Let me begin by saying the following: I am a bartender in New York City. This place is a health code violation and needs to be shut down immediately. If you eat here and find yourself sick soon after, this place is the reason why:
They serve drinks with ingredients that have long past their shelf-life. The mixture for their Colada was curdled over and had chunks of expired milk product in it.
They do NOT wash their glassware properly. The bartenders literally dunk the glasses in water for one second, and call them clean. They do not even wipe them down as the glasses always seems to have streaks and lipstick marks on them.
Now for the real review:
The decor will fool you. This looks like it would be found in the center of Montclair and populated by college kids. While the latter part is true, that is the only praise I can give to this place. Walking in with my friends we were greeted by the host or manager or whoever she is, as if we were interrupting something important. She stated they had no tables available (which did not seem to be true unless they were reserved), and were directed to sit at the bar area. No issues with that. However However table she directed (yes, not walked) us to is tucked away in the corner, with barely any space on one side as it is up against the bar seats, and against a floor to ceiling window that had a draft and with it being in the 30's tonight, was a joke. We decided to head over to the center community table.
Our server (or bartender as he was behind the bar for the majority of our time) was very pleasant but seemed overwhelmed. With 4 bartenders, you would think this place is understaffed with how in a rush everyone seems. The drink menu is very basic and bland. 3 or 4 step drinks with unnecessary additions to be the Union Hall variant (seriously the "Cosmos"politan' is a traditional cosmo with moon dust to add sparkle). Lime juice is overpowering on everything that is made with it (yeah I get that is nearly EVERY drink ever but still). I ordered the apple Maple Bourbon Manhattan and was disappointed as I watched it being made. Premium whiskey then outpoured by bottom shelf whiskey, sweet vermouth, shaken with maple syrup. Overly sweet and just unpalatable. My friend had ordered the Sinatra Colada and didn't take more than one sip. She stated that whatever the prebatch was, it had curdled and gone bad long ago. So we are being served items that have long been expired.
The food. We had ordered the hummus and flatbread to start. Both were extremely small in portion size, but for the price, it was expected. The hummus had very little flavor and tasted way more grainy than any other I had had. The amount of chips and veggies that come with it is also a joke. The Flatbread was almost impossible to eat as it feels like someone just took whatever was laying around and tossed it on a piece of bread and microwaved it. At this point we had all switched over to wine or liquor to avoid having another bad beverage experience. When our entrees came out, I thought maybe there would be a salvaged experience. How wrong I was.
The burger tasted as if I had went into a Walmart and got one of those single serving burgers in the prepared food sections. Yes, I know what one of those tastes like. No flavor to the meat. The cheese was bland and not even close to being melted. The fries were bland and starchy. My friends didn't have much better luck with their items either, tho the salmon looked decent. We asked if we could have some extra truffle oil and parmesan for our truffle fries, and were told that would be an extra $5. What???? What a joke.
To top all of this off, we watched as the bartenders "cleaned" the glass wear. They just dunk it in their sinks and that is it. I doubt there is any cleaning solution, let alone clean water in those sinks.
I always wondered why this place was always closed around midnight on Saturdays. Now I know. Save yourself the trouble and do not come here. Hell, report it to the city health department, something I am going to be doing. read more