Jimmy's Italian Restaurant

First time here and was told by my friend/local that this is a legendary neighborhood joint—old school style and ginormous portions. We sat in the dining room, but the bar had a nice setup too. Friendly and attentive service, good wine selection, and big menu + specials. It’s a fun place to go with a group, be merry, and eat a lot.

Bring cash if you wanna save on credit card surcharge and to tip the valet.

Great Anniversary dinner! We’ve been here several times but I finally remembered to leave a review.
My husband reserved seats at the bar this time; I’ve always wanted to eat at the bar. You’ll understand if you visit for your first time.
The bartender was so attentive. Talked sports with everyone at the bar, while tending to every ALMOST empty drink.
Food is very Brooklyn. If you’re not from Brooklyn, think of your Nonna. We were comatose when we rolled out of there. Bread, sauce, meat, seafood are beyond “The best in the city”.
Thank you for an amazing Anniversary experience! We had a blast! And a major kudos to the always respectful and attentive valet attendant; always a gentleman. We will keep recommending you, Jimmy’s!

An institution for a reason. Solid drinks, food and service. The rice balls were some of the best we've had in the tri-state area, serving them with red sauce and Alfredo was very unique. The calamari and clams casino were also delicious. Loved the family style salad and sauteed escarole. Great options, you can't go wrong!

Had a great time. Tara was exceptional.
Loved the baked clams

Went on a Wednesday night, didn’t make a reservation and were lucky to get a table. It was old school type of environment and very cozy. The people who work there are very friendly. We got veal parm and shrimp linguine, and we enjoyed it!

There’s valet parking.

Food was unbelievable with great service. Nice atmosphere. Many people but not too loud that you cant hear your company.

Great food , we have gone here for years. The cosmopolitan was a nice start , fresh lime and good kick. The family style salad photo doesn't do it justice because we dug right in, it was so good with homemade dressing we added salami and cheese. The shrimp and crab chowder was thick and chunky with tons of crab and baby shrimp. Things were a little off tonite because the regular chef was out sick. But once it was straightened out all was fine. Our waitress Lee was super attentive, friendly and kept everything on point. The bread was hot and crispy as we dunked it in the herb infused olive oil on the table. The clams oreganato had balanced flavor and moistness. Fried calamari was traditionally done and came with mild and spicy marinara. Shrimp parmigiana had big juicy shrimp and melted fresh mozzarella. Spinach Ravioli cooked perfectly. The pork chops Italian style thick and tasty. The potatoes were a little soggy but still good flavor. We were full so we took home enough for another meal and dessert was out of the question.

Love the food at this "old school" Italian Seafood joint... It's been here since forever and is "hidden away" on the main drag heading into "beachfront/downtown" Asbury Park in the less than scenic west side of Asbury Avenue... Though it's bunker like window-less atmosphere leaves a bit to be desired, the food more than makes up for it! Start with the hot antipasto or fried calamari and their house salad with the dressing mixed in -- the flavour is to die for! Our favourite dishes are the stuffed lobster and Salmon provincial (pictured) sided by penne with garlic/olive oil... yum! Asbury's hidden gem!

Old school Italian, very welcoming, comfortable, large menu, terrific bar selections and so on. The entire evening only got better as we went. We love to sit at the bar and eat and Dave the bartender makes a wonderful drink. He was friendly, knowledgable and made some good suggestions. Tara our waitress was also just as terrific. She knows the menu well and was attentive and friendly. For apps we tried the clams casino which tonights offering were small and sweet. Just delicious. We also did shrimp cocktail nice and cold and great cocktail sauce. We then ordered Pasta DiGiovanni OMG it is Sicilian style spicy garlic sauce over linguine. Absolutely perfectly cooked al dente and a spicy red garlic infused sauce. Sole Almondine also perfectly cooked and my husband adored it. My daughter had the double Italian style pork chop with hot peppers. She raved about the flavor. We ordered a side of rabe and escarole both were just yummy. I have to mention the fabulous house salad with an anchovies oil based dressing. Quite delicious, I have to find out what type of red peppers they used because they were memorable. We ended the meal with a cannoli to go for the big guy who was too full to eat one right away but wanted his treat for later. I ordered the pistachio cake! I'm drooling over thinking about it now. I was told by Tara that Stephanie does all the baking and all I can say is more please! Finally the valet parker was the most delightful and friendly man. I wish I had asked his name but I will next time. He left an impression on us as he opted all three of our doors and smiled and wished us a pleasant evening. The entire expereince was unforgettable and we cannot wait to go back. Diane you run a beautiful restaurant, have wonderful staff whom all treated us like regulars and we want to say we will now be regulars in the future. We're still talking about our dinner last night and what a nice time we had. See you all again soon.

