Homestead Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in Morristown

As soon as we walked in here (and looked at the menu), I remembered that Morristown is in many ways an unapologetic college town (Drew and Fairleigh Dickinson are about five minutes away), and this is for sure a bar/restaurant for college students. The Millennial Chum and I stopped by here for lunch on Saturday after a delightful morning with some lambs at Fosterfields down the street. This was an impulse decision with minimal research, and it showed, unfortunately.

I had a weird feeling from the get go when I met up with the Millennial Chum in front of the restaurant...and wasn't sure we were at the restaurant. There's literally no signage whatsoever, nor was it clear they were actually open. Maybe this place just has the greatest word of mouth in the entire world, but I genuinely don't have a clue how first-timers are supposed to know where this is, unless they had a giant sign temporarily taken down or something. We tentatively opened the door/peered in, and confirmed it was open and the correct place before officially walking in. The interior is VAST. It has a giant barn feel, similar to a lot of winery tasting rooms I've been to where you have to crane your neck to see the rafters. It's a cool space but by definition feels a little underutilized, but I could see this having a club/dance hall vibe on the weekends that would explain a lot. There were three or four employees by the island bar up front, and we were told to sit anywhere relatively close to the entrance.

We were both in more of a brunchy mood, so that was on us - this is pretty much bar food. We split two apps - the coconut shrimp and seasonal flatbread. I also opted for a margarita that had coconut milk in it (no, I'm not sure why I doubled down on the coconut). The coconut shrimp was definitely the star for me. The shrimp were plump/huge, and the dipping sauce was decent. The Millennial Chum was a huge fan of the flatbread, but I'm not crazy about sauce that has chunks and/or tomato skin in it, so it was just okay for me. The pesto flavoring was fine though, and it did the job. The marg was also okay - in my old age I've gotten used to top-shelf tequila so it was actually a little jarring to realize I can distinguish the more lets-bring-this-bottle-down-to-the-Seaside-kegger-with-us stuff when it shows up in the glass. But again, this is clearly an establishment aimed at 21-year-olds who will take their Cuervo and like it.

This wasn't terrible by any means, but if you're not an undergrad slaving away over your midterms in nearby Madison, I'd walk another block or two for a restaurant more tailored to you and your...

Pretentious at best. Management really needs to focus less on hiring teenagers that have the right "look" they are going for, and focus on finding a few that actually have more than 1 week of waitressing under their belts. It took us over 30 minutes and multiple attempts to get two simple cocktails, a white claw, and a beer and we were 10 feet from the bar. My friend's fiance eventually got up and walked to the bar to get the napkins they forget to give us with our food. These girls pretend they don't see you trying to place an order and they act as if it's below them when you finally get that far. I know this economy is trash and it's hard to find kids who actually want to work for less than $15/hour, but if they weren't so preoccupied with being seen flirting with the bouncer at the front gate, they might pocket more in tips, and more customers might return. My guess is some establishments just don't care about satisfying return customers as long as they are filling seats. Aren't restaurants supposed to be providing a service? The kid I see at Wendy's has a better attitude then the crowd strutting around this place. My table of four (Motown local) won't be returning anytime soon. Hopefully things change by then. Food was "okay", check was $100 (before tip) for a buffalo chicken wrap, a chicken tortilla, two vodka sodas, a gin & tonic, a white claw, and two Jose Cuervos. Gin & tonic was also "okay", but pretty weak. Service was pretty similar three weeks ago, also on a Friday, though it was certainly overpriced. I recall the wings were pretty good, but the meal was also just "okay" - your average, run of the mill bar food, served with a heaping side of...

First and last visit to the Homestead. Stopped in on a Saturday around noon as they opened for the day. The staff is sweet but not trained in service and not at all familiar with a fairly simple menu.

Although we were the only table seated it took 30 minutes to get our short rib taco appetizer, which arrived with half of our lunch order. The short rib meat tasted just okay, and while not exactly dry it was served without any of the reduced braising liquid you would expect with a short rib.

The Turkey BLT was served on stale bread. The turkey looked exactly like the pre-sliced meat they serve at Subway, and they use an odd tasting mayonnaise. A train wreck of a sandwich.

The fried chicken sandwich was an absolute piece of garbage. It was a pre-breaded frozen chicken patty that was simply reheated and put on a tasteless sesame seed bun with pickles and lettuce. McDonalds, Popeyes, and Chik-fil-A do a far superior job with a chicken sandwich at less than half the price. The curly fries were really the only thing edible on the plate.

Our bill with one cocktail was $65.00 before tip for the worst dining experience that I’ve ever experienced.

The focus is on profit at the Homestead, and they’re cleaning up with a crowd that is only interested in socializing with expensive beer and booze, and who are happy with overpriced low-grade appetizers and sandwiches. If you’re looking to grab a bite to eat, pass right by the Homestead, and walk a few steps more to one of the many choices that Morristown...