It all started by a man peeing right outside the front door to entrance, then I went inside and the smell of old dirty bar rags hit my nose. that place needs to replace its rugs, paint and just a good cleaning from ceiling to...floors. upstairs to our table, bumping into the wait staff bringing uncovered food to other tables. then sitting down with a Plastic table cloth !! I swear it weighed about 5 pounds.. the food then came, every single item we ordered was horrible. from the broccoli rabe to the signature cutlet.. the oil was so old, the rancid-ness burned my throat.. the staff was great but the rest of the over 300.00 dinner tab was horrendous !More

My husband & I were quite excited to finally be able to score a reservation on a Saturday night to Chef Vola's. I'm saddened to report that the food was sub par at best. They upsell you all night, and recommend only the most expensive...meals on the menu. If you want a side of pasta with your Chicken Parm its an extra $14.25, and no free refills on soda, which was never told to us until we received the bill. The restaurant is an old house. The downstairs bathroom is located in the kitchen where the dishwasher is. Our dining experience was so tight & uncomfortable. A party of two and your table is the size of a TV Tray stand, while you are awkwardly sharing a meal with the couple next to you. People who have the use the bathroom are knocking into your seat as they pass by because the pathway is so narrow. The owner came to visit a table to our left, yet never acknowledge us or anyone else which was quite rude. The only positive was our servers were lovely, we had four of them. Yes, four. The experience was overall a total disappointment despite the service. Lastly, if you do decide to give this place a try whatever you do, do NOT arrive early. The waiting area is the size of a small closet and people need to get by to also check in and/or exit the building through this so-called lobby. We arrived ten minutes early, not knowing how long we would be waiting for a cab from the Borgata. It was a cold night in November and waiting outside was not an option. So good luck, you've been warned, not worth it.More

Sat on the front porch at the top of the stairs. Patio heater blasting in your face. You get to closely examine the table of guests sitting next to you. I had the Veal Parmigiana. Excellent. The other three meals and dessert, Meh. I don’t...get the draw. One & done.More

Wow wow wow. Expectations exceeded! Finally was able to dine here after thinking about it for a dozen years. Such history in this place. Colton our server was fantastic in fact, service overall was great. The crab cakes were the best I’ve ever had as...was the huge veal parmigiana. The linguine in clam sauce was great too with lots of fresh clams. The salads were fresh and tasty, the sautéed spinach and the artichokes and mushrooms were also great and I normally don’t eat artichokes! The ricotta cheesecakes are great as are the cream pies. All house made. I hope to get back there one day. We made these reservations 4 months ago!More

I hadn’t eaten at Chef Vola since I was a kid with my family and for last several years hadn’t returned because we are always atleast 13 of us every time we are down the shore so getting a reservation anywhere is hard. But this...Fall My wife and I spent a local summer at the shore which included what became a weekly dinner at Chef Vola which is hands down the best food we have ever eaten in the world. I am writing this as we are leaving the shore but can’t wait to return next summer and resume our weekly dinners there. We love the food , and the Esposito Family (wish we were related for the food , company and presumably easy access for reservations!)More

I went with my girlfriend and was pretty excited for the experience based on reviews. There were some good and bad takeaways about the dinner I will try and break down. To start the garlic bread on the table was very hard I would say...stale and my girlfriend felt it was hard enough that she didn’t want to bite into it an potentially damage her cap on her tooth. The salad which was the Famous home style tossed salad we split and it was enough for two. It was good and offered nice cheeses and had a nice Italian vinigorette dressing. Nothing special your typical Italian Resteraunt salad. My Entree was the chicken Arrabiatta. 35$ It was average. Average tomatoe sauce, two breasts flattened and this helped tenderize it but there was no real overwhelming flavor that made it stand out. I would compare it to what I get at my best friends dinner for 18$ dollars. Just bland and boring. It wasn’t served over a penne pasta or with any sides so the dish was very lack luster and boring. No basil, no garlic, no seasoning in the sauce or chicken, very bland and disappointing. My girlfriend ordered the salmon with crab meat on top. 55$. I tried her dish and it was dry and over cooked. It once again was average. Just ok. No exceptional sauce or seasoning, no WOW factor very very plain jane and boring, the dish does not come with sides. The portion was large although for the price of the meals you want the exceptional authentic Italian experience. Dessert finally chef vola did hit it out of the park. There is an assortment for everyone with very original and thought out desserts that are exceptional, flavorful with spectacular texture. I had a cinnamon cappuccino with banana pie and my girlfriend had a warm cheese cake with salt caramel gelato. Her dessert was also exceptional and worth the 15$ for the cheese cake and 5$ for the gelato. The service was really where they shine, exceptional warm friendly and attentive. The atmosphere tight, noisy and in major need of a makeover for the prices. Our bill for one salad two entrees two desserts a coffee and tea was over 150$ All in all I would say save your money the Resteraunt is extremely overpriced for the experience and the lack luster entrees. If I could eat dinner elsewhere and come to chef vola for dessert I would.More

