Library Lounge at Skytop Lodge feels like stepping back in time in the best possible way…read more From the moment you walk in, everything slows down. Dim lighting, big comfortable leather chairs, bookshelves lining the walls, a fully stocked bar, and historic photos throughout the space create a classic lodge vibe that feels timeless without being stuffy. It is cozy, polished, and incredibly relaxing. The staff is knowledgeable and clearly takes pride in what they serve. The craft cocktails are well made and thoughtful, and if you prefer beer, there are solid options there too. As a bourbon lover, I especially enjoyed their private barrel pick served neat, a real treat and easily a standout pour. This is a perfect pre-dinner or post-evening stop, we have done both, and it works beautifully either way. Dress is slightly casual but leans upscale, and while pricing is a bit higher than average, it feels completely worth it for the setting, quality, and experience. We sank into the chairs, talked story with friends, and lost track of time, which really says it all. If you are anywhere near Skytop Lodge, make sure this is on your list. Plan extra time, you will want to linger.

Beautiful Place. Not sure why it has no rating on Yelp. Its must see if your at Skytop! Great…read moredrinks and light fare. Beautiful and relaxing lounge style room. Fireplaces and cozy sitting areas. What more could you ask for?

I have been here many times and keep coming back because they do a good job being creative with…read moretheir specials. Today I had the medium wings bone in which is a common go to for me. I love them. The wings are a bit on the smaller side but sauce and cooking is great. The chowder flavor was great it was a bit thinner that I prefer and more potatoes would have been perfect. Lastly the special drunk grandpa pizza was great. Quiet in here tonight but it's a Sunday in a local pub so as expected.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the colloquial use of the word dive to describe a…read more"drinking den" or "other disreputable place of resort" comes from the fact that these types of establishments were originally housed in cellars or basements, into which "frequenters may 'dive' without observation. I will leave it to you to decide whether Shakey Jakes Cafe is a dive bar, but they seem to take pride in it. As you will see upon arrival the door mentions that Shakey Jakes is recognized by Yelp & NJ.com as one of the top Dive Bars in Jersey. Bartenders are super friendly, helpful & professional. I sampled Bombay Sapphire, which is offered in a small glass or beer goblet...humm okay I'll bit let's go Big! I ordered the Steamed Clams, which come with croastini. On the menu it is offered with a Cajun Garlic Butter, I replaced that with just the regular drawn butter. Wow--wonderful nice size clams with the toasted bread, delicious. I loved it so much I had a second order. If you are are a steamed clam fan don't forget to sample the clam broth. This place is a keeper. I sent a picture of the front door of Shakey Jakes to my wife and son. I mentioned that "If I go missing this is the place to start." I showed the text to the Bartender, she got a huge kick out of it and said you are not from around here are you?

All the food was excellent. Beautiful presentation the pride the chef has for the food he sends out…read moreshows the love and passion shows Its always an honor to sit down and eat such wonderful dishes put together the menu was perfect we picked a tasting menu which was perfect so i can taste a more variety of German dishes in small portions. I highly recommend black forest restaurant The soup really packed with flavor we had to order two pints to go. Soup and lobster bisque The ambience of this establishment is cozy quaint lovely, beautiful, very beautiful atmosphere. Nobody's loud obnoxious place right now is becoming full. All the workers are very professional the young men and women probably from the Neighbourhood. This is such a great place that even gives young people the opportunity to work these young men and women in this place really work hard and you can see that they're proud to work here and they take extra to provide excellent service impressed with Black Forest restaurant. My compliments to the chef for excellent cuisine and my heart to all the employers who showed nothing but professionalism and establishment I also would like to thank the young man Zion for his professional and courteous service. Well presented with clean uniform prompt service Thank you Zion for your table service in your mannerism and thank you so much for making it pleasant for my wife and I You're truly a great representative of the establishment that you work in. I hope your bosses notices that you are very valuable employee as I can see for myself as a retired professional chef for 37years thank you Yours truly chef Ramos.

