The Blue Bottle Cafe — Restaurant in Hopewell

If you are looking for an intimidate dinner with a date or friends with exceptional food, this is your place. A lot of their dishes are more on the savory side though, in keeping with French Cuisine, so if you are looking for a spicier affair, you may want to look elsewhere. Also it is BYOB (they have the proper glasses for your needs), so make sure to come prepared should you need libations. This was a bit of a drive from my house, but I had to give it a go because of all the reviews, I had high expectations, but it had met almost all of them.

Ambiance wise, this place opened deceptively. A very simple exterior, one would say that the cover of this book was plain and modest. Even when you enter, it feels like you are entering the home of a friend as opposed to a well reviewed restaurant. The decor reminds me very much of a beach front restaurant. The tables are close, but you they try to balance seating so as to have people on top of each other. However I can see that during busy times, you will be a little close to other diners. It is quiet however as there is no exterior sounds. It was nice, but I wouldn't say elegant. The wait staff was friendly and helpful. Very knowledgeable and talkative. They were attentive as well and made sure that our drinks and needs were met exceptionally.

Where this place shines though is in the food. The Lettuce Wrap Appetizer I had was outstanding. With a fine balance of ginger, shrimp and vegetables, all three tastes blended together an a fine symphony of sharp and savory. This made an excellent start to the very finely balanced Monk Fish. This dish was the essence of sweet and savory. The old bay sauce, mixed with the potatoes and garnishing helped to enhance the flavor the Monk Fish. Each bite not overly sweet like candy, it was perfect and enjoyable. Lastly were enjoyable Profiteroles, not the best I ever had, buts till a wonderful ending to the meal.

Each dish was wonderfully plated and were visually appetizing, which just helped to enhance the dinner. Along with this, a nice set of three different breads helped to get your meal started.

Overall I'd highly recommend this place. It isn't too pricey compared to what you could spend, especially in the area, but it is in no way cheap either. Is it better than Rats? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what you are looking for, but it certainly on par cuisine wise with Rats. Definitely put this on your list of...

My friends and I came here last night for a Birthday Party. We originally planned to go to a pricier restaurant in Princeton, but had a beautiful custom cake already ordered from Safa’s Cakery (chocolate mousse caramel cake that was so moist, beautiful and painfully good)! This cake was super special to the Birthday Girl and there was no way we would budge on making sure she had it at the end of her birthday meal.

The other restaurant told us if we brought in our outside cake they would charge us nearly $50 for cake cutting fees. Ummm....what!? It’s not a wedding, it’s just a birthday party at a restaurant. Why so high!?!? At first, we almost did it, just thinking it was worth it to make sure our friend had this beautiful custom decadent cake served to her, but ultimately, the savviest girl amongst us called this place instead and they were able to accommodate our reservation the day before our event.

It was the BEST last minute change. Rory, the owner, was so so so accommodating. She chatted with us while we waited for our meal (which was amazing by the way, delicious and beautifully plated), and engaged us in several conversations about our dietary restrictions as Muslims. The chef was willing to accommodate ALL of our special meal requests, AND we found out that with more advanced notice, would have curated a specific menu for our party that met all our dietary restrictions ahead of time. The server, Dave, was funny, and polite, and dealt with all of our questions with a pleasant demeanor. They split all our checks as requested, and made sure not to charge the Birthday Girl.

The best part was, they cut and served our chocolate mousse caramel cake beautifully and plated it with added caramel sauce that they provide without charge! I’m so over the moon about this place. For birthdays, date nights, family gatherings, it’s literally here from now on. There is no other restaurant in the area deserving...

I have been to The Blue Bottle Cafe 4 times this year. The first experience was wonderful and I could not wait to return. Unfortunately the next 3 experiences were hit and miss. A few weeks ago when outdoor dining began I had prime rib as did my guest. However the meat was cooked, it had a very raw texture, was seared and served with the seared side down on the plate to hide the preparation. The meat had very little if any seasoning or flavor. We were very disappointed and if the staff noticed, nothing was said by management about our meat being virtually untouched. Our meals were expensive and I don't plan on returning when there are many other restaurants in the area where I can spend that kind of money and reliably get a great meal unlike the inconsistency at The Blue Bottle Cafe. Very dissapointed!!

Shame on your response!! Your explanation doesn't address the other 2 poor experiences at your restaurant prior to the pandemic. Your restaurant is not consistent and clearly you would rather insult than improve! Word will get around very quickly especially in a small town, bad karma usually does.

Thank you I but will pass on contacting you. Had you not been so insulting and unprofessional by suggesting salt or cooking a flavorless piece of meat further would have rectified the problem, I might have been willing to speak to you. Also if you were not prepared to serve high-quality meals days after reopening, perhaps you should have delayed until you and your staff were properly prepared. I have dined at several other restaurants whose quality did not suffer such technical errors. It gives me no pleasure in giving a poor review of your restaurant in fact I am very disappointed at what began with such promise. I wanted to give your restaurant another chance but my family refuses to have another expensive, bad meal at The Blue...