Papa Razzi Trattoria & Bar

Just ok. Overpriced for sure. We split a caprese salad to start it was not very good tomatoes almost frozen and tasteless mozzarella. My husband got the chicken parm which he enjoyed and I got the seafood pasta special for $ 30 which was not good: flavorless sauce and horrible shellfish I suspect frozen. Waitress was sweet but didn’t even ask if there was a problem with my food although I barely ate anything. Won’t be back if I can help it !

Just 3 stars? Damn. It seems a lot of people are basing their reviews off weird personal gripes or isolated incidents (one downfall of Unilocal). I’ll give you three reasons why Papa Razzi deserves higher than a 3: the chicken scalopine, the gnocchi, and the salads. I’m pretty picky about food, and there are a few delicious options here. If you’re expecting world class service from a chain restaurant… well, that might be your fault.
Better than Joe’s and about equal to Cheesecake Factory if you’re at the Short Hills mall.

This place is hit or miss. My recent visit was a miss as it took them two times to cook a piece of plain chicken. The food just doesn’t seem authentic to me. Chicken parmesan was so so. I would only return if in the mall and the wait was too long everywhere else.

The food was really expensive and pretty mediocre. The pesto pasta was more cream than pesto, so it tasted really heavy and disgusting. The worst part was that it took 15 minutes for us to get the hot tea we ordered when we first sat down, and when it finally arrived the tea cups were filthy. They weren’t cleaned at all (brown coffee stains and all). Made me wonder how clean the place is and whether the rest of our utensils and plates were washed at all. What a waste of money and shame on Short Hills mall for even having a place like this on the premises.

What service!!!
We ate at Papa Razzi today with my young daughter, and the service was just outstanding from start to finish. Our hostess was a doll, our waitress was friendly and knowledgable, and both she and the manager went out of their way to accommodate my daughter’s dairy allergy. They took no chances and assured me something would be prepared in a separate pan to insure no contamination. I cannot tell you how comforting this was, and the food was great to boot! We will definitely be back.

Ordered vegetarian panini, it was in between grilled pita without any seasoning… Over priced! Tasteless! Clearly chef can’t cook… Avoid at any cost.

We just had our daughters birthday dinner here. Omg this place is horrible. Right from reception to checkout client service is negative… we had remind that we are waiting to order, then we waited 30 minute just to get our drinks served that too after asking supervisor… took us 2 hours for dinner, food quality was also cheap not match for the price they are asking.
We went there because we did not seat in chase cake factory.
We are not going back again nor we would recommend to anyone.

Ordered a chicken Caesar salad to go
When I opened the container there was a pile of wilted brown lettuce, completely unacceptable

This place only stays in business because of its location. If you want to have a culinary laugh, order the Pasta Faggioli. It used to be a red broth based bean soup with a few macaroni thrown on top prior to exiting the kitchen. Passable at best, but not Pasta Faggioli. Had it last Sunday… it is now clear dishwater broth with vegetables, some beans and a little bit of pasta! Waiter said they changed the recipe! Yikes… are they now using swiss cheese in place of reggiano in the recipes? Grandma would spin in her grave at this mess! Also, if you want the focaccia, you almost have to beg for it. What’s with this place? Time to go and make room for another chain that at least has a sense of what food should be.

Overpriced and unremarkable
If you’re going to make food, make it right. I had a wrap with sausage, which somehow managed to be salty and tasteless at the same time. As if to compensate, the plate was overloaded with fries.

We had an interesting night there!
Someone suggested the place, being from N Cali we said ok cool trying Italian in NJ oh yeah why not!!!
Our waiter Dejuan I think was very nice even though he forgot the glass of wine but he was available anytime we raised our hands!
Food was fair two things were great
Focaccia bread was super testy
Sangria was awesome
rest from salmon to pasta was not inviting & they were not servicing pizza!
The table next to us ordered pasta, as their waiter was putting the dish down it slipped & dropped all over the table, we felt bad for both parties!
Then we saw 2 police officer at one of the tables in the back 10 mins later paramedic were there the ambulance was parked in front of our window so that was something!
Then the food came it was cold…
by that time we lost our appetite so we left!

