'You never know who you'll sit next to': Central Jersey restaurant is celebrity hotspot
If you can tear yourself away from your veal chop at Ristorante MV in Bernardsville, you might just see Eli Manning tucked behind the 14-foot olive tree in the dining room — chowing down on the same decadent dish (it's his favorite).
And if you had looked beyond the backlit prosciutto aging room a few weeks ago, you would have seen Mike Tyson in one of the eclectic restaurant’s green velvet chairs imported from Italy. He was back in Bernardsville since he lived here decades ago, invited to Ristorante MV by U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba, a regular customer.
They’re not the only famous faces you may spot at this high-end Italian-American restaurant, which has become a celebrity hangout over its short four-year tenure.
In the sleepy Somerset County borough, stars including Reggie Bush, Teresa Giudice, Kevin Jonas, Elvis Duran, former Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Phil Murphy, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are all clamoring for reservations at Ristorante MV. Many of them are regulars.
Big name stars in sports, entertainment and political realms can be spotted at the 10,000-square-foot restaurant in a 200-year-old stone building nearly once a week. But it’s not giving Michael Vitiello — who co-owns Ristorante MV alongside his father, Pasquino Vitiello — a big head.
“I make chicken Parmesan for a living, and now top-level people in the country are patronizing us,” swooned Michael. “I’m just some kid who’s worked on his dad’s stove his whole life.”
Those hours on the stove have paid off. Everything at Ristorante MV is made in-house, including the pastas, sauces, stocks, hand-churned gelatos and desserts. The veal is butchered in-house, and the mozzarella is made twice a day.
A water specialist was brought in to make the restaurant’s water mimic New York soft water for Ristorante MV's New York-quality bread, as they also make every item in the bread basket in-house.
It’s all served among high-gloss cobalt blue walls, a copper ceiling and a white Carrera marble bar.
“The football guys who come here say, ‘Can you make us the spicy rigatoni that they have at Carbone?’ And I’m like, ‘I’ll make you a spicy rigatoni but it’ll be better than Carbone’s,’ “ laughed Michael. “We’ll show you how it’s really made.”
To keep the dining room running smoothly when celebrities are in the house, Ristorante MV has private full-time security. Michael’s rule is that when celebrities are seated, they can't be disturbed by fans. If they want to say hello to a fan when they’re on their way out, that’s their prerogative.
“You never know who you'll sit next to,” Michael said. “There are always these random situations that happen. I’ll be off on a Wednesday night and I’ll get a picture from my bartender Greg and it’s a picture of him and Tiki Barber.”
But it’s the regulars, A-list or not, that Michael is most grateful for.
“I’m most honored when I see people come back twice, or my regulars that come multiple times a week,” he said. “We’re working our hardest and it’s going past this community, and that’s a gratifying feeling that we worked so hard to build something. It’s like being a proud parent — I’m a proud restaurant owner.”
Go: 1 Mill St., Bernardsville; 908-766-7979, ristorantemv.com
Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the Paste BN NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, although she's a lifetime Jersey girl who considers herself an expert in everything from the Jersey Shore to the Garden State's buzzing downtowns. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone.