Sylvester's North End Grille — Restaurant in Jackson Township

We had 2 less than stellar experiences pre-COVID and decided to give them a try again after their re-opening. Sadly this will probably be our last visit. I searched for a contact on the website to give them a chance to see my comments in hopes that it was a random occurence, but it seems that is non-existent. We went on a Thursday evening- made reservations and then sat at the bar when we arrived and room allowed. The space is very nice- it is pleasant and very lively (something many others seem to find a negative, we enjoyed the rambunctious company around us). An elder couple next to us was visibly upset at the volume and lack of privacy.

We started with a Manhattan (not made well) and rum & coke (made as well as could be) and ordered the risotto balls & oil as appetizers. The oil was ordered out of sheer curiosity as other local high end places (91, Lucia's) offer oil free of charge and we wondered what made this a $6 app. It was a vat of oil. The spices in the bottom appeared to be something that COULD be very tasty- however you have to swim through to even disturb them, let alone get the bread to absorb any of them! The pricetag must be to compensate for the 2 cups of liquid that fill the bowl. When the bar tender cleaned up or food, she even commented that she had no idea why they used so much oil.

The risotto balls were rather simple- risotto tasted fine, but the balls were so large that the mozzarella in the center wasn't fully melted and they lost any attempt at a round shape. Salads came up next- and they were equivalent to what you would expect from McDonalds. Lettuce, tomato, onion and dressing provided in a little plastic cup. Very unexpected for the level of class that the restaurant as a whole emulates.

Our meals were scallop risotto & the filet with a baked potato.

4 scallops are what made the main protein- small slightly overcooked scallops. Again, the risotto was decent, not amazing, but decent. Then the filet- we are still debating whether the cut of meat presented was an actual filet (the bill claimed it was, so it must have been)- it was ordered medium and arrived as well done as a hockey-puck. The markings on the outside were seared so deeply they looked fake. After sawing into the mystery meat it was found to be anything but the juicy and delicate texture that one would expect from a market price high end cut of meat. The veggies looked and tasted to be from a can- they were practically mush and the potato was about 15 minutes shy of being cooked.

Drinks round 2 were Kim Crawford (which the bartender didn't realize they did not have until after she poured something else) and a dark & stormy that was made with light rum and heavy ginger-ale, so perhaps it was more of a spring shower . Our bill was well over $120, not including the tip and our meal was no better than something from KFC down the road. We will absolutely not be back again as this was our 3rd attempt over a 4 year span and each time has been more disappointingly memorable than the last. With so many other establishments in Jackson Township, it is a shame that they missed the mark by so much. There are countless other places that are able to deliver decent food consistently (let alone high end food ) and we will gladly go there before enduring another...

100 out of 10!

tl:dr. Beth is amazing and the food is great.

Made reservations online and arrived early (15 mins and every vet will agree that's on time) and got seated early. The reservation process was insanely easy!

Now enter Beth, our server. I'm not sure what magic she used, but she would appear at the table precisely when we needed her. She boxed our food for us and gave us all the time in the world.

If the reservation, seating, and amazing server has kept you reading, let's talk food!

We started with the calamari and bruschetta. I'm not a fan of eating grilled peppers and onions, but the flavor they added to the calamari was amazing! With the bruschetta it seems they use a half a loaf of the perfect crispy sof bread then load with seasoning, cheese, and chunks of tomato! Could've stopped there but we needed to taste more!

I know the bar is already high but it was raised with the house salad with in-house made Italian dressing and the lobster bisque. The fresh crisp lettuce and "the best Italian dressing I've had". The lobster bisque tasted as the perfect combination of lobster and butter, with garlic and bread (how I tasted bread in a bisque is beyond me, but so it seems is the standard at Sylvester')

Suspenseful Music Play Enter the entrees... Shrimp Scampi is first to bat. Let's begin with they are labeled MP for a reason. Never have I seen a shrimp so big! Then you see a whole tray of these colossal beasts! Flavor wise WOW! Both rich but also light. Totally worth it Enter second entree... Veal parmeasan! I will 100% order this and look for restaurants that serve it. The best Veal Parm I have had ever. Multiple states and countries worth of travel, this is the best.

We wrapped up with desert... This will be the only sad part of the review. They sold out of tiramasu... This hurt because it is my favorite desert. It seems it was a lot of people's favorite. Unburdened by that, we chose the cheesecake with raspberry glaze. Talk about the perfect substitute. Both rich and delicate. Paired well with the blueberry lemondrop martini and...

TWICE OFFENDED!! In the spirit of leaving an honest review, your suggestion that we somehow "confused establishments" is an additional layer of offense. Really?? This was prior to your building accident for a time reference. We were 'regulars' for years and to imply that we confused establishments is a creative attempt to cover the awful service circumstance. Let's revisit customer service 101: A simple, "Hey, we messed up. We own it and we're sorry. We hope you'll give us the chance to make it right."

Enough said. Learn from this and move forward to serve existing customers who deserve better. _______________________________________________________________Failure from the top! We picked Sylvesters to host a post-funeral lunch. Days ahead, we made arrangements for a variety of hors d'oeuvres to be ready when funeral guests arrived so people had food and beverage while we shared memories and placed our meal orders. I checked directly with the kitchen manager to make certain that everything was in place, and I was assured that it was. We showed up to realize our worst fear. There was nothing, not even a measly bread basket waiting for our guests. We had the front room reserved and the tables were not even set. Seven out-of-town guests had to leave on an empty stomach. We were tremendously embarrassed. The serving staff apologized profusely (it wasn't their fault and we tipped them generously) and said they called the kitchen manager who assumed responsibility but had no comment beyond this. I made two phone calls in the following days to discuss the matter with her and left voice messages with our return number. Our calls were ignored and no restitution offered. Mistakes happen. We get that, but it is shameful not to at least receive a phone call of apology. (we were loyal patrons for years) That was our last visit. We now give our business to a different local restaurant who values our loyalty, knows appropriate customer service and we have successfully hosted 3 significant...