Came on a Sunday during brunch — free mimosa and Bellini. My hubby got the steak and eggs Benedict and I got the bolognese. Both were so tasty and our waiter was pretty good.
My only complaint … Why did the table next to us get the complimentary breadsticks and real bread and we only got the breadsticks?
But we will be back.

The roasted chicken is really good. I literally craved it when I was pregnant. I was sooooo sad when I called one night to order it and was told that they sold out!

Im a big fan of this chain, and was happy to find it in the Short Hills Mall!
Went with a friend after some shopping, our waiter was very nice and prompt, it was a weekday late afternoon so the restaurant was pretty quiet but the staff wasn’t slacking at all. Our waiter was well versed on the menu and you could tell he knew what he was talking about.
Ordered the Gnocchi, I forget the full name of the dish, but it was absolutely delicious. The portion was big, but not huge, and there was just the right proportion of sauce and mozzarella to gnocchi. My friend got the chicken parmesan and loved his food as well, also great portions there.
Could honestly come here with any group of people, its somewhere between casual and high-​end, children are welcome, and it has a nice atmosphere.

Located in the posh short hills mall we expected at the very least great service. The food was ok but the entire experience was overshadowed by horrendous service.
1) I called for a reservation for 7:30. To maintain control they told me they had only 7:15 or 7:45. We got there at 7:30, it was half full
2) Our waitress Marcella seemed confused and unsure of where she worked or how to wait a table. We ordered a nice Malbec. She appeared to be opening a wine bottle for the first time. She held it like she was opening a beer. When she eventually got the cork out, holding the bottle at a 45 degree angle, she spilled the wine on me, the table and the floor.
The manager came by to offer to dry clean my shirt I kindly thanked her no.
3) They did take $ 9.50 off my bill. I guess to compensate for the spilled wine.
4) our table was not the only one questioning the service. We commiserated with the adjoining table. A mom with three young athletes. 30 minutes to place their order and 30 more to get their meal.
4) one word about the food. It was generally tasty. But, it’s the small things that effect the experience. Canned
Mushrooms in the risotto. I’ll say no more.
Stay away from this place. There must be better choices in short hills

I used to work here so I truly know the potential of the food.
Waiter– he was very nice and attentive
Ambiance– same old same old. It’s a nice atmosphere. Seems «high end» but kids are welcome.
Food– now this is my problem! I got the panzanella salad which is the best on the menu. And then I got a half order of scallopini di pollo, by far my favorite dish. However, this time it was like eating grease. It tasted like they cooked the chicken in a pan they used all day without cleaning it. This is just a terrible lazy mistake.
I was with a large party and no one was really thrilled about their food.
What happened? They need to get their chefs together.

Here yesterday as a treat for Mothers’ Day. Maybe this was the wrong day to come, but Wendy’s was no longer accepting reservations and McDonalds had a line around the block! Actually, it was either here of Luigi’s but this is closer to the kids’ new digs in Chatham, so here we came.
We’ve eaten here a few times before, but always for lunch and never on a weekend, so the abysmal service we received may be standard for Sunday dinner. We did have a great booth by a window, so it was good to have enough light to see the food once it was delivered, if late and cold.
We started by sharing a couple of apps: an eggplant rollantini and a caesar salad. The eggplant was overdone, tough, cold, and barely edible. The salad was OK, but nothing to write home about. The problems started when the entrees were delivered. Of the four ordered, three were delivered at the same time, but the fourth (mine, of course) came late. It was chicken parm and a huge let-​down. The chicken had been pounded as thin as the Sunday Times sports section, covered indifferently with a couple of very thin pieces of kind of melted mozzarella, and slathered with an absolutely insipid, tasteless red sauce. Awful. And cold! Accompanied by a rolled up birds nest of linguine, similarly tasteless. I sent it all back for refiring and, to their slight credit, it emerged a few minutes later steaming. Still not good, but hot. The others at the table, particularly the Mama, had better luck.
Desserts were excellent: a chocolate brownie (top of the dessert menu) atop an oozing bed of hot fudge and some quickly melting ice cream. Dangerous!!! and the Tiramisu was only fair — being primarily whipped cream and almost no lady fingers.
Our big beef was the service. Our waiter was almost impossible to flag down, spending most of his time moving chairs from one empty table to another and hiding out in the bathroom. At the end, the Manager, asked whether he was short staffed, said that he wasn’t. So, be warned. If you don’t mind the drive, and want some excellent Southern Italian/​Neapolitan food, head for Luigi’s! If you’re hungry in the Short Hills Mall, try the Apple Store.

