The Butcher's Block — Restaurant in Long Branch

Went on a Friday w/ a party of 6. My cousin booked the reservation - they've been several times but it was my first time. I feel like this place is almost like a secret society - you have to know someone that knows someone who is family to the owners in order to get in LOL. I hear they do not ever answer the phone and you actually have to go there to get a reservation.

To start, the ambiance is nice and welcoming. As you pull up, the flowerbeds that are groomed to perfection and the flowers are beautiful. The outside dining/bar area is modern, chic, and clean. Now that the weather is getting cold, they have heat lamps out there and it was comfortable.

This place definitely has a party vibe (R&B, rap, pop, top 100). It is dark though - I had to take out my flashlight on my phone to see the menu. The bathroom was clean and had like a dungeon feel to it (appropriate for a butcher house I guess), and the music so loud in there it was like being in the club LOL. If you are offended by loud rap music with uncensored lyrics, this may not be the spot for you.

If you've never been there before, they take you into a room where there's all this meat hanging on display, and they explain the different types of cuts they have and what that means for the taste.

A busy place and a lot of hustle and bustle. They sat us in a spot that seemed right in the path of a major thoroughfare...I felt like someone planted us in the middle of a busy intersection LOL.

It did take a while for them to come to the table and get our meal/drink orders, but a lot of people don't want to be rushed through their meal. When they did come they were friendly, informative, and hospitable. They were attentive with getting our used plates and glasses out the way and asking if we wanted refills on the drinks.

They served us bread for the table - it like spongey with a crisp crust, served warm with cheese grated on top and some cheese melted in the bread. I wanted to get the ricotta cheese blend to go with it, but we didn't want to fill up on bread and not be able to eat the meal.

I think the drinks were all $20. They have some unique ones. I had a sweet drink that was good. I didn't really taste the liquor, I know others would have probably been mad for $20 but I'm not a real drinker so it was fine with me. One person in my party had some kind of espresso tasting drink, and another had a lemon martini or something. Everyone liked their drinks.

For dinner it's family style, except the portion of filet mignon which is really for one. They have two types of filet, the classic and the waygu - I got the regular one. The filet mignon was probably the best I've had - it was seasoned well, great flavor, and cooked to perfection (medium). It wasn't a lot for the price they charge - literally 3 small strips for $88. I was left wanting more.

The other items we got for the table were also good. Some of my favorites: the brussel sprouts (and I wasn't a brussel spout person), the crunchy potatoes were good but had a hot kick to them, the Halibut with risotto (great flavor, delicious). We also had skirt steak and some other cut of steak, they were ok but I'm a filet person.

They actually gave us complimentary desserts (probably because they've been there several times) and they were good - we liked the blueberry cheesecake which had a sugar crust on top and graham on the bottom, the key lime pie which was a delicious blend of tart and sweetness with a graham crust, and a churro (something) - and this cinnamon-y ice cream thing in a churro bowl that my cousin didn't want to share LOL. There was a chocolate buddino or something - a mousse like dessert that was more like thick dark chocolate and not as sweet - it wasn't our favorite rendition of it.

Overall a great experience and I'll be returning. For those who value quantity over quality or those on a tighter budget, this is not be the place for you. But if you are a foodie and want to have a quality dining experience that you don't mind paying a bit more for, then...

Was excited to have a meal here, due to the hype online and difficulty of getting a reservation. Unfortunately, the restaurant seems to be more hype than anything of substance. The gist of our take is that we were excited to try the Butcher’s Block, our $150 steak was not cooked properly, and for that and other reasons, we don’t feel the need to go back. Read on if you like.

Ate on a Friday night. The host station is nonexistent - just find someone with an iPad to check you in for a reservation. Made the first few minutes awkward because there is nowhere to stand while you wait for a host. They checked us in and told us they’d text when our table was ready. They told us to have a drink in the outdoor bar.

The outdoor bar should be pretty nice when it’s done, but unfortunately it currently is just a bar tucked in next to a landscape fountain in front of the building. The area is fenced in with unfinished plywood while construction on the patio is being finished. They should at least paint it black, but no big deal. Still giving them the benefit of the doubt.

The vibe was … there. It’s a cool old style building and the music is loud. The brick walls throughout the building make it loud with reverberations of music and conversation and make it very difficult to hear each other speak.

Got seated, and got the whole speech about the different steaks which is nice. The staff seems knowledgeable about what they’re serving. Our server was young and enthusiastic. Good stuff so far.

Appetizers: Caesar- good Caesar. Not made tableside, but plated as though it was. No problem, good Caesar, strong on the lemon, but that was called out by the server as their specific take on it. Cool. It’s a solid Caesar.

