the rooster fries are a must if you like spicy,cheesy and not watching what you are eating. Burgers are very good here, and are more reasonably priced. Staff is great to talk to and locals are friendly who come. Their Whiskey bar downstairs is a must , for the experience, and occasionally artist playing. Best selection of whiskey in South Jersey. Big open downstairs for events etc. Greg is awesome at what he does down there.

Cons: prices are slightly higher than they need to be. It's great food , but not fine dining. The menu is very limited. The whiskey bar downstairs is only open at certain times and days. The parking is ok, but very tight, fills quickly on a Friday night. Wish they opened the full menu downstairs, they don't let you order anything other than appetizers. The up stairs bar doesn't have the same ingredients to make drinks you want, a little disappointing.

All and all , highly recommend going here with some friends or family. And suggest coming in the fall winter time , much more relaxing. I'm Beef and that's where I was and where I go when I can and have...