James on Main — Restaurant in Hackettstown

This is certainly the best restaurant in Hackettstown and absolutely one of the best restaurants in New Jersey. I've visited a handful of times now and feel comfortable writing a solid review.

Both the staff in the front and the back are engaging. On one of my visits on a slower weekday, me and my dining partners sat on the table closest to the kitchen, and one of the chefs was chatting with us nearly the entire time, talking about his experience at James and showing concern for our food quality. Serving staff has never been anything other than attentive and polite, knowledgeable and talented. Perhaps, dare I say, even well trained.

To comment on some other reviews - don't be afraid to ask for something. Standard service is to bring a slice of bread and butter, and more 'on request'. My only gripe with this is the dreaded asking for more water. It's certainly brought promptly every single time, however, but is not always 100% consistent on keeping everyone tapped up.

To the food - absolutely outstanding on all accounts. Each plate is prepared to perfection and I have yet to have anything I could describe as lackluster or disappointing. There is some serious talent in the kitchen. The only dish I didn't like was a mushroom ravioli on one of my visits - it was a bit bland and trumpet mushrooms should have had more heft or 'meatiness' to them, though the squash puree it came with was expertly prepared. Other than this, the pork belly, various confit dishes, steaks, salads, burratta, and everything else (before I list the whole menu) are truly an experience to be had.

At $80 per person for the three course ($60 for 2 course - and be aware the 2 course portions are ever so slightly larger to compensate, but still not as much total food as a full 3 course) with dessert optional and extra (but very reasonably priced at $10 for most options and $3 espresso and $4 cappucino), this seems very well priced considering I've paid far more for both less food and less quality - think back to that steakhouse experience you maybe weren't super jazzed about but had a steak alone for $80+. I usually throw on oysters or a cheese plate at well (around $25-$30 extra). While you are encouraged to bring wine, and almost everyone does, they offer some pretty good options from Fulcrum, running $30 to about $70 a cork. Just as an aside, you will be plenty full and satisfied, and not have to spend a penny more, if you just take the 3 courses as is and bring your own wine and drink tap. $80 for 3 courses almost feels like a steal if you go that route. Last time I visited, the entree course must have been a full 16oz pork chop, which would in and of itself be a meal for most.

I find the table spacing to be adequate. They have a pretty good setup of deuces along two walls that can be put together for larger groups, a table or two in the middle of the room, and another table or two along the front window. There's maybe 9 or 10 tables in the whole place. If it concerns you, masks are not required for either patrons or staff at the writing of this review, although on my first visit they were. Many choose to wear one anyway.

The price keeps me away from making this an everyday spot (last bill for 3 people, with an additional appetizer and desserts and coffee was about $330) but the quality will keep me coming back as often as I can.

If you've got the pockets to make a run here on a random day and not break the bank, you owe it to yourself to make the trip. If you don't, I highly recommend making this your birthday/anniversary/whatever once a year stop. I can't imagine you would be...

Jan 12th 2017 - After a recommendation from my brother-in-law, my husband and I decided to try James On Main. We walked into a mostly full dining room, not realizing that a reservation was the way to go on a Thursday night (so we'll definitely do that next time) and ended up with front row seats at the counter where we were able to see all of the meals cooked from start to finish! It was a wonderful experience punctuated by a helpful waiter named Kevin and impeccable timing; I noticed the chef visually gaging the timing of each course so that you'd have plenty of time to finish your appetizer before your entree was presented to you. No tables crowded with plates at this restaurant! As an on the house snack they offered us a choice of hummus with veggies or bread so we decided to go for the hummus and it was wonderful with just the right amount of lemon juice and our waiter also gave us some bread and tasty herbed butter a little later on. For an appetizer, my husband had the Chopped Salad, a tasty mix of arugula and other greens with celery, radish, yellow carrot, avocado, tomato and for a twist white and black beans with a brightly flavored citrus vinaigrette. I had their Soup of the Day, a Beef and Mushroom Bisque with a dollop of melty herbed cheese and frizzled onions and was utterly amazing! For the entree, I had the Black Bass special with a romanesco, sweet potato puree, slices of fingerling potatoes and a fantastic pesto sauce and greens. I was in heaven eating the perfectly cooked bass, skin was crisp but the fish was moist and flaky. My husband decided to try the Bison Burger because he's a burger guy and had never had bison before and as per his preference he ordered it well-done and it was cooked as such and thought it was a good burger, but it was too lean (as bison is known to be) for his taste. The homemade chips that accompanied the burger were nice and crisp and not too salty! Overall a great experience and we will definitely be returning to James On Main for more fantastic food! Thank you Chef Bill and the awesome sous chef who plated our food so precisely! It was fun watching you guys...

For my wife’s birthday being that James on Main is her favorite restaurant I decided to order from their James off Main catering menu for a party. First thing, this is quality food prepared by an absolute master chef. If you’re looking for the cheapest way to feed a lot of people then you should order a sandwich platter from Shoprite. However if you want food so good that every guest says how amazing it is and keeps eating after they are full just because they are enjoying it so much then this is the place. When ordering from the catering menu Kevin is extremely helpful. He is an expert on how people eat at parties and will tell you exactly how much food to order. He will not push you to order more than you need. He will even tell you if it’s too much. He has a reputation to keep and will not sacrifice that just to sell someone more food. He answered every question I had and got back to my emails and texts promptly. When I picked up the food Kevin loaded everything into my car and told me what everything was and how to set up the sterno racks. He is always smiling. He definitely takes pride in what he’s doing As far as the food, Chef Bill is truly an artist. Everyone at our party (20+ adults & 10 children)raved about the food. We ordered almost every bar b q meat they make and most of the sides. I purposely sat near my wife’s brother in law as he tried the brisket, pulled pork, and ribs because he is our family expert of smoking meats. Spends his weekends monitoring his smoker full of meat he orders from all over the country. His reaction to Chef Bill’s food was exactly what I was hoping for. “Oh wow!!! This guy really knows what he’s doing! I wasn’t expecting it to be so good!” Now I’m looking for an excuse to have another party so we can do order from James on Main again Thank you to Chef Bill, Kevin, and the entire team at JOM for helping me make my wife’s...