The food is excellent. We had a funeral repast with over 50 guests, and the service was smooth and efficient. The entire restaurant was busy on a Saturday night, but the staff worked hard, handling the crowd. Every course of the meal was delicious, and there was plenty of everything. Our family will return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Just Right, Chicken Marsala, Seafood
Jackie O.
Wowza! Excellent service! Delicious baked clams, very tasty Italian spring rolls. I ordered the chicken Ala novella and it was so fresh and yummy. My boyfriend ordered the stuffed pork chop with was outstanding too! They have 2 or 3 different sections to sit in. The outside garden has a bar and little garden section with lots of space!! Complementary fruit to top off our dinner ! Highly recommend, we will be back
Keith Burton
The owner of this restaurant is a Muslim from Montenegro . They serve gypsy style food, not Italian. If you want great Italian food in East Meadow, go to mama Theresa
Kenneth Hannaford
Poor service,but it was a busy night for catering. I believe they overbooked our party
Darrell T.
The staff and food are fantastic. Family owned and operated. They treated this southern boy from Alabama like family Any time your on the island this is a must place to go
Neil H
Our first visit after passing the place so many times. AMAZING place like going to visit the family and the food was amazing. A warm and welcoming place cannot wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Teresa
Food, service, atmosphere was a++++. I would recommend the world to go there. The staff is friendly the owner is friendly. I would definitely leave New Jersey and go back it was just soo good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
William G B.
Mike and his amazing staff of Marcella, Rosie and Sal always show us the love. Today we were celebrating our daughter getting ready to move on to college life at Ud. We had our family together for one last dinner before the big move. This place is like home. They always make us feel so welcome and loved. The prices here have not skyrocketed like so many other places. The food is always consistently great. I had the por
Helene D.
Absolutely terrible! I will never come to this restaurant again. It was my first and only time and I went with a friend. We we walked to the front door which then directed us with a sign to go to the patio door which was an out door enclosed space where they were playing very loud music and people were dancing people ...very nice but we did not feel like listening to loud music and or dancing. yet the server was almost forcing us to sit on the patio which we did not want. We reiterated that we would like to be sad inside and it seemed that he sat us there reluctantly. The menu was nothing spectacular... We decided to order a bottle of red wine. They did not have the wine that I like which happened to be the only decent wine on the menu. So there was this very first disappointment... No worries we will order another bottle of wine. The the server named Salvatore seemed nice enough. He said he'd bring us a bottle of his recommendation. He brought us a bottle of Chianti... I can't remember the name of it but it was not very good at all the only difference is that at least he kept the new bottle in the same price range as the first. So we are told the specials we end up ordering an eggplant appetizer with balsamic vinegar that was drowning the entire plate. I had a bite. Inedible! Also the bread they brought to the table was not wonderful crusty rustic Italian bread. It was Italian white bread from ShopRite. Or at least that's what it tasted like. And it was ice cold. Onto the mains... initially I had ordered I believe the Bronzino but I'm not sure ...it was a bone in fish. The server informed me that they would not debone the fish.. which I found very strange... I wasn't in the mood to clean the fish myself. He tried to get me to order tilapia which was not wild caught. I'm not eating farm raised tilapia in an Italian restaurant. I opted for the red snapper. I wish I never had. It was offered in a light sauce with some frozen vegetables on the side that were warmed up and some very strange looking potatoes that were tasteless. I took one bite of the fish and nearly couldn't swallow it was so fishy. I sat eating nothing watching my friend who had ordered some sort of calamari and marinara sauce over pasta. I asked him how he liked it?. He said that the calamari was very rubbery but the flavor was OK. Finally Salvatore returns to check on us and it's quite a while after he dropped the mains. My friend told him that I did not like the fish which I had one bite only because it was extremely fishy. He takes my plate And much to my surprise he doesn't offer to make me another dish or anything ...he runs off with the dish and as he's running through the dining room towards the kitchen he is saying "it's fishy fishy fishy". The entire dining room is listening to this!! I found that appalling. And I'm sure the other diners didn't want to hear that either. At this point the server returns to ask us for our desserts and his demeanor has changed demonstrably... He seems irritated with us now. And I sensed this and declined any dessert. Although he did take the fish off of the check , I didn't like the way he handled my concern with my entrée. It's not the most expensive restaurant but it's not cheap either. We took the leftover wine home with us and will never go back.
