Ciaos in Long Branch NJ

by Curt
(middlesex,nj )

In a word horrible. If there was a way to give minus stars I would. Do your self a favor there are so many good places to eat down at the shore don't go to Ciao.

I could write a book on what was probably one of the worst eating experiences I ever had but will keep it short and quick unlike our dinner at Ciao where it took 2 1/2 hours just to get to the entrées.

Our table was not ready when we got there which happens elsewhere however at Ciaos you get to sit outside in the cold for a 1/2 hour because there is no place to wait inside. The appetizers/salads were disappointing my friend ordered the seafood bisque which was so salty it was uneatable, I ordered a Caesar salad which would have been average if not for the pieces of parmesan cheese rinds in it, which made It below average. The local tomato and buffalo mozzarella cheese was good only it came 10 minutes after the other appetizers came.

The waitress did her best but after repeatedly asking for she got us 6 slices of stale bread served with a teaspoon of butter. After about 45 minutes after the appetizers were taken away we did ask why it was taking so long for our entrees and were told that the kitchen hammered and very behind, We ended up waiting about an hour in a half for entrees that were really were terrible. The risotto that came with the salmon (3 of us ordered it) was chewy and had pieces of rice that were hard like little rocks and the salmon was overdone, The spoonful of pasta that came with the chicken bruschetta was so salty it to could not be eaten the scallops were raw (grey inside and cold).

At this point we called over the hostess who was also one of the owners, after hearing out complaint she gave us attitude and yelled at us accusing us of threatening her because we told her we would make sure not to recommend this restaurant to our friends. at this point we were there for 3 hours and we asked the waitress for our check, the owners didn't take anything off except the tip which they removed so it seems they must treat their staff with the same disrespect the treat their customers.

Then the chef came out (the other owner) who told us he had no idea we were waiting so long since he ran the kitchen that we all knew was behind that was hard to believe and he also gave us attitude, We left without eating the entrees they were uneatable, and made sure to tip the waitress in cash as this was not her fault.

I looked up the word Ciao and saw in Italian means goodbye and I have a feeling shortly we will all be saying Ciao to Ciao!