BOOTS & BONES — Restaurant in Jersey City

This was a massive disappointment.

I went in for their soft opening on St. Pattys weekend. Most of the items on the menu were not available, however I was so excited to try the food after waiting months for the restaurant to open.

The food during the soft opening was phenomenal. We got deviled eggs, mac and cheese, and wings. The deviled eggs were amazing, with the type of filling to egg white ratio you would expect in the South. The mac cheese was creamy and delicious. The wings were a freaking delight, crispy on the outside and juicy pull apart goodness on the inside.

Suffice to say I was excited to return. However, this time, the food was awful. Although the full menu is still not available, they had more options than before. This time, we started with the deviled eggs and got both types of ribs (St. Louis & Beef). This time, the deviled eggs had almost no filling, the whites were cold and over cooked, and to be honest, the filling itself felt days old and lacking any flavor. I wonder if they served better quality the last time since it was their soft opening, a “special occasion.” The ribs were worse. Never have I ever been served 4 (4?!) ribs with less meat than I have on my pinky finger with absolutely no flavor in the sauce or meat for 25$. The St. Louis ribs were even worse; some of the “ribs” had no meat at all, just bone! I highly doubt these were “smoked,” and if they were, fire your pit master immediately, I could make better ribs from ShopRite and my 15 year old rinky-dink oven. You would honestly get better BBQ from a school cafeteria. Bad meat quality, bad cook, bad sauce, and our “sides” of coleslaw and pickles were a spoonful of the worst coleslaw I’ve ever had and 4 slices of pickles.

I sure hope they improve when the full menu comes out, because right now I cannot fathom recommending the food to anyone I do not hate.

Tldr; overpriced, tiny portions, bad meat quality, poor...

This place is the worst and the bouncer here is on some sort of power trip. I’m sitting at the bar having a couple of drinks with my friend. She gets the cheque so we can go home and goes to the bathroom. When she comes out she couldn’t find where I was sitting (it’s a long bar and she can’t see very well since she can’t wear contact lenses due to allergies). She asks someone where I’m sitting. Instead of being helpful, bouncer kicks her out for being too inebriated. All her stuff was inside, including coat, phone, purse, money etc. It’s also freezing outside. It’s insane to me that they wouldn’t let her in to get her stuff or sign the cheque. We were leaving anyway, not like we wanted to stay. Couldn’t the bouncer just escort her inside, let her sign the cheque, get her stuff and leave? Instead of getting a bartender to tell me she’s outside and making me get her card and stuff? I mean what if she’d only just met me? Never seen this happen in any establishment. She hadn’t done anything, the bartenders were happily serving her. Wait, there’s more. First time I went in Boots N Bones, I just went for happy hour, not to eat. Was shocked when I ended up with a bill of almost $100. I’d got chatting to a girl who’s friends with the bartender. If I’m offered a shot by a bartender I presume it’s on the house. Well not here, I got charged for it. I also got charged for a random alcopop that should have definitely not been on my tab. (Who drinks those nowadays?) Wanted to complain but girl says well bartender is my friend, he probably hooked you up. Nope, I paid extra, yay! Boots n Bones did a massive influencer push getting influencers to create Instagram reels when it opened but honestly there’s better BBQ elsewhere in Jersey City (give Hamilton Pork a try). Under the Boot is way too rowdy. Just a mess of a place, don’t want to...

This place has a really great concept! Country themed, the decor is awesome and I love the saddle as soon as you walk in and you’re able to take pics on it. The food is decent, burgers are delicious and meaty, cocktails and mocktails are delicious but when I ordered a side of sweet potato fries with my salad, it looked as if someone picked out of it before it was served to me. I told the waiter I apologize but I will not accept these fries and he told me that’s just the portion size. I understand but here’s a tip for the kitchen: if you are serving a small portion of French fries, they are to be served in a small container. The basket this is served with the honey Biscuits? THAT is what your French fries should be served in so it looks appealing to the eye, it looks full. You can’t just plop a handful of fries on a plate and serve it. When working in a restaurant, I altered the appearance of food and made it look presentable. I understand it’s a country themed sports bar BUT having a Taylor swift night and not acknowledging Beyoncé’s new country album that has been HEAVILY making waves is such disrespect to the music industry! Appealing to an area that is white dominated and full of “swifties” I guess is good for money making but don’t be afraid to stand out. With that said, it’s June 2024 PRIDE MONTH. There’s not a rainbow flag in sight and no celebration of the pride month, I was heavily disappointed. You have so many gay couples at this place (from what I saw from dining here for the second time) and you’re not celebrating the month of pride. I thought this area was very diverse but it seems very snobbish and afraid to stand out so fitting in wins. The only thing I’ll miss here are the biscuits, which I can make at home. Boots and Bones...