Patrick Boyle
I have been eating at La Novella for many years, and hope to continue for many
Staff treats you like family. This is the sole reason for 3 stars. My 1st time here and when I picked up the bread it was hard like your head. Did not want to start complaining. My chicken was subpar - edible, but not tastefully exhilarating. Requested a steak knife and was given a dirty one. This time I requested a clean 1. Highly unlikely I would return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Ann Marie Poropat
We had an amazing first time visit to this restaurant. TY to all... we'll be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Andrea Licostie
La Novella is the best in town! If you’re looking for amazing Italian food with incredible staff , this place is a must! Owner Michael and Ivette are two of the sweetest people I’ve ever met! They are always there and their love for what they do shines through!! A secret gem with a huge party room for all your events and parties!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cecilia Gonzalez
Omg! We really enjoyed being there for our first time there! Everyone,very professional! The food excellent & delicious ! THE WAITRESS SERVICE!?and was a pleasure to meet the Owner !Vegetarian options: Salads, grilled veggies!!etc!the appetizers yummy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mixed Green Salad, Chicken Marsala, Seafood
Avi Bindra
First time dining in, good food. Everything came out fresh and flavorful. It’s going to be my go to Italian place from now!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pollo Al Novella, Penne Alla Vodka with Grilled Chicken
The food is excellent. We had a funeral repast with over 50 guests, and the service was smooth and efficient. The entire restaurant was busy on a Saturday night, but the staff worked hard, handling the crowd. Every course of the meal was delicious, and there was plenty of everything. Our family will return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Just Right, Chicken Marsala, Seafood
Wowza! Excellent service! Delicious baked clams, very tasty Italian spring rolls. I ordered the chicken Ala novella and it was so fresh and yummy. My boyfriend ordered the stuffed pork chop with was outstanding too! They have 2 or 3 different sections to sit in. The outside garden has a bar and little garden section with lots of space!! Complementary fruit to top off our dinner ! Highly recommend, we will be back
The owner of this restaurant is a Muslim from Montenegro . They serve gypsy style food, not Italian. If you want great Italian food in East Meadow, go to mama Theresa
Poor service,but it was a busy night for catering. I believe they overbooked our party
The staff and food are fantastic. Family owned and operated. They treated this southern boy from Alabama like family Any time your on the island this is a must place to go
Our first visit after passing the place so many times. AMAZING place like going to visit the family and the food was amazing. A warm and welcoming place cannot wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food, service, atmosphere was a++++. I would recommend the world to go there. The staff is friendly the owner is friendly. I would definitely leave New Jersey and go back it was just soo good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Mike and his amazing staff of Marcella, Rosie and Sal always show us the love. Today we were celebrating our daughter getting ready to move on to college life at Ud. We had our family together for one last dinner before the big move. This place is like home. They always make us feel so welcome and loved. The prices here have not skyrocketed like so many other places. The food is always consistently great. I had the por
Absolutely terrible! I will never come to this restaurant again. It was my first and only time and I went with a friend. We we walked to the front door which then directed us with a sign to go to the patio door which was an out door enclosed space where they were playing very loud music and people were dancing people ...very nice but we did not feel like listening to loud music and or dancing. yet the server was almost forcing us to sit on the patio which we did not want. We reiterated that we would like to be sad inside and it seemed that he sat us there reluctantly. The menu was nothing spectacular... We decided to order a bottle of red wine. They did not have the wine that I like which happened to be the only decent wine on the menu. So there was this very first disappointment... No worries we will order another bottle of wine. The the server named Salvatore seemed nice enough. He said he'd bring us a bottle of his recommendation. He brought us a bottle of Chianti... I can't remember the name of it but it was not very good at all the only difference is that at least he kept the new bottle in the same price range as the first. So we are told the specials we end up ordering an eggplant appetizer with balsamic vinegar that was drowning the entire plate. I had a bite. Inedible! Also the bread they brought to the table was not wonderful crusty rustic Italian bread. It was Italian white bread from ShopRite. Or at least that's what it tasted like. And it was ice cold. Onto the mains... initially I had ordered I believe the Bronzino but I'm not sure ...it was a bone in fish. The server informed me that they would not debone the fish.. which I found very strange... I wasn't in the mood to clean the fish myself. He tried to get me to order tilapia which was not wild caught. I'm not eating farm raised tilapia in an Italian restaurant. I opted for the red snapper. I wish I never had. It was offered in a light sauce with some frozen vegetables on the side that were warmed up and some very strange looking potatoes that were tasteless. I took one bite of the fish and nearly couldn't swallow it was so fishy. I sat eating nothing watching my friend who had ordered some sort of calamari and marinara sauce over pasta. I asked him how he liked it?. He said that the calamari was very rubbery but the flavor was OK. Finally Salvatore returns to check on us and it's quite a while after he dropped the mains. My friend told him that I did not like the fish which I had one bite only because it was extremely fishy. He takes my plate And much to my surprise he doesn't offer to make me another dish or anything ...he runs off with the dish and as he's running through the dining room towards the kitchen he is saying "it's fishy fishy fishy". The entire dining room is listening to this!! I found that appalling. And I'm sure the other diners didn't want to hear that either. At this point the server returns to ask us for our desserts and his demeanor has changed demonstrably... He seems irritated with us now. And I sensed this and declined any dessert. Although he did take the fish off of the check , I didn't like the way he handled my concern with my entrée. It's not the most expensive restaurant but it's not cheap either. We took the leftover wine home with us and will never go back.
I have been eating at La Novella for many years, and hope to continue for many
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Staff treats you like family. This is the sole reason for 3 stars. My 1st time here and when I picked up the bread it was hard like your head. Did not want to start complaining. My chicken was subpar - edible, but not tastefully exhilarating. Requested a steak knife and was given a dirty one. This time I requested a clean 1. Highly unlikely I would return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
We had an amazing first time visit to this restaurant. TY to all... we'll be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
La Novella is the best in town! If you’re looking for amazing Italian food with incredible staff , this place is a must! Owner Michael and Ivette are two of the sweetest people I’ve ever met! They are always there and their love for what they do shines through!! A secret gem with a huge party room for all your events and parties!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Omg! We really enjoyed being there for our first time there! Everyone,very professional! The food excellent & delicious ! THE WAITRESS SERVICE!?and was a pleasure to meet the Owner !Vegetarian options: Salads, grilled veggies!!etc!the appetizers yummy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mixed Green Salad, Chicken Marsala, Seafood
First time dining in, good food. Everything came out fresh and flavorful. It’s going to be my go to Italian place from now!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pollo Al Novella, Penne Alla Vodka with Grilled Chicken