Aug.31,2022 First off, we have heard about this place for a few years and have known plenty of people who have patronized and recommended it. In all fairness we knew we would be eating in an old school restaurant but didn’t realize the “main level”...as they call it, was an old dingy, dark basement. We were seated in a tiny room with 3 tables off the main dining room in the corner with a fan blowing directly on us. In the beginning the owner came by and said hello, we told her we were first timers and she seemed delighted to have new patrons. The waitress introduced herself and told us we would have 4 people serving us. Service Begins: Tap water or Sparkling? One tap,One sparkling,Charge for bottle of Perrier $9.00! Appetizer: Very Good, Mozzarella wrapped in Prosciutto with roasted peppers (4) Typical. Entrees:#1. Veal Parm Chop, (Signature Dish) Borderline bottom burnt, over fried/ saturated in old tasting oil, topped with cheese and sauce. $59.00 Side of angel hair pasta,same sauce, however, pasta was not drained enough so pasta just slipped off the fork, totally tasteless and sauceless, plus pasta was ala Carte. Entree #2. Shrimp Franchaise, jumbo shrimp fried with some old oily substance served in a cup on the side to dip or pour over the shrimp.Just Weird, also with a side of AlaCarte angel hair with same oily rancid tasting substance over it which was inedible. The bread, the appetizer and dessert was the best part of the meal. Pretty sad right? The dessert was a slice of the banana cream pie $15.95 per slice with two watered down cappuccinos. The tab:$180.00 before tip.($45.00) Upon leaving the restaurant,the owner is at the exit and she asked if everything was OK if we enjoyed the meal. I basically told her very politely what I have stated in this review. The owner seem to be listening only for first 20 seconds,after that she totally dismissed what I was saying and actually began talking about how many dinners they do and the dish I had is the “fan favorite” and then proceeds to tell me about how many ice cream flavors Baskin-Robbins has and not everybody likes the same flavor as an analogy. Instead of listening, she already decided that I was that one customer that didn’t like the food. I didn’t even get to the shrimp disaster. I must say that before we actually came to the restaurant we did read the most recent reviews and a lot of them were not positive but we wanted to judge for ourselves anyway. Conclusion:Sub par food at best, over priced and over rated. FINAL KABOOSH : Within 1 hr of eating there, I was in and out of the bathroom with acute stomach pains, nausea and disintary. In the morning, my husband had the same. We had not eaten anything else since the morning. We had only bagels and coffee as we were saving ourselves up for this anticipated fabulous dinner so it was nothing else we ate. We traveled two hours south of our home ,reserved a room for the night just to go here. It was a most disappointing night. I did not choose to call the owner because she already has it in her mind that I was the exception to the rule. I think the owner should read the reviews and pay closer attention. We definitely had food poisoning!! A few weeks ago we had a wonderful experience at Café 2825 right up the street, Outstanding! If you want to spend the same money and not feel ripped off please go there. As far as Chef Vola goes,I’m still puzzled how this place gets 4/5 star ratings. It was not worth the wait, the ride,the expense ,aggravation and above all,the illness we experienced. Save your money for cafe 2825! Beware!More

Absolutely the best meal we have had in AC! They are known for their bone in veal Parmesan and banana cream pie. Both were amazing. The crab cake was filled with lump crab meat and the shrimp francese was awesome. We will definitely be back!

The signature dish is incredible the largest and most succulent veal chop I have ever had! The wait staff was attentive and pleasant making the overall experience top notch.

Food was amazing Service second to none. Veal and Pasta’s are the pride of the show. Lou the owner makes sure everyone is Happy and provides great suggestions for your group

My wife and I have waited 20 years to try and get into this place and finally we did on a trip to Atlantic City. To keep it short it was awesome. Don't believe the naysayers the food is excellent. It is not a five-star...casino restaurant. it has tilted floors and it can be tight in spots but the bathrooms are spacious and the food is great. We will be coming back. Please know you do have to make your reservations a month or two ahead of time. Call the phone number and follow the directions. Our waitress Colton was fantastic and all of the wait staff was very personable. Entrees and appetizers all had the same great quality. Prices ARE NOT extravagant. Keep up the good work Vola's.More

We walked in and from the moment we entered to the moment we left, we felt like a king and queen. The entire experience was what you can only hope for and what I thought would be a special once a year trip, is looking...like a regular rotation if we are lucky enough to get in. Our kids got us this reservation as a gift and the owner, Lou not only made us feel special, he kept checking in and was a friendly as they get. The meals; we shared the veal chop parm and the bronzino. They split the dishes for us. We also did a pasta trio with their clam sauce, the blush sauce and the bolognese. We didn’t specify the pasta so they gave us angel hair…all great. The veal chop…melted in my mouth, I could cut it with a fork and it was scrumptious. The Bronzino was served with a lemon caper brown butter sauce…awesome. We top it off with a banana cream pie which was the best I ever had! We have enjoyed a lot a wonderful meals all around the globe, but the overall experience made this one of the best meals ever. There were about eight people involved in the handling of our table. Lou and the staff are second to none. I had my contact updated in my phone, all I needed was his cell #. That didn’t work, but I think over time, we will see a lot of each other. An 11 out of 10 rating for Lou and his crew. I am grateful for finding this gem of a place and we want to try everything on the menu.More