[jet10s]

we love the Chefs of Napoli -- we all know restaurants in the villages suffer growing pains when they first open -- speaking as an "expert" on southern Italy Napolitan food -- their recipes are top-notch and I Love Their Food and don't mind waiting for it and their prices are definitely in line what is expected -- after all people you are not eating at Olive Garden

[2BNTV]

I never expect an Italian restaurant to be as good as my mom's cooking.

I expect decent food and service. I went there once and it was good. IMHO

If you never have high expectations, you will never be disappointed.

[Bonanza]

We had dinner there this evening. We got there around 6:30 and expected to end up going elsewhere because of a crowd. We ended up being very surprised. We got right in!

We ordered our entrees with soup instead of salad. After about 15 minutes, my husband had to tell the server that we wanted our soup before the entree (a small hint, don't you think?).

It was easily a half hour before our entrees were served. The table behind us had even worse service and was offered a free dessert.

I don't know what the problem was because they weren't that busy; there were actually some empty tables. We have no problem with their food, but they really need to get their act together. They certainly have had enough time since openingto do that.

[paulascorpio]

We've eaten there 3 times. On two occasions, we waited and waited on average an hour for our food during a weekend. Service was efficient at lunch. The "sauce" to me is like someone stated: open a can of pureed tomatoes. Tastes blah and no flavor! I really like their marinara but they charge $2 or $3 more for marinara which is ridiculous. I asked a server why, they had no answer! Just that it was more expensive. Their bread is good and dishes that we have tried were (on a scale from (1-10) a 7. Good but not great.

[rdhdleo]

We love this place. As good as food I have had in Italy. We went with friends on Christmas Eve at a prime time around 6pm I didn't think we would get in but we did and had a nice booth almost like a little room for the 4 of us. The live entertainment was fun and good! Service though crowded was spot on and food was excellent as always! Had to take home a piece of the Lemoncello Cake as it is to die for!

[onslowe]

Went there last night with group of six. Difficult number for getting a table there I think. I saw couples and veritable 'troop movements' seated with no problem. Our wait was 35 minutes. Same as other good places.

The place is extremely loud because of its small size. The strip mall is not spacious for parking.

This is the high season so the above are observations, not real complaints.

The waitresses (we had two in tandem) were magnificent. The service was very reasonable and without any undue waiting. The waitresses, despite the hullabaloo going on with a packed house, did their jobs, remembered drinks and orders perfectly.

I had escarole and bean soup, veal piccata with angel hair and piccata sauce. Excellent. My wife had shrimp francese and they were 8 big shrimp and delicious. She had sauteed spinach and requested no garlic on that dish. Prepared exactly so. One of the other diners had grouper fillet with spaghetti and marinara sauce. Loved it but was so big he took a doggie box home. The others had linguine with clam sauce ( clams in shell) and fettucine alfredo, both dishes they had had there several times before.

I revived this thread because I had spaced out my visits there (softening edges, staff training etc) The other two couples go there quite frequently and love it. Based on last evening's dinner experience, we will be back definitely.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by jet10s

we love the Chefs of Napoli -- we all know restaurants in the villages suffer growing pains when they first open -- speaking as an "expert" on southern Italy Napolitan food -- their recipes are top-notch and I Love Their Food and don't mind waiting for it and their prices are definitely in line what is expected -- after all people you are not eating at Olive Garden

jet10's "Speaking as an expert on Southern Italy Neopolitan food" got my attention because it is the only post on this thread that may convince me that the Chef Of Napoli meets expectations. Please share with me and others the details of your expertise. Thank you for your anticipated reply. If you are a humble person then a PM certainly is welcome

[Yorio]

Since I can't agree with all the posts here, I like to address this post to all who have visited Italy and had some Italian food there. Are there anyone who doesn't think the food at Chef's of Napoli doesn't come close to the food in Italy. For me compared to other Italian restaurants here, It comes the closest. Do I like many of the dishes they serve? Not necessarily. I love my Aleo Oleo(galic and Olive oil pasta) made al dente. I like their Caramari as long as they add tentacles too. So far this is my favorite restaurant around here even with the wait. For those who love this restaurant, I say the restaurant changed the Olive oil. The ones you dunk the bread. It may be from Campagnia but it is different from the ones I had when the place first opened. What think?

[Arctic Fox]

Fourteen of us went there yesterday evening and had a lovely time.

The restaurant was crowded but our reserved tables were available when we arrived, and we were immediately given bread and olive oil, water and menus.

Orders were taken after ten minutes and the drinks arrived within five minutes and the food not much later. It was tasty, hot and well-presented.

The wait staff were attentive throughout and the bill was reasonable.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Yorio

Since I can't agree with all the posts here, I like to address this post to all who have visited Italy and had some Italian food there. Are there anyone who doesn't think the food at Chef's of Napoli doesn't come close to the food in Italy. For me compared to other Italian restaurants here, It comes the closest. Do I like many of the dishes they serve? Not necessarily. I love my Aleo Oleo(galic and Olive oil pasta) made al dente. I like their Caramari as long as they add tentacles too. So far this is my favorite restaurant around here even with the wait. For those who love this restaurant, I say the restaurant changed the Olive oil. The ones you dunk the bread. It may be from Campagnia but it is different from the ones I had when the place first opened. What think?

Yorio: Both my mother and father's family were from either Foggia or villages outside of Naples in the Campaigna region. Both my mother and father loved Aglio e Olio and also insisted that the calamari include tentacles as they were quite tasty. One of my mother's prize dishes was stuffed calamari. My wife's and daughter's favorite is my mother's Aglio e Olio with the added broccoli .

[MoeVonB61]

Ricciardi's at Brownwood is fantastic!!