Mabel — Restaurant in Holmdel Township

While in Bell Works, we decided to go to Mabel for lunch! The atmosphere of the restaurant is very nice, I loved the mid-century modern style of the room. I got the Fish and Chips, and it was fantastic. The fish was made perfectly, and exactly how they do it in England. Perfectly crispy breading, and the fish itself was perfectly cooked. No peas as a side though, which is the classic side for fish and chips, but instead there was a pickle as the side. The steak frites were also really well done, and I ended up loving the malt vinegar mayo more than I thought I would! I also got the Lemon and Elderflower Tiramisu. It was amazing! I could notice that the lemon crème layers were made using real lemons, as it was VERY tangy. The elderflower powder as a topping was very interesting! It's a very tart and floral tiramisu, I adored the flavor profile of it. The waitstaff and hostess were great; they seated us quickly, and service was fast. The only minor downside is that when the restaurant is full, it is EXTREMELY loud. I think it's because, technically, the restaurant is fully concrete and glass due to the building itself, but I couldn't see any sound dampers in the ceiling. We did go just as the lunch rush had started, so the restaurant was pretty full when we first were seated. Once other patrons had slowly started to trickle out and there were only about five tables with people, the volume level went way down, but whoof, it was hard to think with how noisy it was at the beginning! The prices of this place are also pretty high, but the food quality was great, so it was worth the price to me!

EDIT: Also, be aware there is a 3% surcharge if you pay with a credit card! I didn't see that posted on the menus or signage outside, and I can't find it anywhere on their site. I JUST noticed it now when I was going through my receipts. If you have a surcharge for only one type of payment, aren't you supposed to post...

The restaurant itself was quite nicely done, but the noise level is on the higher side. The service was sparse and seemed inexperienced. Two people in our party ordered the pork dish entree, but the waitress took an extended period of time to tell them that the restaurant had run out of pork. On a Saturday evening? It then took an incredible amount of time to take and bring the new dinner order of flat iron steak. The restaurant did take that item off the bill, but the flat iron steak went home in a doggie bag because everyone else was finished eating. It took over half an hour to bring any food to the table (appetizers, salads) and the cheese board looked like a 5 year old had put it together. It was severely lacking in presentation and variety of good cheeses and crackers/breads. Some of the cheese looked like it had been ripped by hand or crumbled off a block. The oysters were good but tiny and overpriced. I ordered the lobster ravioli special and the pasta was soggy, the scant amount of lobster in the ravioli was stringy and the onions overpowering in the dish. Very small portion and the presentation was terrible. The only order at our table that seemed acceptable was the burger and fries but the burger was so salty that people could not eat it. This is a restaurant that could be so good because of where it is and the type of food being served, but the kitchen and management have a lot of work to do. We will not be returning and will not recommend Mabel to our friends. So...

Update Jan 22: my partner and I both separately emailed the owner as she requested to discuss what happened that day as requested. It’s been 1-1.5 months and we haven’t received a reply.

Decor is cute; we only stopped in for drinks to check it out, as we are familiar with the other restaurants in the portfolio. Recognized the bartender from Asbury Park (heavier set, beard, glasses). Service was very slow; an older gentleman came and sat down and asked the bartender some food-related questions. He was rude to the older gentlemen, stating things like 'well, the hamburger will take as long as the eggs. Behind this wall, there are 50 people seated at tables and the kitchen is backed up.' Just no real customer service. We closed out our drinks, and I received the device to sign and pay. Considering the amount of time it took to get us our drinks, along with the lack of friendliness, 20% was not in mind. There was an automatic gratuity (two people! seated at the bar!) of 25% on there. I asked what that was, he looked at me smuggly and said 'it automatically comes out of the system, I don't know how to fix it. Is it ok?' in a strange voice and kind of shrugged. I was so speechless and taken aback, I just signed it and left. Will not be back. Cardinal Provisions owners - do...