Italian Kitchen Express — Restaurant in Wildwood

EDIT BELOW ORIGINAL REVIEW/ SECOND EDIT IN RESPONSE TO RESPONSE

I have been trying to call in for delivery for fifteen minutes. I got through once, only to be immediately set down and not spoken to. For over three minutes, I listened to them taking orders at the counter, bagging orders, and chatting about what needed to be made. At the very least, I would have preferred being told that delivery is behind on orders and I would need to come in. Not ignored. If I can get through, I'll try their food and change my review, but this is the only chance they get. I hate leaving negative reviews, especially on places that seem to have earned their excellent ratings, but good customer service cannot be compromised like this during the busy season. I'm sorry.

Edit: So, I never got a hold of the people behind the counter and responsible for answering the phone. I did get food though. How? My husband WALKED from our hotel. When he walked in he immediately texted me to say the phone was STILL on the counter. He ordered, watched as they had lined up orders for delivery and pick up, then finally got his own order. As he was walking out the door, he witnessed one of them asking if they should put the phone back on the hook. That phone was off the hook for over an hour from when I called and was ignored to when he walked out the door with our food. Twenty minutes after that, my family got to taste it.

I will be honest, because I've been honest so far, so why stop now? The food was really good, but I have to take that with a grain of salt. By the time we actually got it, I would have enjoyed sauteed shoe leather. It was by no means to middle of the night, but we had skipped lunch in anticipation of the portion sizes other reviewers waxed poetic about, so we were hungry and then some. They are very generous portions. This edit is two days later because I needed that long to eat it all. The food is alright, and I say this because anything you have to reheat to finish is never enjoyed fully and completely. The first time we had it, it was excellent. Reheated, my crab and shrimp risotto stood up well since risotto usually turns to mush when overdone. My husband's veal parmigiana was ok, but the spaghetti was overcooked in the first place, so reheating it isn't going to improve matters. The kids definitely enjoyed the chicken fingers, but that's all they ever order, anywhere. I have to say that the garlic bread could kill a vampire from a mile away, it was that good.

In conclusion, I'm only giving them two stars, total. I have worked in the restaurant business. I understand that customer service is half of the experience. Since we got skimmed on that half, they get half of what they would have earned if we had had the whole experience. I hate leaving negative reviews, like I said before, but when it's earned... I'm sorry. I've never had delivery Italian before, didn't this time, either, maybe I'll try again next time we're in town.

EDIT EDIT: If you don't want to take phone calls, don't pick up on a customer who's calling and refuse to acknowledge them. You answer, maybe accept a final order or explain that you are too busy to accept call in's right now and then MAKE SURE THERE ISN'T AN IRATE CUSTOMER ON THE LINE WHEN YOU DECIDE TO LAY IT DOWN OFF THE HOOK. There is no excuse for leaving a customer hanging. If, as you say, customer service is one of your two main ideals, then you need to be consistent. You can wait for a moment when the phone isn't ringing to take it off the hook, or you can wait for the customer who just called to hang up so you know you aren't ignoring a paying customer. It's that simple. I appreciate your response, but...

Upon seeing good reviews, we decided to order here for dinner on our stay on vacation. The first thing I want to note is that Italian Express clearly does not care about the health safety of others as no workers here wore an mask, as well as not requiring anyone picking up food to wear one either. The second thing is their price is falsely advertised on fb and on their website. It’s an dollar more for everything, comparing the prices to the receipt and what’s online. The mozzarella sticks were not good, and our main dishes did not taste good either. The crab and shrimp sauce for my dish tasted like pre made sauce that Chinese restaurants used for their seafood dishes, and the hot seasoning flavor for the pasta dish just made jusf very overwhelming and unbearable to eat. Needless to say, we only ate an little bit of our food then threw the rest out. The only good part of the meal was the garlic knots and the canollis were okay. They did give large portions for the meals but other then that; the food and safety of others lacks. Italian is my favorite type of food to eat, so I know good Italian when I eat an meal. Plus my area has a lot of REAL authentic Italian places and this cannot even compare....I don’t recommend this place. The canollis and garlic knots were good but that’s it. I really wouldn’t recommend this place, and the fact the owner and employees don’t care about the safety of others...

We have our second home in Wildwood and we went this weekend to open up the water, clean up and do some maintenance on our dock. We didn’t know who would be open yet and found the Italian Kitchen Express from a Google search. Checked out the reviews and ordered delivery. The food came earlier than quoted and it was amazing like the reviews had said. Huge portions, we were able to have leftovers for lunch the next day. We made sure to make a note at the house so our brother and sisters will know to order from them. I wish I could give you more than 5 stars. I congratulate this owner for maintaining a great staff all around. From the woman who took my order, the cooks who know what they are doing, to the delivery driver making a nice small conversation while I went back into the house to grab a pen. We will order all throughout the summer. Thank you for the great meal that we are still talking about. You will see that you are my first review. I was so impressed that I had to. LOL it took me a few minutes to figure out how to leave a comment but it was worth the time to be able to say Thank You!...