We have been here several times with family. Â Everyone was delighted with their choices - their salmon is excellent as are their fresh pasta dishes. Â Very child friendly and the kids ate it up - looking forward to their mouthwatering mini desserts i guess. Â We took a party of 20 and everyone was happy and relaxed. Â We were there a long time, not because of slow service, but because we were pleasantly relaxed and all 6 kids in the mix were happily entertained. Â We have been there for their $8.95 lunch special - the quality is not hampered by the price.
Review Source:As usual a good meal. I travel for work and always find a consistent experience. Its not my favorite italian restaurant, but its my favorite chain restaurant. The pricing is very reasonable. The food, service, and decor is excellent. I eat at the freehold location at least once a week. Naples (FL), Baltimore (MD), Danbury (CT), etc. all GREAT...
Review Source:I finally got around to trying this place and that being said, the word "eh" comes to mind. First of all, VERY SLOW service. It was midday, and there was barely anyone there. I had the grilled salmon salad. Not bad, but very run of the mill. My wife had grilled shrimp with orzo and vegetables. Whne she ordered it, the waitress warned her about how spicy the dish was. I guess they forgot to add that part to the actual meal. Completely tastless!! Â My parents had the grilled fish sandwich and a cheeseburger. My mom loved her burger and pop had no use for the fish sandwich. Poorly constructed and not very good tasting. The place is very nicely decorated and they have a nice outdoor seating area for when the weather is good. None of us have any desire to go running back there any time soon.
PS Â Â Parking there is a nightmare!!! Ever since the mall remodeled, the parking lot looks like Christmas every day!!!!!
SECOND TIME UPDATE: I would say Brio's is like a step up from Cheesecake Factory. The complimentary bread and chip-like flat bread seemed fresh and well-baked. The spinach dip and chips were not anything special but I have no complaints about it. Brio's is pricey but I think the food tastes a lot better than Cheesecake's. I got the crab cakes and I thought they were the best crab cakes I have ever eaten. Although they were small, I want to say 60% of it was real crab meat. It was cooked well because the texture was not dry or rubbery or hard, it was good crab meat. It was also seasoned well and I liked how they paired it with a horseradish sauce. The vegetables seemed to be slightly sauteed in oil which also made them slightly crunchy on the outside.
If you want to check out the food for yourself, check out my second video!
Nice "Up(er) scale" chain restaurant. They have a nice large bar where you can enjoy a wide variety of cocktails prior to eating. Being a bourbon guy, I was pleased to see Knob Creek Rye on the shelf and I gave it a try...something I'll be now adding to my collection at home. The well drinks were more closely poured, but the bourbon was a healthy dram and they were reasonably priced. I ordered a steak (how original), but was very pleased that it came out exactly as I had requested- medium rare! Usually, regardless of what you ask for, medium is the minimum that you get. Overall it was delicious. Â The atmosphere was lively and fun and our waiter was a great sport....I tend to mess around a bit. Â We will be going back.