Average Italian joint. Nothing amazing really stood out to make me want to jump for joy. Waiter was very nice but seemed frustrating working there.
A group of us were looking forward to getting some pizza for lunch. No dice. They had a fire in the pizza over almost (8) weeks ago according to the waiter and they still don’t have it fixed or know when it will be fixed. If half of your menu is pizza, find another way to make pizza or get it fixed. Stop being cheap and spend some money.
Other dishes we ordered between the pasts, chicken were all smothered in butter and just lacked flavoring.
Ice cream desert was awesome.
I personally will not be coming back.

I’ve been frequenting the Short Hills Mall for over two decades. To put it in the simplest terms, I’m obsessed. When I’ve hit my maximum shopping capacity (which takes quite a while) and I need somewhere to sit down, get a drink and eat, I usually head over to the California Pizza Kitchen, or Joe’s American Bar and Grill. Now that there’s a Cheesecake Factory, things got a little more interesting.
One night, I was meandering the mall with some friends and we suddenly realized that one hour of shopping became four hours of shopping and we needed something to eat. Joe’s had an hour wait, and so did Cheesecake, so we decided to try Papa Razzi.
When I was a kid, I thought it was called «Paparazzi» and that is was where the paparazzi hung out when they weren’t busy photographing the rich and famous in the mall. I didn’t realize it was called «Papa Razzi» until I looked at the menu and made a remark to my friends, who all looked at me with a «oh c’mon» expression.
The four of us were seated in a luxurious, very spacious booth near the window that looks out toward Bloomingdale’s, which is my favorite view. The décor was wonderful; the restaurant and bar area felt upscale and classy — my two favorite adjectives.
Our waiter was a wonderful guy named Ronald, or «Ron,» he said when we asked him what his name was. He was extraordinary! When I was having a quarter-​life-​crisis while looking over the menu, unsure of what to order because of the vast array of choices, Ronald came in for the rescue.
«Is it lobster overload?» I asked anxiously about one of the dishes.
«Well, there’s lobster in the pasta, and lobster in the sauce… so yes, there’s a lot of lobster involved.»
I made a face of worry and he calmly suggested a custom dish of penne vodka with shrimp. It was as if he entered my subconscious.
We ordered the *insert Italian phrase here* fried mozzarella as an appetizer; it was superb. My penne vodka with shrimp was outstanding — thank you Ronald.
Insider fact: those long, crunchy breadsticks are served once you sit down. We asked for bread along with the sticks and Ronald brought us warm, rosemary and thyme bread — a must-​have.
I don’t normally ask for the dessert menu, but our experience had been so delightful that we all wanted to stay longer and bask in the dark, velvety aura of Papa Razzi, and ordering the dessert was the answer to prolong our time there.
Initially, we were going to order three desserts for the four of us to share. After telling Ronald what we wanted — tiramisu, apple crumb, and 7-​layer chocolate overload cake — he politely suggested that two dishes would probably be enough for us four. Boy, was he right!
The chocolate cake was rich and fudgy, but I could go on and on about the apple crumb pie. Both were served with vanilla gelato — probably the best I’ve had. I took a bite of the apple crumb with a bit of gelato on top of it and the world spun around me, flashes of paparazzi bulbs clouding my eyes. It was heavenly. The crumb on top of the apple was beyond delicious and I savored every bite.
After paying for our meal, we sat at our booth for nearly twenty-​five minutes, chit-​chatting and trying to extend the dreamlike state we entered the moment we were seated.
For years I dismissed Papa Razzi as the not-​as-​good second cousin to Joe’s, but I am proud to say that I was very, very wrong. Papa Razzi is Joe’s brother, and let me tell you, he might even be the favorite child.

A dark and romantic restaurant in the middle of one of the nicest malls of New Jersey. It’s a great spot after your shopping date. The food is solid, and the drinks are good. If you sit at the bar, the bar keep is friendly if you want to chat, and keeps his distance if you don’t. The waitstaff is attentive, and when you arrive, it is not a long wait to be seated, if you wait at all. The bathroom is very clean, which is always a good sign.