Currents Magazine - click to read the full review

Night and Day - click to read the full review

NJ.com - Dining & Bars, Top Ten for Holiday Dining - December 2003 - click to read the full review

2003 Zagat Survey

"Congratulations! Your customers have rated your restaurant one of the best in the area in one of our recently published Zagat Survey Restaurant Guides.  In recognition of your property's Food rating of 20 or above, we are pleased to present you with a certificate featuring your review.  We have also enclosed a Zagat decal indicating your inclusion in the guide.  We hope you will proudly display these awards in a prominent location in your restaurant in recognition of this significant accomplishment.

As you know, as part of our survey process we solicit the opinions of hundreds of thousands of diners every year.  The resulting ratings and comments are the basis for our best-selling guides covering 20 markets worldwide.  Thus, your customers are really bestowing this award on you".

"Cloistered comfortably on a short street off red bank's main drag, this BYO Italian is gaining attention for its hearty and heartfelt interpretations of classics; careful attention to side dishes as well as smiling service may make up for the waits on packed nights".

Dining Around:  Jimi Goes to Gaetano's...And Asks His Group, "How Come We Haven't Been Dining Around This Menu More Often??"

"First off, we should probably note that Gaetano's is a trendy spot, to judge by the crowd that was there the night we went".

"For the main courses, Mrs. Hilton (who is half Italian, and who always pines for the kind of bracciole her grandma used to make, that no one else ever seems to get just right) decided she'd give it a try.  Bingo!  The closest we'd come before was in Rome.  How'd they do it we wondered?

"We've added it to our list of "regular spots"...where we plan to dine around on a regular basis.  For food quality, variety, authenticity with a great deal of dash of creativity too...and for the overall service and friendly atmosphere....Gaetano's is mighty hard to top".

Gaetano's: Italian Eatery Stirs The Appetite:  Asbury Park Press 9/9/01 by Andrea Clurfeld

"To earn a mark of distinction, you've got to deliver.  Gaetano's, a year-old Italian spot just off the crowded main streets of Red Bank, is doing just that". 

"It's got a menu of familiar nightly specials that hit a few original notes, an open kitchen that stirs the appetite and a gang of servers that whirl around the packed-in, cafe-style dining space and keep things flowing".

"Gaetano's owned by Thomas Capello, succeeds where too many others fall short.  Both the classic dishes and the more innovative ones are carefully and thoughtfully prepared; the aromas that emanate from the sauteing chefs are truly enticing and the front-of-the-house crew is well trained to handle impatient crowds".

"The folks here know how to do their jobs".

"A restaurant that's clearly impressed folks in the Red Bank environs.  It's typically packed and my dinner there showed me why; It's a proud salute to the red, white and green".

Gaetano's Restaurant Doesn't Miss a Detail: The Hub 11/3/00 by:Anita Stratos

If you plan on dining out in Red Bank, you owe it to yourself to have lunch or dinner at Gaetano's Restaurant, where outstanding Italian food and flawless, serene décor go hand in hand to make your visit a truly memorable one.  Add to that the open-air kitchen with the savory aroma of great food and you may not want to leave.

Owner Tom Cappello and executive chef James Stevenson have put together menus consisting of the best traditional food from every region of Italy.  No matter what you order, you can have complete confidence that your meal will be as richly satisfying as it is delicious.  Leading up to Stevenson's 28 years in the culinary world were five years of training in Italy; Cappello has been in the restaurant and piazza business for 23 years.  Put those two worlds of knowledge and experience together and you've got an award-winning team.

"This isn't like any ordinary Italian restaurant," Cappello said.  "We took six months developing recipes for out menu, and we've tasted everything along the way."

The pride Cappello takes in his 4-month-old restaurant is obvious, and the accolades are well deserved.  No detail has been overlooked; everything from the focaccia bread and pizza crust to the sauces and desserts are house-made and done exceedingly well.  Servers are very proficient at their jobs, and our server Lisa made us feel welcome and comfortable, taking the time to explain any menu items about which we had questions.

During our visit to Gaetano's we started with cultivated black mussels steamed in a sherry wine, fresh plum tomatoes, assorted cured olives, roasted red peppers and mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and fresh basil, and baked top neck clams Oreganato filled with seasoned focaccia crumbs, garlic, oregano and sweet butter.  A group at the table next to ours was ecstatic with the antipasto plate, and it looked as good as they made it sound.

