Mason Jar Family Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Mahwah

It breaks our hearts to give Mason Jar a poor review. My wife and I first met at Mason Jar. We’ve had many great evenings with friends and family, and the food is often very good. First I’ll preface this with the understanding that all businesses are suffering right now with a lack of talent. It has obviously hit many restaurants and food service establishments. Service at the Mason Jar has been on a very slow decline and tonight capped it off for us. Our server was inattentive, forgot parts of our order, and needed to be asked multiple times for things like straws or napkins. After waiting over 90 minutes for our entrees, some of the food came out cold - a baked potato had a pat of butter that wouldn’t melt. The windows were open and a screen was broken so there were flies hovering around our table the entire time. The evening sun came right into the window at our table but some of window shades were missing. After we asked for the check, we were then asked if we wanted the ice cream that came included with one of the meals; we declined as it was now 2 1/2 hours since we sat down and we have a small child who was running up on bedtime. The biggest slap in the face was that Mason Jar has now added a forced 20% gratuity on any check; we were a group of 4 and a baby. This is simply outrageous. We always give 20% or more for good service but this night, it really should have been 10-15%.

During past meals, the owner or manager would walk around asking how the meals are; we wondered aloud where he was this evening. As we left, he was near the doorway and asked. We were honest, and were told “the B Team” staff was on tonight, the hostess (who appeared confused when we first entered the establishment) had to be sent home because she got 3 To Go orders wrong, and that he is struggling to hire good help. As I opened with, we understand that businesses are going through a difficult time, but some are managing to make it work and even thrive. Our fingers are crossed that Mason Jar will eventually turn things around, but for now our dollars will be...

Been going here for as long as I can remember and it continues to be my preferred BBQ joint in the area. This is mainly because the ribs are absolutely phenomenal. In my own, albeit somewhat limited, experience, I have not tried baby back ribs as good as the ones they serve at the mason jar in Mahwah. If you like fall-off-the-bones ribs, then this is the place for that. I've heard from family and friends that the other food here is pretty darn good, but I wouldn't know because the ribs are all I order.

That having been said, I have taken a star off for a few main concerns. Firstly, ordering online is often a challenging experience. Sometimes I am able to walk right in and grab my food, but during peak hours it'll sometimes take well over 10 additional minutes over the time that my food was scheduled to be ready by. As well, there is a curbside pickup option advertised on the website, but it seems to just be there for decoration, as I have tried ordering curbside multiple times and each time ended up having to get out of my truck and pick up my food inside from a very confused staff member.

As well, the patrons and staff seem to be rather libertarian about wearing masks and, when it is crowded, the waiting area is definitely a snug fit, so waiting for my food to be ready is rather uncomfortable. Plus, waiting outside isn't really an option either since there are ash trays set up along the entry way, inviting guests to breath smoke right into the entrance of the restaurant and onto anybody who wants to wait for their food/seats outside. If COVID safety, second hand smoke, and/or crowds are concerns for you, I would advise you to take out and/or dine at non-busy hours.

In any event, this really is a great, casual, local restaurant with a big menu conducive to most preferences. There are some issues, likely exacerbated as a consequence of the pandemic, but overall I would recommend it 99.9%...

Went to this place for my NYE get together. Solid 3.237538. And I’ll tell you why. Service: Sat down good. My friend knocked over a Christmas deer decoration. They did not pay attention to it. Good or bad? Ordered drinks, took considerably long but idk it may have been busy I was in a secluded area. My friends ordered sprite. They got seltzer. The place also have alcoholic references and posters on the wall. Do not come if you don’t want you kids to know what beer is. Really the drink situation could have been an honest mistake. “Everyone makes mistakes” - Hannah Montana. It is also hard to find the bathroom. Possibly bring a map.

Food: Ordered calamari and mozzarella triangles as appetizer. Portions small. Four triangles came with the mozzarella triangles. Disappointed. Good thing only two people wanted it so they split it even. They were also probably frozen so idk why they tripping about giving us more. Calamari was also limited. Split it between five people. We only got 3-5 pieces each and by that time they were all gone. Past places I’ve been to have big platters of calamari. Maybe the past places are wrong and the Mason Jar is right. Yeahhh prob not. I ordered the mason burger myself. Presentation good. More than 10 fries Which from other reviews I read have had less than 10. Glad to see they improved. The burger had a stick in it. Big stick. Took a bite of the burger. Immediately noticed a foul/chemical taste in the burger. Couldn’t tell if it was the burger, cheese, or the burnt edges around it. Definitely ruined the burger. Couldn’t eat much more of it. My fellow ordered chicken fingers, they put ranch sauce 💦 on it. Idk why. Weird.

Summary: Idk go but don’t order the things I did. It might change by the time you come here. The best part was the baddie waitress which is kinda sad considering that the best part should have been the food. Thanks for reading like...