Aliperti's Restaurant

The first time me and my wife went here was about 6 months ago. It was a weekday night after work and the restaurant was not particularly busy. Several employees were walking back and forth between the front desk and the rest of the restaurant but no one greeted us or even acknowledged our presence. There were no other customers waiting by the front desk. After over 15 minutes we were about to leave when someone told us they would be right with us. Another 5 to 7 minutes passed and at that point we left. I was half expecting someone to come running out and look for us to offer an apology but they obviously did not care at all.
This week, we decided to give it an other shot. Aliperti's was one of the few restaurants open during the massive power outage. This time we were greeted in a timely manner and seated quickly. However, the middle-aged lady who greeted and seated us was less than friendly. Her exact words were: "Two? Follow me please". A "Hello, how are you doing today? Welcome to Aliperti's" would have been nice.
We were seated at a nice table in the corner of the main room. Our waitress came quickly. However, this 18 or 19 year old girl was entirely clueless. And not in a cute way. She was insecure, clumsy and way too informal in her greeting. Additionally, she was unable to answer any simple questions like "do you have whole wheat penne?" or "is the chicken grilled or fried?". She had to get a manager to answer these questions. Major failure in staff training. The thing with Aliperti's is that they try to present themselves and their restaurant as semi-upscale, and me walking in with sneakers was noticeably frowned upon. The waitress' manners were by no means rude, but seemed way too informal for the restaurant she is working in. She would fit in better at an Applebees.
Because of the "upscale vibe" of the restaurant, we had high expectations of the food. As a side-note: setting a semi-upscale (or "pretentious") atmosphere in your restaurant creates higher than average expectations of your food. If you can live up to them, great. But if you can't, then you really just look... pretentious.
Well, we couldn't be more disappointed. I ordered the Penne Alla Vodka, which the menu said would have peas and pancetta in it. When it came out, it looked like penne in a bowl of milk. The tomato sauce to cream ratio was miles off. It honestly looked more like a bowl of cereal. The noodles were way overcooked and very soft. So much so that they had taken the size of rigatoni. The sauce had absolutely no flavor whatsoever and was very watery. Again, it was like a bowl of milk. There were entirely no peas in the dish, and I was able to find maybe 3 or 4 small specks of flavorless pancetta. The dish could not be saved with additional salt, pepper and grated cheese. A huge disappointment. My wife had the chicken Florentine. This sounds exotic, but what came out were two dry, un-seasoned, un-marinated pieces of rock-hard chicken breast on a greasy, soggy bed of spinach, surrounded by a pond of yellow/green-ish water. The chicken had no flavor at all, except for a gill/burn flavor. The food wasn't "OK". It was TERRIBLE. Laughable. As if it was a college student's first attempt at cooking.
Service was otherwise good, but the experience became very uncomfortable once we got our food and we wished we could snap our fingers and be somewhere else. Right next door is an affordable, casual, diner-style Italian family restaurant called Tarantella's. We've eaten there many times. Their food is exactly what you would expect from a diner/family restaurant. Affordable, nothing amazing, but more than acceptable with a couple of items that jump out (the meatball sliders are to die for). Aliperti's isn't even in their ballpark, but charges almost twice the price for the same dishes that aren't half as good.
For real, authentic, quality Italian food without pretentiousness and expectations they can't live up to, I highly recommend Il Gabbianio in Cranford. At this point we've tried every Italian restaurant in the Westfield/Clark/Garwood/Cranford area and Il Gabbiano stands head and shoulders above the rest. Ill Gabbiano also serves every customer free bruschetta and salad appetizers, which no other restaurant in the area does. And no, I don't work for Il Gabbiano (I know I've recommended them in a review of another Italian restaurant as well). The truth just needs to be told and I'd hate for someone to waste their money at a disappointing place like Aliperti's when they could have a great experience somewhere else. A more informal and more family-friendly option that I would highly recommend also is Emma's Brick Oven in Cranford.

I have been to Aliperti's many times, and the food has always been excellent, and their food prices are very reasonable.  The last time I was there, I had a bowl of their cream of broccoli soup, chicken parmagiana with spaghetti and tomato sauce, and two glasses of Stella.

Other members of my group had pasta fajioli soup, wild mushroom penne with cream sauce, and pumpkin ravioli.  The broccoli soup was very creamy, the pasta fajioli soup was loaded with noodles, the chicken was extremely tender, and Aliperti's tomato and cream sauces are quite tasty.  Personally, I have never had a better chicken parmagiana than at Aliperti's.

Prices at Aliperti's are quite fair, especially if you avoid drinks and desserts.  Soups and salads average around $3, whereas most entrees are in the $15-$20 range.  Conversely, most alcoholic beverages and desserts are in the $5-10 range.  The restaurants puts out a lot of coupons in local newspapers.

Service at Aliperti's is good, but the restaurant moves at a slow pace.  All the waiters and waitress I have ever had here have done a good job, but there is a large amount of time between each course.  If you are looking for a quick meal, don't come here -- a typical dinner takes 1.5 hours.  However, if you want really good Italian food in a relaxed Mediterrean atmosphere, Aliperti's is the right place.

My family and I have been here many times for special events (showers, birthday parties & once for an Easter buffet) so when a milestone birthday was approaching, they threw a surprise party there for me.  It was served buffet style but they brought everyone a standard salad & later, the cake.  The food was good and the private room for the party was spacious & set up well for people to mingle.  

The servers were professional, but put the plates down too hard ~ they moved around too quickly as if they were in a rush & none were smiling.  Since everyone was having a good time, I overlooked that part.

However, when it came to the bill, it was a bit of a problem; there was a discrepancy about the number of people who attended; they said that they charged for the number of people they were told would be coming the week before, but I said that no one called to confirm that (of course I checked with my son who had handled everything).  The estimate they had been given by him (months in advance), 50, was close to the number of people who attended.  I asked 2 of my good friends to do a head count & they both gave me the same number.  The difference was 3 people.  The manager refused to reduce the bill or even give a gift certificate for a future dinner there.  I was told to look for the manager and we would get a complimentary drink.  We don't drink!  This left a bad taste in my mouth and I haven't gone back in the 7 years since this happened.

Therefore, if you are planning an event there, find out what the policy is for final confirmation (how many days prior to the event) and be sure that YOU call to confirm the number of people the week before & get that person's name!