Chef Vola’s

One of the best meals I have ever had. Now my official favorite restaurant of all time! Had three sauces with one pasta appetizer and my husband who hates pasta loved it and then I ordered the veal parm on the bone-​amazing and peach ricotta cheesecake for dessert. Despite the hassle of getting a reservation I can’t recommend this place enough!

There are restaurants and there is Chef Vola. The pinnacle of quality, service and atmosphere. A byob italian family owned and run place that I have never left feeling anything but WOW!!! The Esposito family treats you like family from the moment you walk in until the time the check comes! A must do anytime you are in AtlanticCity

Outstanding dinner tonight! Food and service were excellent and Louise’s desserts outstanding.
Highly recommend this restaurant!
Respectfully,
The Teesdale Family

Save room for dessert. My girlfriend and I were celebrating our 5^th year anniversary and couldn’t have found a better place to have an amazing dinner. After reading many reviews and doing some homework I called to make a reservation 5 weeks in advance of our anniversary evening which fell on a Saturday. Chef Vola’s is tucked away at the end of the street in what looked like a small house. The entrance door seemed a little bit low and leads you down a few steps into a small waiting area. The place was humming and was fully booked. We were greeted by the owner who thanked us for coming and took us to the 2^nd best table in the house next the best table occupied by two regulars who have a standing reservation. The staff is amazing and super friendly. The owner kept congratulating us and to save room for dessert.
Our waitress gave us a breakdown of the entire menu along with the specials. We informed her my girlfriend was a vegetarian and she pointed out the restaurant is a la cart. She was amazing!
Next to us were a husband and wife who have a standing reservation and have been going there for over 20 years. They have eaten everything on the menu and gave us insider tips on what to order. They also told us to save room for dessert.
Our waitress started us off with a basket of toasted Italian bread and butter that was scooped onto a plate. Don’t get me started about butter and nice restaurants. Nothing annoys me more then a nice restaurant who serves butter individually wrapped in foil or tiny Aquarius plastic containers.
We started with an arugula salad with fig balsamic dressing and a buffalo mozzarella appetizer. They were super fresh and the perfect portion size for two to share.
I had the on the bone veal parm and she had eggplant parm. I was able to cut the veal with a butter knife. The sauce is sweet with a touch of salt. We had a perfectly cooked penne in their house blush sauce as a side. The portion sizes were enormous! We both brought half of our main dishes home including half of the side pasta. At this point I started to realize why they kept saying save room for dessert. The portions are more then we ever imagined.
Save room dessert. Don’t ask for a dessert menu. The owner will come to your table and go over the options including coffee. We ordered one iced coffee with mocha that our new best friends seating next us had just finished. Did I mention they have been coming to Chef Vola’s for over 20 years and have a standing reservation? We couldn’t have asked for better neighbors for our dinner. They were super friendly and full of amazing stories about some of A List celebrities they have met there. There are pictures in the waiting area you can scan while waiting to be seated.
Back to the desserts. We ordered a ricotta cheese cake and a chocolate pistachio cheese cake. OMG. First off… we never ever order dessert. It’s just something we never do. I can count on one hand how many times in 5 years we have ordered dessert. We did our best to save room for dessert which is a tough task with portion sizes they serve. These were by far the greatest desserts we have ever had.
Final thoughts. If you have the privilege to get a reservation make sure to bring your own alcohol and a lot of cash. They are a cash only business. Make sure to go there hungry and expect it to be crowded. The dining area is super small but the staff work the room with ease and make the best of forts not to knock into you. Go there with high expectations. You will still be awed by the food and service. Chef Vola’s is truly an amazing experience.

Absolutely BLOWN AWAY!!! Hubby & I had the blessed fortune of the best Italian dining experience… ever! (And we dine out often & at many places near & far) He had the infamous veal parm (bone in) & for me, the most amazing chicken creation I have ever tasted! Both dishes were so amazingly tender & delectable! Although the veal was massive, my hubby did finish the whole thing. We had the sautéed spinach with sweet roasted garlic that was so awesome as well. Oh and we did bring our favorite wine! So glad we saved room (not really) for the most amazing slice of ricotta pecan coconut cheesecake, warmed nonetheless!!! Hands down the BEST dinner ever!!! Oh and the service… Josh & Mary Mac knew their stuff! Friendly, knowledgable, attentive, just awesome servers! We’ll be back again AND SOON! Thank you for your AWESOMENESS!!!