Review Source:The service was so appalling at this restaurant that I actually had to reference a thesaurus in order to come up with enough appropriate words to describe just how heinous it was.  We came here on Sunday, March 3, 2013 on a whim because the Cheesecake Factory next door had a much longer wait- which after this ghastly experience is all the more understandable.  We were sat apparently in the forgotten corner of the restaurant.  I guess we were sat in  new addition to the restaurant because none of the servers were aware that we existed.  We waited well over 15 minutes for anyone to come near our table- we were finally forced to flag down a waiter who was walking by-  he claimed that we were not his section- but he would be back in two seconds to take our orders.( he was tall, skinny, and acted annoyed at the thought of helping us)  He never came back. He vanished.  I mean, how dare we expect service at a restaurant?   Finally we flag someone else down- she agrees to be our server (like she was doing us a favor) and promises that her service will be top notch.  Well, her service was repugnant too (total credit to the thesaurus for that one)- she took our orders in their entirety since we had already been there for 30 minutes and we could clearly recite the entire menu verbatim at this point.  Okay- so literally another 15 minutes goes by and she does not return with any drinks.  I'm not even making this up or exaggerating in the slightest- finally we flag someone down to get our drinks- he of course is not responsible and is unapologetic for our plight.  The self proclaimed "top notch' waitress finally returns with the drinks (minus the apple juice for the 1st grader at the table- aren't you supposed to serve little kids first???)  - and she launches into a story about how she dropped the tray of drinks- but really doesn't apologize .  Oh- by the way- there is no manager in sight throughout this whole ordeal.  The salads come around 6:05- about 40 minutes or so after sitting down and then we wait another 30 minutes for the food.  The dinners are brought over separately- literally several minutes lapsed in between people at the same table receiving their food.  Oh- and the first grader at the table was served dead last.  The steak I had ordered medium rare came out well done- which normally I wouldn't make a fuss but I hate well done red meat so it needed to be sent back.  Well, shame on me, I should have just eaten it because I didn't get it back for another 20 minutes, well after everyone else was done with their food.  When it did finally return, it was cooked rare (which is fine I don't mind) but it doesn't take 20 minutes to cook a 5oz. steak rare!!!!   Some pregnant lady who we presumed to be a manager finally came over to the table- but she never told us her name or what she did- to acknowledge that we seemed pissed off- but she never offered a sincere apology or an explanation.  She told us that she would take the steak off the bill- my mother FYI'd her that was not good enough- to which she nastily responded that "she would eat the check"- she then stormed off and we never saw her again.  She never came back to see if we needed coffee or dessert (which I guess is fine since we would probably still be sitting there if we got dessert).....this lady had no control over anything that was going on in this restaurant.  To top it off- she was nasty and the service at her restaurant is ABOMINABLE.  Oh- and by the way- just in case corporate brio is reading this- the table next to us had the same experience and didn't have to pay their check either (probably not the best thing for your business if your employees are providing such horrible service that several tables are having their checks taken care of by the pregnant nasty manager) Â
Oh- one more thing--my mother has an allergy to gluten and ordered off your gluten free menu- well she was "violently" ill last night after dining at your restaurant- you should be ashamed of such blatant disregard to customer service.  You are sandwiched between PF Changs and the Cheesecake Factory and both of those establishments provide wonderful service-  you will not last long if you don't shape up- and train your staff better-  oh- and I used to work at Freehold Mall for years and I know a lot of people and I will be telling anyone that will listen how bad this experience was.  In fact- I'm going to post how bad this experience was  on facebook, twitter, and I'll even fire up the old myspace account just to post it there too-- service this abhorrent is unacceptable!
Our experience this evening at Brio Tuscan Grill was horrible . And that is being kind. The service was awful. We waited almost a half hour at our table before someone decided to come to take a drink order. Then we proceeded to wait another 15-20 minutes to get our drinks  this was after 2 different waitresses came to say they would take care if us.  Lost track ofbhowblong we waited for our salads!! After almost an Hour and a half later we finally get our meals.. Brought out 2 at a time ( there were 6 of us) with the child getting his meal last. My son ordered a steak medium rare.. It came out well done.  By the time they brought him a new steak ( almost 25 minutes later and cooked rare) we were done eating. Needless to say I was fuming! Especially since this was a birthday dinner. A manager?? Came to the table and I said that this was not acceptable. She offered to take the steak off the bill. I said that still was not acceptable and she nastily said she would " eat the check" and walked away.
Unfortunately, I have to leave 1 star in order to write this.
This was  my last visit to your restaurant !!
My friend and I decided to check this place out for the first time.  The long wait aside, the food was delicious.  First we were served crispy seasoned flat-bread along with  warm soft bread with butter.  So yummy.  Then, I ordered the Chicken Under the Brick.  It was served with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables.  Everything was so delicious, I ate everything on the plate, which is something I never do.  The place was very clean, our waiter was very helpful and the food was awesome!  Will definitely be going back.
