Publick House — Restaurant in Mountainside

I really wanted to like this place since I always pass by it and it always seems lively. I'll give the benefit of the doubt that maybe the day I went, may have been a bad day? To start, the prices are pretty high for how underwhelming the food is. For food, I ordered the grilled octopus appetizer, New York Strip steak cooked medium rare, and grilled scallops and it pains me to say I was not impressed. The steak was bland and burnt to a crisp on the outside and the rest of the components seemed lazy and underwhelming to me, a few slivered tomatoes and cubes of croutons was far too bland for the price. Grilled scallops were okay but the sauce that layer under it was corn in a cream sauce that tasted like canned corn. The octopus appetizer had a similar corn component under it. Last, the watermelon mezcal cocktail drink, was undrinkable. Overall spent close to $200 and I was extremely disappointed and underwhelmed with it all. There was a complete lack of flavor.

Again, I hate to give such a negative review but it was memorable for me and not in a good way. Again, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that it may have been a bad day, but I don't think I would try it again. The staff was overall really friendly otherwise and had great...

First and last time visiting the Publik House in Mountainside. We've driven by it hundreds of times and were always intrigued since it was so dark inside, it reminded us of a speakeasy. It is actually incredibly dark inside (one woman was using her phone flashlight to read the menu), it's loud and tables are jammed together. We had what I assume was a brand new waiter who could not remember the order we gave him right after we gave it, coming back again to confirm the wine choice but I think he still got it wrong, since what he brought did not match the description in the menu. The octopus starter was so incredibly salty, we couldn't finish it. The wedge salad was literally drenched in dressing and the grilled chicken was oversalted. And when we asked for the check, they brought the check AND they brought us two desserts to make up for the salty octopus, but the two desserts also had flakes of salt on top of them (honey panna cotta and chocolate cake) - ridiculous. I would have preferred they take the octopus off the check, but they didn't do that. Disappointing to say the least - I have no idea why the place was so crowded. We...

My husband and I went on a Saturday night, so we knew it would be busy. We were lucky enought to get a table without waiting at all. The waitstaff was excellent and attentive. We had the cavatelli appetizer which was good, but a little salty for our taste- we always think things taste a little too salty- so its hard to judge by our tastes. We decided to try a beer. I dont nornally drink anything, let alone beer. My husband likes a beer once in a while. So I suggested an IPA since they are usually more mild. The beer showed up. My husband took one sip and made a face. He took another sip and put it down on the table. I knew he wasnt going to say something nice. "This is the kind of beer you drink only when you have a grudge against yourself." I didn't believe him, so I tried it. Yep, he was right. That's exactly how it tasted. He ordered the Fish and Chips which was good, but really greasy. I ordered the Short Rib which was OK, but the potatoes were salty and the short rib excessively fatty. We were going to order dessert but decided we weren't that brave all in one day! Hey, the...