Il Nido

I had really high hopes for this restaurant, and it missed the ball. Expensive with not a great payout. Tasty but not blown away given the price. Great service, pretty nice atmosphere, but overall was a let down. I was hoping to find something worth coming back to but just didn’t hit the mark. Worth a shot, but not worth returning. Tighter inside than expected as well.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4

El Nido in Manalapan has gone downhill fast under the new ownership. The food is overpriced for the quality—nowhere near worth the extravagant cost. The only thing keeping it afloat is the excellent service from the staff, who clearly work hard despite the circumstances. My last visit was the final straw: I found a roach in the bathroom. That’s unacceptable at any price point, let alone here. I won’t be back.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 5

Had a wonderful dinner. Food was delicious and service was excellent. When paying our bill our waiter shared that they are closing this Sunday, 8-10-25. He said that they will reopen as a steakhouse sometime in the future. I was sorry to hear that since we had such a nice experience. I wish our waiter and the staff well.

Grateful for an organic restaurant, a rare and amazing feature. Atmosphere is amazing, good feel and layout. The menu seemed to have a good balance of items that sound great!

The food we got was pretty good. Would recommend the Wagyu meatballs, ricotta and spicy rigatoni. The octopus was my least favorite as it lacked any flavor and the texture was rubbery. Almost like they caught it, cut it in 4 huge chunks, and popped it on a plate with expensive garnishes to imply it would taste good. I’d strongly suggest reworking this dish, perhaps slice it in smaller pieces, season it along with cooking it a bit more. The steak was ok, nothing to write about same with the almond biscotti ice cream. It’s essentially vanilla ice cream with ground almond biscotti in it. Go for the pistachio, way better.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Great dining experience. Our meals were delicious. The server was personable and courteous. We will definitely going back and recommending Il Nido to family and friends.

The perfect restaurant to celebrate our daughters engagement. Food was fantastic and service outstanding. The ricotta starter is so good! We loved it all.

Delicious food & exceptional service. Everything on the menu is worth ordering. The only problem is our stomachs can only handle so much. There is no better place to have authentic Italian.

Fabulous restaurant with friendly and attentive staff! This restaurant has high quality and delicious food ! We all thoroughly enjoyed our meal! I highly recommend !

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

From arriving to receiving check everyone was very nice. James our waiter was very knowledgeable concerning menu and was very attentive. Food was excellent we had shrimp appetizer and Caesar salad. Main course we had pasta special which was excellent and per James recommendation of split pastas another excellent choices. Will definitely come back.

Great dining experience at Il Nido. The food was exceptional with elevated Italian dishes. The only downfall were the very small portion sizes with a big price tag. I don’t mind spending money when food is good, but leaving hungry is not ideal. Despite this, I would go back and I think the overall experience was great!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Our waitress was excellent, super helpful and attentive. We didn't feel rushed, which was wonderful. Moscato was the best we've ever had and the food was amazing as always.

Very pretty restaurant, nice servers. Pretty good food. A little pricey but it was a nice evening. Can't say I'd race to return but it was good

Everything about our experience at Il Nido was great from the way we were greated through dessert. The food was absolutely delicious. We will most definitely be returning!

First time eating at Il Nido and the food and service was fantastic. The only complaint is that my gnocchi had a little too much salt, but otherwise very tasty. The service was impeccable and we will definitely be returning.

The food was delicious!! 10/10 would definitely recommend. Everything is homemade (farm to table). Our server Carmen was AMAZING. She was so sweet & continuously made sure our drinks were filled and that we were completely taken care of. She’s the best!! I can’t wait to come back!