Hatch44 Cafe — Restaurant in Metuchen

Took my daughter here for her birthday for brunch Wed 4/24/24. We were so excited because it's such a cute place. I ordered the open face brunch burger $24.95. looked good. But it wasn't. My bread was saturated in oil and the cheese wasn't melted. I tried to eat it and not complain since it's my daughter's Birthday but I couldn't finish. I started to feel nauseous from the grease. The plantain was dry and hard. I was extremely disappointed. My waitress Jasmine was a delight but the food was awful. Jasmine took my meal off the check without me asking! Maybe I should have just got a waffle... It was my 1st choice.

P.S. I will come back and give this place another chance because I'm pretty sure the food is delicious so Plz don't hesitate to come here. Just don't order what I did.

2nd Try! Okay so I came back today Tues 4/30/24. I ordered a gluten-free French toast with fresh fruit and a side of bacon as a to-go order. I'm home and I begin to eat it and literally it's like I just have slices of bread that was pan-seared in butter. They did not dip it into any Cinnamon vanilla flavored egg batter which is what you do with french toast. This was me giving them a 2nd chance and honestly they just lost me as a customer I won't be back! This is absolutely ridiculous... Such a disappointment 😡

I'm literally going to have to take out some eggs and mix them with milk and cinnamon and vanilla and dip this bread into it and then refry it myself! I mean look at how dry it is. You can see it. I'm not making this up! After I re-cook it myself, I'll take more photos so you can see what it should look like!

I recooked it!

You can see the last photo where I recooked it. How nice and golden brown it is because I actually dipped it into an egg batter and I left some in the top right hand corner where you can see the original how pale and dry it is.

Note: Thursday Aug 8th. I just like to add that I am a level 6 local guide so I review a lot. I also sometimes go back and look at my review just to see if the business has responded to me. Sometimes they do and I give them another chance. I just like to note that hatch 44 did not even respond to my review. They did not apologize or anything.

But if you scroll down and you look at the next complaint of a woman saying she was charged for french fries that came with her meal anyway. (Let's remember I had to recook my own food the 2nd time I tried this place out) They were so apologetic to her. Even gave her a number to call so that they could make it right. It seems they're selective on who they would like to come back! It will NEVER be me and trust, I've made sure to tell everyone with an ear about my experience here. Not once but twice. To ignore my complaint makes it even worse! Just settle for IHOP. The food is better! I believe people really only come here because of the atmosphere. Food that looks good but doesn't taste good is not for me...

I went to Hatch 44 Cafe in Metuchen NJ for brunch. The ambiance and decor was beautiful. However, you can't do reservations for under 6 people. They do accept walk ins but on a first come first serve. Now I follow this place on social media and wanted to see what the hype was all about. When me and my friends went we love the decor but wasn't impressed with the food. I ordered the Chicken Scoop. The Chicken Scoop was Buttermilk fried chicken breast, Belgian waffle, a scoop of house bacon jam, maple mustard syrup drizzle, powdered sugar. Now when my food arrived my waffle was not crispy but very light with no taste to it. It lacked flavor. The chicken could have used a little more seasoning. The breading on the chicken was fine but I really didn't taste much seasoning on it. One of my friends ordered Birria Eggstra Bout It. French style omelet filled with shredded birria beef, shaved onions, topped with queso fresco, crema, pico and tortilla strips served with a side salad. She said her beef was way too salty and she needed to add salt and pepper to the rest of her food. She said she enjoyed the salad. My other friend ordered the Fiesta Scramble Bowl. Fresh eggs scrambled, Chorizo (Pork), Mozzarella cheese, jalapeños, peppers, onions, pickled radish, avocado, and fresh cilantro served with seasoned potatoes, pico, queso fresco, Mexican crema, corn tortillas. Now when you read on the menu what this dish is you thinking tons of flavor but that too was lacking. She said her food could have had more seasoning to elevate her dish. We also shared the Classic French toast. Challah bread dipped in a vanilla & cinnamon custard batter, seasonal berry compote topped with cinnamon butter glaze and powdered sugar. My honest opinion of the French toast was it didn't tast like French toast. More like toasted bread with jam on the side. I didn't get the berry compote element. I love French toast and if you are going to use Challah bread then the bread should be soaked in the the French toast mixture and not dipped. It taste more like a dust of cinnamon and vanilla but I got neither just a toasted piece of bread. This was definitely a missed. I did however, love my ice Vanilla Chai, it was delicious. One of the best chai's I have ever had. My friend enjoyed her Matcha so much so that she ordered 2. Now the drinks are really good. They don't serve alcohol so this is a bring your own bottle. If you are looking for a place with great decor and ambiance then this is the place. As far as the food there are definitely some misses. Some of there dishes fell flat. If they can improve and add more seasoning to make the food more flavorful and scrumptious then I would give this place a 10/10 but overall it's a 6/10. Drinks are good but...

Unpleasant Experience at Hatch 44 in Metuchen, NJ We came we ate we had drama and everything. While Hatch 44 offers a great menu with a lot of variety, my recent experience was less than ideal. Actually, it was very disappointing from a customer perspective, but even worse from a management perspective. Our waiter was great but the manager, Dan, not so much. He is a vivid example that people do not leave the job. They leave bad bosses, bad managers.

Despite arriving at 10:30 AM, the first two items we wanted to order were unavailable, and the second choice we wanted to go was also not available, which was disappointing

The main issue, however, was with the unclear pricing on the menu, which the owner needs to take care of that as soon as possible. As of you, the customer. Be aware that almost everything comes with an additional charge, even items like jam for toast or condiments for the empanadas that usually complement a dish at no extra cost, you will be charged for it. This is not a common practice at most places I’ve dined at, and I do eat out a few times a week. Two of us got the wrong meals. The other meals where missing some of the condiments. This is a brunch place and they ran out of 3 things on the menu by 10:30. Unacceptable.

When we addressed this with the manager, we were told it was the server’s fault for not informing us about a $1.00 charge for a sauce. I found it surprising that in an established restaurant like this, the manager didn’t stand by the server, who, in fact, provided excellent service. Expecting the server to disclose every single minor charge for condiments, especially for a group of four or more, within the time constrain requirements, seems unreasonable. He kept blaming the server ruthlessly, his voice was very loud, and he sounded that he was about to punish the girl to death. No one wants a manager like managing their business. To the owner, you should look out after your business and your employees and not to Lead, but managers to chase out good employees. Dan is absolutely ruthless with the customers, I can only imagine the dictator he is with your employees. And he never apologize for giving us the wrong food, charging us extra for everything or even just for being a jerk.

Additionally, even their drink options are a bit misleading. They offer choices like different types of milk but fail to clearly list the extra charges associated with those options.

Overall, while the food is not horrible, and the service was good, the lack of transparency around pricing took away from the experience. I hope they improve in this area, as it’s something that could make a big difference...