Chiafullo's Navesink Pizza — Restaurant in Middletown Township

Visited for the first time recently. Appears to be a family owned business. Mom and daughter behind the counter are friendly and courteous. The place itself is more closer to a dive than anything else. Looks like they haven't renovated since the late 70's regardless of ownership. The pizza looked just okay. I'm sure the locals are used to it considering there's not many options in the area but it's not a good look when your slices are just about shriveled up.

I decided on the California chicken cutlet sub. I liked the soft, seeded semolina bread accompanied by the shredded lettuce and tomato. And that was the only thing I enjoyed.

The cutlet itself was almost non-existent. It was almost as if the chef forgot he was preparing an actual chicken cutlet sub. You're basically paying $17.50 for a lettuce and tomato sandwich. The cutlet resembles fish filet from McDonald's and it's laughably thin. The color is supposed to be a nice, golden brown. This place is just not filling their subs with any real amount of cutlet. They think it's perfectly normal to just cover the bread with almost nothing. And you'll notice this bizarre thing at many of the local pizzerias around here. They're not the only ones guilty of this. I know food costs are high at the moment but come on. They should be ashamed of themselves. Between the sad looking slices at the counter and the bread with zero meat subs it's a hard pass. Maybe their entrées are better quality but this family seriously needs to start making...

My favorite restaurant in Monmouth County! I've been eating at Chiafullo's for probably about 10 years and I can honestly say that this is simply the best Italian food. The freshness and quality of the food can't be beat and you won't find another restaurant where you truly do feel like family when you're there. They moved from Red Bank to Navesink and we drive 35 minutes now to enjoy their food and to see their staff who we absolutely love. When they were in Red Bank we held all of our family functions in their banquet room..birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Since moving to Navesink they don't have a big banquet room anymore but they made special accommodations for us to have the entire dining area for my mother's surprise 65th birthday, because we wouldn't dream of having it anywhere else. Simply put, the best food served by owners...

My experiences for meals in Atlantic Highlands hasn't been stellar for sure. That streak ended today at Chiafullo's.

I opted for a buffalo chicken wrap because the stromboli game in the area has been sub par. I don't even regret it because the wrap was fantastic! I can't tell you how happy I was to see a handful of chips thrown in. There was no way I was paying $2.50 for a little bag of chips and you need something to breakup the flavors sometimes. It was just the right amount.

The only downside is now the next time I'm in the area I have to get a stromboli because that's the true litmus test for me. Then again, that might be an upside if it's anywhere as good as the wrap.

Do yourself a favor and check this place out. Don't be afraid to look at the specials too. There looked like there were some good...