The Twisted Elm — Restaurant in Elmwood Park

Good Food Rotating Craft Beer Menu Top Shelf Cocktails The Owner Jim Is A Great Guy

Menu items I have tried (Inquire about the specials before ordering)

Apps Wings (Buffalo) - Crisp and meaty, good sauce. Gravy Meatball Sliders - Tender well seasoned, nice roll. Crispy Calamari - Served with 2 sauces, cooked well. Duck Fat Jersey Disco Fries - No explanation needed.

Soups French Onion - Quite good.

Wood Fired Pizza Margherita - Thin crispy crust, a classic. White Clam - White clam sauce on a pie. Sausage & Pepperoni - Just the right amount of quality toppings.

Pasta Tagliatelle Bolongnase - Hearty well dressed home made pasta and most importantly, not greasy.

Sandwiches Lobster Grilled Cheese - Pricey but good. Cuban Panino - Chef Al's spin on the Cuban Sandwich, nice. Beer Brewed Corned Beef - On marble rye bread, just ok.

Pub Grub Shepherds Pie - Done the right way, with lamb. House Made Fish & Chips - Not that great. Skillet Mac & Cheese - Large portion, decent. Tavern Custom Blend Burger - A custom blend of beef for a very distinct flavor, I like this burger.

Overall quite good when Chef Al is...

Went here to see my friend place an acoustic set. As we try to get a table, the host tells us that the kitchen is closed. It was 9:45pm!. So that kind of killed the experience immediately. Then, as the host brings us over to a tall table in the back, he says, "There is no waitress service". Fine. Ok. Two strikes and we just walked in 2 minutes ago. Then we tried to get drinks at the bar. Clearly they were understaffed. The bar isnt even that big, but the female bartender could not handle it. It took at least 15 minutes just to get two beers.

So, I was starving and it took forever to get drinks. I actually wanted to try some of the food, but unfortunately could not.

Based on this first impression, I would skip this place. But, I still do want to try the food. Maybe they were having a bad night? Who knows? I guess if I ever get back here, I will try the food and then update the review. But for...

Place is old, not mich of a renovation since they opened. This was my second time there. First time was okay a local town bar to have a drink and a bite to eat. Second time was a disaster, we sat a the bar ordeeed a drink and some food to pick on. Place was empty at first and then few people started coming in. We started sipping our drinks and the food came in and suddenly inside where the bar attendant stands i see a mouse going back and for and then couple of more. I immediately stopped eating and drinking and told my friend who also saw them. I asked to leave and while he pay the bill i approached the manager (young girl) and quietly told her about it. She said she would take care of it and apologized. We left feeling disgusted about the place. Obviously there are some cleaning and health issues. I will never come back there! In fact i will call the Health Dept...