We have been here twice and both times blown away! Service is amazing, good is outstanding.
I tried their veal chop Parmesan style… best I have ever had.

Chef Vola’s is a very famous old school Italian restaurant in Atlantic City that’s still pretty under the radar. It’s only highly buzzed among Atlantic City locals and getting a reservation here is not easy. It’s like one of those places where their phone number is suppose to be hidden. but thanks to Unilocal for displaying the number here! When you call they’ll ask if you’ve been here before and if not, a possible referral. You MUST make a reservation in advance about two weeks — a month ahead of time, even so with me making it two weeks in advance, I almost got denied but he was able to squeeze me in for a party of 6 at 9:30. So we arrived right on time, and its tucked away on a more secluded block in AC that looks pretty much exactly like a house… and outside was filled with quite an amount of people while inside was crowded… The place is low and very tight, the atmosphere is fully buzzing from diner guest. I checked in but still had to wait about 15minutes for my table to be ready. Most of the people in the waiting area are frequent visitors when I spoke to them, one guy actually waited 40mins from his reservation for his party of two and said «it’s not even that bad today. this is like off peak season for them, it’s been much worse». It’s also pretty crazy how they do an extensive verbal menu… I like it because it was quite amusing and you get to know the ingredients and exactly how its made, but at the same time it gets quite overwhelming too.
**Note: BYOB (BRING YOUR OWN BOTTLE) & CASH ONLY**. Their policy requires that each person on the table must order an entrée each. and it is advised to get starters since the food takes some time to come out.
For starters we ordered: (both were $ 9.95)
Angel hair pasta with ricotta blush sauce — this is one of their popular dish, and I normally don’t like ricotta cheese but I actually enjoyed it with their blush sauce. This was my 2^nd favorite out of the pasta dishes.
Penne with bolognese sauce — this was my least favorite from the whole dinner. It didn’t really have that hearty and meaty flavor I’m looking for in a bolognese. It just tasted like an average tomato sauce.
Entrees:
Linguine with clams — MUST get here! This was easily my top two favorite among the food that night. I highly suggest you getting it in an entrée size for $ 19.95 instead of the starter size. We shared everything among 6 people, and I kinda wish I could eat this whole plate to myself. There’s a generous amount of clams some with nice big chunks. Each bite was so divine, not overly salty or garlicky as how some places does linguine with clams. it was just the perfect balance making me want more!
Veal parmesan — a classic bone-​in veal chop perfectly done the classic way! This is signature dish that they’re most famous for. I normally tend to not care for chicken or veal parmesan but this was pretty outstanding here for a veal parmesan! Its pounded out a little to make it thinner, encrusted with breadcrumbs and pan fried perfectly. The sauce and melty oozy cheese was delicious and veal parmesan still had a nice crust on the outside!
Red snapper — topped w/​jumbo colossal crab meat in pesto champagne cognac cream sauce. The sauce is as yummy as it sound and the crabmeat were for sure huge and not dried out but the red snapper seemed a tad bit overcooked… then again red snapper always tends to be a much more firmer and dryer flesh.
Shrimp franchise — I’ve had humongous shrimps before. But not quite like this style. The shrimp was fat and meaty… But unfortunately we didn’t really enjoy the breading or flavor wise on it.
Desserts — we had banana cream pie, peach ricotta cheesecake, and tiramisu. Please save room for desserts, you do not want to miss out on it! Each were very delicious and special in its own way!