Review Source:This was my 3rd time giving this place a try the first 2 times was just for the happy hour with 1/2 piece apps, It was a safe selection and they were ok, the best one was the flatbread. Service is erratic and forgetful and this 3rd time was not different we ordered entrees which were small for the $21 price , the salmon was dried and just did not taste good.
This place is really pretty, nice bar just too bad the food is over priced and not very good.
We've been here a few times. Â Once I had the sweet potato risotto. Â I enjoyed the comforting taste of the dish. Â Another time, I had the steak and blue cheese salad. Â I really enjoyed the flavors of that simple salad. Â There is an air of arrogance at the hostess stand but they were respectful. Â The wait staff is really friendly.
Review Source:Came here for lunch... Not overly busy, nice hostess and waiter was spot on - wasn't rushing, gave some recommendations - all good! Â Ordered the Braised Beef panini - great size for lunch with the side salad (iceberg wedge) and my wife had the Salmon entry from the Lite menu - good portions, great taste and the restaurant had a nice decor. We'll be back!
Review Source:If you want real Italian food, or even just something that is better than just edible, then this is NOT the place to get it. As long as you have a microwave and don't mind selecting your meal from your local grocers frozen aisle you will be happier I assure you. My wife had set out on our evening with the idea of doing some shopping at the freehold mall, but first we wanted a quick bite to eat. Being that the wait at the Cheesecake Factory would have negatively impacted our shopping experience, we took the path of least resistance and figured on taking a chance with Brio -particularly since getting seated right away was not an issue. This was a red flag that I chose to ignore thinking to myself "how bad can it be?" . . . . Well I found out soon enough.
I ordered Ravioli Di Bello - portobello ravioli with cremini mushrooms . . . . Being that I love mushrooms and this sounded like something right up my alley. Sadly was I ever wrong - the best way to describe this dish is that these were little pockets of pasta filled with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup thickened slightly with corn starch . . . . I am scarred and will going forward approach ravioli dishes with trepidation. My wife had ordered the Shrimp Verduta -angel hair pasta with -you guessed it shrimp, sun dried tomato, artichoke and feta -according to my wife it was OK -I was reeling from my cream of mushroom ordeal so I can not attest to the edibility of her dish. Saving grace was the service . . . . The young waiter who served us was very attentive, and quickly corrected a problem regarding the a glass of wine that tasted off. The experience with the ravioli was just too much to overcome. I will not be going back to give this place a second shot. I'd rather crack open a can of Chef Boyardee. As bad as that pasta is, compared to authentic Italian, it is better than what they served me that day.
We went with kids after a movie for a late lunch. My first impression was a wide open neo Italian decor in warehouse level ceilings. The staff was friendly and prompt. As the meal went on there were small but significant problems. For example, no matter how loud we spoke our orders, our waiter could not hear us. It wadnt his fault, the acoustics are terrible in this place.
Our main course came while we were still eating. I guess instead of waiting forever like previous reviews, we had the reverse of having our meal rushed.
Several servers were on break, eating their lunch at the next table. This would normally have been fine but our waiter joined them in the middle of our service. I don't want a server touching my food while he is eating. Gross
Appetizer and dinner portions were generous, however. Plating and presentation were average.
This place is just a chain, without any hometown charm or original food. If you are at the mall, and don't want to go downtown Freehold, this will do in a pinch.
For me, my next meal dollars will be down at a more authentic place.
We went here on Sat. Nov. 3rd. a few days after Hurricane Sandy. They had a very limited Menu. Which we totally understood. However the Waitress was very nasty, slow and lazy. The portions were on the small size for the price paid. My Daughter ordered Chicken Fingers and asked for Ketchup. The waitress told us they don't serve Ketchup. When the Manager came over to check on us I said I was surprised they didn't serve Ketchup. She said they definitely do and went and brought it out to us. The waitress then blamed the Hurricane for not knowing they had it. She also disappeared and was never able to get drink refills. We might try it out one more time in case it was because of the Post Hurricane Blues. Food did taste good just small portions.
