The Bookstore Speakeasy — Restaurant in Bethlehem

The ambiance and style is unique. It has a trendy sense and stands out as a speakeasy style bar/restaurant. The first time we went the bartender who served us was incredible. He was passionate about his work and you can tell that he really enjoyed his job. Tempted with giving me a unique twist on my favorite drink, an old fashion, he blew me away.

The last two times we went, we got table service on a weekend. They have live music, but due to the size of the room, you can't hear or talk at all. The music is wonderful and the musicians are passionate, but you simply can't hold a conversation and I hate to say this - There is immediate relief when the bands take a break. I think if they played with no amps this could greatly improve the environment. We went once with a two instrument ensemble and it was loud enough. The last time was with three and it was ear splitting from mid room.

But the real reason for going from a five star review (from a few months ago) to a two is the service.

During our last couple of visits the speed of service was extremely slow. During our second visit, we were able to squeeze in just a pair of drinks a piece in about 2 hours. The recent visit we spent over two and a half hours there, and only as we were trying to get out did our second pair of drinks come... Nearly an hour after we ordered them. Quite frankly we had forgotten we ordered them.

Both times the food service was wrong or there were issues that had to be resolved. We ordered desert once and waited some time just to be told they were out of something we ordered. Their answer was to double up on an order and as odd as this sounds, triple orders of deserts was too much. No complaints on the resolution, just what happened.

The last time, we had dinner, and the dish came with ingredients that were not listed. While some people might not be concerned with unlisted ingredients, other might be upset that an ingredient ruins the taste of the dish overall. The solution was to remake the plate, as we desired, but it took just as long as the original order and I was done with my dinner just as my partner got her replacement.

The biggest concern, and the reason I am taking this from five stars to two: Both times the service has left a lot to be desired and both times the young lady in the golden cocktail dress has flat out ruined the night.

During our second visit she took care us and it was simply service. She was nice enough, but compared to the rest of the staff, including the hosts, she seemed extremely disingenuous. Overly enthusiastic for the wrong reasons, not quite listening and a personality after a big tip, not to create a great experience.

Our final night the server we had was wonderful, even if extremely slow. He was attentive to our needs when he did come around. He was apologetic to any concerns around the dish, siding with us when we pointed out that the ingredient was not on the menu and discounted our bills below the value of the dish itself.

The real nail in the coffin was the young waitress from our second visit and how she book-ended our night. The young man was taking care of our table all night, providing our food and drinks for the most part. But as we were trying to get out, as it was an extremely long night with slow service, we simply tried to find him to get our bill. The young lady came to us with our drinks after we had been waiting entirely too long and we simply stated we were actually trying to leave for awhile now and had not had a chance to get our bill. She gave us the most disgustingly passive aggressive smile and said "Oh so you don't want these drinks" I reiterated what I just said, and without another word she turned around and you can hear her stamp away, even in the extremely loud...

My wife and I have dined at the Bookstore quite a few times and generally have a good experience, so we decided to invite our friends and celebrate my birthday there. I don't know what was going on that night, but it was by far the absolute worst experience we've had there or any other restaurant in Bethlehem.

(This is a long review so tl;dr: ridiculous wait periods, rude service, meh food. Go elsewhere for dinner then come sit at the bar for drinks.)

We were seated promptly and greeted by our waitress who asked for our drink orders. We hadn't decided and asked for a few minutes to look at the menu. We did ask if we could have separate checks, which they were unable to accommodate per their house rules. We didn't know this ahead of time and it was not an issue, but the way that our server told us of the rule was pretty condescending. Twenty minutes later, our waitress comes back for our drink order. Unfortunately, my wife didn't care for the cocktail she ordered and discretely requested to choose another. The server made a pretty big deal about it but did allow her to choose another drink. Forty. minutes. later. our waitress comes back to take our dinner orders. We understand that it was Friday night and fairly busy, but to let a table sit waiting to even put their orders in was not acceptable, especially when she somehow managed to visit the table behind us 3 times in that timeframe.

