Cafe Emilia — Restaurant in Bridgewater Township

THE WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD. We went to have dinner at Cafe Emilia on 7/15/22. As my husband and I got there, we were sat in the outdoor area and despite the place not being full at all, it took about 20minutes for the server to take our orders. We actually had to wave so someone would stop by and this white male, in his 50-60s, wearing a shirt that was not the same as all other servers (guessing he was shockingly the OWNER), stopped by with a tone of disrespect, laughing at us and saying that if we wanted fast service we should go to a McDonalds. I was entirely shocked with the commentary, not to say that his attitude towards us was absolutely disrespectful at all times. Maybe he thought we looked different, outsiders, but for some reason we were not deserving of his respect. Then, after placing our orders, we waited for over 70min and the main would not come out. The server would never stop by to say anything or give any status update - and we tried calling 2 other servers to ask about the food and THEY WOULD NOT COME OVER. Our feeling is that they were asked by the white male not to serve us because we were just ignored. As a result, after over 1.5h in the restaurant, with the most unpleasant experience we have ever had, we decided to just leave. We headed inside to pay for our drinks- someone from the restaurant asked us what had happened and we explained and he did not look surprised at all and just said “that guy again”, which makes me think this is recurring. I am never going back to this place. And I live 5 minutes away and just moved to the neighborhood so I could have become a loyal customer but never...

TROPHIES. This past Friday I took my Trophy to my Trophy Restaurant where she was greeted, seated, and treated to a private chef-like experience. If you came for the review and not the story, the ending is 5-star. Cafe Emilia, as fine wine, improves with time. I don't know how any business can be so consistently excellent. It's the food AND the service. Guests are greeted and treated as family. It's the most gracious restaurant be it Europe or America. Remember the early Burger King ads: "Have it your way?" Cafe Emilia goes beyond. For those sticking around for the story, it was as a private chef night. I pre-ordered what I fantasized would be a Portuguesse style Chilean sea bass. The reality exceeded the fantasy. Neither of us began with wine or a cocktail - plain water with lemon or lime quenched our immediate thirst. We sat, talked quietly holding hands while a soft, loving, feminine touched mine. It was a busy Friday night, so I was reluctant to create our own appetizer, but our server said, "Tell me." I asked to share shrimp and clams in a Pomodora sauce - no pasta. "Done," and he disappeared. My Tropy was awed. She said she never would have thought to ask for something not on the menu. I told her I was proud to take her to Cafe Emilia. But, OH, what a dish. (Pun intended.) The shrimp were gigantic, plump, crisp, sweet, succulent bathed in a wondrous Pomodoro sauce to die for. We spoke of buying a quart for home. The clams matched the shrimp: perfectly done, juicy, and large enough to have deep intense flavor. What a dish! ...

Went here tonight to celebrate my mother=in-law's birthday. Met by a bored server who rattled off the specials with absolutely no flair or interest. The clams oregenatta appetizer was very good and the salads were fresh but the entrees were sub-par. Had the sirloin and pappardelle specials. The steak and pasta were bland and lacked any type of flavor. Server knew it was a special event (we had a present on the table and were taking pics as well as put it on our online reservation) but made no attempt to acknowledge it or make it special for us. I had asked for a dessert candle on the reservation but the server didn't acknowledge the special request and served the desserts off the rolling cart without a candle or even a "happy birthday" and absolutely no presentation. It was Sunday evening and by the time we were on dessert it was 8:00 and we were the only table left in the place. It was obvious that the server wanted to go home and just cared about getting us out of there {the lights were even turned off in the foyer and walkout so we couldn't see where we were going). Altogether a bad experience. The owner/partner was not there tonight .... too bad because he always made us feel welcome in the past times we've been here and always offered a limoncello shot at the end of our meal. No limoncello offer tonight.... although the table next to us was offered one. The owner should train his staff about hospitality. I was going to suggest this restaurant to my neighbor group for our annual Christmas dinner, but after tonight,...