Oldestone Steakhouse — Restaurant in New Hope

A friend and I (regular's at Marsha Brown) went to the launch this weekend. We had reservations Sunday at 5:30. We arrived early to be chased out by the hostess, telling us that they don't open until 5:30, and we would need to come back. We went for a drink at another establishment and came back at 5:15 to find the bar nearly full (so obviously 5:30 had some room for interpretation). This set the tone for an underwhelming evening.

The renovations to the first floor make the room much more open and appealing. The color palette of gray and gold works surprisingly well, invoking the stone of the building and the opulence of the cuisine. It presents as elegant and refined, without crossing into ostentatious. The seating was close, but still comfortable.

Nearly all of the menu items from Marsha's are gone (goodbye Mamere's cheesecake!!!). There was no bread brought to the table, and for the price point, its absence was certainly noted. We each had a drink, which was well prepared, and it was nice to see the familiar faces of some of the staff. The menu is much more limited, but we were excited to try the new take on the eggplant Ophelia and my standard pork chop (a great test of the culinary skill of a kitchen's staff), only to be informed that these two of their 7 options were unavailable. For an opening weekend at the first available time slot, this is really really disappointing. We ordered a scallop entrée and the grouper. Both were prepared well, but were underwhelming. Nothing about the meals felt unique or niche in any way. The scallops were SALTY to the point of distraction. We also ordered the German rye bread dumplings (which were unique and VERY enjoyable, especially when paired with the mustard) and the garlic chili broccolini (spicier than expected but still good).

Having been through an underwhelming meal, we decided to give dessert a shot. We ordered an espresso each (which did NOT disappoint- we're a fan of your beans!!) and asked to see the dessert options, already selecting the chocolate option and either the cheesecake or crème brulee' in our minds before we even saw this list. What came out was incredibly disappointing. We were presented with 4 options- a standard éclair, a strawberry éclair, a coffee cream filled puff (which was an éclair in a different shape) and a fruit roll (I thought it was apricot but can't remember, but looked like a jelly roll). With 4 options, how are 3 of them some form of puff with filling? No chocolate, no cheesecake, no cake, no crème brulee, no sorbet, no gelato or ice cream, no fruit... basically no options. We should have gone elsewhere for dessert after seeing them, but we ordered the strawberry and coffee options. Again, they were ok, but rather underwhelming. Nothing about the meal or experience was a wow factor (except for the excellent service and nice atmosphere), and nothing stood out to make me feel like this is where I want to come back to, and for an opening weekend, I was disappointed. With gratuity our meal capped out at $225, which is not outrageous, but with all of the other dining options in walking distance, I cannot recommend what we got for what we spent.

I am hoping this is just early launch issues and can/will be addressed, but I have concerns. Marsha's was a solid choice (and one of our favorite restaurants). While not expecting the same, I was hoping for a unique replacement, where I can feel like the passage of time and inevitable change would have allowed a new appreciation in its own right. Perhaps the new Logan Inn may be the...

I had to say yeah allure of this restaurant is just the church. never did It occurred to me that everything will be amplified in a large church building. The place was pretty much empty when we arrived which I thought was high since it was 630 on a Friday. We were seated and waiter came over immediately. But to my dismay, there was a huge party in the upstairs loft that was drowning out any conversations that you might wanna have. First time at the restaurant I asked if there’s any place to sit due to loud noise coming from the balcony, unfortunately no , there is only one main dining area. Ordered the bacon wrapped scallops, and the shrimp cocktail which the waiter said was outstanding. The scallops and the tomato confit was very tasty. The bacon was a tad soggy. The shrimp were laughable. They gave me a huge plate with ice for four tiny shrimp for $19 . I was amazed that the waiter recommended the shrimp cocktail. It was literally like three dollars worth of shrimp and very poorly made cocktail sauce. Ordered the salmon and the 10 ounce fillet with lobster tail. The salmon was good as my wife put it came out rare as I requested , which was a pleasant surprise. It was just odd that there was no juiciness to the fillet, using some kind of from the steak, but I was actually very tender and rare has I recommended it to be lobster tail was a tad overcooked or broiled it did mix up and my lobster tail on the other plate, which was no big deal but Just paying attention in the kitchen. Did not order. I did have a side of brussels sprouts with our main entrée. The brussels sprouts look like they were burnt, but did not have a taste. They were actually very tasty that was on the scallops I assumed was also in the brussels sprouts, due to their extreme sweetness , everything is over at this restaurant. Everything is à la cart leaving. I inquired at the front desk about a way to know if there were parties set for a particular night if I choose to come back again because I would not come if there is a party. There is no way to know unless you verbally speak to someone to see if there is a , reserve party Parking was $20 at the valet parking behind the restaurant +5 hour tip so $25 to park for an hour for dinner not the best option a restaurant absolutely should have their own parking not charge every $20 to go park. I would definitely park on the street, unfortunately it was not I cannot say I would recommend this restaurant to anyone do the fact you’re gonna pay $25 a park if you can’t get on street parking Plus just the food being overpriced and being kind of mediocre this is not fine dining by any means for $265 I expected a lot more. On a sidenote, when I asked about the party upstairs being loud, I can tell from the expression on the women at the front desk that this was heard of someone asking this question but it was a logical question. I expected a nice quiet night to be involved in someone else’s party and not be able to have a conversation I did not feel like I was...

What a horrible experience! Don't expect this to be like Marsha Brown's. Marsha Brown's service and food were always superb with a delicious southern flare and hospitality with a high class atmosphere and clientele. At Oldestone they have miserable and cold hosts that greet you. They asked us if we had a reservation. We said no. They said you can sit at the bar until we get your table ready. There were only two people in the bar area. I said I guess everyone is upstairs in the main dinning room. After 15 minutes we were shown to the dining room. What a shock! There were only 4 people in the dinning room. What the h..l did the hosts ask us if we had a reservation knowing that it was empty. Marsha Brown's was always packed with people. Additionally, why did we have to wait if it was empty like a spooky ghost town on a Thursday night. Furthermore, don't go to Oldestone hungry. They give extremely small portions that would not even fill up a bird. The food was just plain pathetic and extremely overpriced for what they serve you. I ordered the tasteless lollipop lamb chops that came on top of the tiniest chopped up salad as an appetizer. I also ordered scallops and greek fries ($11) which is a joke. The fries were so paper thin like your eating potato chips. The scallops were so so so small for $42 and as expected ... tasteless. My husband ordered the New York strip steak. He said it was tasteless and hard. So hard that if he threw it at a window, the window would break. Tourists I advise you to just go in and see the mural "Redemption", but eat somewhere else. I'm sure the locals are saying they will never eat there again because all the other restaurants in New Hope have tasty very good food and service. Oldestone do yourself a favor and close down. You will never reach the high standards of Marsha Brown's. You're just wasting people's time and money. People expect high quality food and service. They don't expect bland and overpriced food that is not worth it. People leave Oldestone hungry and have to spend more money at another restaurant just to get full. Pathetic! If I could give zero...