Secondo Panicos — Restaurant in Lower Township

This place is terrible!

We were a party of 9 including 2 children. We had a late reservation, 8 pm, considering the ages of the kids, but they’re well-behaved and they’ve been fine at other late places. It didn’t matter at Secondo, though, because everything takes forever.

There didn’t seem to be anywhere to wait inside; our older relatives had to stand outside on the stairs. When we received the text that our table was ready—only 10 minutes after the reservation time—we all went inside. Almost immediately the host told my cousin to step aside so he wouldn’t block the other guests. She didn’t put it together that we were all one party.

Finally, we were seated. After 10 minutes, a waiter finally came over to introduce himself and take our drink orders. 30 minutes later, we finally received our drinks! 40 minutes from when we sat down! Just before the drinks arrived, we were considering leaving and ordering pizza from somewhere else instead. Instead, we decided to forego any appetizers and just order our mains. 10 minutes after we ordered our mains a staff member came over with a breadboard and a stack of plates. She walked up to the table and said, “I guess these are yours?” and dropped them on the table in front of me. So I passed out the plates.

Meanwhile, there is very loud pop/dance music playing throughout the restaurant at a loud volume. We couldn’t talk to each other from one end of the table to the other. And the incessant pulse of the high hats was not conducive to dining. Who thinks this is the appropriate music for a family-style Italian restaurant?

Thirty minutes after we ordered, the oysters—our only appetizer—arrived. The oysters themselves were delicious, but the sauces were awful. The so-called mignonette was merely Tabasco sauce. And the “lemoncello” had no flavor whatsoever. None.

Forty-five (45!!) minutes after we ordered our food, it arrived. It was bland and boring. Four of us ordered the chicken parmigiano; it was flavorless and ordinary. One person ordered the crispy salmon and described it as edible. Another person ordered the veal pecorino which was only improved by pouring balsamic vinegar over it. The cavatappi was flavorful. The waiter said, “looks like we need some [to go] boxes over here!” We declined.

He tried in vain to tempt us with a plate of desserts.

I feel bad for the waiter who was obviously struggling to handle our nine top, the eight top next to us and the three top behind us, plus who knows how many other tables.

No one on the staff appeared to be having any fun at all. It was not fun to be there. I do not recommend this place and will likely not go back to their original...

Secondo Panicos was a remarkable disappointment considering I have been to Panico's Bistro in Cape May, which is outstanding, multiple times. On June 10, 2025, with my mother and girlfriend, we wanted to try a new restaurant in Cape May with a couple who live near Harrisburg, PA, for a birthday dinner. We first sat at the bar and had a nice chat with a female manager and a female bartender. I made reservations, so our table was ready at 5:00 PM. Our waiter, Jeremy, was very professional, personable, and attentive. The nightmare started when our friends both ordered a gin and tonic, and instead got gin and club soda. Jeremy quickly corrected the error, which they appreciated. We ordered calamari, which we have had at dozens of restaurants over the past thirty years, and it was in the top three worst ever. Large rings of chewy squid, overly battered. My mother and my girlfriend tried one piece each and were unable to chew it. I managed to eat three pieces, but the work I had to put into it wasn't worth it. We told Jeremy it was inedible and he took it off our bill. My mother and my girlfriend ordered the char-grilled Branzino, which was excellent, equally as good as the Branzino at Panico's Bistro. Our friend's wife — it was her birthday — ordered the salmon special, which was extremely bland. Her husband and I both ordered the stuffed flounder, a special of the evening, which included a vegetable — we chose broccoli — and rice. The flounder itself was fresh and had a good appearance, but the so-called crab imperial stuffing had little taste and had a brownish color to it, something I've never seen before. The fish was topped with some kind of sweet ginger(?) glaze, which overpowered the fish and probably helped the taste of the crab imperial. The rice was cold, dry, and tasteless and the broccoli was fresh and perfectly steamed. For dessert, our friends ordered an extremely rich peanut butter chocolate ball that they were very satisfied with. My mother, my girlfriend and I ordered tiramisu, which was god awful. It didn't even resemble tiramisu and tasted lousy — hard to believe they could even serve this. A Tastycake cupcake is ten times better. My girlfriend and I are foodies and have been to multiple Cape May restaurants, but Secondo is hands down the worst we have visited to date. The staff was great, but the food was reminiscent of a diner besides the branzino. I would put it in the tourist trap category. When in Cape May looking for a dining experience, do yourself a favor — go to another restaurant! I recommend Panico's Bistro as an...

Definitely make reservations.

My family came for dinner here twice in the last two months. Both times at 8:30 in the evening and we sat outside. The first time I came without children the second time we brought them with us.

The first time the service was phenomenal. The second time I felt the service was a lacking the same appeal. The server seems less attentive and moody. I asked about a kids menu and got a “no” with no follow up. Then I asked about some suggestions for smaller portion options and got a sigh, eye roll and a “nope”. Perhaps some of the staff need some basic service personality training.

The restaurant is beautiful the patio is clean and the fire place adds a nice touch. The owner should remove the broken chairs and replace them. It looks tacky. The live music was good. He played a nice variety of music however the house music in between the sets of the musician doesn’t go with the atmosphere at all. Perhaps some Sinatra or Tony Bennett (like your sign when we first walk in).

Food is very good.

The crab cakes are delicious. They are tiny like small meatballs.

The mahi mahi with crab filling is delicious. Sadly it came with rice which was bland and needed flavor. The two pencil thin asparagus were delicious but two? It would be nice to have at least 5-6.

They have a bar pizza that is delicious but not on the menu if you sit at a table however you can still get it outside.

The truffle mushroom burrata is a must have is so good and comes with focaccia. The only thing I wish is that it was bigger and came with more mushrooms.

Suggestions for the owner. As a visual learner I would love a print out of the specials. I hate hearing the server quickly rattle off the specials especially from a cranky person.

As a mother with children and understanding you mostly cater to adults however you should still have a menu for children. You can do it easily with items you already make just smaller portions (and prices). For example my kids love petite filet mignon, salmon, small Cesar salad, small plain pizza, sides can be asparagus/broccoli/green beans. They also have palates that are still forming so put the fancy sauces on the side.

Lastly, and this is a matter of personal preference. My family noticed one of the young employees was dressed in a bra top which is more suited to go to a club rather than serve in a restaurant and the music didn’t match the restaurant. She was distracting and...