Wanda BYOB — Restaurant in Haddonfield

Birthday dinner. I am a self taught gourmet cook, having travelled the world for work and have eaten at many fine restaurants both here an abroad. Gilda, the hostess was pleasant and gracious. Asked if we preferred bottled or tap water and ice for our cocktails was bought expeditiously. Our server Noah was introduced and he was also pleasant. My dining partner chose the special duck foie gras with a fruit gastrique. It was prepared as a mouse/mousseline and molded as rounds, a johnnycake in the middle - an interesting composition and visibly pleasing. I ordered the goat cheese croquettes which were delicious (could have had a little more of the honey to augment the tang of the goat cheese). Dining partner chose crab cakes. Having had skate in Paris as well as in the States, and having cooked it myself the traditional way pan sautéed with a brown butter caper sauce, their composition sounded interesting (capers, almond, zante currant, tomato, lemon, beurre noisette) so I chose the skate so basically a brown butter with capers and a couple other items. Skate flesh is delicate and sweet and only needs 3 mins or so a side. I was pleasantly surprised it was fileted off the thicker portion of the wing and it was cooked perfectly. The concoction that was heaped on top (thicker than the fish) was an extreme disappointment. It was over inundated with chopped blanched almonds that were toasted to the point of being burnt and bitter, perhaps an entire bottle of capers as well, finely diced tomatoes, no hint of currants/raisins and the brown butter non existent as well. This dish was immediately sent back and asked to get rid of the burnt almonds - it came back still with way too many capers on top which i simply took off the top and but on my bread plate. The rice was overcooked starchy and lumpy and thats how it was put on the plate - clumps of rice - the rice was well seasoned and actually delicious, however over cooked and clumpy. And the fish was placed on top of sautéed spinach which in my opinion is an overdone and passe way of serving a meal. I prefer not to have food upon food upon food unless it is described that way. This dish was a major fail. Sometime less is more. And this was way too much going on, and it destroyed the taste of the fish. The traditional French way would have been much better. Dining partner had two crabcakes on top of sweet potato rounds in a grain mustard sauce - he enjoyed his dish. A coffee brulee was enjoyed and I had their interpretation of a Belgian apple tart which was more of an apple Dutch baby pancake than an actual tart - it was however delish and a very nice what appeared to be homemade caramel sauce accompanied with a dollop of vanilla ice cream - the dessert was the best part of my meal. The menu has a very nice selection of ten or so entrees that in my opinion, try to impress by using French or European cooking terms made to impress the guest in the words not even being able to be pronounced by the server . Nice ambience. My skate was a fail. As far as composition of the plate, sometimes...

Excellent! Our first time visiting! We found on Google Maps, meeting up with friends halfway between our homes in South Jersey and West Chester, PA. They offered many Gluten Free Options on their menu, which my friend needs to follow. We loved the Goat Cheese Croquettes Appetizer with Lavendar Honey, and the Finely Chopped Roasted Brussel Sprout Dish. My meal was a wild mushroom omelet with sour dough toast and 3 tasty small baked potatoes. Orange Juice was flavorful, and there is a choice of teas for the variety lovers. 2 in our party thoroughly enjoyed the coffee, and their steak, served with a poached egg over toast. We did not have dessert, as we brought a gift bottle of Farretti, Biscotti liquor which we sipped at the close of our brunch. We made reservations, which we would recommend, as this quaint restaurant is small and in a little mini mall. There is an upstairs which was being used for a Baby Shower. Public Parking lot is directly behind this mini mall/restaurant, and it was packed for a January Sunday at Noon. Recommendation to arrive early enough, so if you can not find parking, you have time to park nearby in this beautiful Historic town, thus giving one enough time to walk to the restaurant. Staff was excellent and well attentive! *On our minds to go back...

I wanted to take the time to write a review of Wanda BYOB in Haddonfield, it is a bit hidden in the Shoppes of 112 in the former Denim restaurant space. It was a great experience . It is a small space but very cozy and comfortable. We had a large party celebrating my son’s confirmation (we walked from the church down the street)!

Gilda was a pleasure to work with and very accommodating as I kept calling and changing the reservation. We ended up with a party of 15 for Brunch that was nicely seated at along table in the back. The service was awesome but the main star was the delicious food - from the omelette of the day to chicken and waffles to many different kinds of delicious French toast - everyone enjoyed this food. And we had a crowd from age 11 to age 86– it was large portions as reasonable prices. Being BYOB was a plus as we had our drinks and they provided OJ for mimosas. All of the kids got desert with favorites being the crime brûlée and chocolate mousse cake.

Every table was booked but our waiter still managed to give us excellent service. I told Gilda as we were leaving they it was a great place to celebrate a special occasion and we will be back for dinner soon. Give it a try for a lovely dining experience and support this...