Panebianco Cucina Italiana — Restaurant in Rutherford

My family and i visited this horrendous restaurant this afternoon, and were very disappointed. The blond waitress was nice and when i was ordering i told her 3-4 times to please avoid pork because we do NOT eat it, for religious and allergic reasons its very important for us, she assured me that there will be none. However when two pastas arrived (half an hour later) they were filled with pork pieces (mind you on the cacio e pepe chicken and squid ink seafood pasta). We weren’t notified and if it wasn’t for my carefulness we would’ve ate it.. I asked the waitress if it was pork, to which she said she’ll double check with the kitchen, comes back and tells me that was indeed pork- pork cheeks.. shows how she doesnt know the menu and didnt care when i was explaining to her, we almost threw up. Then another waiter or a manager came up to us and said that they’ll remake it, to which i jokingly said “you wont just remove the pork and bring it back right ahah?” To which i received “no of course not, we take it very seriously. We will remake it for you”. 15 (not 30 as originally cooked) mins after we get the SAME pastas but now cold, i dig with my fork and i see the same pork pieces.. At that point another brunette waitress came up and apologized, blond never came back to our table. The same waiter/ manager came up to me and i confronted him, about the fact that he told me how SERIOUS they are in this situation, yet brought the same thing just with a bit less pork. So unprofessional and deceiving. After all those lies and staff being unbothered, we no longer wanted to stay there and took off.

Bonus point for fig and gorgonzola salad. Its a pretty restaurant but food and service is horrible. In all my life, this is the first awful experience with deception that i even had. It sucks since we really wanted to love the place and were very hungry but left...

My girlfriend Emily and I visited Panebianco at the recommendation of our close friends who live just a 10-minute walk away. They haven't had the chance to go yet, so we went to check it out on their behalf. The restaurant itself is beautiful, and the ambiance is lovely. Since we had already eaten, we chose to sit at the bar and enjoy a couple of drinks.

From the moment we sat down, the experience was fantastic. The staff at the bar were warm, attentive, and incredibly friendly. Our drinks were made perfectly, and we were really enjoying the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, our visit was completely overshadowed by an incredibly upsetting incident. A woman who appeared to work there, possibly a manager, approached the bartender and behaved in a shockingly rude and unprofessional manner. She was short, blonde, and blue-eyed, and she nearly threw her drink back at the bartender, loudly asking, “Who makes a drink like this?” It was so aggressive and inappropriate that everyone around looked over. The bartender, who had been nothing but kind and professional, was visibly shaken.

The woman then returned to a back room and sat with a laptop, which made it seem like she held some authority at the restaurant. Her behavior was so disgusting that it completely ruined what was otherwise a lovely experience. We felt terrible for the bartender and told her not to take it personally because she was doing an excellent job.

Despite the wonderful staff and potential this restaurant has, we will not be returning due to this incident. It is deeply disappointing to see such mistreatment of employees, especially by someone who might be in a leadership role. We’ve advised our friends to steer clear until changes are made. Panebianco could be a truly great place if the right people...

Overall: It was an okay experience. We might return in 6–12 months once the restaurant has settled in and is no longer considered "new."

Food: We ordered the (1) poached pear salad, (2) carciofi al parmigiano (crispy Parmigiano-crusted artichoke hearts), (3) pasta flight (paccheri Sofia, spaghetti Nerano, and cavatelli al verde), and (4) bouillabaisse. The salad, artichokes, and bouillabaisse were decent (3.5/5), but the pasta flight was disappointing (2/5)—bland and lacking depth. Unfortunately, nothing stood out as particularly memorable.

Drinks: I had a cocktail called Plum Lucky, which was enjoyable and flavorful (4/5). Due to an ordering error, I ended up with two of the same cocktail—so, silver lining there!

Service: The staff was friendly and genuinely trying their best, but the service felt disorganized. We waited over 20 minutes between appetizers and mains, even though our server assured us the mains had been "fired off" before we finished our starters. Sharing plates were too small, causing us to drop food while serving ourselves. We had to request a bowl for empty shells and a spoon for the bouillabaisse—both of which should have been provided by default. Additionally, we never received bread, even after requesting it.

There were also issues with drink service. While I had tap water, my spouse ordered a bottle of sparkling water. However, my cup was repeatedly refilled with sparkling water by mistake, despite our reminders. (Tip for the owner: consider using different glassware for still and sparkling water to help staff avoid confusion.)

The team seemed aware that they were still in a learning phase. We appreciate the arrival of new restaurants in town, so we might give it another try...