The Beacon — Restaurant in Hopatcong

After seeing and hearing great things and letting the restaurant get staff back in order and trained, we decided to give this place a try. Unfortunately the only thing nice to say is how nice and new the inside looks, they did a beautiful job and looks updated and clean! Otherwise, we feel it felt short and we're disappointed. The menu is VERY limited with not many options which we new going into it but felt they still had some good things we would like to try and give it a fair shot. After ordering, we were very very excited as we waited for this restaurant to open......I LOVE Buffalo wings and have eaten and tried many ..these were very spicy and not enjoyable ..that is just my preference. When asked how they were, we let the manager know we only had 1 as It was too spicy and we were told they had plenty of water to drink it down. We found as a new place, it wasnt too accomodating but thats ok, we learned. We also tried the pulled pork sliders which were just ok as well. When wanting to try the grilled chicken skewers, we were told it wasn't being served due to presentation and after now seeing reviews it seems it was a dish not cooked properly so I had a cesar salad which was ok. The Beacon burger sounds amazing ...two patties, bacon and onion jam, smoked gouda, wholegrain mustard..unfortunately it was more of a glamorized white castle burger and have had bigger burgers at a drive thru. The food also all came out within minutes of the appetizers and was not timed properly. I had high hopes for this place and to spend 100$ , we weren't happy. They also did not have some well known / seasonal beers on tap which for a place with a full bar feel they slightly lacked. Also it is Valet but has plenty of parking... all in all if they expand the menu with more options we may give them another chance and try a different wing. I'm happy for everyone who had a great experience but it is a restaurant I personally...

It seems the manager Edna is nothing more than a money hungry, nasty individual who is too overwhelmed to hold her position. After having a reservation for 7:30 for 2 people we arrived to find another party of 5 waiting for a reservation at 7:30 as well. The manager came up and told the hostess it was at least 30 mins to sit for our reserved tables as well as walking . We questioned why when we could see many empty tables. The response was that the kitchen was backed up. We all asked to sit anyway. The table of 5 was sat first inside after talking to the manager about the point of having a reservation only to have to wait with the walking . My party of two wanted outdoor seating. The manager came back up and said I have 4 tables open outside looked at the list of people who arrived 30 mins after us and tried to seat them first. The hostess said “but this party of 2 was here first waiting for a table outside with a reservation” the manager walked away and the hostess had to go track her down. When she returned the manager told her that we could not have a table only ledge seating because they were “saving the 4 seater tables for bigger parties of 4” I told the hostess that was very poor business practice and asked to speak to the manager. She refused to speak with us and the hostess sat us at a table after that at approximately 8:15. Nearly 1 hour after our reservation time.

The funniest part was there were 4 other empty tables outside until about 9. I’m not sure if the restaurant will last with unkept reservations, picking and choosing which clientele to serve, and the poor management quality. I will say the waitstaff was good and the hostess was kind. Although the manager claimed the kitchen was backed up at 7:30 there were tables that had waited 2 hours to get food and then others that were fed right away. Again. Needs...

What used to be Pavinci's is now The Beacon. They completely renovated the restaurant. Took down walls, new flooring and everything else. They took away the music area (they used to have live music and a dance floor - this is now gone). The deck was also redone and is very nice.

This is "lakeside" dining and they still have slips to dock your boat.

The outdoor tables include some high-tops and they "prefer" to seat parties of 2 at those tables - the seating at the high-tops are not for any women wearing heals. Keep that in mind when going there. Bonus points for The Beacon as they allow dogs on the deck :-)

The food is good. The word here is "good".

Now, just saying and this is my opinion: the drinks were good, however, when I had to pay $5 more for a Mojito, which I was told is classified as a cocktail hence the upcharge from a $9 drink I was stunned. The explanation was "it has mint" (a wild weed that overtakes anyone's garden "and limes" [um, there was lemon in my friends drink]. Since Mojito's are my summer go to drink, I make them all the time. Rum (no I didn't ask for any top shelf rum), simple syrup, mint, lime and club soda. What I found interesting was the night before I had Tito's down the road which cost me $9 and I was stunned at the size of the drink I was served! My Mojito here was half the size. End of my rant....I know the restaurant / hospitality business and all this is, again, just my opinion.

Not sure why they had valet parking on a Thursday night. The restaurant, inside and outside was very quiet although the weather was perfect for outdoor dining. I did consider it an opportunity for someone to earn some money, so I took it as positive.

I would...