Tap Room | Historic Hotel Bethlehem — Restaurant in Bethlehem

A disappointing experience. My partner and I joined my mother and her husband for their anniversary dinner at Hotel Bethlehem last night (a saturday). My mom had made reservations maybe a month + ago and spoke to the person on the phone about wanting to sit in the terrace restaurant and reserved the date for when the terrace was open (I guess it's not all throughout the week). When we arrived to the hotel we were placed in the Taproom, stating that an event was running over time in the Terrace and we couldn't be seated there. I will say that the food was pretty good. My partner didn't love his food. He said it was pretty mediocre considering the prices of the establishment. The issue that really bothered me about this experience was the service. We were there for a special event in celebrating my mom and her husband on their anniversary and it was very intentional that she chose a nicer restaurant with a beautiful space to enjoy another year with her husband. After having been displaced into the Taproom, it seemed we were nearly forgotten about the entire night. We arrived just before 6:30 and didn't leave until after 9 due to the large periods of waiting for food, waiting, for drinks, waiting to request another soda, waiting for the bill, etc. Our dishes were often not taken away in a timely fashion and so our little table (it was quite little for four people and accumulating dishware) had stacks of plates and silverware that lingered for a long time after each course. My mom got charged for a refill on her soda. No one was asked if they wanted a refill on their beverages. We had to chance seeing our server in order to wave him down to request anything. I order a steak - cooked medium - for my entrée. Again, it took a substantial amount of time before our entrees came out. I think this may have been due to the event that was still taking place in The Terrace, because The Taproom wasn't overwhelmingly busy. My steak was cooked incorrectly - between rare and medium rare. I wasn't given a steak knife and had to again search for our server to ask for one, and I was never asked if the steak was cooked to my liking. The steak did taste good. It was seasoned well. I ate half and took the rest home to cook to medium later. My partner ordered crab cakes. He said they were just OK. I know this is a long list of complaints, and obviously other people writing reviews have had much better experiences, but one does hope that if they're paying upscale prices they're going to get an upscale experience and The Hotel Bethlehem really was a letdown for us. I would not return. P.s. I recently went for brunch at The Westside Grill in Allentown and thought it was wonderful! Similar prices to The Hotel Bethlehem, but honestly, I don't think I could come up with one negative thing to say about it. Beautiful atmosphere, great service,...

Under mismanagement? Let me preface this by saying that we’ve eaten at the hotel Bethlehem before and even hosted a party there. The food was always good and the service reasonable, although not always stellar.

Today opened a new chapter. We brought a couple of friends visiting from Italy that we hoped to impress with our landmark hotel.

Perhaps it was a mistake to go on a Saturday or while there were some events being held. It was normally convenient to park in the back deck, but today in the rain, we were directed to park under the bridge and take a shuttle up. It would’ve been nice to know This in advance, we could have come on a different day. But of course, when you’re making reservations there is no such information.

That being said, we would she did promptly. After proving the menu we ordered and waited, and waited, and waited. have we been kept informed or had we known to expect a delay It would have been more appropriate. Instead my wife finally flagged down the waitress and asked about the food. She should’ve been proactive in addressing it.

My wife had the gnocchi. Although the gnocchi were not impressive, what really made the dish dismal was the amount of oil that it was sitting in. You can see in the close-up of the picture. Well the Hallmark of good gnocchi may be they’re fluffiness and texture, firm greasy gnocchi really doesn’t cut it.

I had the cheese steak. It was rather standard with rather their soft bread. People hailing from Philadelphia would laugh. I asked for hot peppers and what I gotten is sliced fresh jalapeños on the side. I would have expected chopped cherry peppers, pickled jalapeños, even banana peppers. You know my time between New Jersey and Philadelphia, sliced fresh jalapeños, whenever added to a cheesesteak. Get with the program. I suggest sending the chefs on a teaching trip to Philly.

The last entrée was the chicken tacos. Small and bland and mostly a plate of french fries. It wasn’t quite a Taco Bell quality but it certainly wasn’t hotel Bethlem quality. The coleslaw was inedible. I tried some and I normally love good coleslaw, but this is mostly cabbage vinegar and some pepper.

I’ll give it a year or two before I go back and if it’s still the same, I will...

We went for my in-laws 50th anniversary dinner on Sat Feb 5th. Seated to table right @ 6:00 (Duke/NC happened to tip-off @ that exact moment on the big TV next to our table).

Service was, shall we say, extremely slow. I realize that things are busy on a Sat night for any restaurant, but check this out: dinner orders taken 6:15. 1st bread didn't arrive until 6:30. 2nd bread 7:00 with waiters apologies on food delay. Apparently our order had somehow gotten "piggybacked" with an order from the 1741 Terrace on the opposite side of the lobby. Salads arrived 7:15. Food didn't arrive until 5 minutes of game left (7:45). Sorry folks, for a high end dining destination charging $30-$50 for entrees, I expect better.

While there was a complimentary bottle of champagne supplied since it was a 50th anniversary, I didn't care for the taste. Just my opinion, others at the table seemed to enjoy it.

Waters were topped up sporadically and my ginger ale was never offered a refill (and neither were my kids'). Given how slow the food service was, one would think the waiter or manager would check in earnestly to make up for it.

Food was "okay." Didn't knock my socks off given the high-brow venue & pricing (I had the NY strip, which was the highest $$$ entree on the menu @ $46). Others at my table got the lobster mac & cheese, which was pretty good by all accounts.

As I was stewing, waiting the eons for my food to arrive, and pondering how to adjust the tip according to the level of service received that night, come to find out the gratuity is already added in when the bill comes. Ah well, maybe it was because we had a table of 7 & it's their policy, but I missed seeing that on the menu or the website, if it's there.

I will say that the hotel lobby & seating area is very nice, and other tables around me seemed to be enjoying the service, but mine was not good. Your mileage may vary for your visits.

I will not...