A lot of hype was built up going into this dinner. I went with people that have been here before and others who haven’t. The beginning didn’t start out too well. They have a little space for people to wait for their tables that usually gets backed up almost outside the restaurant. It was raining this night so that was a problem for some. After about a 25 minute wait, we were seated in a back table closer to the kitchen. Our waiter was very helpful by reading basically the whole menu at you as if we didn’t have menus anyways.
Let’s start with the food. We ordered two of the seafood salads. The seafood was really good, but it was more of a salad with a little seafood on top. Too much greens was the overall consensus at the table. We ordered 1 ½ orders of the linguini with clams. This was amazing. It was the winner of the night too. For my entrée, I had to order the bone in veal parm. It was fantastic too. Some people might say it’s a huge portion and it is, but it was good size for me. For dessert, we ordered a limoncello pie and a chocolate peanut butter pie. My god. These were both some of the best pieces of pie I’ve ever had. I honestly want to go back for these. They were that good.
What was a little disappointing was someone spilt a pitcher of water all over my back as well as my girlfriends who was sitting next to me. He didn’t really even say sorry or ask if we needed napkins which we did. Simply just kept going and doing his job. That was probably the biggest con of the night.
At the end, Chef Vola’s is a pain to get a reservation but it’s definitely worth it. Great tradition, great food, and a great atmosphere. I’m hoping to return for my shank and pie :)

I could say «best Italian food in Atlantic City,» but that would be grossly understating. Chef Vola’s is the best Italian food in all of New Jersey and New York, an area which has the best Italian food in America (as a result of intense immigration a century ago). The area is dense with Italian restaurants, many making authentic recipes handed down from grandmothers who made their own pasta.
Chef Vola’s is simply the best. Authentic, warm, friendly. The menu has all you could want, but there are always daily specials that are interesting; the food is always prepared meticulously. Desserts to die for.
I have eaten here many times over the years, and I have never had a meal that was anything short of outstanding, and have never had service that was anything short of superior. I have taken many friends to Chef Vola’s for their first time, and none has ever failed to be anything less than delighted. .. and all have become fans.
If there’s one restaurant in AC that you should not miss, it’s Chef Vola’s. The restaurant is small, and very popular, so you really should call a couple weeks in advance if you want a table. You won’t be disappointed.

Charming, good service, good food and BYOB Not the easiest reservation to get but worth it when you do. I have seen reviews where there is talk about the attitude and arrogance. Well I will tell you that it seems like that is the furthest from the truth. Everyone was helpful and pleasant
The food is just good classic Italian. Saucy, cheesy, garlic goodness. I think we went with some of their more popular items. The linguini with oil and clams was full of clam. I mean full. The bone in veal parm was fantastic. Tender, crisp edges and enough cheese and sauce without it being overpowering. The red snapper with crabmeat and champagne pesto was amazing. There was so much crab that it was difficult to determine if it was fish or crab. Not just a sprinkle of crab but more like a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ ratio.
Those pies were also unreal. Fun, tiny, intimate experience.

Chef Vola — It took us several months to get in… it was so worth the wait! The service was excellent. Multiple servers covered the area, which was perfect as the table was ALWAYS well attended. The food was great and the portions were large– we ate a lot, and took home plenty. Pricing was appropriate-​just make sure that you bring cash as it is a requirement for payment.
Regarding the physical location– it’s probably not what one would expect given the mystique surrounding the restaurant. It is tight and very basic. However, it works because the food is amazing and it’s also a BYOB!

Hands down the best Italian food in South Jersey! You have to call to make reservation a few weeks in advance as this place gets PACKED, and be persistant about it! After tasting the food, I know exactly why it is so hard to get a table. They are known for their veal parm, which was out of this world amazing, best I’ve ever had. The service was extremely accommodating. I felt like I was a part of their family while dining there. The setting is extremely intimate and tight, but it makes the experience memorable. I definitely walked out of there with some new friends!

