Holsten's Ice Cream, Chocolate & Restaurant — Restaurant in Bloomfield

I will discuss this place's connection with "The Sopranos" later. First though, it deserves to be evaluated for what it has always been and continues to be: A diner-type restaurant that specializes in desserts and confections. On that basis, it gets a 5 rating. My western omelet sandwich and chocolate milkshake float were both outstanding. The onion rings were good, but even though I don't recall ever having onion rings anywhere else in NJ, it's not likely they are "the best in the state." I did learn that, prior to the show appearing in the Sopranos finale, they didn't actually have them on the menu.

I went to Holsten's with 3 people who live in NJ and had previous experience with the place. One of the people had been going there since she was a child--close to a half century. She said that they added the onion rings and also expanded the food menu after the show aired. Nonetheless, both before and after that, people who come here for meals are almost always more focused on their desserts than the main courses, especially the ice cream.

We also received excellent service, and because we arrived when the place opened, we were able to get the Soprano family booth, and I got the same spot where Tony sat for his "last supper." There were some disconnects between the actual place and what was conveyed in the show that detracted some from the experience. Besides the onion rings not being of the caliber indicated, there was also no jukebox. The Soprano booth does have a selector box, but it is not functional, and that is the only booth where they kept any remnant. I was determined NOT to play "Don't Stop Believing," but aside from the fact that I couldn't actually play anything, that song was not even to be listed. Also, the bells that rang when the door was opened were not there. As I first walked in I was psyched to hear them--they are a prime clue in indicating that Tony is actually dying in the seen. It also turns out that from where Tony was sitting, you don't actually get a clear view of the front door, at least not with the way the place is set up now.

It is possible that none of those things actually have changed since the seen was shot there. Maybe the jukebox was already removed by 2007, and maybe the bells never were attached to the back of the door. Maybe the door never was clearly visible from that booth. I was actually only going there because of The Sopranos connection, I would not know of the place otherwise. So those details all were "bubble bursters" to some degree. I don't count any of it against the restaurant, but it did detract from my personal experience to...

The most horrible service I have ever experienced. My niece and I just went in to get some dessert and no one would make themselves available to seat us, even after waiting with another couple for quite a while. They ended up asking a bus boy if they could have an available table and after they were shrugged sure, my niece and I were completely ignored. No one even made any eye contact. Eventually we sat ourselves at the bar. For the entire time we sat there we listened to a young lady with braids and eye lashes (later we found her name to be Emily), present the rudest and most awful management to the staff. She was frustrated, impolite and a very poor representation of the ship in front of customers. All of the employees seemed miserable. It was a very long while until someone asked what we wanted to order. When we finally got our food she (Emily) threw a plate aggressively into the sink causing the water to slash onto my nieces ice cream. I asked the bus boy wearing glasses if my niece could get another and he honestly seemed scared. She also voiced complaints to customers about the staff, and even told one of the waiters in the back to MOVE. This was the most uncomfortable dining experience I have had in a very long while and I believed it was because of the employee (Emily). I hope through this she is able to recieve the coaching she needs to manage her frustrations, multitask successfully and a better ability to support and inspire her coworkers...

This place was a good find. We went out for my birthday. I'm going to start off with all the good.... the place is super cute. Old ice cream shop meats hamburger joint. The food was ok. Basic foods. BLT, hamburgers, hotdogs... things like that. The fries were good. The onion rings were sooooooo good. Burger was ok. BLT was pretty good. Now let's talk about the ice cream. WOW WOW WOW. Sooo good. Well worth the price. I got a milk shake. Came in a mug with whipped cream and they brought me the mixer cup with what wouldn't fit in the cup. FANTASTIC!

now for the not so great. The waitress was terrible. When you walk up to a table you usually have a greeting. Like hello, welcome, or my name is.. we got nothing. She was like a brick wall. I ordered my BLT and wanted to order a side of fries but she quickly moved onto my son. He ordered his burger and wanted to say med well and she was already moved on to my husband.. with a and what do you want. It's not like it was busy. I couldn't figure out why she was so short and angry. The restaurant itself was cute but a bit dirty. Nothing that a good dusting and cleaning couldn't fix. When we were paying she was giggling and laughing with the cook. She seems so happy and friendly. Then we watched her turn around to help someone and the smile went away. So insane. We will 100% go back. Maybe it was a...