The Family Restaurant

We've been going to the Family on and off for many years. The food and service have been consistently good, so I believe that others' comments here must have been from rare occasions when the place was having an off-night. The food is authentic and delicious (maybe heavy on the garlic at times); the portions are huge; and after trying most items on the menu, I'd say that only the meatballs were disappointing. The cocktails are made very well, and the only negative comment would be that the house wine (red) is pretty awful tasting. The valet parking makes it really easy; no concern for where to park on Queens Boulevard. more

If you are looking for the best italian food. The family restaurant one of the best place to be. we celebrate our tenth anniversery there. i had a dish called Chicken & Veal Rossina. My wife had Whole Fish Broanzino. Both of the dish was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!!!! Rest of our family ordered different dishes from the menu and the daily special. Everyone enjoyed the meal and it was Excellent service. All the busboys and waiters came and sing happy anniversery. The cake was fresh and very tasty. We had a lovely dinner. It was a memorable day for me. If anyone looking for a place to held a celebration i suggest THE FAMILY RESTAURANT. This is the BEST PLACE TO GO!!!!!!!! more

I went to this restaurant to attend a friends birthday party.Despite the fact that it was nearly an empty restaurant, it still took over 35 minutes to bring out our food. When the food came out, a steak that was ordered was made medium rare instead of what was asked ( medium well). To make matters worse, there was supposed to be a singing when the waitstaff brings out a cake but instead the waiter brings out the cake with the candles lit to the table and starts screaming out YO YO YO! to the busboy .Obviously everyone turned around and the surprise was completely ruined! If that wasn't bad enough, when the waiter came to cut the cake he noticed his cake cutting knife was extremely dirty and decided to wipe the blade on the tablecloth before attempting to cut the cake. After I finally had to physically clean the knife myself, the waiter had disappeared for 5 minutes so we had to cut the cake ourselves before he rushed back in pretending that he really wanted to help. To top it all off when we received our check, we realized he overcharged us and we had ask him to break down the bill for him to ""realize"" he had overcharged us. more

They substitute lower cuts of meat: I took my mother to this restaurant and insisted she order her favorite,,veal chop. We waited and waited...and instead of the waiter or anyone else coming over and saying they were out of LOIN veal chop my mother was presented with a revolting cut: the blade, which for those of you who don't know, should only be used for stewing and needs to be carefully dissected. We had scraped off the camouflage and showed this to the maitre d' and got nowhere and was informed that it was veal... PERIOD They also used to pull a stunt where they would try and distract you while you are adding up your bill.....I am deadly serious about this.....so that you incorrectly add the tip and the meal....there is NOTHING you can do to remedy this by the way. more

Horrible service, horrible food, horrible people. We made an 8pm reservation, got there with a line in front of me, and a blonde lady saying there are no reservations. After waiting 45 min we were quickly rushed through. Careless wait staff elbowed my sister, asked if we wanted grated cheese and got more on the table then on our plates. I ordered a filet mignion marsalla. NO WAY WAS THAT FILET. Cheap sirloin steak fatty burnt and tasteless. When the manager came over instead of apologizing and moving forward it was an argument... Absolutely horrible. NEVER EVER GO THERE!!!! STAY AWAY!!!!!! more

I had lunch today with my friend and we both agreed that the food was terrible! Before you try this restaurant-just cook something at home, I promise that pasta out of a box would be better than this! more

I read the review from google & took my friend there today(6/30/09). OMG, my stomach feel funny & bad after taste...we ordered one of the fish, it tasted fishy, the spagetti were made rough, we can even make better than them!! It's overpriced compare to the quality of the food. Don't trust the 4 stars, don't trust the good reviews sometimes. I felt so guilty for my friend, we spend $21 each for a regular soup,bad fish, old & stale desert...Nothing is good. We won't go again. There're only senior customers there, I don't even know why they can stand the bad food!!?? 100%disappointed, even if I paid $5, I'd feel disappointed. I'd rather go to a deli honestly!! No exaggeration. Cons: Not worth it, old unfresh food!! more

I went to The Family Restaurant for lunch. That night I had symptoms of food posioning. I tried the restaurant for a second time for dinner a few months later. I was sick the next day!. The food was not very good. The bread tastes like burnt eggs. Pros: nothing Cons: bad food more

To me, a 4 or 5 star rating should equal both top quality service and food which is maintained on a consistent basis. I've been a customer of Family Restaurant off and on for some 20 years. In my experience, the food is good but definitely not worthy of a 4 or 5 star rating. Simply looking at the other reviews and the range of ratings the restaurant should be approximately at a 3 star rating. I've had food which as others have said was very bland while I have also have had dishes which were very good but not the best I've had. In the end, it's all subjective anyway, so it's always best to judge for yourself as everyone's taste is unique. Pros: Atmosphere/Ambiance Cons: Inconsistent service and food more

Uhhhh,,,, It seems like the reviews are either one star, or 5 stars. My my my. Someone is planting some naughty stars. Dear Mr. Owner of Italian Restaurant, are you being a naughty boy? I wonder whether anyone will be fooled by this? Or is someone planting naughty evil reviews? Which is it? This is so intriguing. Pros: five stars Cons: one star more

It was 6 pm and we were looking for a cozy place to enjoy a nice meal. My wife and I are always have similar expectations when choosing a restaurant. The food, the food, and?the food. Service at most notable Italian restaurants is excellent and the atmosphere is always congenial and friendly. The Family Restaurant is no exception. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable; the ambiance elegant but casual, and the food was exceptional. more