Sausage- best thing we had all night. A hot sausage link and a sweet sausage link cut into coins, served over crispy potatoes with a nice broth. This could be an amazing entree during the winter. Server called this out as the best hot plate appetizer and he was right.

Onto the star of the show-

The steak - we selected the dry aged prime ribeye, to be cooked medium rare. Seemed like a great introduction to the restaurant and their steak offerings. They also offer wagyu from Australia and America, but the dry aged ribeye seemed to be the right way to go for our first visit.

The steak was served seared on the outside, medium rare on the edges, and black-and-blue raw closer to the bone. We’re talking purple steak in parts. I like a medium rare to rare steak as much as the next meat eater. This had segments that really crossed the line from undercooked to not-cooked-at-all. It’s tasty in the cooked parts. Would have been nice for the whole thing to be done that way.

The server came by and asked how we liked it. I said that it was nice but pretty undercooked in parts. He said “no problem, it literally takes two seconds for us to put it back on.” No, we didn’t want to put our steak back on for a second cook. It is served pre-sliced and that would completely throw off the cook. We didn’t come here for hibachi.

The server explained to us that they’d rather undercook the steak than overcook it, and this was the intended level of doneness for a medium rare. I’d give them the benefit of the doubt except for the fact the steak is served sliced. You guys saw purple in the center of our steak and sent it out of the kitchen. This is a $150 steak. There is no room for a mistake like this.

Sides for dinner were the whipped potatoes (tasty) and the roasted long hots (I’m a fan). Fine sides.

Had a $75 bottle of the Oberon Cabernet Sauvignon. Nice wine, went well with the meal. Would recommend.

Overall the restaurant is an overhyped steakhouse that might be becoming a victim of its own popularity. Was ready to give an average review until my girlfriend saw some drunk person vomit in the bathroom hallway, and multiple employees passed by the mess until patrons complained and a staff member cleaned it up after many minutes of stinking up the hallway. Went from three stars to two stars...

The Butcher’s Block is an experience. From making a reservation online in advanced, to seeing and selecting your meat in a neat locker, to the music selection, it’s a total vibe of a restaurant.

Our reservation was originally for outside, and unfortunately the forecast had rain. We had received a call to move our reservation to earlier in the day, which we had accepted, and arrived to a valet who greeted us to park our car. They were very prompt with taking our car and bringing it back when we were done with our dinner.

HOSTESS: 10/10 We were greeted by the hostess, Margaret, and she had asked if we wanted indoor or outdoor seating (the bad weather had subsided, but we didn’t want to take the chance). We opted to eat inside, and we took a tour of their meat locker room. Once inside, Carlos aka “Los”, went over all of the different cuts of meats, the aging process, what farm they originated from, how many people the cut of meat would approximately feed, etc. he was absolutely fabulous in ensuring we chose the best meat for our party’s needs.

SERVICE: 10/10 Upon sitting at our table, we were promptly greeted by Liam, who was a fantastic server. He wasn’t overbearing, had a really nice demeanor, and was overall a pleasant waiter. We especially loved that every table came with a server and an “assistant” who would fill your water cups, take away your plates, clean the table of crumbs, etc. really outstanding service.

APPETIZERS: 10/10 | Complementary bread for the table 10/10 | Caesar salad - it was dressed with just enough to coat every piece of lettuce and didn’t leave you with bad breath 10/10 | Sausage - had a little bit of spice but was super flavorful and came out piping hot 3/10 | Ricotta Dip - lacked flavor. It was super fresh and could have been really good but needed garlic or lemon or salt and pepper

ENTREES/SIDES: 10/10 | Filet steak - it had a ton of flavor and was cooked to perfection, of which our mom ordered medium well 10/10 | Porterhouse steak - melt in your mouth and was also cooked to perfection, of which we ordered medium. It was a big enough portion to feed 3 adults 10/10 | Moog - this was one of the specialty pastas of the night. Had great flavor and was a bit spicy, but great portion to share 10/10 | Crispy Potatoes - roasted in duck fat, they were the best potatoes I think I’ve ever had as a side. Super crispy/crunchy

DESSERT: 10/10 | Churro with ice cream - some of the best dessert at a restaurant and enough to split between 2 people

DRINKS: 10/10 | Diamond Lady - light, refreshing, and had great flavor, presented beautifully in a coop. Not sugary at all 10/10 | Smoking Gun - smooth and great flavor

Things to keep in mind: Music is a bit loud and raunchy - for anyone born in the 90’s, you’ll love the set-list It’s very dark inside. Most people used their phone flashlights to see the menus A lot of people brought their young kids but in our opinion, it’s not really a place for them

Overall we had a really great experience and even better food. Everything was cooked to our specification and the staff was spectacular. It’s tough to get a reservation but if you do, it’s worth the drive and...