Review Source:I have been a customer of Brio for a while and the location that i go to is in Cherry Hill, NJ. Â They have really the best food, and very good service. This past week we decided to go Brio in Freehold, NJ. We made reservation for 4;15PM. and we sat at the table at that time. The waitress brought us the drinks and disappear for over 20 min. and when i called her over i asked her where is the bread and butter. She said that the bread is cooking and it will be ready soon (( Â meanwhile , another couple came and sat down next to us 10 min later and they got the bread and drinks right away.)) it took almost 1 hr later to get just the bread. It is terrible service and
waitress lie to us, and should not take 1 hr to just get the bread. A restaurant with that reputation to run out of bread ? Is it possible ? Also the food did not come at the same time. We were 7of us  and when they brought the bread they served us only one instead of two. At that time i did not want to complain because when i go to dinner i would like to enjoy it. I should have walked out of there as soon i see the waitress does not come back to us for over 5 min for the the first time you sit down.
I will definitely not go to Brio in Freehold again. or maybe none of them. Bad experience with service and make sure my friends know about it.
Really not a fan of this place, went during one of their happy hours one night and was pretty turned off from going again. The portions were hefty, but the food was so bland I just didn't want to finish it. The service was okay, but I've heard people say they've had problems with the wait staff, especially on busy nights. The happy hour deals would have been great if they didn't serve you water in lieu of whatever drink you ordered. May give it another try one day, but I think it would take a lot to make me a regular patron here.
Review Source:Had a wonderful evening here.  Came in during Happy hour before 7pm, had a couple of delicious drinks and appetizers for very low  cost and continued to have a fabulous dinner - lamb chops for me and a whole roasted chicken for my husband.  Everything was cooked just right...and our entertainment was watching the playoff baseball came btw StL and AtL. We waited a while for our dinners, but loved our meal very much and want to come back another time.  Beautiful place.  Happy Hour continues again between 9-11pm.  They have the right idea!
Review Source:Finally got a chance to check this place out, was presently surprised the food was good!
We were seated right away (was a Tuesday night), was greeted by our server in no time and gave us our menus and took our drink order.
We then proceeded to give our order, my Sister got the carpachio and I the fried calamari, there was enough of each to share, the carpachio was nicely dressed, the greens were flavorful and the calamari had two dipping sauces one piquant and the other a marinara sauce, the marinara was just ok the calamari was cooked perfectly.
We ordered the pasta ala vodka which was delicate and tasty, and the Ravioli Di Bello a mushroom ravoli finished in a brown butter champagne cream sauce that was rich and delicious. I will go back to explore some more. I think this is a keeper. As far as chain restaurants go this was not a disappointment a little bit noisey. I like this place.
Sat outside on a nice Saturday afternoon. Getting past our snooty waitress, the food was delicious. We started with the spinach,artichoke and roasted garlic dip which is served with these delicious crispy flatbreads and is just amazing. I then had the chicken and sweet potato risotto which was tasty and filling. My cousin had the crab and shrimp cakes which were served with a side of roasted veggies and she enjoyed it. Top it off with a couple of frozen fruity drinks and it was great. Will definitely go back and try it again!
Review Source:Been there twice and have been very happy with the food. As others have said, it feels like an upscale olive garden with better food, worse service, and nicer space.
Went today for lunch. Â Standouts: the bread, the off menu warm molten chocolate dessert (tasted even better after letting it cool off), salmon. Â Disappointment: basil strawberry drink off the virgin drink menu. Â Sounded good, looked good, but largely flavorless.
I was happy with Amanda, the helpful hostess. Â She took my call-ahead and had my table ready for when my group showed up. Â Â Our server was also pleasant, though she was distractingly (in a funny way) Â hoarse. Â Hopefully (for her) this was a temporary condition. Â
Service overall was a tad disorganized. Â It seemed that there were fewer servers than needed (my hoarse server seemed to covering more territory than I would normally expect). Â Plenty of other folks walking around, but not clear what they were responsible for, things like refilling water glasses and bread baskets were not quickly addressed. Â Wasn't enough to significantly damage our experience as table conversation was lively and time went by quickly. Â In other circumstances, it would have been annoying.
