Witherspoon Grill — Restaurant in Princeton

Had reservations with a friend on a Friday at 6:30pm. Place was super packed already but we were seated immediately. I ordered the blood orange martini and later on a white martini. Both were delicious and served fast. For an app I ordered the tuna avocado martini which was fresh, seasoned perfectly, and also arrived quickly.

However our entrees didn't get to us until 8pm. I ordered the strip steak (medium) with mac and cheese side and my friend got the filet mignon (medium rare) with a baked potato side. I figured they went out to pick the cow for slaughter with how long it took to get to our table. You'd think with the long wait that at least the food would be good right? My strip was supposed to be 12oz but it was smaller than my friend's 8oz filet and it came out charred and overcooked. The mac and cheese was so bland! I don't think it had any salt at all. The fried onions were crispy but also bland and the wedge of tomato is so pointless. It's like the tomato you get in the boring pizza joint salads that have no business even existing. Maybe they think 1/4th of a tomato takes some guilt off all the calories you're about to consume. My friend's baked potato was really sad too. You'd think for $9 they'd do it up for you but it came out like a halved plain Idaho potato with some sides you could put on yourself. My fries were crispy and thankfully well seasoned. We didn't send anything back because if it took an hour to get our entrées, imagine how long we'd have to sit there before we actually got to eat.

I ordered the crème brûlée for dessert which actually arrived quickly and tasted great. The crispy burnt sugar on top along with the blueberries were delicious. My friend got the chocolate peanutbutter lava cake which was also delicious. It got served with blueberries which we found a bit odd like they were trying to use up their blueberry inventory and threw it on there for funsies. Not really a fruit I'd say makes sense with peanutbutter.

Our waiter was kind but not really attentive. To be fair I wouldn't pay much attention either when food takes an hour to get to tables. Maybe they were out harvesting the tomatoes they make seem so special by mentioning it on the menu (it really is just a plain tomato wedge they throw on your plate). In the end he mistakenly gave us someone...

I tried out Witherspoon Grill last night with my parents who came up to visit. Overall, the restaurant was just average. The food wasn't bad but it wasn't anything to write home about either. They provide you with bread, which was okay - not the best I've had by any means. As an appetizer, we ordered onion rings - which were good, but HUGE. My dad ordered the lobster bisque, the 16 oz. pork chop, and a side of mashed potatoes. First, if you're charging $29 for a pork chop, it should include a side - potatoes and/or a veggie cost virtually nothing. My mom ordered the side of mac & cheese as her dinner - she said it was good, but very greasy (she emptied out probably an 1/8 c. of grease onto a bread plate. I ordered the lobster mac & cheese. It was good, decent amount of lobster, but a very small serving for $19 - more than enough for me, but it was the same size as the side of mac & cheese, which to me seems asinine.

The waitress was friendly enough; the bus boys stayed on top of water refills, but another issue was that an air conditioning vent (which half of the tables are placed under) kept dripping repeatedly onto the two people sitting closest to it. We told the waitress and she reported it to the manager (I think?) who came over, but obviously she couldn't do anything with us & others sitting there.

Overall, this restaurant is worth a try, but I don't anticipate going back. The food quality/taste doesn't justify the pricing; the atmosphere is loud and you can't really hear each other talk; parking is paid (there's a garage just behind it, $2.50 for 2 hours); and I just wasn't impressed enough to return.

**For those who reviewed and said that there is no indication that they include tip on your check for parties of 6 (?) or more - it is clearly written on the menu, but I'm not sure if it's on the receipt. Also to be aware of, they charge a $3 plate sharing fee, which I'm morally against so I chose not to...

I’ve heard about this place for years and have been waiting to go. Finally got the chance with 3 of my friends. We went on the site to make a reservation for 9pm because we were at the beach all day. There was also an open reservation for 9:15. We took an Uber there and called the restaurant at 9:00 letting the hostess know we’d be 5 mins late. She was not friendly and said, “if you get here at 9:15 you can’t sit. Our kitchen closes at 9:30.” Why let ppl make reservations at 9/9:15 if you don’t want customers to come in. Said it was open until 10. She sat us by again saying the kitchen closes at 9:30, not hello, not have a nice time, etc. We then sat for 10 additional mins (9:20) as we got passed by servers who clearly didn’t want to take us. Finally our server came over and took our drink order. I forget her name because I’m not sure she even mentioned it. Two of us got dirty martinis and they were served warm, and not even shaken in the glass. From the bread and butter, the bottom of the barrel bisque soup, to the filet mignon tips sauce, everything tasting bland and had the same taste. Zero flavor. Needs salt or something else. After we ate we were not even offered an after dinner drink or dessert, by my friend ordered an espresso martini purposely. It was very clear they didn’t want to serve us. I am a beverage director and GM of a hospitality group of restaurants, and one of my friends with me there was the Tito’s rep. I was very disappointed in this experience and even used this to teach my staff how to not treat a customer. Great customer service starts from the hostess, and everyone should be treated as a VIP no matter who. Highly disappointed and I will most likely not be back or recommend. I ...