Reviews Cara Mia

Always looking for a new culinary adventure and we chose Cara Mia in Milburn, NJ. Before we go I reviewed the menu and reviews. The menu is mostly typical Italian favorites with some inspired restaurant unique dishes. Their daily specials were interesting. Since this was our first experience we decided to go with Steak Carpaccio, their Cara Mia Fettuccine with shrimp, crab meat, scallions in a vodka sauce and Veal Parmigiana with angel hair. The restaurant has outdoor seating weather permitting. Inside dining has two small rooms which, accommodates about 20 in each room. Our waiter, bus boys and m as manager was very friendly, attentive, courteous and professional. We were give a small plate of bruschetta and zucchini chips as soon as we were seated with homemade bread. Service was prompt with adequate timing between courses. The bruschetta was fresh while, the zucchini chips were a bit oily but, the fresh cheese made it tasty. So either you will like it or not. The appetizer was Steak Carpaccio, a thinly sliced filet mignon with shaved provolone, herbs, and oil. It was very fresh and very thin making it melt in your mouth. Our entrees arrived in a timely manner. The veal parmigiana with angel hair was a large dish. It was enough for two. It had three pieces of thinly cut veal. It was not too thin but, just right. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was good. The Cara Mia Fettuccine a house creation is a restaurant favorite. When it arrived, there was sufficient amount of crab on top of the dish. I love crab meat and very picky. When the dish arrived I detected a fishy aroma. It dispersed once I mixed the vodka sauce with crab meat and shrimp. My take was that this is canned crab meat and most likely a imported product. I want to stress that the taste was good and did not takeaway from the dish. I would prefer fresh lump crab but, that would have double the price of the dish. For dessert we chose tufalo and cannoli with cappuccino. Prices are reasonable and competitive. Parking is across the street in a city lot. Parking is metered till 6PM Monday-Saturday with Sunday being free. This is a small family business and worth a trip when in the surrounding area. Also it is BYOB.

One of my favorite restaurants easily. Food is authentic, fresh, delicious every single time. Service is friendly and knowledgeable. Ambiance is nice, romantic, and calm. BYOB with good wine selection right next door.

So me and the girls got together for a girls night dinner. We made reservations for 7pm for 10 people. When I arrived I was lucky to find parking in the parking lot across the street. When I walked in the owner walked me over to our seats and we were seated under the tent across the street. In this area we had multiple servers but the lady was by far the best of them all. The place is byob and she opened my bottle when I sat. We first started with the brushetta and it was so tasty. I also tasted the zucchini chips and it wasn't my favorite. For appetizers I tasted the little neck clams and they were tasty. For dinner I got the shrimp special with linguini and that was very good. I also tasted the salmon and swordfish and they both were good. The bill came to about $340 and that was pretty good. When we were waiting for the bill to come back one of the servers told us we had to leave soon because of course we shut the place down but we didn't even have our bill back lol. The nerve haha. All in all we had a good experience and I can't forget the great band they had. I will definitely return.

Cara Mia is our favorite in the neighborhood. The food never disappoints & the service is impeccable. Rob is always attentive to us & we always look forward to seeing him. The ambience is soothing, romantic & inviting. Conveniently located in Millburn.