Cieli Blu Restaurant & Catered Affairs

The lobby resembles a funeral parlor… The bar is just as creepy. I’ve been to 3 ladies nights hoping for the best… Never have a witnessed not only a female… But not even a customer!
There’s also a very odd oder that resonates from the filthy carpet. It’s located on a dark side street in the middle of a quite neighborhood… Best advise: AVOID!!!

A rare find in Central Bergen County off the beaten path. Eclectic, well appointed dishes with a good varietal mix of rich sauces and dips using the freshest ingredients. The Lounge is warm, friendly and offers a weekly menu with nicely appointed appetizers and entrees fit for a King! A few winners include their thinly sliced Filet of Beef which is braised in some sort of nice garlic-​butter sauce, then they’re placed on a trio of seasoned toasted sliced baguettes with a nice relish dressing — to die for! Let’s tip my hat for my personal favorite, the Ginger Calamari! It’s never disappointed! I fail to understand why some places seem to serve calamari as pliable as the rubber Goodyear tire uses. Never here! Fresh Squid, lightly fried, then coated with this incredibly, irresistible lightly sweetened ginger-​infused sauce — D A M N E D — Good!!! For someone as picky as I… it’s certainly worthy of 5-​stars!

I teeter between a 1 star and a 2 star… and I went with 2 because in truth some things went wrong on my own accord and they did «try“albeit half heartedly, to accommodate… also, the «maitre de» was very nice. That being said… you may ask why the low score… so here goes:
My son’s 1^st birthday… I had a huge group — over 80 (kids and adults together). I don’t like buffet style catering events… and I feel like a sit down dinner without cocktail hour leaves people hungry… so I looked for a place that had a family style service. Cieli Blu does. I went in and saw the place, and decided we wanted to look at a few other locations but at that time was given a menu and a price, Al, the Manager/​cook/​owner told me if I decided to go with his location to send out the invitations and he wouldn’t book it to anyone else. So we did, I sent out the invites, and then went in to sign the contract. The «Duo» menu, has 2 apps, 1 salad, 1 pasta, 3 entrees, and a dessert (sherbert or mousse) to pick from — you can see it on their website… And has a price for adults and kids on the menu. We also chose to have open bar… the price was very reasonable. We got the price «all included — with tax and tip» per person and had everything written out — which was a actually MORE then what was on the original menu… but fine (I should have known at that point). He said we would pick out the particular menu options together later. I called and left multiple messages for him to reach out to me to finalize things. Finally I get a call from «Mike» — someone I’ve never met… who wanted to know what we wanted for our guests… and I gave him what we wanted and asked if we could get the mousse/​sherbert on our candy buffet or if it had to be put out on the tables — he said he would ask Al and get back to us. Nope, never did. He also said he would send us the table layout. Nope. Never happened. I called again. Left messages. Finally got a call back from Al saying they had emailed… but he would resend. I had to call AGAIN to remind him to send it before it was actually done.
Come the day of my event, I go in and there is a bartender and staff in the room. The bartender was nice, but had no idea what was going on, she says «I’m just helping them out today, you know more then me». But the rest of staff didn’t even acknowledge my presence… they were the UNFRIENDLIEST staff ever. I brought in the cake, candy buffet display, favors, EVERYTHING… by MYSELF. NO ONE offered a hand… to even be like, oh, come in through the garden so you don’t have to carry that stuff down the street. Nope.
I had additional guests that showed up the day of the party and messed up the table settings… instead of adding additional food or an additional table, they converted the kids table and said they would serve the same amount of food but divide it to be enough for the extra table. Fine. (this is the part they tried to accommodate, and I was grateful).
The party started and food was supposed to be on the table at 5:30…they had 2 waitresses for the entire room… and added 1 guy later on… apps came out at 6… the mushrooms were dry and bland. Calamari was pretty good actually. Then we waited for 40 minutes for salad… which was literally bagged iceberg lettuce with dressing. Terrible… and wilted. 45 minutes later… pasta — pretty good. Then the meal… porkchops, chicken marsala, and salmon. Not great. No starch with them, no veggie, no nothing. NO BREAD on the table… even though we asked like 4 times. And for the entire meal we kept asking… still no bread. Kids food came out SOOOO late, and the chicken fingers were burnt to a crisp. Waitresses were overwhelmed and you could tell they were very understaffed and stressed, even the one nice one. They ran out of LIQUOR half way through the party!!! We PAID for OPEN BAR!!! How can you run out (2 of my extra guests are a priest and his wife — they don’t drink!)?
After this… the cake comes out and they wouldn’t bring it out on the dance floor to cut the cake or blow the candle, we were in the corner blowing out the candle. I was upset. But the manager just comes up and is like, are you guys done with pictures so we can cut the cake? I turn to open the candy buffet and no mousse or sherbet! I look and there is NONE on the tables. Just the cake I bought and brought by myself… and coffee.
The Manager then asked for the money for the people who were extra… even though 4 original guests didn’t show up… so actually there were only 3 additional guests… and he used the same amount of food! He didn’t offer a discount for using the same amount of food or an apology for missing the dessert. I was so disappointed.
My cousin was thinking about having her kids’ Christening here… not anymore.

