Patrick's Grille — Restaurant in Neptune City

We went often to the previous restaurant Brennan’s and mostly for the early bird special which was fantastic. One time we missed the early bird and stayed for the regular menu and thought the prices were reasonable and the food excellent. We are just now going out to dinner more often since the COVID scare and wanted to try the new iteration of the restaurant called Patrick’s Grille. Didn’t see Brennan waiting tables this time so couldn’t ask him if he lost a coin flip for the restaurant name or was it because Patrick is the favorite or oldest son?

The restaurant was beautiful and completely renovated with a bigger bar in a rectangle around the main room with some high top tables and they eliminated the piano which was a shame because I love piano music in the background. They no longer have the early bird special which is not surprising because I often wondered how they made any money with that program. However the pricing on this new menu was more than fair and a good value considering the food quality and portion sizes. I had the grilled pork chops which I had frequently in the previous restaurant and they were outstanding again and were served with two large center cut boneless chops that were very moist and flavorful. My wife had a NY Strip steak that she was very happy with that was tender, flavorful and a big portion. We both had containers to bring home the meat we couldn’t finish. I also had the wedge salad which was excellent but the chicken noodle soup was average after finding out the seafood bisque wasn’t available that night. We didn’t do mixed drinks this time but I had a glass of wine which was a fair price and I noticed they do not gouge you for a bottle of wine either. For example Jordan Cabernet sells for almost $60 in a liquor store and most restaurants sell it for $125-$150 but in this restaurant the price is only $92. That is a great price for a quality cabernet wine.

The restaurant did seem a little noisier than in the past but you could still talk without shouting at each other and they were almost full. The service was excellent and Bridgett did a great job and seemed to enjoy working there. We liked the new menu where you could buy a steak dinner, burger or simple sandwich or have one of the specials. We also liked the fact the entree included soup or salad, potato and vegetable. We will definitely be back often because the food was excellent, plentiful and a great value with outstanding service. Brennan and Patrick obviously know what they are doing and this place exceeded our...

GROSS HAIR EXPERIENCE AT PATRICK'S

I'm a local... actually live right across the street. You would think it would be crazy for me to give my neighborhood restaurant a negative review but they really let me down tonight.

We frequent Patrick's often and always have a positive experience with bartenders Vinnie and Danny. However, tonight we visited with 2 of our adult children and sat at a table. From the get-go the server was "just fine" but did not have the positive attitude we are accustomed to at the bar. Nevertheless everything was progressing through our meal - we asked for several customizations and agreed to the upcharges for things like exchanging fries for salad and asking for vegetables instead of chips with our spinach dip.

Unfortunately, a member of our party found a short black hair in her salad after we had all been eating for a bit. It immediately soured everyone's appetite and the overall experience. When we brought it to our server's attention, she let us know that she informed the owner of the incident. The meal continued and when the bill came, nothing was said about the hair and there was nothing done to compensate us.

We then asked for the manager. When "Patrick" arrived at the table the server...possibly named Brittany or Bridget... stood in the corner laughing with her colleague. Patrick made every excuse under the sun and basically kept saying it was an honest mistake and that they gave us the carrots for free in our appetizer. We didn't go to the restaurant looking for a free meal but a quality reputable restaurant should always offer something...even just a drink or an offer to return. Everyone is immediately grossed out when something like that occurs at the table and it ruins the meal for everyone. And by the way, our table offered us a view of the kitchen and no one was wearing any hair coverings or beard coverings from where we could see. We could even see servers grabbing chips with their bare hands to put on plates.

We have always enjoyed Patrick's and have told many friends to visit. But after tonight's complete disregard for our incident by the ridiculous excuse for a manager, we will be hard pressed to return. And we will be very open with anyone and everyone we encounter to share our negative experience. The situation could have been solved simply with a simple offer of restitution....instead the manager made excuses, the server laughed in the corner and the manager even followed us out of the restaurant smirking the whole time. What a total...

I called the restaurant at 6pm and was told the wait was 45 minutes for a party of four. I asked the woman on the phone if we could grab a drink while we waited and she responded no and that we would have to wait in our car until they called us. We arrived at 6:35pm and I put my name in. At that time I was told the wait was 45-60 minutes. We went back to our car. I received no call, so at 7:50, I went back in to ask about our wait. The hostess replied, "no one is leaving" and there were still two tables ahead of us. Ten minutes later we decided to all go in to find out what was going on. The hostess was outside having a cigarette so when we approached the hostess desk a young girl was there. We expressed our frustration that we were waiting now more than 90 minutes. The girl was defensive and smug. There was an empty table next to her in which we asked to be seated. She refused saying it was reserved and that we still had two parties ahead of us. We asked to see the manager. She walked away and the other hostess came back. We waited about ten minutes for the manager who never showed and decided to walk out. Not once did anyone offer an apology for the long wait or offer to have the manager speak with us. We never once received a call that our table was ready or to apologize for the long wait. Throughout the COVID pandemic table turnover has been a 2 hour limit and should be respected by the establishment as well as the customers. We should all be sensitive to it. The hostesses were brash, nasty, and unapologetic. I don't have a review on the food because we never had a chance to eat there. I called back at 8:30 (2 hours later) and they were just setting our table. This restaurant has some nerve having people wait in their cars for two hours without checking in with them after stating the wait would be half of that. Based on the experience, I am not sure I would...