I was fully prepared to come in here and unapologetically grade on a curve - I always feel a little…read morebad for this area of NJ when it comes to the gastro scene, and I want to support a legitimately unique enterprise like this. This was, sadly, not a good meal and based on expectations easily one of the most disappointing experiences I've had in recent memory. I came here yesterday with my top-tier chum from the Kingdom of Sussex, along with my #1 Honorary Young Pup Chum, fresh off a 20-mile walk down the Sussex Branch Rail Trail - so a bit tired and very hungry. Black Forest got me (and my appetite) in the best situation for them, in theory. Unfortunately it stayed just a theory. The atmosphere in here by far is the biggest selling point. I love a good taxidermy situation, and this place had it in droves. We were seated near a bear, and had eyes on numerous other wildlife, preserved for eternity. The stained glass throughout the restaurant is also pretty wild - it feels like you decided to go to church in a European hunting lodge. It's also deceptively large in there, which I discovered later as I tried to locate the bathroom (there is no signage for that) and wandered into two or three different dining rooms. Just wild and really does set this place apart from virtually any other restaurant in the area (maybe the far superior Walpack Inn can lay a claim?). I was intrigued by the Potato Pancakes w/ Applesauce on the appetizer menu, which ended up being the best item I ate. As you can see in the attached photo, they're basically big hash browns. They were good, and the applesauce made for an interesting palate combo. In what ended up being a bizarre theme throughout the meal, the accompanying applesauce came in a small plastic container that you had to open. This to me is one of the more egregious self-inflicted wounds I've seen from a restaurant, but also pretty fixable. This wasn't a crab shack at the beach or a taqueria in Newton - this is a restaurant with white tablecloths. Why aren't you serving the accompanying sides in a nicer dish, like a ramekin? What makes it more mystifying is that they HAD ramekins or something similar - they served the wrapped butter for the stale dinner rolls in it. I genuinely don't have a clue what the thought process was, but it honestly cheapened the optics and is something they should stop doing immediately. For my entree, I went classic German with the veal wienerschnitzel and a side of spatzle. The wienerschnitzel itself was fine - I've honestly had better from a food truck in Jersey City called Mordi's (I just checked and sadly they've closed), but it had no sauce or anything so it was super dry and overall not that tasty as a result. It would have even been an upgrade to get one of their infamous plastic containers of basically any condiment. The spatzle was honestly terrible; I had an excellent version of this at an Austrian restaurant in FiDI called Schilling (which has now converted to a French restaurant, apparently; I can't with these closures. Lord.), and this was just utterly tasteless. My chum likened it to "brain noodles," meaning the noodles you'd use in a blindfold game around Halloween. Fair, but even some of those probably had some flavor to them. Huge miss. I'm not sure why I kept going at this point but I decided to end this situation with the Black Forest Cake. It was a little stale (maybe it's kept in the same area as the dinner rolls?), but it was okay. Could have been worse, so I'm taking that as a victory of sorts. The chocolate mousse within it got positive remarks from my other dining companions in the context of their items, so that's probably the play if you're hitting up the dessert menu. The service was mediocre. Our waitress was very nice when she came to our table, which was infrequent. It seemed like she was waiting for food to come out (which took a while) as the context for a visit, rather than taking initiative to check on us. The Young Pup Chum waited close to 15 minutes for a second soda, which shouldn't have happened, especially given that we were there at a VERY slow time (just before 4pm). And the price point was honestly close to insulting. Neither of us are opposed to plunking down some Jacksons for a nice meal, but getting a bill for $200 (plus tip!) for not great food was not a fun feeling to close out our afternoon. I hate to end this on a dark note, but given that my two recommendations for German food in the area have both closed, you might not have much of a choice but to come here if you're hankering for schnitzel.

Probably the best overall spot on the lake -- which admittedly isn't saying a whole lot -- but…read moresometimes you take what you can get, and this place delivers. The food is consistently good, the service is attentive, and the overall atmosphere during the day is relaxed and enjoyable. It's a great place to unwind, grab good food and drinks and enjoy being on the lake! Weekend nights can be a different story. The live bands tend to be loud and a bit over the top, which can overwhelm what would otherwise be a really pleasant setting. A cool, laid-back DJ with better volume control would elevate the experience and make it a place you'd want to linger longer. All in, it's still the go-to on the lake -- just pick your timing wisely.

Great atmosphere. Went for drinks Hanna made amazing drinks. We ended up having food at the bar…read more Good was very good!

Excellent! My husband and I keep coming back. The food is great. The service is great. We've never…read morehad to wait to be seated. The last visit we endured a birthday celebration by a group of ladies who were extremely loud which was annoying, but after they left we were able to enjoy our meals. The atmosphere is normally quiet and welcoming. The service is always terrific. So glad we "found" this wonderful restaurant. Hard to find GOOD Mexican cuisine in our area. La Mezcalita nails it! Love this place!