Overall, still recommended highly for the food.
i have been eating at Brio since there grand opening day !. each time there were small problems such as service, wait time, and not having certain apitizers available that were on there menu, (we were told they ran out , it was early in the evening) being the resturant was new my friends and i continued to go there on fri day nites for drinkks because it was the new place intown and offered atmosphere.the management always tried to apologize and offer something for free( dessert ect..) it isnt about getting something when you go out for dinner you want a pleasurable experience. we went last nite FRi 7-27-12 there were 5 of us girls there pricing isnt cheap and there portions tiny, but even beyond that the service was horrific, from the start there were two hostess standing tat the front chit chatting with each other, it felt awkward to interupt them to ask for seating, than we were told it would be a 60 min wait so we decided to grab our own table by the bar after half hr wait, i went over and the table was dirty , i had to go n get my own bus person to clean it when i told the hostess she seamed annoyed!! finally after 10 minutes we sat, the waitress wasnt rude but very forgetfull  , she forgot our silverwear , plates for appitizers, napkins, my friends dont like to complain, but  when i ordered the same drink i have had there for the last 7 times ive been there and it was made wrong, i had to say something (strawberry mojioto) no strawberry , no mint!!!. i return it and had the help including the management a female and a tall male with a beard be very rude, they tried to tell us the drink was made correctly and like it always had been made since they opened luckily for me we always go out with the same few girls and my friend and i new this was BULL!!! they made the drinks finally right but were very condesending by telling us a bunch of BS that they are making them just for us that way  there resturant guide book says no mint or strawberry in there mojioto, i dont know about the rest of every1 who goes there but if i order a mojioto it usually has mint and it did there from day 1 . i meet an older gentlemen on my first few visits there that was the erea manager , you need to come back and tre train your bartenbers, wait staff and management team they stink, oh and by the way to top off the evenning they dropped 2 of our five desserts on the floor and we couldnt even eat all at the same time took 10 minutes to return with new ones. for the record i definately wont return and ill pass the good word around how awful you guys really are!!
Review Source:The food was superb. The service was amateurish.
My friends wanted to go here. We drove about 6 miles to go to this place on a Sunday afternoon.
We had to wait approximately 15 or 20 minutes for a table. That was acceptable for this visit.
Misstep #1: When my group of 3 was seated, strangely we were given just 2 menus. I didn't think much of it since I was engrossed in conversation.
Misstep #2: We were wondering why there was no oil served with the bread? Not a big deal, but it seemed unusual for an Italian restaurant.
Misstep #3: It took a really long time for the food to arrive, and the restaurant wasn't that busy.
Misstep #4: Somebody brought out my salmon dish. That was it. We had no forks/knives or napkins.
Misstep #5: I waited a minimum of 10 minutes for my two other dinner companions to receive their food. They thought it was more like 30 minutes.
Misstep #6: When one of my companions mentioned to a worker, who was cleaning the table next to us, that we had no eating utensils or napkins, he ignored us! As if it wasn't his problem!
So for at least 10 minutes we are sitting there waiting. I've got this salmon dish in front of me and nobody else has any food. I joked that I guess we are supposed to eat with our hands at this restaurant.
I assumed the other dishes would be right out, but they weren't coming. What the hell?
The friend of mine who was the most pissed off among us -- left the table and told somebody to send the manager over. He came out a moment later and I sat back and watched her give him a verbal lashing. He took his beating without complaint, offered a concession, and left.
We all agreed the food was excellent, but boy-oh-boy do they have some training issues with the front-of-the-house workers.
I think this place deserves 3 1/2 stars, but because we loved our food, I am awarding a 4. It could have been a 5 if they hadn't sucked so bad service-wise.
