Hearthside — Restaurant in Collingswood

Food isn’t worth the hassle! Don’t bother wasting your time or money.

As someone with over 20 years in the fine dining industry, I understand and respect the purpose of cancellation policies. They help protect restaurants from last-minute no-shows and lost revenue. That said, the way Hearthside handled my recent reservation experience was disappointing, unprofessional, and—most importantly—unwelcoming.

I had a reservation for four on a Friday evening. The morning of, due to unforeseen changes with my guests (who have a young infant), I canceled via their SMS system around 9:00 AM. Despite following the process and acting in good faith, I was sent a notice later that day stating I’d be charged a $200 cancellation fee.

I called immediately, not to argue, but to try to make it right. I offered to come in myself, to reorder the reservation, even to dine solo if needed. I spoke with multiple staff members, and each time I got closer to a resolution, the goalposts seemed to move. I was told I couldn’t dine alone. Then when I had two guests, I was told the table was no longer available. Finally, after confirming I’d come with three other guests, I was told only outdoor seating was an option.

We arrived—on time and with all four guests—only to be seated outdoors at a windy, unheated table along the street, despite empty indoor tables clearly visible. When we kindly asked to be moved, we were met with abrupt rejection. From the moment we arrived, we were treated as a burden—not as welcome guests.

To salvage the night, we ordered a few starters and planned to move on. Our server, James, was exceptional—polite, attentive, and clearly a professional. He was the only redeeming element of the evening. When we requested the check, James let us know that the $200 “cancellation fee” had been applied to our bill. Despite showing up, dining, and doing everything possible to resolve the situation, we were still being charged as if we never came.

My neighbor went inside to speak with the manager and owner and was met with resistance and deflection. I followed up myself, calmly recounting everything—how I had spent my day trying to make this right, how I brought four people, and how our treatment since walking in had been noticeably cold and dismissive.

The manager claimed my neighbor had been rude (he hadn’t), and responded to my concerns with visible frustration, even telling me “there’s nothing to learn here” when I suggested this could be used as a growth opportunity. After a lengthy back-and-forth, the chef finally agreed to refund the $200 charge—but only after a long, draining effort.

While they comped our appetizers (which we didn’t request), it didn’t come close to balancing out the antagonistic and punitive way we were treated. I left the restaurant feeling unwelcome, disrespected, and frankly stunned at the disconnect between Hearthside’s reputation and our actual experience.

This review isn’t written out of emotion. It’s written so others don’t have to go through the same. Hospitality is more than food—it’s how you make people feel. We came to the restaurant in good faith, eager to dine, and left feeling like an inconvenience from start to finish. I hope Hearthside reflects on this not as a one-off, but as a sign that sometimes policy needs to be balanced with empathy, flexibility, and basic...

Overall mixed bag. Some food was great. Some dishes not good at all. Table service/wait staff was great. Hostess - not a fan.

More info: Went here recently for our 20th wedding anniversary on a recommendation of a co-worker. I literally changed a previous reservation I had set up to a different restaurant to go to Hearthside. I made the reservation on Resy on the restaurant's website 5 weeks in advance. I had it to take a 5pm reservation since so booked up. I failed to realize I set it for the counter, which is the "chef's counter". Normal circumstances I say it's kind of cool to see the nuances of the kitchen. For my 20th...not so much. Like being at a bartop.

As soon as we were seated I went to the hostess and asked if we can switch to a normal table and normally wouldn't mind, but it's our 20th and would love to sit across from each other and not at a counter next to each other. She gave me a puzzled look like I was trying to BS her and told me I set up the reservation for that spot. I advised I didn't know or I wouldn't have made it there. None of my reservation reminders indicate counter or anywhere else. She then said the only other thing we can go do is sit outside. It was on and off rain, so I had to decline. I was told there was no tables available otherwise. So fine...on me, I made the reservation.

When I tell my wife I try to get her to go somewhere else since it's still early (it was a Wednesday and the actual day of my anniversary) so probably can still find a good restaurant. She said no let's stay since here already and food is supposed to be amazing. We tried to make the best of a tough start to the night figuring the food will still be worth it.

