Ruoccos Restaurant — Restaurant in Manalapan Township

The worst experience ever ! Please read the responses of an owner !! It is frightening and full of psychological harassment to customers!!!

We received an octopus salad with burned potatoes and burned octopus ( Literally black ) and when we told the server that we can pay for the dish but let the chief decide should we pay or not. The owner came and stared to argue with us with inappropriate higher voice tone . I had never experienced such a service before .. He said next time we had to tell before we are 90 % of dish .Which in fact was just a two forks of a dish . The total amount of octopus was 8 pieces in salad and we ate 4 pieces. He almost made my friend cry because of this rude tone .. Wow . Avoid avoid avoid !! P.s : the service from the server was exceptional and the pasta we ordered was very good , but the lack of politeness and professionalism from the Owner / manager leave the feeling of “ never come back to this place and to persuade all family and friends not going there either “

Response to Owner : That is not true ! We did not eat the most of it . But the bottom line was that you served the burned (coal black )potatoes and octopus in your salad ! It was not noticeable right away as it was hidden under arugula, when we noticed it after mixing the salad we told the server in the POLITE way . But your appearance and tone was way to inappropriate for customers ! This is the first time ever in my entire life someone made me so uncomfortable in restaurant. And the most shocking detail is that this person call himself an owner ! Advise : Your should delegate management of issues with costumers to your female server as she was the the only positive memory from the whole dining experience in your place.

P.s :Dear owner , you were the one who asked your friend Dan to comment on other people review ! ( you literally said it on your responses that it was your friends suiting around us ) Your friend insisted that we ate most of our plate , how he knows ? unless he came to our table and check our plates!! Really .) This is very strange! We just shared the negative experience WE HAD with one plate we ordered (that contained coal black burned potatoes that has to be returned , )we even offered to pay for it ASK your server !!! (the rest food I fairly commented as good ) We live in blessed country called America with freedom of speech ! I did have a negative experience with your place , particularly with you . I would never come back to your place and that it ! I am pretty much sure you can live with it , we just two ordinary ladies . Everybody makes mistake and having one negative review does not necessarily mean that people will think your place is not worth trying . It is ok to admit that you serve a people a bad prepared dish that day and say sorry rather that fall below the ground to argue with two young ladies , frightening and psychologically harassing them. In the end of the dat you are the owner and a man! Professionalism comes first in any business...

Came here for an early anniversary dinner on a Sunday. We started with a Caesar salad & a grilled octopus salad. The Caesar was refreshingly simple & classic. The grilled octopus salad was so well curated. The roasted potatoes complimented the octopus so nicely. Nothing in the dish was overpowering. A perfect combination of flavors. For my main, I had the eggplant rollatini. It wasn't overstuffed with ricotta ( which I've seen all too often) & it was seasoned just right. The herbs in the ricotta stood out w/o cancelling the subtle flavor of the perfectly fried eggplant. Even down to the thickness of the eggplant slices, this dish was nothing short of perfection. My husband ordered the Veal Pink Panther which our server described as chicken Parm, but with veal. He was impressed with the 1st bite. After a while, he lost his taste for it. He decided to revisit it the next day for lunch at work & only had a microwave to reheat it. Bad idea, right? WRONG. A day old & microwaved, it was wonderful. He literally called me on his ride home JUST to tell me that. He couldn't believe how good it was the next day. Aside from the food, the service was fantastic. We were seated immediately, our server answered all of our questions with a smile, AND the food wasn't rushed out. We were given the opportunity to fully enjoy each dish before the next was presented. OMG I almost forgot about dessert! We shared the Nutella Poppers & can I say I would go back just for that alone? Hubby said he'd go back for the salads alone. They're BYOB, but we purchased the Charger on their short wine list. It's a delicious semi-dry red with undertones of berries & chocolate. So tasty, he started googling it at the table. Suffice it to say, we give this place 5 stars, an A+, 4 thumbs up, all a dat! I apologized about our extra laxed appearance & the guy whom I assume was the manager/owner joked about him & his team running around in t-shirts. What a perfect experience. I cannot wait to go back & bring friends/family. Please go & support this gem!

P.s. I know I sound like I got paid for this, but I'm a real...

Ordered a special, a halibut dish, which was not only visually enticing but truly delectable as it was served over perfectly cooked risotto. Although the halibut was cooked with a decadent crust, it was also competing with a luscious risotto. Both were delicious in their own right. I will say that the risotto was probably the best I ever had, perfectly cooked with butter and perfectly cooked tomatoes and spinach. The dish was absolutely delicious. The other dish was “Chef’s choice”, Rigatoni pasta with shrimp, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and spinach in a sherry wine cream sauce. It was very good as well, with a minor complaint of a few shrimp that were a tad over cooked, however, it was aggressively devoured nonetheless. We liked the water delivered to our table with a bowl of ice, a nice touch. The dinner was preceded with warm and perfectly crisp bread with a soft center. The owner also introduced himself and poured a very tasty olive oil to enjoy with that aforementioned bread. The olive oil, we were told, was available for purchase but we passed (just didn’t need it at the moment). The restaurant is family run as both daughters of the owner were present, one was our server, a very reassuring thing to see. I wholly recommend this family owned restaurant (it shows in their attention to detail) for everyone to enjoy. The restaurant is nicely decorated and has a rear separate room for private gatherings as well as an outdoor dining space (not currently set up). The owner also stated that a liquor license is being pursued and should be forthcoming very soon, another plus once it comes to fruition. I will be back not only for the food, but for the fact we felt welcomed and appreciated. It was truly an overall...