Fratello's Italian Restaurant & Lounge - Sea Girt, New Jersey

DeShelle

Well...it was NYE...... had a great time by myself in a crowded restaurant...hit it off with my foodie neighbors....I had the baked oysters😋😋😋 and Dr. Chris steak with 🍤🍤🍤.... no complaints, it was traditional Italian style food. I even enjoyed my FULL POUR glasses of wine!!! Thanks for the server who saved the day!! Happy New Year ladies!!!

Luke N.

Got sick. Ate pork from here yesterday, same order as another in my party. We both have spent a lot of time in the bathroom today. Ugly and concerned we've contracted something. Not adding a photo, just empathize with me.

High prices and high consequences.

Service is very awkward. Salad plate taken away while eating it. We felt rushed out of there (wasn't close to closing).

Bathroom a step far below rural gas station bathroom.

Expensive and not sure where the money's going. You could have a non-leaking urinal at the bare minimum. Bucket of yellow liquid shoved underneath is not what you want to see mid-meal.

Overall recommend avoiding. Eat at your own risk. Stomach hurting over 24 hours later.

EDIT: 1/29/2025 No email response from owner. I sent correspondence promptly inquiring their pork supplier so I may personally investigate and never heard back from them. My email was received, but not replied to even many days later.

The reply under this review was an empty promise. What contamination are they hiding? I don't know. But I won't trust a shady restaurant that poses as "semi-fine" dining.

Protect your health, avoid this restaurant. Frankly go to Wendy's if you want a cleaner and less risky meal for 1/3rd the price.

As a final note, I am a man who has, in the past, eaten food found in dumpsters. Not even dumpster food made me sick. My standards are very low, but above "clocking into the bathroom for a full miserably sweaty shift".

Tibby K.

We made a reservation and they tried to seat us in a booth right next to a very loud band. We politely requested a table further away so we could hear each other. The salad was soggy wilted iceberg lettuce. The waitress kind of threw it at us and lots of dressing spilled in the table. I cleaned it up without a complaint. The waitress tossed the beer on table so fast it spilled. No cocktail napkin so I used the bread napkin to wipe it up.we had an AARP coupon for $15 off and she argued it was only $10. We politely pointed to the coupon which said $15. We had a bad experience at Fratello’s a few years ago and vowed we would never go back. The $15 coupon was not worth our miserable experience.

Chris S.

Food was incredible, and still has the old time-y charm in the best way that so many restaurants in the area have lost over the past decade.

Food: they have occasional specials, but they’ve perfected everything on their menu, with some that’ve stranded the test of time being on there for nearly 20 years. The filet Dr. Chris is literally unbelievably good. Their desserts are also made in house and are also spectacular.

Service: Listen, the wait staff there are hustling. They’re no frills, but that kind of adds a homie diner-like feel to the place. It’s always a ‘what do you want’ kind of vibe. Treat them well, and you’ll end up making a friend that remembers your name for years. It feels like family.

Ambience: it’s a time capsule. Copper lined ceilings, old tyme bar, leather seated booths, dim lights, older crowd. It’s incredible. It’s a restaurant where the owner will personally come up with you to chat, just because he’s a genuine guy.

Better than rod’s or reef and barrel down the road? Hell yes. Support a family owned business and try fratello’s out!

Eddie E.

Nice place for a nice evening dinner outside. Food was good. Service was okay. Overall enjoyable. Some of the food that was ordered was incorrect but was accepted. Will come back.

Olivia K.

Nice place, nice waiters, the waiter spilled lots of water but , overall the food was amazing! I recommend the Pennie Ala Vodka

Jose S.

Just love the Food and the Ambience 💓
One of the best steak I ever had! The waiter Mr. John was wonderful and very welcoming. The beverages were awesome. I would highly recommend anyone visiting or want to dine out in that area 🌈🙏

Licia M.

Old School Local Spot from the minute you walk in the door. We like to go for a late lunch around 3:00 to be finished just before dinner time to avoid any crowds and we hit the timing perfect yesterday. We went straight to the bar and met Joe the bartender. He has been here for 28 years and from the moment we met him we were hooked. He knows the menus inside and out and knew every person who walked through the door by name. By the time we left, we felt we knew him forever too! Just the nicest man and represented the establishment so well. Spoke with several servers as they came in to work the dinner shift and although we did not get everyone's name, they were all very welcoming to us. You could tell many employee's have been there a long time. They offer an array of early specials and we were so impressed that it was not just well drinks. Rich ordered a bottle of his favorite wine and it was also included at a discount, no other places do this from our experience. Food wise we had the Thai calamari, recommended by Joe. Just delicious, we started eating it before we took a picture so just know the plate was larger before we took the pic! We loved that it was dusted in flour but not breading on top of it. Really let the taste of the Thai chili sauce enrobe the calamari. For entree's I had shrimp francese and the shrimp were very generous as they were very large and cooked perfectly. Only thing I would say is I would prefer more sauce since I had it over angel hair pasta and next time I will just ask for it more "saucy". Rich wanted Veal Milanese, (not on the menu) however the bartender who took over from Joe's shift Brad, asked the chef and because it was still not too busy the chef said he would make it. Another excellent nod to a local place who will accommodate when the crowd size allows. Rich loved the dish, he had broccoli rabe on the side extra spicy. The chef added the arugula and "muzz", balsamic drizzle etc. it was perfectly presented. Brad, our second bartender of the day was also just as welcoming, very friendly, made suggestions and took great care of us. We met the Manager, Mike who gave us a little background for Fratello's and we promised him and everyone we had interacted with that we would be back very soon. We commented to him how wonderful we thought everyone we interacted with had been. It will clearly be one of our go to spots going forward. We cannot believe we had not been here before now. Terrific experience, fantastic selection of food, all nicely prepared and presented and the staff is superb. Loved the whole experience from start to finish.