Ruoccos Restaurant

Ending this year with a bang! We checked out Ruocco's Restaurant in Manalapan, NJ @ruoccosrestaurant and if you like Italian food, this place is a must try! For appetizers we got the Meatball Special, which is served with fresh Ricotta and Parmesan, Fried Calamari, and Spiedini Alla Romana. This was my first time trying Spiedini, and it was by far one of the best things I've ever tasted, I could have licked the plate. The Lobster Ravioli was so delicious, as was the Lobster Beurre Blanc and Jumbo Shrimp it was served with. The kids got the Penne Vodka, which was fantastic. I forgot to mention the bread which comes out crispy, warm, and fantastic. It was so good, and I believe it was noticed because we were quickly asked if we'd like another basket, excellent for dipping in all of these amazing sauces! We ended the night with a tartufo that was out of this world!

Ruocco's is a family owned and operated business, and you can tell how much pride they put into their restaurant, this shines through with the level of quality and flavors of their food. Their food is a combination of old world comfort with a contemporary twist. The restaurant is beautiful, both inside and out, and you can tell that everyone there wants you to have a great dining experience.

We can't wait to go back and experience the rest of the menu! I definitely recommend making reservations in advance. With the food being this delicious, they obviously book up quickly!

Calling this place, a hidden gem is not doing it justice, this is truly a diamond in the rough! I’m starting to find that all the best restaurants in New Jersey are in strip malls, because I was absolutely blown away by all the food here!

Our server, Bella started us out with some bread with the most amazing olive oil for dipping, and a few other toppings if we wanted. Delicious. I then tried the artichoke oreganata, special, wow. Also tried the Philly cheesesteak eggrolls, they came with a cheese wiz sauce, definitely very tasty.

I cannot resist a spicy rigatoni vodka, and this one was stuffed, very different than anything I’ve ever had, and incredibly delicious! My friend, and I were fighting over the last bites.

For the main course, I tried the honey glaze salmon with roasted potatoes and spinach, I got it well done so the honey made the salmon very crisp. Oh my God, quite possibly the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten, didn’t even need sauce! And then my best friend had the oso bucco Which was so enormous it came with a bone that was about the size of my head! Soft, tender fall off the bone, meat, and a bit of mashed potatoes underneath, I was absolutely jealous.

We were offered dessert, but possibly eat another bite especially after trying Bella‘s favorite, blueberry sangria, I will absolutely be back to try the rest of the menu!

This place is a must visit, easily the most unique and delicious Italian food we’ve ever tried. The appetizers were fantastic, we had plenty of bread with dipping items, the gnocchi with braised short ribs was out of this world good. We somehow managed to cap our meal off with tiramisu. The service was phenomenal and the experience was just amazing! You must visit this place, we will definitely return again!!

Ordered a special, a halibut dish, which was not only visually enticing but truly delectable as it was served over perfectly cooked risotto. Although the halibut was cooked with a decadent crust, it was also competing with a luscious risotto. Both were delicious in their own right. I will say that the risotto was probably the best I ever had, perfectly cooked with butter and perfectly cooked tomatoes and spinach. The dish was absolutely delicious. The other dish was “Chef’s choice”, Rigatoni pasta with shrimp, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and spinach in a sherry wine cream sauce. It was very good as well, with a minor complaint of a few shrimp that were a tad over cooked, however, it was aggressively devoured nonetheless. We liked the water delivered to our table with a bowl of ice, a nice touch. The dinner was preceded with warm and perfectly crisp bread with a soft center. The owner also introduced himself and poured a very tasty olive oil to enjoy with that aforementioned bread. The olive oil, we were told, was available for purchase but we passed (just didn’t need it at the moment). The restaurant is family run as both daughters of the owner were present, one was our server, a very reassuring thing to see. I wholly recommend this family owned restaurant (it shows in their attention to detail) for everyone to enjoy. The restaurant is nicely decorated and has a rear separate room for private gatherings as well as an outdoor dining space (not currently set up). The owner also stated that a liquor license is being pursued and should be forthcoming very soon, another plus once it comes to fruition. I will be back not only for the food, but for the fact we felt welcomed and appreciated. It was truly an overall enjoyable experience.

The food here is amazing! Some of the best food I’ve ever had. The pink panther is by far the best penne vodka I’ve ever had, they even provided me the recipe which I know won’t come out as good as Ruoccos! Highly recommend for amazing Italian food!

My daughters & I ate here tonight! The food was simply delicious! I had lobster ravioli with extra large shrimp in a perfect creamy sauce.. My one daughter had eggplant rolatini & the other had chicken marsala! All cooked to perfection! We will
be back real soon! 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Very warm and cozy atmosphere. Food was delicious! We had the eggplant stack, calamari, and meatballs to start and they were all awesome. It was BYOB which went very well with the Pink Panther entrees we ordered. Overall experience was excellent and food was phenomenal.

