Sovereign — Restaurant in Plainfield

A group of us went out for dinner on a Friday evening. They do not take reservations,so you had to go there put your name on the list,at first they said it'll be around half hour, half hour to 45 minutes later they said cuz our group of 6 not too many table available,so will have to wait longer till a big table empty. We arrived at 6:30 and finally got a table probably 8 or 8 something. My first impressions of the place wasn't too good, the place was so dark and super noisy,I felt like I was at the ballgame or concert,I think there were a private party on the back n had a live band going. This was the first time I was at the restaurant. Anyway, we were finally got the first corner booth, it was very cozy n private n further away from the private party,so we could actually heard ourselves talking,we had to use our light from our cellphone to read the little menu,not much choice there were we all got the cheeseburger,it was good, I think someone at our table wanted a half chicken of something but it would take half hour for it,so we that person got the cheeseburger too,it came with a side of French fries which was really good too. But think about it by that late hours after the long wait probably everything would taste so good, since we were all starving, luckily it didn't take long. It's a bar like, so plenty of liquor n soft drink. I got their mojito, it was really good with lime n I think mint with some liquor it was delicious, probably potent too,I was so thirsty before took a bite of my burger,took a big sip of it,so I was so relaxed right after that I'm a lightweight, anyway most people at my table got beers. The service was good she came to check on it often, we stayed for a long time n she didn't rush us. There were not anyone waiting while we were eating,so we didn't feel the rush either. The food was good,but very limited menu, service was good. We were lucky n able to find the street parking quick,othere were not as lucky. That's not my kind of place,I like a place with brighter lighting to able to read my menu n not too noisy. If the bar environment is what you're looking for,then this is the place for you. I was not expecting it, a group of long time friends got together for dinner,so it's not the kind of place that I was thinking of. Also,I'm more of a foodie,not a drinker. I was looking at Moe Joe's Menu,my kind of foods but I didn't have a choice. Moe Joe it'll be next time , hopefully it won't...

I’ve been to this restaurant many times in the past and have always loved it. Tonight I ordered a New York strip steak ($35 a plate) medium rare and it came out medium well with barely any trace of pink in sight. I tried to be as polite as possible and asked if I could have another steak cooked properly (only took a single bite so no I was not trying to pull a fast one for extra food). I waited around 25 minutes for my refired steak, and it was placed on the wrong table next to ours so I had to tell them to place it on mine (not a huge deal but added to my level of frustration). When I got the new order, the steak chunks were around half the size of the original order. So small I actually couldn’t help but start laughing out loud. I don’t want to make assumptions but it almost felt like I was being punished for wasting their expensive cut of meat so they gave me the smallest piece they could find. The steak itself the second time was cooked to the proper temperature but the outside crust had a char that tasted like the grill hadn’t been cleaned in between meats. Burnt crusty char was the only thing I could taste. I was so starving that I ate it without complaining again but it was a literal chore to get down and nearly inedible. I know this isn’t a steak house but that is a steep price for a steak that bad. Our server was kind and apologetic throughout the experience; none of this was her fault. On a positive note; our Brussels sprouts were very good and my wife said her salmon dish was fine. I don’t think I’ll be back, for that kind of money I would rather cook my own steak at home.

update the manager at this location reached out to me personally and went above and beyond to set things right. My wife and I returned and all of our food was cooked perfectly. I have changed this rating to 5 stars and it is wonderful to see such excellent ownership who stands by...

Needs Improvement-Not the Sovereign I remember. Went Saturday, waited about 45min for a table- nbd we didn’t have a reservation.

We were seated, took about 10mins before a server checked in. Took our drink orders and we put apps in right away. Menu is very limited. They used to have so many wonderful farm to table options. Much larger drink menu than food but ok ‘tap house’

Our drinks came- all but 1. We thought maybe she was coming back with it, we all were about half way through ours until I saw her again and I stopped her as she was leaving another table and let her know we were missing one. She asked what it was- we let her know the draft and she said: “oh well we are out of that” and then just stared at me. Finally the person at my table that was drink-less broke the silence and asked if anyone was going to let him know so he could choose something else, and she responded just as sarcastically with a halfass apology and recommended something else.

I won’t write the essay but here were the bullet points for the rest of the evening. -not enough settings for the 6 at our table -no refill on water at table knowing 2 guests sitting were drinking only that, we asked for it 2x and it finally came-with the bill. -no offer to put in another round for those with other drinks -shank was drier that the Atacama Desert -pass on the risotto

From a previous restaurant owner to another- I get it. Finding good staff at the moment is rough and I sympathize. But until you have a handle on it- management needs to be more present and making their rounds. You have a beautiful location and we were return customers but this isn’t the Sovereign we know and love!! The table next to us was seated when we received our dinner- they did not have a server check in until we received our check- that says a lot. The place was not slammed either.

I hope these kinks are worked out...