Make a reservation and go when they can accommodate you because it might be the best dining experience in your life!!! Chef Vola’s is one of the best restaurant experiences I have ever been to. First of all when you think of Atlantic City, you think of casinos, lots of lights, big signs. But that is not the case with Chef Vola’s, leave all the bells and whistles in the casinos. Chef Vola’s is the way a restaurant is supposed to be run just the way it is. We had a reservation and were seated within 10 min. We were greeted with warmth it felt like I walked into my uncles house on Sunday for dinner. Esposito asked if we wanted a bottle of wine for our dinner he made a call to the local liquor store for a small price and presto, a bottle of wine was at our table in 15 min.
The atmosphere in Chef Vola’s is very tightly intimate but there is no care because everyone is there to have a great time. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and read the whole menu to us with such detail. Please pay attention the read the whole menu to you. There were so many delicious looking items on the menu but I went in knowing what I wanted and when you are there you see all the bone in Veal Parm passing you because everyone is eating that. And that’s exactly what I ordered. The other dish ordered was Chicken Scarpariello. In the mean time complimentary bread was brought to the table.
The service at Chef Vola’s was impeccable, very attentive and alert and very friendly as well. The food just keeps passing by your table at high rates and all you can do is sit and drink with the anticipation of your food coming out of that door. But in the meantime we mingled with the friendly people across from us. Because like I said the atmosphere here was very family orientated and I enjoyed that.
Finally our food comes out and when I said huge portions, they were massive. My Bone in Veal Parm was so big it was about the size of both my hands together. You see the gooey mozzarella over the gravy and perfectly pounded and fried Veal and the Bone was also there for you to pick on. The Chicken Scarpriello could have fed a small country and they could have had leftovers. It was a half of free ranged chicken with mushrooms, peppers and onions and their home made veal sausage! The flavored were bursting in your mouth! We didn’t finish all the food but we knew we had a good breakfast and lunch the next day. For dessert we ordered the trimisu off of the 25 desserts they have to offer. And that came out and didn’t have a chance, it was so creamy and bursting with that coffee flavor your taste buds crave. It was a great way to end the best dinner experience in my life.
I would love to thank Chef Vola’s and all their staff for an amazing night.

I’ve heard so much about this place for years — was happy to finally get a reservation (since my AC trips are always spur of the moment decisions).
Had to leave a voicemail and wait for a call back. Was able to squeeze in on a Sunday night at 9pm on the porch.
The food was excellent. The Veal Chop really is fantastic (and I’m not even much of a veal fan). The hype is real — it’s a must if you go.
Service was great. They made some excellent recommendations and were really on top of things. The BYOB element is great too — keeps the bill reasonable.
Don’t forget it’s cash only.

Ok, my last review was solely based on making a reservation which I say is still a pain to do. I was told to call a week before the date to confirm. I called at least 4 times throughout different times of the day and got only an answering machine. So still 1 star to make a RSVP.
As far as the food and service, 5 stars.
Food:
— Anchovies and red peppers was very good. Fresh peppers and nice and salty anchovies.
— House salad… ehhhh, its just lettuce with croutons. Not worth the $$$.
— Veal Chop which is what takes over 90% of the Unilocal pics, including one of my pics. This was by far the best veal chop I’ve ever had. It was nicely cooked on the outside and juicy on the inside.
— White clam sauce with angel hair pasta was also very good. Great side to go with your order.
— Sea Bass was delicious but small in portion. It was very nutty and the sauce complemented the fish.
— Broccoli Rabe was good.
Likes:
— Food was very good
— Homey atmosphere, small inside that made it fell homey
— BYOB!!!
— House bread is good although their mini garlic bread is just ehhh.
Tips:
— Cash Only
— Make a reservation months in advance
Dislikes:
— Although the staff is very nice and professional they go over the menu which takes 5 – 7 minutes long. After the 1^st minute I don’t really care what you say afterwards.
I will definitely try coming back again next time we are in Atlantic City.

Whew, luckily I made it into Chef Vola’s. In case you weren’t aware, you have to make a reservation, they usually want to know who you know in order to give you one. Back in the day, you had to be recommended by a casino concierge.
You may have seen Nucky eating at Chef Vola’s in «Boardwalk Empire.» I“m not sure if this restaurant is related to the old Chef Vola’s.
In any event, I managed to get a reservation here, and I’m glad that I did. The veal part was the best I have ever had in my life. Bone in, of course. The clam linguine was also spectacular. Even the bread was great. I’d love to come back next time I’m in AC.
The one small quibble I’d have is that the chambord cream pie could have had a stronger raspberry flavor. But it had an amazing texture.
Vola’s is reservation only, cash only, and BYOB. But it’s really amazing.

