Pearl — Restaurant in Red Bank

Food is not necessarily bad but also not quite right. I had the steak and avocado salad and there was not a single pink spot in my “medium rare” steak. Definitely overcooked. Burrata starter shared by the table was completely covered by some sugary dressing. Rendering it near impossible to taste anything else than high fructose corn syrup-y dressing, which is a shame because the ingredients looked decent. Service was absolutely horrendous. First we weren’t seated for some time even though we had a reservation. When we decided that we should have a few drinks at the (empty) bar while waiting for our table, we were stopped by our server - she said she’s looking for a table for us and wanted to kept us from sitting at the bar.

Initial service once we were seated was not bad, but it was obvious that not everybody got the same service at our table. I’d like to emphasize that I have an accent, and felt like that was the reason I was singled out by our server and didn’t get the adequate service like the rest of my party.

After ordering twice and waiting 45 minutes for my glass of wine, I asked the server if we can get our alcoholic drinks before our elaborate coffee drinks since they’re faster to serve. Their reaction was to literally berate me in front of my entire party and treating me like I’m not a paying customer but a burden. I told them in private that their reaction wasn’t professional, they kept caressing my shoulder in a condescending manner and told me how busy they were repeatedly. I obviously wasn’t spared of a very sarcastic “THANK YOU!” [Look guys, I know it was busy, but usually, servers/bartenders don’t serve whoever walks in last and prioritize. Obviously a bottle of beer is served before an espresso martini especially if the order was placed first.]

When I talked to the manager about possible discrimination, their reactions was “ l wouldn’t go that far.” So, it’s up to you; overcooked steak and possible racism vs. literally anywhere else. Yikes.

Pros: it’s near water, I guess it’s cool if you’ve never seen water before. Cons: racism and...

This was one of the strangest dining experiences I’ve ever had. Not “fun bad,” just absurd from start to finish.

We had to ask for everything—water, soda (which somehow tasted like sink water), you name it. The lobster bisque and calamari were so bad they went straight back to the kitchen. At one point, we were the only table in the place… and the service was still just as slow and inattentive. Three hours. We sat there for three hours.

By the time the food arrived, it had clearly been sitting under a heat lamp—lukewarm, limp, and lifeless. My burger was somehow both dry and greasy, and it made me physically sick later. For the prices they’re charging, I expected better than Wendy’s. Instead, I got worse than Wendy’s—and I like Wendy’s.

The bread? Incredible. If this place only served bread, they might actually be famous. Everything else felt like a low-budget simulation of a restaurant—like eating inside someone’s idea of what a restaurant is supposed to be. I understand servers are people, but this felt like every single person working there was in their first hour on their first day, just pretending to know how it all works.

In the grand scheme of life, it’s nothing—but it was still the worst dining experience I’ve ever had, the only meal I’ve ever truly wished I could un-eat, and an absurd...

OH MY GOSH! WOW! That's all I can say, and that isn't enough. My wife and I ate here tonight. The restaurant is very unassuming; there isn't even a sign in the hotel lobby. We'll, we had the most marvelous meal we've had in a while!

I ate scallops casino - YUM! An inspired take on the classic classic casino. My dinner was melt in your mouth short ribs served atop a Yukon gold potato croquette. Absolutely delish. For desert, I had a chocolate creme brulee with Moreno cherries - a new take on the classic desert. Very well constructed, and the texture was sublime. I also had a perfect cappuccino, complete with rock candy stirrer.

My wife had French onion soup for starter. But that was eclipsed by a wonderful chicken in fig sauce, accompanied by autumn vegetables, truly inspired! But the desert even surpassed all of that; an absolutely marvelous pumpkin cake topped with butter brickle ice cream, surrounded by butterscotch sauce with cranberries and pistachio dust.

The view here is amazing, the service perfect. And to bring it up to the next level, a pianist playing old classics from Broadway (think Cole Porter, Liverpool and Stoller, the Beatles). Whomever had the forethought to hire a pianist here should be promoted!

A truly lovely evening. Cannot wait to...