Spent Christmas Eve dinner here this week. I only gave the service 4 stars because we waited for 40mins before a server approached our table.. and that was only because we got up and asked. But TARA came to our rescue! She was wonderfully professional, super friendly and attentive. 5 stars! Most of the staff are equivalent to the professional servers you find at old school New York restaurants. The food never disappoints. Highly recommend starting with a pizza or the rice balls. Everyone’s entrees were enormous and delicious! When we walked out of our early seating, we realized the line of people checking in. About 50 deep. Grace under fire! We will be back for our next special occasion.. thank you!

This is the place in Asbury where the locals go for great, authentic Italian food. Was bustling on a Sunday night. Service was friendly, warm and prompt. I had the veal Parmigiana. Sauce tasted like home, veal was lean and cooked perfectly. Family style house salad was fantastic with the house Anchovy and Garlic dressing. A coffee and a Cannoli completed dinner on a perfect note.

Classic old school experience in a not so trendy corner of very trendy Asbury Park. Super warm welcoming service, starting from the Valet Parking, to Maitre'D, to bar tender, to dining room. That being said, depending on one's taste, some comments to help you 'customize' and maximize your experience:
- if you like all aspects of old school NJ Italian, then just waltz in, enjoy the warm service, and expect to be stuffed in a super festive atmosphere. Come early and enjoy some soppresata at the bar if you can (though on a weekend, even the bar counter can be booked up and packed - admire the photos of illustrious stars who have made their way here before)
- if you want to enjoy the atmosphere AND only want the star items on the menu, then don't miss (i) a pre dinner drink at the bar with above mentioned sopressata (as well as old school pimento cheese); (ii) hot antipasto for two is a stand out, and fried calamari is notable for it's delicacy and unparalleled volume - served with TWO home made red sauces (regular and spicy) which are incredible displays of homemade artistry in a classic style - very comforting sauce that is clearly not an afterthought but an integral part of the experience; clams casino or oreganato - very well executed old school style; sausage or meatballs in homemade red sauce; and rice balls and seafood salad looked great too if available as a special, (iii) house salad - don't miss it, and if you can combine with your dining party, have everyone's salad served family style - will come perfectly seasoned and mixed - it's a bit funny to talk about salad, but it is strangely good at Jimmy's, (iv)mains- shrimp or lobster, branzino special if they have it that day, Veal parm or chops, fiorentina or similar if they have it; now, if you like sole with REAL crab meat stuffing, then the combo is very good (but personally I think their shellfish or veal/beef mains are more notable) - NOTE everyone carried half their main home (a feature seemingly appreciated by the older crowd there), but if that is not your thing, definitely consider sharing one main for two persons; (v) dessert - they specialize in cakes, made by one of their long time waitresses it seems - probably by now in the evening it's not a great idea to order one per person, but if you can, go for it! Else share at least one for the table - the cakes are delicate and lovingly made. Somewhat to my surprise, no cannoli. You can't have it all!

Great old style Italian place...awesome food, big portions, not cheap

No one does Italian better than Jimmy's. Salad is outstanding. Sauce....I wish they'd bottle and sell it. Chicken Scarpiella you will never want anyone else's again ever. I had chicken piccatta tonight... you'll never want anyone else's again ever.
Highly recommend the franchise, piccatta, scarpiella, and the pistachio cake. Unreal!

Everything was amazing!! Had been a long time since I've been there still as delicious!! Staff was amazing Tara was our server she was on top of everything!!

One of the best spots around and the fact they've been in business FOREVER should say it all. The veal chop is one of the best in all of jersey and the fish is fresh and delicious....and they're open Monday which is a plus in this area

Great food and service. Old school vibes and excellent bar/bartender. Will return.

What a truly good experience going to Jimmy's italian restaurant. They have valet parking for your convenience. Make reservations early as it does get busy.

We had a wonderful evening at Jimmy's - they easily hosted 11 of us as we celebrated a birthday. Our waiter, Andrew, took great car of us. The rice balls were a real crowd pleaser and the stuffed artichokes left everyone happy. I can't comment on everyone else dinner but my stuff lobster was killer - the stuffing was filled with added lobster. No one walked away feeling hungry. Highly recommend Jimmy's.

Haven't been to Jimmy's in years.
It's so good to be back. The food service and atmosphere never disappointed and still doesn't.
What a wonderful restaurant the food was delicious service very friendly. Stayed away too long
Will be going often