By Dennis Chu on January 5, 2012 • ( Leave a comment )

RUFFINO’S RESTAURANT AND PIZZERIA

Address: 178 State Route 35, Eatontown, NJ 07724

My family has been coming to Ruffino’s ever since we met the owner almost three years ago. I still remember being very impressed by the quality of the food and the freshness of the ingredients when I first came here to eat, and even now, that still hasn’t changed. I have had the opportunity to sample a number of dishes from Ruffino’s, from the pizza to the stromboli, the chicken parmigiana to the sausage & peppers hero; everything is rich with flavor and the technique executed very well. They have a very substantial menu, and I would really like to try more of their specialty subs as well as their pasta dishes. Their pizza I am very familiar with: an excellent balance of generous toppings with flavorful sauce, baked on a crust that is soft, yet has a crisp to it. I always see the owner, Vito Ruffino, working in the front-of-the-house making all of the pizzas from scratch.

The restaurant itself is tucked away in the OfficeMax shopping plaza off of Route 35. It isn’t a very large dining room (I think it can seat around 40 people), but the decorations are pretty nice. The rest of the staff are very friendly, always coming back to check out up on you during the meal and refill your drinks. Depending on what night you go in, it could be busy or it could be low-traffic, but one thing is for certain: Vito Ruffino set his standards high back then, and still consistently delivers now. I would recommend Ruffino’s to anyone who is in the area and wants to try some top-notch Italian fare.

Here are my rankings for Ruffino’s:

Food: 5 / 5
Food quality is very consistent, and the flavor is always there. Diverse menu gives you a lot of great options to choose from.

Atmosphere: 4 / 5
Even though the dining room is a little on the smaller side, it still provides a good area to be able to sit down and enjoy your meal.

Service: 5 / 5
The staff is really friendly, and the time for the food to get prepared is usually very quick.

Price: 4 / 5
For the amount of food that you get, it is a very reasonable price. I’ve been to other restaurants and paid the same price, but haven’t gotten the consistent quality and flavors that I get from Ruffino’s.

Overall: 18 / 20 (90%)