Finally, an excellent Mexican restaurant in Budd Lake! Perfect dining experience from the service,…read moreambience, food, and view of Budd Lake. The waiters were friendly and helpful. Came for lunch on Valentine's Day before it got busy. Started with ceviche and table side guac, both phenomenal. Wife had chili rellenos and I tried molcajete loco, both were generous portions and delicious. Prices were good and there was cash discount. Will absolutely return.

Nice speakeasy under the eatery right in the square of Jersey city. The vibes were chic and…read moresophisticated and the music was something you could listen to for hours. The prices for the appetizers were a bit on the pricey side but the drinks made up for it. If you want to meet up somewhere for a quick drink for a girls night or date night I would come here.

Nice cozy speak easy like bar and restaurant. They have a holiday menu which had several unique…read moreoptions. I got the pear drink, it was the perfect balance of sweet and spice. My husband got the espresso martini and my sister got what they have similar to a lemon drop martini. The food was also very good. My husband and my sister shared the chicken bites and thoroughly enjoyed it they said it was nice and soft on the inside with a perfect crispy layer on the outside. We also got the truffle fries for the table honestly it's a huge plate of fries. The service was great as well. The ambiance was nice with warm moody lighting.

Once again, Panther has great food, exceptional service, and perfect cocktails…read more I got the Steak Sandwich, which I loved, and a Paper Plane, which can often be overly boozy but this version was delightful. We also tried the daily appetizer special, Turkey Empanadas, and they were insanely good. It's always lively, friendly and cozy inside. They've mastered the modern pub scene.

Stopped in for lunch on Black Friday while visiting family in the area. The place was pretty busy…read moreand we sat in the bar area. Service was terribly slow the duration of the time. There was 1 bartender and 1 server covering the area. It took forever to have our order taken and to get to water and or food. I wasn't impressed with my meal either. I had the aged cheddar grilled cheese. There was barely any cheese on the sandwich - it was 95% apple slices and fig jam. They didn't even bother to take the sticker off the apple. I would not recommend this dish. My husband enjoyed his french onion soup; his Reuben was average. My family member enjoyed their steak sandwich. Maybe they had their holiday crew working given it was Thanksgiving weekend and that's why our experience wasn't that great. If I was here again, I'd want to sit in the main area in the back and order something different.

I love white owl, there events are super cool and they go all out for them, and especially I love…read moreJenny the waitress! She never gets an order wrong and she is amazing!

Holy cow, where do I even begin! My wife and I wanted to try this place for our date night (you…read moreabsolutely should make a reservation ahead of time) and we were completely blown away! From the food, to the ambiance, to the service, everything was absolutely fantastic. Their specials menu is absolutely spot on. My wife got a delicious pasta dish and I went for a meatloaf sandwich (don't let the that deceive you) and both were totally fantastic! Our cocktails were absolutely spot on and delicious!!! I would highly recommend you get there a few minutes before your reservation because the parking is limited and you may need to find street parking.

Fantastic speakeasy with delicious and creative Asian-inspired cocktails! We will be back here if…read morewe visit NYC again. We enjoyed all the cocktails here, except for the one with sesame oil... While that one was a novel concept, it wasn't up to our taste (rather too oily/heavy). We really liked all the creativity and careful design put into each drink though. Bar vibes were dark and moody and intimate. Service was excellent.

Awesome upstairs speakeasy behind an Asian restaurant…read more Went after dinner for a few cocktails. Was a last minute thing so did not have an RSVP, but luckily there was an open table. Ordered a few various drinks - all very good and balanced. A pretty intimate vibe also, which is appreciated. Would come back!

You can take-out or relax and hang out, either way Carlo and his crew always deliver quality menu…read morein a relaxed friendly environment-never disappointed stopping here.

Disappointed in my last visit. Salads that come with/the entree are very good. I enjoy the garlic…read morebread that is also served with/the entree's. My issue is the quality/type of chicken for the chicken parm. They are using frozen chicken cutlets - they are not made fresh at all. I know this as my husband got a different chicken dish & you could see the difference - his chicken was plumper & in different shapes - mine was pitiful looking. Really disappointed - taking a break from this place.