Avella's Italian Takeout — Restaurant in Middletown

so went in for first time after wanting to try it from when they were at older location. That being said ya go in and tv screen menu screens are far from where ya order. so if you arent used to their menu you have to keep walking back and forth to place an order, rather annoying. Then ya stand there to place an order and all the women working are standing there talking amongst eachother about hours and the working conditions, so your stuck there waiting until they are done (or so ya thought because they kept on while you are placing your already complicated to order items because of the distance between screens and where ya order.. so ya order 2 grinders and a pepperoni pizza.. came to like close to $70 bucks.. Ya get it home. Pizza is dry and really no better than any other pizza ya find on any corner. Figured "Authentic Italian" pizza would be better. No cheese pull, no real flavor. Very greasy. Disappointed.. then ya unwrap the grinders, a chicken parm and a salami grinder.. the salami grinder had ALOT of this weird shredded dry lettuce on it, was like paper that had been put through a shredder. Salami tasted like something from Stop&Shop deli counter and ya get maybe 4 slices of cheese.. Bread is rather dry and has weird taste to it. Chicken parm, chicken was pretty dry and sauce not much flavor like the pizza. Just not at all what i expected from a supposed Authentic Italian specialty market. So I guess all I can say is I finally tried it, and wont be back. Way to expensive for what ya get. Italian food is my favorite and this definetly did not hit the spot Guess its back to New Jersey to my Italian Nona's that adopted me.. Wish yall luck in your new spot, but.. eh...

First time visiting their new place. We immediately noticed how good it smelled with pizza in the oven, sauces simmering, and orders being prepared. I spent more time looking around because there’s so much to see! So many prepared foods—you could create a feast! Plus, they have TONS of imported items in their market/grocery area. We got grinders—they were huge. I like the way they package them. They build them, wrap them in paper, then cut in half and wrap again in plastic wrap so you can see all the goodness and fresh ingredients just waiting for you. We also got a loaf of their homemade bread—a garlic round. It made the car smell so good on the way home! Hubs also got a “cookie stack” for dessert. He loved it. He especially liked that the cookies were soft so he could actually bite into it and not have the filling squish out everywhere. Avella”s & Melilli’s is an excellent addition to Middletown and the surrounding communities! It really fills the void left when Public Market closed, but has so much more to offer! If you’re in a rush, call ahead so you can just pick up your order, but if you walk in and order, the wait...

Food is fine, plenty of similarly impressive Italian restaurants in this town. Portion sizes are laughable for the price, at least for the wraps and takeout dishes. Prices on boar's head meats and cheeses are higher than grocery stores just a few minutes away. My food was really oily and garlic heavy. Service is the main reason for the poor review. They are very kind but the only pace they know is SLOW. Good luck if someone the staff knows walks in because they will stop taking your order to talk with them. Some of the food tastes like it was left on an unrefrigerated counter for a bit (which it was). Also, on two occasions, I witnessed them put too much of something on an order and they will pick it out and put it back in the main containers after contacting other ingredients. Good luck if you have allergies.

Restaurant is standing room only and can take a WHILE if they are busy so plan accordingly.

I know a lot of you are going to think I'm insane because of the high reputation they have but this was just my experience on two occasions. I encourage you to support the business by going at least once to draw your own...