Robbie Felice, Chef

In 2016, Felice and his father decided to open their first restaurant together— Viaggio Ristorante in Wayne, New Jersey. Felice unveiled a restaurant true to his cooking philosophy— locally sourced ingredients used to create traditional Italian fare with a modern touch. A multitude of accolades paved the way for Robbie to open his second restaurant, Osteria Crescendo, in 2019 where he specializes in modernized Italian fare, and Italian street food at its bar. After five short months, Osteria Crescendo joined Viaggio with a spot on NJ Monthly's 30 Best Restaurants in New Jersey. In early 2020, when a pandemic took the world by storm, Felice did anything but slow down. Unsatisfied with standing still, Robbie turned to his friend, Luck Sarabhayavanija of Montclair Hospitality Group, and conceptualized what would become one of the most talked about pop-ups not only in NJ, but across the nation. pastaRAMEN started as a high end, invite-only omakase that combined Italian and Japanese flavors. The cuisine, which Robbie calls "Wafu Italian", would prove to be a hit, and was featured in OK! Magazine's Things We're Obsessed With, Us Weekly's Buzz-o-meter, and Restaurant Business' Is Wafu Cuisine the Next Big Thing. After two years of strictly being an invite-only omakase—Felice opened his third restaurant; a more casual, brick-and-mortar version of the pastaRAMEN pop-ups. In four quick months pastaRAMEN's Montclair brick-and-mortar found itself alongside its two sister restaurants on the list for The 30 Best Restaurants in New Jersey published by NJ Monthly. Felice always has projects in the works. He just added a speakeasy private dining room alongside his restaurant in Montclair, and just opened an Italian Trattoria and Mozzarella Bar aptly named Bar Mutz. If there is one thing Robbie hates, it's standing still—for him, there is always more work to be done.