Ristorante Vaccaro

Hands down, no doubt the BEST in Bayridge. Not the most popular but if based on the quality of the food it should be.

I’d have dropped my review to 1 star if I was a jerk, but I’ve ordered from here for ages with no issues. As you can see from previous reviews, I’ve been ordering from this place consistently for the last few years, always ordering chicken Marsala, francese, or chicken Parmesan… You can see my old review incorrectly filed under the pizza side of this business. I wanted to give them a great review because I loved their food.
The chicken francese was TERRIBLE tonight… As in inedible. I’ll normally suffer through it and not ask for credit, but the chicken was tough and the sauce was butter and water… Not a hint of lemon, and incredibly loose and liquidy.
Had grubhub call for a refund because I couldn’t eat this dinner, and I was shocked that the restaurant refused to issue a credit because «they tried the sauce today and it was fine» and «maybe I don’t know what francese is supposed to taste like.» Uhhhhh?
A. I’ve been eating this dish for years from this restaurant. B. I was a chef for half of my life, cooking, yes, chicken francese.
Grubhub wound up issuing me a credit for the meal. Probably won’t be ordering from here again any time soon. Very irritating when a place is willing to lose a customer because the chef is too arrogant to realize that they sent something which was less than perfect… Having my account history with a 5 star review and NO complaints or returns, you’d have thought the result of this interaction would have been a bit more customer conscious.

There is a major issue with cleanliness with this place that has long scared me off of it. Eat carefully!

Everything about this place is just perfect. A friend and I got a groupon for them last week. We came at noon, the place was very quiet but that’s understandable. The service was just outstanding. They always took care of us quickly with anything we needed, made sure our glasses were full, and just overall were very pleasant and nice. The food was also delicious, very authentic Italian. I would definitely recommend this place to anybody looking for a quiet place with excellent service and food.

I live two blocks away from here. Anytime I want pizza, this is where I go just because it’s close to me. It’s not the best pizza but it will do. The chicken roll is great because the crust isn’t too dense and its packed with flavor. My husband loves the pizette. They don’t have it premade so you have to order it, takes around 10 minutes. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here.

Fried calamari. The best I’ve had in a long time. Try it. I swear it’s the best. Or next time in here I’ll buy you a slice!

Please don’t buy any kind of groupons or
for this place they don’t honor it only on there terms which there is nothing on the coupon with restrictions owner came out and was very rude about it never comming back here

I work on New York during the week and frequently go to Vacarros to get a slice of pizza for lunch or go latter for dinner. The staff and owner Dominick always makes me feel welcome and the food is absolutely wonderful. On the weekends we often make a trip to brooklyn go to Vacarros to eat and listen to live music. Everyone sings and dances. It’s a really special place. Dominick the owner sits with the guests to see if they’re enjoying themselves of if they need anything to make their night a special as he can. I make Signs and awnings at restaurants all over the city and few establishments have the warmth you will find at this brooklyn landmark. Great place great people that’s what you’ll find at Vacarros

Came here on a thursday night. Restaurant was half empty. Was served bread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. My gf got the chicken rollatini and I got the seafood combination (shrimp, scallop, and fillet). We also shared the garlic & oil mussel as an appetizer. Food was okay but the wait between the appetizer and entrée was quite long. Overall, only came here because I had a groupon otherwise I would not have looked into place.

