The Grill at Riverside — Restaurant in Hackensack

I was a huge fan of LT until this past Friday evening (01/14/2022). I have dined here with my family several times on several occasions and was never let down. To the woman with the white sweater that presented herself as the "owner" of the restaurant. Shame on you! I brought my best friend from NYC to celebrate her birthday here since I valued and had high thoughts from my previous dining experiences. When my friend had asked for a booth, we were informed that it was for a larger party (in a very nasty attitude). The real issue is the behavior and the way, demeanor and tone of the woman in the white sweater (blonde hair) was absolutely disgusting. Firstly, she cut my friend off with a snappy attitude and did not let her finish her sentence. Second of all, we were told "we will be sitting here for the remainder of the night and will not be changed." There are ways to go about it or ways to say something in a PROFESSIONAL manner, that is. If you are a manager, or an owner of an establishment, you make sure your customers are well taken care of. Not treated like complete and utter trash! If you're having personal problems or if the evening crowd is too overwhelming for you, maybe you should try working at a diner where your attitude will be tolerated. After that entire conflict, my friend and I were very uncomfortable and were making reservations at Houston's (where we ate dinner after we left.) While we were waiting for our popovers, two tables that came in after us were brought them before OUR table. We received the popovers shortly after I brought this to another male managers attention. We then realized that initially, the booth that we requested was occupied with 2 people! What happened to the "large" group you hit us with in order to not move us? My friend then went up to the owner again and tried to ask her, but she flustered away with her broom. LT is presenting this modern-luxe restaurant vibe with excellent clientele and NYC prices. With someone managing or owning an establishment like that, it's not going to flourish. Houston's is right next door and River Palm Terrace is 12 minutes away. Unfortunately, we were asked to leave or the police would escort us out. What a joke. LT Management is extremely disgraceful and incompetent. The management has the IQ of a toddler and an extremely short fuse. They do nothing to satisfy the customer, instead, they treat them as if we do not matter and our experience is just nothing but another table to them. Disheartening experience. Not worth the aggravation. I have sent LT many of my fathers clients and my friends and family according to my recommendations, but this place will not have any of our business anymore. Maybe try to accommodate instead of being spiteful and snappy blondie! Telling anyone and everyone to stay away from getting scolded for such a simple...

The restaurant was utter chaos. It was unusually busy after Christmas, but I feel like the restaurant should have expected high foot-traffic.

We were seated fairly quickly but from the moment we stepped in, we could see all the staff were utterly miserable. The hostess was running around with a scowl on her face and on the verge of a meltdown, servers had a grimace on their face and the kitchen staff were basically throwing plates and food together in a frenzy.

My husband and I ordered the rock shrimp appetizer, steak, a side of fries and a grilled chicken panini. It took us about 20 minutes to get water for our table. It took another 20 minutes before our appetizer arrived. The rock shrimp roll looked really sad on the plate. It also tasted like something I made at home. Nothing special at all.

It took another 20 minutes for my husband’s steak to be served. (The steak was over cooked and tough.) My meal however would not appear for another 20 minutes. My husband was done with his meal by the time my sandwich came out.

Our server came with the panini and a side of mashed potatoes stating that they had run out French fries and that she would have to take it off of our bill. She was very apologetic and explained the situation. We accepted.

What we couldn’t accept is that we ordered a chicken panini which was 99% bread with little to no filling in between. I was so appalled that this giant mountain of focaccia required an hour and a half to prepare. Absolutely unacceptable. If you look at the photo, it’s painfully obvious that the kitchen just did not care about quality or service if they are charging you $20 for that sad excuse for a sandwich.

This restaurant is doomed if this is how things are being run after management changed. Bring back LT. Until then, I’m never going back. Honestly, the restaurant only got one star because of...

We have been to LT at least 15 times now. It’s a gem of a place!

Food: there are very few chef-owned restaurants in Bergen county and LT is owned by a Michelin star chef Laurent Tourondel. We felt that in every meal we had here. Never a bad meal, always highest quality ingredients and beautiful presentation. Sitting at the table, you can see the open kitchen and how many people putting hard work into making your food. It adds to the appreciation of every bite. I have tried everything on the menu by now and you can’t go wrong with your order. Sushi here is one of the best in Bergen County. Burger, Branzino, salmon, salads… everything is top notch!

Ambiance: I love loud and bustling places full of people, all dressed up and cheerful. LT is exactly that. We went for brunch this Saturday expecting it to be quieter and they had a live DJ!! LT always takes fine dining to the next level! Btw, highly recommend weekend brunch for $35 you get a drink, main meal and dessert.

People: yes, sometimes service is slow and they have high turnaround of staff, possibly due to the post-covid staff shortage, but we have met some of the most amazing people here!! Chris Bustamante, the beverage manager is one of the coolest and knowledgeable people we met. The cocktails are delicious and his wine recommendations are always on spot! He has worked in the city for years and definitely knows what he’s doing. Shoutout to Chris for being so welcoming and nice whenever we see him.

We had a genius kid Alex who goes to Duke U as our waiter tonight. He was so courteous and attentive. Best service ever! Thank you for being so patient with us as we chatted the night away.

What to order? Everything is amazing, but some things that stood out were the LT burger, king salmon sushi, shrimp tempura, branzino, chopped salad and coconut cake.

Overall, I’d give 10...