Gourmet Cafe — Restaurant in Parsippany-Troy Hills

I've seen lots of posts about this restaurant on my town's FB page, friends' FB pages, everyone raving about it, so I decided to go there for my birthday (yesterday) for what I thought would be a "special treat." To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. There was a very large party (at least 30 people) taking up more than half of the restaurant, very loud. Okay, not the fault of the restaurant, but they should have told me when I made my reservation that there would be a large party there that night. What they really should have done was close the place except for that one party.

The staff barely spoke to us throughout our meal. The person clearing the table was like a bull in a china shop, I felt like we were being rushed and pushed out the door. The food was room temperature with no flavor, no seasonings. My meal was listed as being in a garlic white wine sauce, could barely taste any garlic or anything else. I asked for fresh pepper (it wasn't offered) but that didn't help. The final nail in their coffin was when I got home: the restaurant called me to tell me they gave us the wrong bill! What I should have done was tell them it was their mistake, they need to eat the difference, but my parents instilled in me to go high even when others go low. This was my first and LAST visit to this place...

UPDATE: Thank you, Matthew, for your quick response and action taken. I may have to give your place...

The word “hidden gem” gets thrown around a lot these days, but it feels particularly apt for Gourmet Cafe. It’s completely unassuming on the outside, stuck next to a local laundromat in a rather generic strip mall, but walk through the doors and you’ll see that’s not the case for long.

I’ve been to many Italian restaurants in my time and experienced a few disappointments here and there, but everything me and my parents had at this place was phenomenal. HOWEVER, what put this place above so many others of its ilk in my eyes was the consistently excellent customer service, including the time we spent with the restaurant’s longtime owner, Matthew, as we ate. He is such a personable man who clearly loves his job and looks out for both the employees and customers alike, even happily offering us a sample of his own limoncello (we don’t drink but we appreciated the gesture). A+ for hospitality alone.

Don’t miss out on this place, and ESPECIALLY don’t miss out on the butterscotch bread pudding (just trust me...

Ww were looking for somewhere to eat lunch the morning after attending a wedding. Happened to chose this restaurant and could not be happier with the choice. The broccoli rabe and sausage appetizer was first rate, the sausage had a deep brown sear and the broccoli rabe was cooked perfectly. The Parmesan crusted Chicken Caesar salad was recommended by the staff member and it was better than he said it would be. The golden brown layer of parm on the chicken was amazing. The Rigatoni Bolognese was perfect. The sauce had a great balance to it. And, as good as the food was, the service matched it. Everyone we interacted with was friendly and helpful. The chef was out on the floor often ensuring everyone was enjoying their meals. This is one of those places where you can tell everyone that works there takes great pride in their work. Parsippany is fortunate to have a place like this. Looking forward to being able to visit it again the next time I'm...