Diners eat on Centro Grille’s patio.
The steaks at Centro Grille, like the one pictured above left, come highly recommended by regulars like township councilman Ron Witt. By Jessica Oates Two years have flown by since
opened, putting the restaurant on track to be the longest-standing tenant of its prominent anchor location in Town Center. The secret to its success? Executive chef and owner Joe Immordino and his partners James and George Karalis believe it’s all because they’ve found their niche in a town that appreciates delicious food with fresh, organic ingredients. Immordino, a Robbinsville resident, was born and raised in New Jersey. After getting his hands dirty for a few years through culinary apprenticeships in the U.S. and in Sicily, he earned his master’s degree from Rider University in 1998, gaining knowledge and experience on the “business end” of the industry. After that, Immordino dove headfirst into opening his own restaurants. He is still the chef and owner of Acacia restaurant in Lawrenceville. Immordino said his partnership with the Karalises began as a mutual passion for good food and wine, and has turned into something much bigger. “Our goal was to create a town restaurant with something on the menu for everyone. But we have had the good fortune that people in our community appreciate more than just the basics like chicken parmigiana,” Immordino said. The restaurant features menus for Sunday brunch, lunch, dinner, dessert, children, happy hour, wine and cocktails, with classic options and innovative selections to take your taste buds on an adventure. The dinner menu includes everything from day-boat seafood, to organic grass-fed steak and locally raised chicken. As executive chef, Immordino said he must use ingredients to create dishes he himself would be excited to eat before he can think about serving it to the customer. He said the restaurant uses as many organic ingredients as possible. Centro Grille has a grass-fed New York Strip Steak and a fillet mignon that customers say is “fork tender.” Immordino said not much has changed since Centro Grille opened its doors a few years ago. “As far as the changes go, it’s more of adjusting to clientele,” Immordino said. “Twenty years in the restaurant business has taught me that people in different areas gravitate towards different types of food. Here, I feel that the people of Robbinsville appreciate our vision. We can use things that I love, like duck, or exotic fish, and people are on board. We do try to cater to every palate, but it’s nice to feel like we fit in here.” Now that the weather is better, people don’t mind parking a distance from the restaurant and walking over when the busy parking lot—shared with the other Town Center businesses—fills up, but Immordino hopes that he and his partners might be able to expand the parking lot to accommodate their clients. “Come fall, we will have valet parking so that people won’t have to walk far in the cold to visit us, but my goal is to get us a bigger parking lot,” he said. Rob Pinard, a friend and long-time client, said the restaurant is one of the best around, a result of the combination of excellent service and exceptional food. Pinard, whose business, Pinard Law, is located just down the road, frequently brings clients to business lunches at the restaurant. “My wife and I also spend many date nights here,” he said. “My favorite dish has to be the SoHo burger.” Ron Witt—a construction professional, Robbinsville councilman and Centro Grille regular—swears by the steak. “Near and dear to me is red meat, and you can’t go wrong with one of these,” he said. Witt said he likes that you can have a quiet dinner and then move over to the bar area of the restaurant for a more social atmosphere. “I’ve gotten to know Joe over the years, and he is a good man,” Witt said. “He works hard to make your experience at his restaurant the best that it can be.”
Centro Grille is located at 2360 Route 33 in Robbinsville’s Town Center. Web: centrogrille.com. Phone: (609) 208-9300.
Diners eat on Centro Grille’s patio.,
