Villa Rifici,

308 W Absecon Blvd, Absecon, NJ 08201, United States

"Excellent food very nice atmosphere can be fancy can be relaxed which I like. Had a nice bar area separate from restaurant which is also nice. The guy who sat us was nice enough to us and was on top of all the staff the whole time."

"The atmosphere was nice and the server was really good. The bread was very delicious. The rest of the food was mediocre. Our dishes that we ordered had meat as a part of them. They both seemed to be lacking in the meat. It’s was an ok place to eat at."

"This is an amazing restaurant! The picture attached is of the appetizer, a stuffed Italian rice ball, and it was delicious! The crust was light and savory, the middle was soft and fluffy with bits of meat, and the sauce was so good we scooped the rest up when we were done. It was topped with some sprigs of fresh bean sprouts. Before the meal, they bring out a complimentary appetizer, toasted rolls with oil with little bits of garlic, Parmesan, and herbs. Just looking at it, I know this was a good choice for place to eat. I don't know how the prepared the bread, but it was toasted on the outside, almost like it was done in brick oven. Inside the crust, the meat of the bread was soft steamy, and cooked to perfection. My wife ordered the spaghetti pesto. I'm not usually crazy about pestos, my aversion being that the garlic or basil is overpowering. This pesto was far from that. The flavors were balanced perfectly and it finished with a nice creamy flavor. I ordered the Shrimp Fra Diavolo. I had no idea what I was ordering and I was pleasantly surprised. This dish was spicy red sauce with shrimp nestled in a bed of linguini. My mom used to make a spicy shrimp spaghetti, and it was one of my favorite dishes. This brought me back to those times. Overall, this is a solid restaurant. The staff were attentive and very friendly, the service was very prompt, and it was a beautiful atmosphere. If you are in this area and have time for only one place to eat, this is the place! The price was $88, which included two beers and two glasses of wine. The wine and beer list was really impressive."

"Very stylish Italian restaurant. I had the special veal saltimboca. I thought the veal was delicious. Tasted more like marsala than saltimboca but it was still delicious. My wife had the tortellini in Rosa sauce with peas. Also very good. Service was excellent as was the Italian opera playing in the background."

"Was really hoping this place was going to be a new go to spot after reading the reviews, but we definitely won’t be coming back after our visit today. Food looked great, but unfortunately the taste wasn’t there. The artichoke was bland with a heap of melted cheese on top, chicken parm was burnt and sauce tasted canned, and fettuccine pistachio was fairly inedible with how much oil was pooled (see picture). The decor is early 2000s trying to be fancy Italian restaurant. The service was pretty disappointing. It was more than obvious I wasn’t enjoying any of the food. I took a couple of bites of pasta and didn’t get it to go. Our waiter even asked how everything was and I said “it’s…different” and he just chuckled and walked away. I also heard the staff loudly discussing how their tips were for the night, which I completely understand is a reasonable thing to do, maybe just not in ear shot of the people who are tipping. For $80 (2 soft drinks, 1 appetizer, & 2 entrees) I expected more."