Christie's Italian Seafood Grill, Howell, NJ:
A Restaurant Review
Howell Center
2420 Route 9 South
Howell, NJ
732-780-8310
Website
Curbside pick-up available beginning April 20, 2020
Restaurant Review
Fare: Traditional Southern Italian
Price: Moderate - Expensive
Food Quality: 3 Stars
Service: 2 1/2 Stars
Decor: 2 1/2 Stars
Overall Rating: 3 Stars
Value: Excellent
Noise Level: Moderate
Dress: Casual
One of the best Southern Italian restaurants in the Freehold, Howell area.
Recommended For: Diners who enjoy well prepared southern Italian food offered at a reasonable price.
Not Recommended For: Diners who prefer eclectic Italian food in an upscale, trendy ambiance with full bar service.
Recommended dishes: When available, one of the daily specials from Chef Mattioli's Sicilian recipes; The Veal Francese, lightly dipped in Flour & Egg, sauteed in Lemon, Butter, & White Wine, accompanied with Fresh Broccoli Spears; and the New Zealand Rack of Lamb.
Liquor: BYOB
Restaurant Review
Christie's Restaurant is one of the best Southern Italian restaurants in the Howell, Freehold, Jackson area
Located in the Howell Center, a strip mall off Route 9, Christie's is owned and operated by Executive Chef FranK Mattioli, formerly Co-owner and Executive Chef of Trattoria Fraro in Freehold.
The reason to come to this restaurant is to experience a departure from the many mediocre Italian restaurants in the area that serve the same basic traditional dishes. Here you can enjoy creative preparations of Southern Italian dishes using fresh ingredients --- at a very affordable price.
The menu offers a large variety of selections complemented by a number of daily specials. Many of the daily specials feature FranK Mattioli's recipes handed down from his mother and family members in Sicily.
Frank Mattioi is a detailed hand on manager of the food procurement, the kitchen, and the dining area, His attention to detail is apparent in the quality of the dishes leaving the kitchen.
Mattioli can be seen moving back and forth from the kitchen to the dining area where his warm, friendly demeanor can be witnessed in the dining area as he stops by tables to ensure that diners are having a very satisfying dining experience.
The interior has two dining rooms and an expanded new party room that can also be used to accommodate an overflow crowd. The decor is attractively done up in soft earth tone walls. The ambiance is complemented with soft lighting and classical Italian background music.
Service is friendly and attentive.
If you happen to forget to bring a bottle of wine, there is a liquor store conveniently located in the strip mall steps just steps from the restaurant.
Christie's restaurant is family friendly with children's menu.
Christies Restaurant is open six days a week for dinner Open for Lunch every day except Saturday and Monday. They are closed on Monday's.
Reservations are recommended. Without reservations you are apt to stand by in a small, cramped waiting area.
There is ample on-site parking.
(updated: April, 2020)
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