The food however was a mixed bag. Ceviche was incredible. Charred broccoli was pretty good as well. Pork belly not a fan. Not crispy and don't like what spices they put on it. Not sure if some type of Chinese 5 spice or what. Very Christmas like. They add similar flavor to the Flat Iron steak and was barely warm. It just wasn't good. I would honestly say it was easily one of the bottom 5-10 steaks I've every had at a restaurant. I usually devour steak and we struggled to finish it. So now 2 items that we did not like at all and are begrudgingly eating. The Bronzino was definitely phenomenal. So 2 great dishes and several we didn't like.

Very little to choose from for dessert and the flourless chocolate cake was barely edible in my opinion. We barely touched it.

The worst of it all is that the entire 90 minutes we sat there at the counter facing the kitchen on our 20th anniversary was that there were 3 empty tables that were NEVER FILLED!! 3 places we could have been seated. So why couldn't we have gone to any of those tables??? I get it if every table was full. Far from the case.

For all the rave reviews I had read and heard first hand, I really expected better. Again, a few dishes were great. Otherwise, I just don't get it. Not sure I can remember a restaurant where the food were on such opposite ends of the spectrum from great to barely edible.

Side note - the service from the wait staff was great overall. Very attentive.

This would be 1 star if not for the Ceviche and Bronzino. Made a special night not so memorable. Maybe I just caught the place on a bad night. Oh well. Not going back...

First, let me start by saying that the service was five stars. Normally I can nitpick something about the staff whether timeliness or otherwise - but I must say all the staff was courteous, professional, timely, and accommodating. If I were to recommend any restaurant based on the service provided by staff - this would be one of the top-ranking restaurants. They were phenomenal without flaw in any way. Hearthside is a BYOB with a four-course menu - each course having options you can choose between. I can only give feedback on the dishes I have tried. Overall the food was above par for the most part with a few exceptions.

For the first course, we had tuna sashimi, Sicilian pistachio butter, sun-dried tomato, and octopus, cilantro emulsion, jicama, jalapeno. The tuna was decently thick and even cut, and fresh, and the pleasant flavors from the tomato and pistachio did not overpower the fish itself. It was slightly more oily than anticipated - but because of the decent size of the tuna cut it was still a delightful dish. The octopus was one of my favorites - it was cooked perfectly, and the smoke from the wood fire was chargrilled into the skin. My only complaint was that the amount of salt was a bit overpowering. I found that it took away a bit from the masterpiece that the octopus was.

For the second course we had the cavetelli cavatelli, fennel, lamb merguez, ricotta espuma which tasted remarkably rich and satisfying. I also tried the burrata flatbread which was a menu addition. While the ingredients were fresh, the burrata at the center lacked any addition of pesto or otherwise - so while the ends tasted delightful, the balance was lost in the center of the dish.

For the third course we had the half chicken, smoked Calabrian chili hot sauce, dill - it was cooked perfectly but the sauce was a little underwhelming. The second main was the monkfish, sunchokes, mussels, citrus ginger broth. The monkfish again was cooked perfectly, but wasn't anything remarkable. The broth was thin, and while refreshing, there was no component to make it cling to the fish at all. I would have liked to see the monkfish with a thicker sauce more reminiscent of a lobster dish. For the last course we had both the opera cake and the budino. The opera cake was pleasant, layers were even, and the strawberry was delightful. The budino was excessively salty - I salted nutella pudding. As someone who loves salted caramel-like flavors, I was disappointed. This combination did not work and is the only dish I would not recommend.

Overall the food was high quality and innovative. For had a few bites and was unable to finish it. It tasted like an overly the price there should be little room for imperfections. I was most pleased with the octopus and tuna first course selections, and most disappointed with the main course and the budino. It can be difficult to get everything right with a rotating menu - I will likely be back again to see if the menu changes the difference in the food.

The staff and atmosphere were definitely one of my highest-rated aspects of this restaurant. Excellent service - and the chef cooked everything perfectly despite some small misses in...