Full disclosure: I find the food at The Bookstore to be pretty mediocre but love the drinks which is the primary reason we came. Everyone was more or less satisfied with their entrees (wife LOVED the crab cakes!) except me. I ordered the vegetarian pasta because my wife generally really likes the vegetarian dishes she gets here. The mushroom/spinach/butternut squash dish currently on the menu is the worst dish I have ever eaten at this restaurant. There was no salt anywhere in that dish except the sauteed spinach the pasta rested upon. My wife tried it and told me I should send it back. I was starving and just ate it but was highly dissatisfied at the quality of that dish.

For some reason, we decided to order another round of drinks, which, of course took forever. When it was clear that it had been far too long, our waitress informed us that she had accidentally sent the drinks to the wrong table, but ours would arrive shortly. No problem. But when they did arrive, mine was completely wrong. The runner apologized and took my order for the correct drink.

The manager came by after our entrees, and offered my wife a free dessert because of the earlier issue with her drink. She told him it was my birthday and he very generously comped our table two desserts and a coffee. We truly appreciated his generosity and attempt to rectify our night. I added a star to my review because of this. When we received our bill, we noticed that we had been charged the $3/pp cover charge for live music. This would have been no big deal had we still been there by choice. But we spent so much time waiting and waiting to place our order, to get our drinks, to get our drinks after the mix up, that this charge felt like adding insult to injury. For this reason, we did ask our waitress if this could be removed. Again, she was unnecessarily condescending in telling us no.

My wife and I were SO EMBARRASSED that we gushed about this restaurant to our friends and that they had to pay so much for such a terrible dining experience. We've dined here several times before and had much better experiences, so hopefully it was just an off night. But we won't be back any time soon (if at...

We just got home from a visit here and I'd like to leave a review while it's all fresh in my mind. This was our 3rd attempt to dine at The Bookstore. The first time we made the mistake of trying to walk in without a reservation and spent 25 minutes in the stuffy waiting area as a band brought in all of their equipment through 10 of us standing there. People ahead of us with reservations were still waiting. It was clear we weren't getting in so we left. Our 2nd attempt we made a reservation request online 3 weeks ahead of time which was denied after 10 or so days because they had rented out the whole place to a large party. Okay. So this time I made a reservation over a month ahead of time. It was accepted. Let the anticipation begin. Today we showed up to the same stuffy room but were helped reasonably quickly. We were sat at a table that was shoved between the bar and a cabinet of antiques. It very much seemed like a 2 topper they created a space for so couples weren't taking up tables they could seat larger parties at. Okay. The room was packed, small and even more stuffy than the previous room. I suppose they didn't have much moving air in the 20s. We were charmed by the drink menu that came in a book and the drinks sounded great. I say sounded because we only ended up trying 1 drink each. We are the type to order 3 or more each and like to try our way around a menu. We weren't greeted by any sort of wait staff for over 20 minutes. When the waitress did come she was pleasant enough to start. We placed an order for drinks, an app and dinner all simultaneously in fear it would take just as long to see someone again. We were right. By the 45 minute mark we still had not been given anything we ordered. Shortly after a woman who appeared to be management brought out our plates and asked if we needed anyhing else. We asked if she could check on our drinks and she was kind and said she would. No sooner did she leave and our waitress did arrive with them. No one knew which of us ordered what. This isn't a huge deal but when it's only 2 of us it's nice to feel like your server is paying attention at all to you. The Ahi Tuna Ceviche was great and the Skirt Steak was also delicious. Our drinks were above average but did not meet my expectations whatsoever for how this place was talked about. When the waitress came back next she didn't ask if we needed another drink and I had to catch her as she was running off with a plate to just ask for the check. She came back seeming disgruntled as I tried to just hand her my card as we didn't want to wait another 20 minutes for her to leave and come back again. As she returned with the receipt we were given a half hearted thank you. We didn't want to leave yet but we're not confident we would get another drink in a timely manner. We felt it was best to leave and spend our money elsewhere or just save it and go home. Beware there is a 25% gratuity for every person regardless of table size. We are generous tippers but tonight I feel as if we were forced to overtip for the service we received and I'm not likely to return. Overall it was an average meal at best and a below average experience. Thankfully the band kept us entertained or we would have likely been much less happy to...