«While we waited, the servers seems to lean on counters, look out the window and look totally uninterested in being professional. Very disappointed.»
While this is verbatim from a 2012 review, such odious and repellant antics continue to dominate the dining room floor at Vaccaro’s. It is very unsettling, rude and bizarre behavior and should seriously be addressed. At one point, a waiter called another over to note the wind’s effect on leaves and people. The food itself is quite good, but is continually being upstaged by the staff. And at these prices, food should be the focus. It was quite a desolate two hours. A couple did arrive as I was leaving. The music ran the gamut, from pop to country to Italian standards to doo wop.
The bread was fresh and tasty, but it wasn’t the chewy, crusty kind. It was on the undercooked side and loaded with dough to scoop out. Full bottles of oil and vinegar are provided. I started with the seafood pasta Siciliana, with calamari and toasted bread crumbs. It was very good, well presented and a perfectly fine dinner on its own. I enjoyed the heavy, nutty dose of garlic, which doubles as a digestive aid. The five veal chops was another well prepared and artfully presented dish. Five veal chops crisscrossed and a wedge of potato pointed out of each corner. Beneath was a bed of escarole with capers and olives, as delicious as the meat and potatoes. I finished with an ice cream sundae that was also very good, with sprigs of mint garnished on top. The three scoop claim is rather dubious. It was a puny dessert.
Unsurprisingly, the restaurant slaps on the notorious auto gratuity. Whatever could be their reasoning? It is the obvious antidote to any service issues. Any reservations or complaints are summarily preempted. I just signed off and left, indifferent about gracing the forlorn lonely and empty premises ever again.

Came here with a Groupon. Although not bad, the food was maybe a little above average at best. The place was almost empty. The server was very attentive, sometimes a bit much, but was not familiar with the menu. After all said and done, it’s probably worth the 45 bucks we spent ($ 25 for Groupon, and a 20 for tip and tax), for an avarage dining experience on a weeknight.

I came to this restaurant by accident; I confused it with another Italian restaurant that was nearby. When I first walked in I received the nastiest stare from the waiter and other employees as if I didn’t belong. The restaurant was empty with only 2 other tables occupied and they chose to seat me right by the door behind the hostess stand. I was told I couldn’t sit elsewhere.
The food was okay but could definitely be better even for the pricing.
I will never go back to this restaurant based on my walk in experience with them.

The food was great! Entertainment great! Not happy that they damaged my laptop that was in my bag because they packed my fiancé’s food to go but failed to mention that they spilled steak juice all over my laptop. I called numerous times to reach a manager. I finally was able to reach the owners. They never followed up. They obviously do not accept responsibility for their restaurant! Sadly, I will never go back!!!

Came to this restaurant on a whim and it was really good. There are two separate sections of the restaurant, one is quiet and the other was for larger groups where live music was being played. The food took a bit longer than expected, but let me tell you it was completely worth the wait! HOLY PASTA GODS! It was so good, I mean the perfect amount of sauce and sauce and more sauce!!! I had the Pasta Primavera if I’m not mistaken, I could possibly eat that on a daily basis.

I was thinking of going here with a groupon but after reading all the reviews about receiving bad service after going there with either a groupno or a gift certificate from
, I don’t think I will attempt to go here with a groupon. I’ll pass. Thanks for all the helpful reviews.

The food was delicious and the manager Mike a great guy. The was very responsible to our needs and made every effort to make everyone at my table welcome. I highly recommend this place. You can get a groupon or certificate at restaurant dot com.
I drinks were good and food very fresh.

I was there with eight people last night. The staff was friendly and the owner/​manager very friendly and attentive. Usually I go on a groupon or a restaurant certificate but I didn’t mind paying full price for good food. The entertainment Ami and Gary was incredible. Great and friendly singers. Definitely a great place for a fun night out.
They have voiced of gold and a sparkling personality to match.

This place is everything I look for in a restaurant. Everything I have tried here is delicious, the staff is super friendly, professional, and attentive, the prices are reasonable, and their pasta bolognese tastes like a big warm hug would taste like, if you could eat a big warm hug. Its not a secret that I detest nouveau chi-​chi food sculptures, and they don’t skimp on the portions here. Its no wonder that they are crowded on week-​end nights. I wish this place all the success in the world — they deserve it. I am going here for my 2^nd time this week tonight !(Mouth watering as I type this — !)

My boyfriend and I went to Ristorante Vaccaro with the $ 50 groupon for $ 100 worth of food. We were able to choose from anything on the menu (drinks were charged separate). The menu had many choices and all sounded amazing.
I ordered the chicken sorrentino and my boyfriend had the seafood linguini. We both enjoyed our dinners very much. We had affogato for dessert, which was also great.
I would definitely recommend this restaurant. Great food and service, we will be going back!

