Erini Restaurant — Restaurant in Ewing Township

First and last time here. Going by any previous reviews that you may be looking at while deciding to go here or not, check how recent they are. My recent experience was so horrific and some staff enlightened me on why this may be. I'll paint the picture of what was a lunch I never got to eat and had to leave to find food elsewhere. The hostess was kind and walked us outside to the back patio to our seat under an umbrella. The atmosphere inside and outside the restaurant is beautiful and stunning. Our server, Magda, was the only reason this visit was bearable. She was the sweetest, kindest, and caring server I've had in a while. She truly cared about us and at the end of this visit she felt so bad, though none of it was her fault. I'd like management to know how great she was and that she was the only good part of our visit besides the nice atmosphere on the patio. I ordered the pretzel crusted grouper. Though the presentation was nice, it was so unbelievably salty it was inedible. The person at my table tried it without me saying and she said the same thing. I tried and it was like eating pure salt and I couldn't even taste the main part which was the fish. Our server even tried a piece I didn't touch and agreed it was so salty. I had to send it back. At this point it was very late as it took some time to get our food so I decided to order an appetizer to be quicker since I was starving at this point. I ordered the bacon wrapped scallops. What a mistake. Check the photos for yourself. The bacon was old and the scallops were just bad. And I mean bad. I am a scallop connoisseur and this was a pity. At this point I said no more food please I just want to leave. Mind you my mother's BLT was loaded in mayo with old squishy tomatoes, and our salad was served with partially brown bruised apples. I mean cmon! This establishment should be embarrassed. I frequent finer dining restaurants in Princeton, Cherry Hill, and many other areas with high reputations. I have never sent food back and it's always been mouth watering tasty. I left here hungry without having eaten anything but a salad. Not once did a manager come out to apologize. The only one who comforted us and felt bad was our wonderful server, Magda. She was a gem. I will add on that another employee, not our server, told us that four cooks in the kitchen recently quit and now the manager himself has had to get in there to cook since no one wants to work due to the hostile work environment. I believe this due to the lack of the manager coming out to apologize to me. So food is not going to come out good since those cooking it aren't actual cooks or chefs as they all left. Another obvious clue I missed is that other than us, there was only one other table with people there for lunch. You’ll never find a good restaurant empty for lunch on a 79 degree beautiful day. I will never be back here. What a big mistake for them because when I like food from a place I'll frequent there over and over and bring friends and family, etc. My suggestion to anyone reading this is to take your business to Witherspoon Grill, Agricola, Blue Point Grill or Mistral in Princeton; or Il Vilaggio, Caffe Aldo Lamberti, or Capital Grille in Cherry Hill. You'll never be...

Erini is a gem of a Resturant located off of Rt29 in West Trenton, NJ. The resturant has two different dinning areas. Each with its' on vibe. The outdoor / Tiki Bar is located under a large tent that is more than just a popup tent. Well designed clean and more of a perminate structure. So don't think flimsy rental tent that flaps and has cloudy plastic windows.

The inside is more of a formal dinning occasion. Dictated not by your clothing but, because of Linen Table cloths and decor with soft lighting. There are often Birthday / Anniversary / Parties in one of the party rooms. But, don't think raucous noise to disturb your dinning. But, rather a family or intimate gathering with low noise.

The outside of the building has amazing plants and little pathways to move about between the outside dinning area and inside the building.

So, onto the food. The dinners and desserts are of a high quality. I selected the Blackened Ahi Tuna with Coconut rice. The entire dish was created with a fruited polynesian style flavor. The Coconut flavor was infused and the rice kept a rice consistency not a creamy Risotto like base. Chopped mangos added that sweet taste with creamy mouthfeel. The inhouse made cheesecake, creme brulee are on par and made by a pastry chef / baker who is well trained and has a solid skillset. Desert and coffee can easily be an option for a late evening idea.

There are two Full Service bars with specialty drinks. The bartenders are polite, fast and good at what they do. One bar inside is your standard oval with seating. The one out under the canopy / Tent has a Tiki Bar vibe. The outside dinning tables are setup around the Tiki Bar. But, not so close as to be in the way of foot traffic. And most important not too many tables are outside where you feel squished and can hear the next table conversations.

Overall Erini offers positive dinning experience. The pricing is $$$ so expect to pay for quality food. The value is there so it is proportional. Market price for seafood. Lobster rolls as an appetizer are made by hand. All the food takes time to get to the table as the chef is preparing your order from scratch. So you will be pleased when a plate of freshly prepared food arrives.

This restuarant is not a kid environment. There are no crayons and things to keep them occupied. No children's food on the menu. Bringing your children will detract from a great dinning experience. So leave them home and enjoy your night out.

My only complaint and I had to stretch to find one. Is the pathways you can see in the photos. These paths are used by the wait staff as well as the patrons. So you have to be ready for a waiter passing by with a large tray of food or a passing table clearing heading back inside. You only have to have avoid this traffic walking inside to use the restroom or like me taking photos.

I rate Erini with 5 Stars and will continue to...

My husband and I came here for our 4-year wedding anniversary, the food was delicious and we were given great portion sizes. That being said the service that we received from our waitress was awful. From the start she seemed very cold towards us. It seemed like she didn't want a conversation with us at all. She never asked us if we were celebrating anything, if it was our first time (which it was). And although I don't fault her for any of this, it was a little discouraging to see the other tables around us having really interactive waiters and waitresses having friendly conversations with them. We were never asked if we wanted more bread, as well as my water was also empty for over 15 minutes until I asked the bus boy who delivered our appetizers if he could refill it. He was very pleasant and more than happy too. And although these things might seem small, My husband and I ordered two appetizers, two entries, one alcohol drink, one mocktail, and two desserts and the total came out to be $194. I'm by no means complaining about the price point, however if you are going to charge upscale prices the service should always match. It did not. When our entrees were brought out we didn't even taste them before we were asked how they were. They were great, We asked for boxes and she brought them to the table. We ended our night getting two desserts. After all was said and done she dropped off our bill and this is where we had the biggest issue. The total was $193, We had $100 gift card and gave our card for the rest of it. When she returned she had circled the $193 and wrote "total bill thank you!" We go to a lot of very upscale and fancy restaurants, and have never run into a waitress feeling so entitled for a tip.. let me say that we always leave 20 to 25% tip however we both without a doubt felt like we were an inconvenience to her the whole night. And as I mentioned before with this price point at the very least most places will notice and refill water when needed, ask if you want more bread, as well as box up your food for you. When my husband and I went to talk to the manager he brushed us off like she was just trying to be nice and thank us for coming, however the whole night with her serving us felt like we had personally wronged her from the start. Needless to say we will not be spending another dime in this restaurant. It's so disappointing to spend close to $200 for two people just for a waitress to treat you as you're an inconvenience, and the manager to...