It was my friend's birthday and I wanted to take her to a nice restaurant. Since she likes Italian, I browsed the web to find a retaurant and stumbled across this one with awesome reviews. One word describes it all... DISAPPOINTING. Pros: Homey looking environment Cons: Bad Service, Bad Food more

The name of the restaurant truly describes the atmosphere it carries. From the moment I walked in the smiling face of the hostess settled me in right away. I brought my family to ""The Family"" to celebrate my father's birthday. The waiter was friendly yet professional at the same time and knew what was good on the menu (although I must say that the whole selection was sutpendious). The food arrived on our table with good timing and as I said the food was great. When it came time for dessert my father and my family as a whole were supprized that not only our own waiter came to sing happy birthday but other employees came to sing as well. The whole experence left me feeling good-not only was my stomach satisfied but I knew my family had a great time as well. Pros: The employees, decor, and the atmosphere as a whole truly complimeted the delicious food. Cons: I wish that i lived closer more

My family and I went to The Family Restaurant for my mom's 65th birthday. The food was absolutely horrible. The only dish that was decent was the Chicken Portabello and that was a special. My fiance ordered the lasagna and was practically gagging on each bite. It was over cooked, very dry and tasted like the sauce had gone bad. The service was barely decent. Our waiter kept disappearing and only came to our table on three occassions, once to take our order, once to deliver the food and lastly to give us the bill. The drinks were served in a can; not even a glass of ice was provided. The bill was outrageous. Horrible food, horrible service and extremely expensive - that's what you'll get at The Family Restaurant. I'll never eat there again. (PS-the one star is soley for the Chicken Portabello. If you have to go there, don't order anything else.) Pros: Absolutely Nothing Cons: Everything more

I would highly recommend the Family Restaurant. I was recently there for a family event and had a chance to sample many of their dinner entrees. While I was very impressed with the Chicken Marsala, Chicken Francaise and Filet Mignon, It was the Penne Vodka that made the night. It was the best penne I have ever had (and I live in Little Italy of the Bronx (Arthur Ave) and would highly recommend it. more

If you love terrific Italian food that you thought you could only get in Manhattan, then this is the place for you. The variety is fantastic from northern to southern style cuisines. The portions are gigantic. The leftovers will feed you all week. The staff is warm, friendly and very attentive. There is a full bar with an excellent wine list. There is PIZZA for those picky kids ---- did I mention kid friendly? It is like dining at your cousin's house, except that this place is probably decorated better. The best dessert is the gelatti served in its own fruit skin --- the lemon ices rock! Pros: The food, the prices, the service! Cons: I wish they had a bigger bar so I could drink some wine while I wait to be seated. more

The Family Restaurant is a total ripoff. Mediocre, uninspired food, at hefty prices with horrible service. Nothing is included with your meal- they charge close to $9 for a small plate of romaine lettuce with a few stale croutons. The service is unprofessional, and the management is unresponsive. I went with my family on mother's day hoping for a pleasant meal. The waiter was rude and unprofessional. We asked for salads with dressing on the side, and they came drenched with dressing. When this was pointed out- he ignored us. We had to ask for the grated cheese, were never offered the sugar with our coffee, and when it finally came- all the sugar packets were soggy. The final straw came with the bill. We were a party of 4, and the waiter added his own 20% tip without saying anything. When I pointed this out to the manager, she told me the waiter always does this because he is hard of hearing. There was no effort to remedy this. The waiter heard the conversation, and became rude infront of the manager to me. I've never had such a negative restaurant experience. My best advice: stay as far away from this restaurant as possible. Pros: I didn't get sick...yet Cons: Greasy, expensive, unprofessinoal staff, boring menu more

What do you look for when you go out to an Italian restaurant? If you are me....... great tasting food and amazing service. The Family restaurant in Forest HIlls, Queens has both. We went on a Friday night and made reservations a few days ahead of time. As soon as we got there our car was valet parked so that I did not have to try to parallel park on Queens Blvd. We walked in and were quickly greeted and seated by the friendly hostess. The bread that was served before the appetizer was AMAZING..... so hot that the butter melted instantly. You wouldn't think that bread would be an integral part of a dinner but the bread here was so amazing that I had to write about it. For dinner I had the chicken parmesan. I asked for it well-done and opposed to other restaurants...... THEY LISTENED!!! The meal was absolutely wonderful and so was the service. The waiter was there to refill my drink as soon as I swallowed the last drop. The hostess was extremely pleasant and actually spoke with my girlfriend and I for a long time. The only negative thing I can say about the restaurant is that I don't live close enough to it to go there every day. On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 25. I can't wai to go back. Pros: EVERYTHING Cons: NOTHING more

I have traveled far and wide (Italy included). Great food and service and atmosphere at an affordable price. A great, great value! (Places costing much more don't come close) Marsala and francaise dishes rank with the very best (to me they are). Excellent customer service. Anyone who doesn't like this place is probably an unpleasant person and should do others a favor and stay away. (However staff tries hard to please everyone). I check out other places, but I always come back to the Family Restaurant. .And do you believe neighborhood pizza tasted better twenty or thirty years ago? If so, you'll probably like their pizza as well. Nothing fancy, just the real deal! Pros: Food, service, value Cons: You can't please everyone more

They have creepy crawlers?. food didn?t have any taste and expensive for the quantity; Needless to say I wasn?t happy dinning there on January 10th 2007! Pros: Thumbs down Cons: Thumbs down more