I had a mediocre experience here which was also stained by mistreatment by the staff. The visit didn’t start off all that badly. My husband and I had arrived around 6PM on a Saturday evening. The food was decent (3 or 4 stars) but the entire experience was frustrating in multiple ways and overall, felt lacking.
FOOD:
We ordered the Meatballs Vaccaro as our appetizer, the Pollo Vaccaro and the Vitello Parmigiana Vaccaro for our entrees, and the Chocolate Lava Cake as our dessert. The two large meatballs were swimming in a generous serving of chunky sauce with a dollop of ricotta. Very flavorful with a soft texture I enjoyed.
The Pollo Vaccaro was an aesthetically interesting dish that featured two food towers layered with a slice each of chicken, prosciutto, mozzerella, and tomato topped with a shrimp served on a tangy sauce with thinly sliced shitake mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. A strongly flavorful dish, though not particularly filling on its own. The Vitello Parmigiana Vaccaro, though not dry, would’ve been rather tasteless without gratuitous sauce and cheese. Both dishes were served with a handful of well seasoned steak fries and some plainly cooked carrot and zucchini sticks.
The chocolate lava cake took about half an hour to come so perhaps they had to make it on the spot. I noted the presentation was though. There was a lump of warm chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, chocolate syrup drizzled around, and a pile of whipped cream with slices of a strawberry and a light dusting of cocoa powder. While we did enjoy the dessert we got, it was disappointing that there was no melted lava filling in the center of the lava cake.
SERVICE:
As for the service itself, communication was not simple right off bat, as the waiter did not seem to comprehend our order. They were also out of the Beef Short Ribs they prominently feature as a house specialty. I also felt pushiness at times when I ordered «the meatballs to share» and was asked if I wanted 2 orders and then when I said «we’ll have the chocolate lava cake. that’s it.» and was once again asked if I wanted 2 orders and also if I want coffee.
When we asked for the bill, I believe we experienced a disproportionate amount of issues for trying to apply a $ 25
gift certificate toward our $ 65 (pre tax+tip) bill. First, we were told they had lost access to our voucher (which only occurs by clicking through the validate button with red text cautioning that the action cannot be undone). Luckily we were able to locate the voucher number from another source and it was accepted.
We then received our bill in the form of a receipt detailing our meal with seemingly arbitrary numbers written below the correct subtotal of $ 65.45 and total of $ 71.26 with tax. The number 85 and the number 15 were written as well as a final adjusted figure of $ 61.26 after the $ 25 reduction. While I understand that I tip on the bill amount before the reduction, a $ 15 tip would still be 23% of the original bill. I did not find it appropriate that our party of two was being required, instead of suggested, to pay a 23% tip in spite of the mediocre service we received and the multiple mishaps on their part throughout the visit.
What ultimately turned me off to this establishment was the poor handling of the situation by the guy who seemed like the manager. When I asked for clarification of the numbers, I felt condescended as well as being talked circles around with repeated refrains like «The tip is on the amount pre voucher» and «It’s New York so come on, tip is double tax.» As I used a calculator app to refute how his own arguments aren’t even backing up those numbers, he eventually resorted to «People just don’t pay enough tip» and «Alright alright you don’t have to pay it. It’s up to you.» I did not appreciate feeling treated us as though we were expecting a free meal. They dropped off a new bill with only the correct numbers and we paid the $ 60 we originally intended to leave anyway.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
The restaurant did not look very busy (there was only a party of 3 visibly present) despite it being prime dinner time on a weekend. We were ignored when we walked in and also had to catch and hold a waiter’s attention to even get seated.
Our water glasses were refilled very often and never got fully emptied although I did notice small food particles of what seemed to be a bit of parsley leaf and a bit of tomato skin floating in our glasses.
There seemed to be a large party going on in the other section of the restaurant that included an emcee and some karaōke. However, the mic seemed hooked up to every speaker in the restaurant so even the non-​attendees had to hear everything. Not a huge issue and not completely the fault of the restaurant, but it’s something to keep in mind in case you’re looking for a romantic and intimate dinner.