Reviews for Valentina's Trattoria Italiana in Northfield, NJ
We had our rehearsal dinner here in August. Up until the day of the party, the owner Paula was wonderful. We had never eaten... here as we don't live in the area, but read the good reviews and also stopped to see the room and thought it was cute. Fastforward to the day of the dinner (Thursday night), I got a call from someone (hostess?) confirming our reservation and when Itold her Paula had said we could bring our liquor and such over before, she seemed surprised. We did go over and had no problemsetting up. Once we arrived and were mingling, the same hostess seemed annoyed when we were standing talking as they had toseat people in the back room of the room we were using. I had known this before hand, but it was just the attitude she had aboutit. Our meals all came out at different times and they left much to be desired. Small portions. Minimal taste. We had about 35people. I understand it's a good amount of people, but felt it could have been better. Cute room for an event, but won't becoming back. Read more
First, my wife and I have dined here since they opened, often with two to four friends. It has always been a pleasant... experience. Last night it turned ugly. Things started well; we were seated promptly, ordered salads, then main course. One of myparty found, after chewing for a bit, a rubber band in his salad. It was taken off the bill. There was some pleasant music inthe background and we were enjoying our conversation when suddenly loud jazz music/singer interrupted our dinner. All four of usremarked about this change and we had to raise our voices to continue plus we noticed others around us had raised their voices;it had become noticeably louder in the room. I asked the server if the volume could come down but she said that was just thenext set? I then went back to where several servers were standing and asked about the music. I said it seemed very loud, butalso somewhat inappropriate for an Italian themed restaurant. They said they would ask. Moments later we were approached by theowner who seemed agitated and did, at first, apologise, but then admonished me for being petty! And then, as if this made adifference, indicated that no one else had complained about the music. So, what!? if I had a piece of glass in my salad thatlacerated my mouth it's ok because no one else had glass in their salad?? We came to an Italian restaurant, not a Jazz Club! Ihappen to like Jazz. Just not while dining. This was really bizarre! A customer has a legitimate complaint and is admonished bythe owner?? I have been in the customer service business all my working life and remember a very large company, with millions ofcustomers, whose mantra was "THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT...EVEN WHEN THEY ARE WRONG". And i have lived by this. The ownercould, and should have first apologised, then perhaps suggested she could see if the music could be lower somewhat. It may nothave been lowered but we most likely would have been placated. I cannot fault this owner (and I don't know wh Read more
Came here with a larger group and it was good, nothing exceptional. After standing at the front area for 5 minutes with no... acknowledgement we walked back to our table (which our party was already at) and one of the woman working said pretty rudely,“can I help you”. $25 for a Cesar salad with only 2 romaine stalks (that I had to cut myself) and 4 shrimp (definitelyfrozen) is insanity In my opinion. Nice to try, but can’t see myself going back. Read more
Went there for dinner. Service was spot on. Ordered the Braciole with Gnocchi which was fantastic. Also had the pizza with... mushrooms, and was missing the caramelized onions. Would have given 5 stars but how do you forget one of the 2 toppings on thepizza. Will definitely give them another chance soon. Read more
Being obsessed with this place is an understatement. One of my friends told me about it last summer and my family and I had... never been before. Fast forward one year later, it’s one of our go to dinner spots anytime we’re DTS, including plenty oftimes in the off season too. The food here is unbelievable. The quality is incredible and it tastes like you’re eating inItaly. In terms of going out to eat, this is one of two places we frequent most regularly here. Love that it’s BYOB too.Carrie, Alicia, and team are absolutely amazing and always provide the most amazing service and hospitality. I’ll be backsoon! Read more
Their homemade pasta that they make from scratch in house is amazing here at pretty reasonable prices considering the top-notch... quality that they put into it. The restaurants service & overall atmosphere is really nice too. Came here primary because it wasa BYOB, so be sure to bring a bottle of wine you enjoy the most to pair with their amazing homemade pastas. I definitely will beback here if I’m in the area. Read more
Came here with my family last night and we were blown away by the quality of the food. Everything we had was fresh, hot and... delicious! I highly recommend the meatballs and the margherita pizza was to die for! Our sever was lovely as well as the otherstaff members. This place was outstanding and I would recommend it to anyone - nothing negative to say. The decor and aestheticis a bonus. We cant wait for our next meal at Valentina's! Read more
Nice local restaurant with a comfortable ambiance. Depending on what you order, portions may be small. It wasn't particularly a... busy night but the food took awhile to come out (30+ minutes or so for the entrees). The staff is attentive in the sense thatthey will check on you but make you feel like a nuisance at the same time; food runner was great. We will be back - maybe it wasjust one of those nights. Read more