Chef. Restaurateur. Built on obsession.
From the dining rooms of his father's kitchens to two-Michelin stages in Europe, from a first restaurant at 26 to the invention of Wafu Italian — this is the story so far.
Robbie Felice has been in restaurants since before he can remember. His father, Joe Felice, owned multiple restaurants throughout Robbie’s childhood — Robbie literally learned to walk in those kitchens. After a childhood surrounded by the industry, he was accepted into the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 2011.
From the CIA, Robbie spent four and a half years moving between the legendary Babbo in New York City and B&B Ristorante in Las Vegas, where he became Sous Chef and ran the Salumi Program across the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group’s Las Vegas locations — including Carnevino, under the direction of then-Culinary Director Nicole Brisson.
"I learned to walk in my father's kitchens.
— Robbie Felice
Restaurants are the only thing I've ever known."
Hungry for more, Felice put in numerous stages at Michelin-starred restaurants across the globe — including Sergio Herman’s 2-Michelin-star Pure-C in the Netherlands and 2-Michelin-star The Jane in Belgium.
He traveled throughout Europe, exposed to cultures and cuisines that refined his technique and forged his own signature and style. In 2015, he landed back in New York City at the 2-Michelin-star The Modern — the last stop before everything he’d learned started pointing toward something of his own.
In 2016, at just 26 years old, Felice and his father decided to open their first restaurant together — Viaggio Ristorante in Wayne, New Jersey. The concept was true to his cooking philosophy: locally sourced ingredients used to create traditional Italian fare with a modern touch.
The recognition came fast. Viaggio earned a spot on NJ Monthly’s 30 Best Restaurants in New Jersey, was named by NJ Monthly as “Talent on the Rise,” and landed Robbie on The Record’s 17 People to Watch in 2017 — along with two 3½-star reviews from The Record and New Jersey’s largest publication, the Newark Star Ledger.
Momentum — and a multitude of accolades — paved the way for Robbie to open his second restaurant, Osteria Crescendo, in 2019. Modernized Italian fare, in-house dry-aged steaks and chops, and Italian street food at its bar.
After five months, Osteria Crescendo joined Viaggio on NJ Monthly’s 30 Best Restaurants in New Jersey and brought Felice a glowing review from NorthJersey.com Food Editor Esther Davidowitz, who called him a “Culinary Superstar.” Multiple James Beard House appearances followed, including a solo dinner in August 2019, a nomination for Eater Young Guns 2020, and being named New Jersey’s Industry Chef of the Year.
"A culinary superstar."
— Esther Davidowitz, NorthJersey.com
In early 2020, when a pandemic took the world by storm, Felice did anything but slow down. With indoor dining on pause, he turned Viaggio into a marketplace — selling farm-fresh produce, sandwiches, dry-aged steaks, and fresh pastas and sauces. Men’s Journal chronicled the move in “The Pivot: How Chef Robbie Felice is Shifting Gears During the Pandemic.”
Unsatisfied with standing still, Robbie turned to his friend Luck Sarabhayavanija of Montclair Hospitality Group — and started sketching what would become one of the most talked-about pop-ups in the country.
pastaRAMEN started as a high-end, invite-only omakase combining Italian and Japanese flavors — a cuisine Robbie dubbed “Wafu Italian.” It 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 critical acclaim in New Jersey and New York, the invite-only omakase moved to Miami. Eater named it one of the 14 best new restaurants in Miami despite popping up in the city for only two months. At the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, Felice took home first prize for Best Bite on the Beach with his Croquette Di Ramen — a playful ramen-stuffed croquette.
The pastaRAMEN brick-and-mortar in Montclair followed, and within four quick months it joined Viaggio and Osteria Crescendo on NJ Monthly’s 30 Best Restaurants in New Jersey. Robbie appeared solo on the cover. The omakase concept continued to pop up — including a “secret” Japanese-Italian restaurant inside an NYC hair salon in 2023, covered by the New York Post. Saveur Magazine traced the phenomenon in “These Two Noodle-Loving Cultures Tangle Seamlessly on the Plate.”
Chef Robbie has been seen serving up one of the most interesting flavor combinations many have ever tried — on national television. He cooked alongside Drew Barrymore on The Drew Barrymore Show, showing her how to make Italian-Japanese fusion ramen, and has previously appeared on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, and CBS Saturday Morning.
"He wanted more diners to experience how elegantly the two cuisines blend — a chemistry he attributes in part to their symbiotic base flavors."
— Saveur Magazine
Felice always has projects in the works. He’s expanding the pastaRAMEN brand toward New York City. He’s added a speakeasy private dining room alongside the Montclair restaurant. And he’s opened Bar Mutz, the newest addition to the portfolio — another room, another argument, another chance to push the technique a step further.
Different expressions. Same obsession.
Classically trained.
Fundamentally restless.
The story is still being written.
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