As always, the Ruocco family provides such a wonderful experience. We had my fiancés birthday dinner there and not only did our friends fall in love with the food and the restaurant right away, my fiance described it as the perfect birthday dinner. Bella and the entire staff is always so great to us every time we come in. The prices are super fair and affordable and The live music is great too. I can’t say enough great things about this place.

We have a group of friends that have been together for over 35 years and we get together every three months and we are so glad that we were referred to and chose this place. The food the service the atmosphere made you feel like you were having dinner at home with friends and that’s all you can ask for when you go out. I HIGHLY recommend you try this place and you too can experience what we did last night. Ciao for now👍🙏🇮🇹🍷

Delicious home-made authentic Italian dishes, from the bread to dessert all very good. Great place to enjoy great meal. Family-owned and service was great. BYOB. Can't aay enough good things. Forgot to take pictures of our dishes - will do next time, definitely going back and catering for Xmas.

This place was amazing all the way around, from spectacular service, friendly family vibes, to mouth watering food! If you're looking for a family environment with traditional Italian cuisine, Ruoccos is the place to be!
Spent my sisters 40th Birthday here. I enjoyed their Scallop special, many of their appetizers, as well as their desserts. Which most are homemade, just incredible. Topped with their welcoming hospitality. We'll definitely be back to book a party! Thank you for a great dinner experience.

I got take out just to test out their meatballs. Best I’ve had in a restaurant. Great texture. Plenty of sauce and dollops of ricotta. Delicious. Crispy bread, hard outside. Yummy.

Absolutely love taking my family to Ruocco's and I have for years. Often buy gift certificates for others to enjoy. Food and atmosphere are always great and the staff has always been personal and friendly. Don't listen to the naysayers out there that just like to complain. If you want to enjoy a nice night out with a great meal, Ruocco's is definitely a place to go to.

This place has that fine local restaurant vibe.. food is just amazing. We were there for the first time yesterday and loved the food we ordered
Calamari with marinara sauce was yumm..
I ordered the sea food marechiara which was perfectly cooked and my wife orders the halibut Francese which was very delicious. Their desserts are also great we tried the Tiramisu which was sooo good.. No wonder they only open for dinner and they are sold out .. Amazing staff and wonderful service.. this is going to be our local go to place when we want to have good Italian food ..
Oct 16th .. our 2nd visit to Ruocco’s wonderful experience and fantastic food .
Tried their sea food risotto which was well done , interesting was their egg rolls and nice Italian touch to the Asian dish comes with Hoisin sauce .. dish is so tasty that you don’t need a dipping sauce . Their chef shd consider paring this with a spicy sauce.. looking forward to our next meal there

Tonight was our first time dining here. Food was absolutely delicious! Gnocchi with braised short rib, pasta carbonara with chicken, stuffed flounder, Italian eggrolls! Service was excellent! The two young sisters who work there are so friendly and helpful and professional! Atmosphere is so nice! So many Cmas decorations! Highly recommend Ruoccos!

I recently had my sons' double baptism dinner party at Ruocco's, and I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out! On short notice, Stephen was able to put together a large gathering where the food, from appetizers to dessert, was the talk of the party! The food is delicious, and everyone cannot wait to return to try more items on the menu! Even the guests of honor chowed down! :) Thank you, Stephen, Bella, and the rest of the staff, for making our day so special. Your attention and care were above and beyond. We are so grateful! See you soon!

All of the staff was great, so many stopped by the table to make sure everything was good. We had the artichoke franchise out of this world, even better reheated the next day. Meatballs appetizer was great and the sauce. Lobster ravioli was awesome. My husband got the pink vodka with veal he said it was the best meal he ever ate. The tiramisu was incredible!!

We wanted to sincerely thank you for an incredible night, celebrating Susanna’s sweet 16. The food was delicious, the service was impeccable, and the atmosphere was that of a big family celebrating together. Susanna and all of us are very grateful for you playing an important role in making it a memorable night.

We will surely call again soon.

Faithfully,
Susanna, Mariet and Saad

I had a my 30th birthday dinner here a few weeks ago and I can honestly say I loved that we chose Ruoccos! the food is so delicious and the owners treat you like family. The staff works really hard in ensuring the customers are satisfied. Thank you to Ruccos for helping my mom with our party and being so accommodating!

The food was absolutely amazing. The staff was super friendly. The chef/owner even came by to say hello. Great atmosphere. I'll definitely be going back.