In the category of soups, Gaetano's offers lobster bisque, zuppa pavese (a classical style chicken broth with egg on a parmesan crouton), and minstrel di fatioli, a hearty 10-bean soup flavored with smoked pork tenderloin.  Several salads are on the menu, including seafood with calamari, shrimp, lobster, mussels, scungilli and clams set on a bed of greens, and a baby spinach salad with sautéed wild mushrooms and roasted walnuts topped with pancetta vinaigrette.

There are a few "basic" dishes on the menu, although I'm sure that at this restaurant, their flavors would be anything but ordinary.  Interesting blends like broccoli rabe and sweet sausage sautéed together with roasted red peppers and slivered garlic tossed with a blend of demi-glace and tomato sauce were among the many other tempting offerings.

Ask your server which of these entrée she'd recommend, and she'll find it impossible to single out just one.    The Lamb Osso Bucco was a lamb shank that had been slow cooked so that it practically fall off the bone, and it was set on a bed of parpadella pasta in a pool of tomato-enhanced red-wine demi-glace.  What an incredibly wonderful dish this was.  Another entrée enjoyed at our table was a grilled 14-ounce dry aged New York sirloin steak with sautéed porcini mushrooms and Marsala demi-glace.  As good as this sounds, the write-up is an understatement, as our steak-lover revealed in the blend of flavors that enveloped her steak.  Another favorite was the sea bass Livornese served with capers, peppers, tomatoes, onion and calamata olives with a white wine tomato sauce.  Every dish on this menu is as delectable as the next.

You'll notice a reference on the menu to Gaetano's "famous" brick oven pizza- these aren't just random words.  Before developing a final recipe for his pizza, Cappello spoke to descendants of the three men who first introduced pizza to Manhattan at the turn of the century in order to find out the secret to a perfect crust.  What he discovered was that the key was in the flour, specifically two types of flour that were being made in Italy, but not in the United States.  Working with a bakery in Brooklyn, N.Y., Cappello was able to bring some of the flour over, and now has it made for him here.  The result of his extensive research and effort is an authentic Italian pizza just like- or maybe even better than- mama used to make.

"We put a lot of care and detail into our pizzas," Cappello said.  "It's a very calculated process to make an authentic Italian crust.  But customers from Italy who haven't tasted a real Italian pizza in years tried mine, and said they thought they were in Rome again".

Menu pizzas range from relatively basic toppings to the more gourmet varieties, which can include anchovies, capers, calamata olives, San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, garlic and oregano (all on one pizza).  Or you can create your own pizza by choosing your favorite ingredients from a list of 18 toppings in any combination you like.

Desserts are also house-made, and one particular dessert at our table was the pear pizza slice, which is also available with apples or oranges spiked with Grand Marnier.  This is a slice of Cappello's famous pizza crust topped with wonderfully seasoned pears, apples or oranges and a honey mascarpone atop all.  The exquisite blending of these flavors was beyond words; the balance of savory and sweet flavors was ethereal.  House-made tiramisu and cheesecake come highly recommended, and the crème brulee made with fresh vanilla beans and topped with a crusty sugar shell was a delight.

Gaetano's recently opened for lunch also, and you will find the lunch menu offers a wonderful selection of soup, salad, entrees and focaccia topped with several different combinations.  The famous brick oven pizzas are also on the lunch menu.

Cappello recently developed his catering menu for off-premise parties.  The restaurant is available for small parties during the hours it is closed.  Reservations for dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings are recommended.

For more information, call Gaetanos at (732)-741-1321.

Restaurant News by Eileen Mc McCormick, Asbury Park Press

*Gaetano's opens in Red Bank*

Geatano's 10 Wallace St., Red Bank, owned and operated by Thomas Cappello, opened in July. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, the Italian eatery features an open-air kitchen. Pizzas are made in a brick oven. There is a focaccia sandwich bar designed for express lunch. For dinner, the restaurant offers daily antipasto bar with an array of grilled marinated vegetables. Entrees include chicken, seafood and veal. Some menu items offered a beef braciola stuffed with frittata, proscuitto, and fresh mozzarella, lamb osso bucco served over papardelle pasta, a 14oz veal rib shop and a 22oz porterhouse steak topped with fresh herbed butter. All menu items are available for takeout. Cappello owned South Philly Steak and Fries and Brooklyn Bagel and Deli at the Staten Island Mall and Made in Italy and Kupper's French Fries in Seaside Heights. Gaetano's chef is James Stevenson, who apprenticed in Italy and was formerly chef at Casa Buona Princeton. Lunch is served from 11am to 3pm Mondays thru Saturdays: dinner from 4 to 10 pm Mondays thru Thursdays, 4 to 11pm Fridays and Saturdays and 3 to 9 pm Sundays. Mastercard, Visa and American Express are accepted.

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