Chef's Garden — Restaurant in Hardyston Township

I have loved dining at the Chef's Garden for just over 5 years. The food in the past was very delicious. As a vegetarian, I enjoyed a grilled cauliflower they used to serve. Every person we brought raved over the various meals and drinks. This year, the gardens are even more lush than years before. They were simply gorgeous. Unfortunately, the two times I visited this season were disappointing for myself and my guests. We noticed the portions were smaller and the prices higher. We assumed this was a result of the pandemic and were willing to make such sacrifice expecting the food to be as good as it was in prior years. Sadly, it was not. For a garden to table experience, the only had two entrees for vegetarians. One was picked so I didn't try it (not my taste). I tried the grilled vegetable entre but it was more like a side dish as I consisted of a handful of string vegetables that I couldn't enjoy as the were too undercooked making it difficult to digest. Their onion soup was tasty, their fish(once you removed the head and tail) wasn't much more than 2 inch square of meat. The second time I visited, I felt I had little choice of vegetarian entrees so I chose the pulled pork. I figured it would be better than dealing with a bone. Two of us had the pulled pork and found it to not really be pulled. Some pieces were dry while others were fat. Another friend was not impressed with the fish. We enjoyed their small potatoes. Friends loved their CBD drink. Another said her Cosmo was served in a smaller glass than years prior. We are very disappointed that our favorite local place to eat is now a place we will not eat in again with it's current menu. Sadly, the table service was also not as attentive as it was in prior years. Not sure if it has anything to do with it but in prior years we were served by females but this time we had male servers. This year I can only recommend the appetizers and drinks. I am hoping they will improve and return to their former excellence as we move beyond the impact of...

TLDR: Top tier brisket. Nearly as good as Texas brisket and certainly best I have had in New Jersey thus far. The hidden restaurant in the middle of a garden is so quaint and peaceful, I recommend going for lunch or a cozy dinner. View of the surrounding hills is also amazing.

Quality of Food: I had no complaints about the food. The garden salad was refreshing and did not lack in its flavor. The brisket was AMAZING. If you look at my other reviews, you will find I am originally from the south and have frequented a few BBQ places in New Jersey, all of which have fallen short of what I have come to find as quality BBQ. This. Did. Not. Disappoint. The brisket was slightly marbled and melted in your mouth. I can only imagine the quality of the Rib Steak if the brisket was top notch. The cornbread was the only thing I could say was standard taste and quality.

Quality of Service: It was neither over-the top nor mediocre service. Seemed like a decent amount of young adults were waiting on tables. We stopped in for a quick bite before heading to a festival, but we had no issues getting our order taken, food delivered and check processed quickly.

Environment & Ambiance: Can't be compared to the other locations at the resort. The garden by itself is adorable and makes you feel like you're in a storybook. Looking out towards the hills provides a feeling of awe. The outside ambiance and cute tables and chairs makes you feel like you're joining Alice at a tea party.

Pricing and Concerns: It's certainly not cheap if you are ordering their higher priced options. However, that being said, it is most definitely worth every penny. Not to mention you're at a resort, so what would you expect besides expensive dishes? For a party of two you can keep it under $$$. Add drinks or an extra person and you're going over. No other concerns to note.

Comment and Recommendation: Yes! I recommend! If I didn't already make it obvious - go for...

If you're into farm-to-table fare or al fresco dining, you couldn't do better than Chef's Garden. The restaurant is connected to the Crystal Springs resort, so getting there involves a bit of a walk through the grounds. Not that that's a bad thing. The resort is beautiful, and what you see right before entering the restaurant is the lush vegetable garden that provides much of the raw goodies for the menu offerings.

The restaurant itself is quite small and intimate, so timed reservations are required. And while we're on the subject of time, keep in mind that certain entrees might take a while to cook. At the time our family dined, there was a 54 oz. steak on the menu that caught our interest. Our server informed us that it would take an hour to cook it to medium doneness, which meant we were sitting for some time before we actually enjoyed it.

That said, the steak is absolutely worth it. We split this giant bone-in behemoth of a meat chunk as five adults, and there was more than enough to go around as a heavy appetizer. An almost comical amount of potatoes was served alongside (which was also the case for the seafood platter), along with some grill-charred onion slices.

While waiting, we noshed on a fair number of other appetizers and individual entrees, all of which were similar in the quality of preparedness. Some things - like the focaccia and the garden pickles - blew us away in freshness and flavor. Other things, like the octopus and the pork ribs, were decent but left us wanting for more in their tapas-like serving size.

Also notable is their service. The servers here work SO hard. We had two of their best dedicated to our large party, and we found them to be attentive, incredibly thoughtful, and well-versed on...