Ye Olde Rathskeller — Restaurant in Cranford

The bar was busy. Looked like one large party and there was someone at most every table. It isn't large so manageable would be my description. I ordered a chicken sandwich special. Fries were good. The "grilled" chicken breast was bland and looked like it came from the bag of chicken breasts that may or may not be pressed meat and no indication of being grilled other than at least it wasn't cold. I ordered a beer and a water. I got the beer and had to flag someone down to get the water when I had finished my beer. My wife has a Reuben. She said it was okay. Not much to elaborate on there I think. The atmosphere was loud and had a locals kind of vibe. The service was average at best. Forgetting my water. Appearing to make sure no eye contact was made after delivery of our meal. Seeing the Bartender just sitting at the bar talking with their friends when we could have used some attention. I mentioned it was busy but we saw some tables get checked on while we were there so maybe it was a visitor thing. Who knows? Overall it was convenient and close to our hotel. It has parking. We were fed. I wouldn't say don't go but I definitely wouldn't recommend going out of my way to check it out. In today's...

The Ye Olde Rathskeller is a tavern I've visited a few times. I have enjoyed myself each time. My latest visit set a whole new level of enjoyment. I and a friend stopped in for a bite. We sat at a table and were welcomed quickly. The servers aren't formal waiters and waitresses as the bartenders fill all positions from mixing the drinks to covering and bussing the tables. This works to their advantage because they achieve a level of home-like feeling of welcome that put us right at ease. We ordered, her a burger and me, a pizza. She enjoyed her meal as did I. The pizza they serve is ultra thin crust (a type I usually don't favor) The toppings I chose were sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and Cherry peppers. WOW, I loved this pizza! Even the thin crust. The ingredients and toppings were truly flavorful. Especially the mozzarella. Both its flavor and texture were first rate. Top this off with a price that was very fair and we had an excellent evening. There is ample parking and an outdoor patio for warmer weather. If you haven't already, you owe it to yourself to give the Ye Olde...

Ok first of all. I was drawn to this place from it's 4.5 star reviews. It is beyond me how they got that rating without paying for it. Second of all, they advertise and tout that their roast beef is "homemade", as if they are some Hoboken Italian Deli. lol, it is not homemade, their roast beef is Shoprite tier thumans roast beef. They advertise they have a a horse-radish sauce on the sandwich, however they include no such sauce, only a slather of generic mayonaise. They dont even warm the bread or the meat at all. its just cold roast beef slapped on cold bread , with cold slices of generic swiss cheese, slathered with cold mayo.

Now their appetizers, their buffalo wings may be the most bottom tier generic frozen breaded wings ive ever tasted. They dont even coat the wings in sauce for you they just place a cup of hot sauce on the dish. Their french fries are literally shoprite frozen bag fries. Their onion rings were completely over fried and like biting into burnt crust on a slimy onion. Avoid this place if your looking for a star tavern tier meal, you wont...