Chef Vola’s is an Atlantic City institution. I was asked by a fellow Unilocaler to compare it to other Italian restaurants and the question left me a little stumped. There were a few spots in Philly and AC that I could draw some parallels to with food and atmosphere, but I’ve concluded that Chef Vola’s is definitely unique.
As you may have read by now, you must call to make a reservation. This must be done pretty far in advance. My family made a reservation for a party of four for a Saturday in mid-​November over Labor Day weekend. Even then, the only table available was at 9pm.
Upon arriving, it was apparent that we weren’t the only ones in the 9pm slot. There was barely a spot to stand in the temporary winter vestibule that had been set up with a heat lamp, or in the actual waiting area/​coat room inside. After about 20 minutes of waiting and trying to keep warm, we were brought to our table in the cozy corner closest to the door downstairs. These quarters were cramped. It was inevitable that you would have some sort of interaction with your dining neighbors (I wish we could have all been adults and not been hooting and hollering at a sports score as some nearby «gentlemen» decided to do.)
As crowded as it was, the service was pretty decent. We had a few different people stop by throughout the evening. It was a little challenging, yet not impossible to get someone’s attention if you needed something at during your meal.
I’m not sure if this is something they do every time, or just because two members of my parties were newbies, but they verbally went through the menu. This process totally makes sense for specials, but some menu items were absolutely mentioned. Being that we had already made a game plan before arriving thanks fellow Unilocalers for posting menus, the process was a little tedious.
Thus far, I’m sure this review doesn’t sound like the greatest of experiences. But let me just get to the best part… the food.
We ordered two different appetizer sized portions for the table to split: fettucine in oil & garlic clam sauce and the mozzarella with tomato and roasted red peppers. Both portions were very generous and absolutely on point. I can’t really recall ever having a bad mozzarella, tomato and roasted red peppers dish, but this appetizer was nicely seasoned and platted with a hint of basil as garnish. The fettucine in clam sauce was excellent. There were large pieces of clam mixed in a creamy and rich sauce. This would have been a great main in a large size.
For my entrée, I went with the Red Snapper with Colossal Crab Meat in the pesto champagne sauce. This dish had my name on it and despite a little voice in my head saying «get the infamous veal parm,» my fish, crab and pesto loving side gave in. Let me just say, this was probably one of the best cream sauces I’ve ever had. The pesto was well mixed but still a very striking flavor. It was probably the largest piece of fish I’ve ever been served and they did not skimp on the crab. That was super impressive. With that being said, I didn’t love the snapper itself and was a little bland. Luckily the sauce and nice pieces of crab filled the void the fish left.
I had a little diner’s regret. I should have gone with the veal parm. My mom had the veal parm without the bone and my husband had the veal parm with the bone. Firstly, both were excellent. I’ve had a million veal parms in my life, but they did something with the seasoning that made it stand out. We did a side by side taste comparison of bone versus no-​bone, and to be honest, they were pretty close. The on-​the-​bone veal was a little more tender but not by much.
Unfortunately, the group opted to skip dessert. Chocolate peanut butter mousse, I’m still thinking about what it could’ve been between us. We all walked out with a substantial amount of leftovers, so maybe it was for the best.
Thoughts keep crossing my mind along the lines of– what’s wrong with me? Why was this not 5 stars? Am I being too critical?
I’ve had some excellent Italian food in my life. I’ve gone to some fancy places and I’ve gone to some pizza shop dives. Chef Vola’s wasn’t either. The food was pretty good, there’s no denying that. While there’s no doubt that it was good, it didn’t stand out too far above anything I’ve ever had, even if I’m still scratching my head to draw specific comparisons.
And although Chef Vola’s is a BYOB, it still cost a party of four a pretty penny, even with sharing appetizers and skipping dessert. Something that would really only be expected of a really fancy place.
The whole experience was definitely an experience that I would absolutely recommend trying for a special occasional. I’m already planning to return at some point, I feel it’s absolutely necessary because I really want to give them that five-​star review that doesn’t leave any shadow of a doubt in my head. Although, I think it’s going to have to involve a veal parm of my own and a perhaps visit on an off-​night.