Great place! Was here for a New Years party and it was open bar and buffet style food. Paid a good price being that it was also the busiest party day of the year. Food came out at 9 and some people arrived at 11 obviously food won’t be as warm. But it was sooo good! Bartenders were very nice and so were the servers! Loved it!!!

Attempted to eat here last night. When we arrived we were one of four tables seated. The restaurant is beautiful and by the looks of it I thought we were out for a good night. Service was attentive but off (leaving empty glasses at the table despite taking and bringing new drinks…). It took 35 minutes to bring our appetizers– which seemed quite long. Their saving grace for us not having left by then was a singer Drew who was quite good and the fact that we rarely get out with a young child anymore. Appetizers were both good (Italian beefsteak and Cuban lollipops). During the forty minute wait the restaurant filled with larger tables as a comedy show was coming in at 9:30. The noise level increased and the service became more in attentive. After an 1 ½hrs we still had not been given our entrees. We asked for our check haven’t not eaten and needing to return to the babysitter. They were apologetic but still made us wait 10 more minutes for them to cook and pack the dinners despite us not wanting them. We were not charged for them. For a 7:30 reservation and rare night out, we left hungry and didn’t eat until 9:40 in our home. The food was good but not worth the aggravation and slow output of food from the kitchen. If you have endless time by all means go you might enjoy it.

I went here recently for a baptism and it was nice. I wouldn’t go further than that. The décor in the lobby was weird and old but the ballroom area on the first floor where the party was was beautiful and open with high ceilings and a lot of room for a lot of people. The food was okay, some dishes stood out more so than others (everyone really enjoyed the pierogies!) the pasta had some kind of cream sauce that I didn’t really care for… But all in all it was nice and I would recommend mainly for the venue and space

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8÷20÷2014
Don’t not set up event at this location. The food was horrible, nothing like when you order during restaurant hrs. I ordered champagne for guest when they arrived they were served white wine. No bartender to service guest at bar. Paid for candles next to centerpieces and did not get them. Was not able to see set up of tables and decorations till the day and time of event when I arrived after guest. Will never set up event here again… I was so disappointed with this place the day of my dinner party.

I have been to CB many times since it re-​opened only because my friends go every Friday.
Staff is friendly as other reviewers mentioned, but they are amusingly disorganized. We eat at the bar and the system is very difficult for them… and the diners.
The food is very disappointing. As stated by others, all pasta dishes seem like they are definitely re-​heated. The advertised linguine and red clam sauce is clearly their stock red sauce with some gigantic clams on top; not real clam sauce.
The appetizers generally get favorable comments from my friends, but all the pastas, including the risottos are wanting. The kitchen staff clearly doesn’t know what «al dente» means.
BTW, someday, they may get real wine glasses as they add to the what makes you realize you are at an underwhelming place.

I just went to my cousins Baptism party there. I gave it a 1 star because the food was pretty good. Other than that, everything else was BAD. I almost wanna say horrible. I don’t normally give reviews to Rest, bars etc. But this place was the worst catered experiance I have ever had. A nice looking place inside, but there was no one running the place. Management is absent.

Went here on a Saturday night. Only one other couple joined us and it was very empty. I enjoyed the attention however we did feel a little hovered over by the male waiter who just stood and watched us. Our female waitress was attentive, friendly, patient and served us with a smile.
I have not been here for quite a few years and they have done a fantastic job with the make over. It’s beautiful but comfortable. The warm fireplace is great on a cold evening and I heard there is a waterfall outside for the summer … reservation for ten required.
We requested a pitcher of sangria which was not on the menu and they were very accommodating.
We were offered breads from a basket that were supposed to be from the oven. Although the focaccia seemed that it was just made (with olives and tomato) the plain and seeded rolls seemed packaged and not fresh. For me this was the biggest let down of the meal. Growing up in Lodi, you know that there are fresh hot rolls a half mile in each direction and every restaurant has the best bread. My roll tasted as if it were laying in a bag on a shelf somewhere for days. Took one bite and put it down. The other guests did the same but enjoyed the focaccia.
Our appetizers were pork lollipops, ginger calamari and Italian beefsteak. All were very tasty and we all enjoyed them.
For dinner we tried the Orange chicken (photo) the pork chop, egg plant rollatini and gnocchi which were the specials
They were trying to accommodate my husband by turning their rollatini appetizer into a meal. What they did was double up the portion size rather than giving him some pasta with it or a vegetable. What came was an over abundance of rollatini on a plate. Admirable but overwhelming.
My gnocchi was a little pasty and tasted reheated.
Our guests enjoyed their chicken and pork chop.
The owner came by to see if all was well, and was there when we exited. All the staff was very warm and friendly and tried their best to accommodate. I wish them well and will probably give it another try. I heard there is a buffet of sorts on Sundays.
I like to support my Lodi Family and I hope to continue to go there. Will follow up after my next visit.

We live in town and had to try this place. I’m glad we finally did, the place is beautiful, with a fireplace, cathedral glass ceiling, and a fresh modern look. I recommend the Italian beefsteak app. My wife had the Orange Chicken and I had the Black Vinegar Glazed Salmon… Both were excellent. We finished it off with Chocolate mousse, which was very good.