Sweet Melissa Patisserie — Restaurant in Clinton Township

4 1/2 stars

Sweet Melissa has been getting a ton of buzz over the past couple of years, to the point where I convinced my chum Jeffrey to drive out of his way on the way up for Thanksgiving last year to get one of their chocolate bourbon pecan pies I saw on their online menu. Literally the best pecan pie I've ever had, which is saying something given that a) I've had a ton of pecan pies and b) by the time I get to pie on Thanksgiving I'm usually feeling too disgusting to enjoy it. It's definitely not just me either, since this place is regularly appearing on a lot of top lists in the area and state overall. So when I realized I'd be less than 10 minutes from here at the end of my hike last weekend, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit and experience the sit-down service as well.

As a born and bred creature from the Kingdom of Hunterdon, I can tell you a lot of positives about the area. Its food scene is pretty abysmal though, and it's rare that I ever go out of my way to endorse one of its restaurants. As an example, there's a sushi place close to my hometown that is incredibly mediocre and has sky-high reviews because the residents literally have never been to another sushi place. This place actually matches the hype though.

I stopped by around mid-afternoon, about an hour before the kitchen closed. (I was looking nervously at my watch during the tail-end of my hike, knowing that time was not my friend for this one). It's very easy to find/spot, just off Route 31 S about two minutes past North Hunterdon High School. It's located in a newer strip mall with tons of parking available. Once I walked in, a waitress showed up within 30 seconds or so to direct me to a table in the room off to the right, away from the bakery area (which was probably a blessing in disguise).

I can't find my main entree on the online menu, but it was an incredible breakfast sandwich, featuring a croissant, garlic aioli, eggs, avocado, gruyere cheese and thick cut bacon. Absolutely one of the best and certainly classiest breakfast sandwiches I've ever had, and it was enormous. The garlic aioli is a gamechanger for this, adding a delicious savory zest to the proceedings. As soon as I saw it, I knew it probably wasn't the best idea to also order the bread with raspberry compote - that was perfectly fine but I wasn't able to finish it/do it justice. I think they could have put a LITTLE more avocado on this (I had to get creative to ensure it was in more bites), but that's a dictionary definition nitpick. The lavender latte was solid as well.

The only blemish was a bit of a service issue. My waiter was VERY nice and stopped by frequently. However, he didn't bring over a pad to take down my order, which wouldn't have been an issue except he had to come back sheepishly to confirm what entree I wanted (not a huge deal, but verification that he should be writing the information down to avoid inefficiencies/potential mistakes). The bigger problem though was that I actually ordered a salted caramel tart, not the peanut butter one. I was honestly in an ambivalent mood about them (they're similar taste profiles AND look close to identical in the display counter), which is why I didn't give pushback on it, but it once again went back to the fact that basic hospitality 101 is getting the orders right. That goes to the core fundamentals of a restaurant, so it's something I'd emphasize in training going forward, especially since the other service aspects (demeanor, turnaround time, etc.) were great.

Especially given that the food I've had here on various occasions has been off-the-charts good, this is still one of the best places in the county I've been to. They're tantalizing close to a perfect experience if they just tighten the reins a little (yes, I decided to use a horse reference as a Hunterdon homage....

I wish I could give the place more than 2 stars, but I’d be dishonest if I did so. The restaurant is overpriced and overrated. The last time I ate there (5/5/23,) I ordered blueberry pancakes and coffee from Heather R. I was brought my coffee without any silverware. She sped away so quickly I had to get up to ask the woman near the register for a spoon. She was apologetic and gave me a fork/knife, but no spoon to stir my coffee 🤦🏻‍♀️. I flagged down frantic Heather (who by this time had an attitude) and finally received my spoon! Whew 😰! My order came. The man said, “Buttermilk pancakes” and went about his business. Did I order Buttermilk pancakes? Hmm 🤔. I know I was a bit tired, but that wasn’t my order. I flagged him down to let him know my order was wrong. He offered to bring me blueberries, on the side, or make me a new order, which we all know would’ve taken quite some time (the place was crowded; 2 women directly in front of me sat at their table for quite a while after eating, talking, completely ignorant and oblivious to their surroundings.) I’d cut into one pancake only to see it was raw 🤮. I flagged down the man who served me and showed him the issue. So far, I don’t recall him apologizing. I caught Heather’s eye and ordered bacon as a side. Don’t do it, people! Huge mistake on my part for not asking how much it would cost. The assumption in my mind was about $4.00 MAX. How wrong I was about that! Unbeknownst to me until I received my check, the bacon was $9.00! Nine dollars! I got 3 slices, 1 and 1/2 of which were inedible because they were overcooked and difficult to chew. Even with today’s grocery store prices, I could’ve purchased a pound and a half of bacon for that price! When I went to pay, Jesse K., the cashier, just shrugged his shoulders after I complained, as if he truly didn’t give a rat’s behind. He said, “Yup, That’s the price of a side of bacon 🤷🏻‍♂️.” I also told Jesse my pancakes came to me raw. He used the excuse of a new chef having to learn the menu. What? I’m sorry, but preparing full-cooked food has nothing to do with learning the menu 🤦🏻‍♀️. This last trip was the third time I’d been there. The very first time I went there (3/7/23,) I bought take-out home for me and my son. I didn’t check the bag until I got home. Live and learn they say. What a huge disappointment - the portion size of the $15.00 French Toast did not bode well with me. It looked like 3 small pieces of overcooked toast. I don’t mind paying a bit more for good-quality food, but don’t cheat me on the portion size. Though I wasn’t a happy camper with my take-out order, I decided to give them a second chance (4/14/23.) Luckily, my salad and tea order was a success. Well, after what happened the last time I was there, I highly doubt I’ll be giving them a third time to strike out. It’s too costly to my...

We stopped by this weekend for breakfast around 10:30 AM. The first thing that surprised us was that although there were tables open, we were told the wait was still @ 10 to 15 minutes. OK fine, we waited. We were later told by our server that there is only one chef cooking everything & that’s why they can’t have too many people eating at once & that even the wait for our food is going to be a little long (?). Whether or not the owners told her to say that or not, it’s disquieting either way. If you can’t support the number of seats at your restaurant, remove the seats or hire more kitchen staff, right? We noticed a couple come in the front door & after speaking to the server, turn around and walk out, & another group of four were eventually seated, but they got up and left after sitting down at two different tables.

My wife ordered an omelette special & I ordered onion soup & a chicken sandwich. The server asked if I wanted the soup first & even though I said yes, @40 minutes(!) later everything came out at once.

This next part, if it weren’t so sad, would actually be funny. There wasn’t enough room on our tiny table to put down the two plates & the soup with our drinks still there, so the server sort of teetered them on the edge of the table & asked if she could clear some of this “other stuff” out of the way. Yes, of course. She grabbed one (1) empty coffee cup, and walked away with the plates as she left them.(!).

None of this is the server’s fault. She obviously was not trained properly in a restaurant that would seemingly be better off remaining bakery rather than trying to be both, since the restaurant seems to function more Iike an afterthought.

Some other suggestions:

-Hire more kitchen help or at least remove some of the tables. & definitely stop telling your host/servers that everything is going to be a long wait because you only have one person working in the kitchen. -Train your servers to properly service your guests. How to clear a table, make drink suggestions, refill coffee, upsell, etc. none of this happened. -if you know the wait for food to arrive is going to be longer than expected, offer a complementary pastry or something to your guests. That little bit of courtesy goes a long way. -& finally, stop serving leafy greens with citrus-based dressing on the same plate as egg based dishes....