Fun little byob place in a crackhouse in A.C.
Basically, all you need to know is the butterflied veal parmesan is the best you will ever eat.
The lollipop lamb chops are awesome as well.
Outside of that, I wasn’t as impressed w/​the other dishes we tried, i.e. house salad, mozz and peppers, white clam sauce, pasta w/​mushrooms, etc.
Had a great time, though I would definitely recommend sticking to meat or veal.

One of the best restaurant experiences in my like! Let me start by Saying this is the only restaurant worth coming to Atlantic city for. It’s a household name and I would travel from any other state to go here.
The spot is cash only no ressies and located in a house. It’s definitely family style. You need to make ressies way ahead of time if you are coming here.
Food– wow everything!!! Starting from the table side salad, spaghetti appetizers, bread, and BYOB!!! Come here hungry and you will leave beyond satisfied. The best recommendations are the veal parmigiana, crab cakes, and warm ricotta pie!
One of the best Italian spots I’ve ever eaten at!

Reservations are tough.
This is a cash only establishment and BYOB. I heard there are runner who will get you a bottle of wine from a nearby liquor store if you forget, but I cannot confirm that since I have never used a runner or asked.
It is located off the beaten path but not far off the boardwalk. Certainly within walking distance of the boardwalk. The restaurant is inside a house and you are seated in the basement. There is a second dining room upstairs but I have never eaten in it.
One of the owner’s came to the table and introduced himself. The waitresses were all awesome. They had great personalities, were more than willing to help with suggestions and since we had a party of 10, they easily arranged the portions so we could share and there was enough for everyone. Water glasses were quickly refilled and empty plates were taken away quickly.
Come here hungry. The portions are huge. Upon seating a bread bowl is set on the table along with an ice cream scoop of butter.
The food is great. Everyone raved about how good the food was. We started with salad in a wooden bowl, buffalo mozzarella with prosciutto. For a pasta we shared angel hair with clam sauce. Hands down this was the best clam sauce I have ever eaten. The clams were tender, cut perfectly and melted in your mouth. The sauce was flavorful and seasoned perfectly.
I ordered the red snapper topped with crab meat and pesto champagne cognac cream sauce. WOW! It was a generous huge portion and tasted incredible. I shared my meal with another guy at the table He went with one of the signature dishes, bone in veal parm. It is not listed on the menu but you must ask for it. It is a butterflied piece of bone in veal parm. It was great, just great. I highly recommend sharing with someone since the portions are huge and all the dishes are just so great.
If you are passing through AC or live in the area, Chef Vola is a must

Ich bin sehr überrascht, dass Chef Vola’s eine Unilocal Seite hat. (Weil das Restaurant so viele Bewertungen auf Englisch haben, ich habe gedacht, dass ich eine Bewertung auf Deutsch schreibe. Es tut mir leid, dass mein Deutsch nicht so gut ist — ich bin Amerikanerin!)
Das Restaurant ist sehr gut, aber auch teuer und immer hat viel los. Man muss eine Reservierung machen, oder man kann gar nicht hier essen. Und Sie sollen die Reservierung eine paare Woche bevor machen: «die früher die besser!»
Auch sehr wichtig: man muss mit Bargeld zahlen. Nur mit Bargeld kann man zahlen!
Die Tische sind in dem Keller, und der Keller ist nicht so groß. Dennoch ist der Dienst sehr gut, gleich als das Essen.
Als ich war hier, habe ich die Fische mit Crab gegessen. Das schmeckt sehr, sehr gut! Meine Mutter hatte das Kalbfleisch mit Tomatensauce und Käse, und das Teller war vielleicht am Besten von allen. Mein Freund hat ein Filetmignon gegessen, und das war auch sehr gut. Alles hier ist gut, besonders die Vorspeise und Nachspeise!