3.5 stars
Very slow service. They start you off with good bread in the beginning (sour dough and crunchy flat bread).
Appetizers:
1) Margherita Flatbread (fresh Mozzarella, vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh basil)
- flatbread was crispy, thin, and pretty decent
2) Spicy Shrimp & Eggplant (pan seared shrimp in a black pepper cream sauce over Romano crusted eggplant)
- the sauce was really good
3) Calamari Fritto Misto
- was decent. They gave a good dipping white sauce, but they forgot to give a lemon (thought that was a given?)
Entrees:
1) Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad (mixed greens tossed with grilled chicken, grapes, candied pecans, Gorgonzola and herb vinaigrette)
2) Penne Mediterranean (mushrooms, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, Feta and pine nuts)
3) Ravioli Di Bello (Portobello ravioli with Cremini mushrooms, tomatoes, Reggiano and fresh thyme in a light champagne brown butter sauce)
4) Pasta Brio (Rigatoni, grilled chicken, seared mushrooms and roasted red pepper sauce)
All the entrees were good. The waitress was nice, but you could tell she barely had any experience in the food/serving industry.
If not for the rude hostesses this place might get a 5 star rating. I live just outside Baltimore so I have regular access to some of the best Italian cooking around in Little Italy there. Not to mention my fiance is Sicilian, so I'm completely spoiled by GREAT Italian cooking.
I have to say, Brio's pasta entrees are surprisingly very good. This is not your typical Olive Garden or even Carrabba's offering. I think Brio is surprisingly great for a chain - in fact, I'm willing to guarantee almost everyone who comes to Brio will pay less for better Italian than when they go to some overpriced small Italian restaurant around NJ.
I came here with my fiance on a Sunday at noon and we got a seat outside right away. It was just starting to get a little busy, but there were countless tables available inside and out. They have a full brunch menu as well which sounded delicious but I opted to get the Pasta Brio (basically like penne alla vodka with chicken).
Our server was great, as she handled our orders perfectly and answered any questions we had on the menu. The bread they give you is delicious too - try to not fill up on that bread, I challenge you. Our food came promptly and was just as we asked.
If you like Carrabba's or Olive Garden, you're going to like Brio way more. The food quality is much better, think along the lines of Bertucci's except without Bertucci's pizza specialty.
From some of the negative reviews on here, they all seem to be mostly regarding the service and hostesses. I don't blame you on the hostesses, but again our waitress was great. We haven't been here during a peak time like a Friday or Saturday night, so we could have easily had a completely different experience. My guess is the hostesses need to either be eventually replaced or will just learn on the job - because they seemed to not want to be even spoken to when I had to talk to them twice, briefly.
The food quality, good service (waitresses) and the fact that it's right at the mall is reason enough for me to return.
Who is rating it three $ either?! lol
WiFi is free also.
My boyfriend and I just went here for dinner. I was skeptical after hearing stories and reading reviews but was pleasantly surprised!
The bread that comes to the table is warm, doughy and just delicious. Also comes with these tasty everything crispy bites. Yum.
We started with the margarita flatbread, delicious! Crispy, salty and well flavored. We both had salads with our meals, I had the chopped salad and he opted for the wedge. Â The salads were pretty big, quality ingredients and not overdressed. I was full by the time our entrees arrived.
For dinner, I had the sweet potato risotto, which was amazing; good portion, cooked perfectly And not overly salty. It came with dark meat chicken which i normally don't like, but it went well with my dish. My bf had a filet with Gorgonzola, cooked perfectly, medium rare. His sides of mashed and veg were just okay.
As for service, our waitress was quick, continued to check on us but wasn't overbearing. She was polite and consistently attentive. Water was always filled and never had to ask for soft drink refills.
Only complaint: drinks. My cucumber gimlet was very sour and had more ice than liquid. I'd go for wine next time.
I'd Suggest going on a week night- and make a reservation. It was packed on a Monday night at 7pm.
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