Steel Wheel Tavern — Restaurant in Ridgewood

Very accommodating staff while we visited. We went on a Saturday night about 7:30 and it was about a 45 minute wait with no reservation... they let us wait at the bar and have drinks while a table for 2 became available, and it took way less than 45 minutes..about 20, so we closed out at the bar, and we were seated in the room to the left of the entrance, with a large flatscreen tv... that unfortunately was not powered on.... we also noticed the flush mounted speakers in the ceiling were not playing any music, which was disappointing because we had just left the bar area which was playing audio at a nice level and we could listen and enjoy while having conversations... it was a bit of a let down going from that to mostly family chatter and the like, so we asked our server if he could turn on the music, to which his reply was,"it is on, you just can't hear it over everyone talking"... so we asked if he could have someone turn it up to match the bar area we just came over from? He told us he would, took our drink orders, walked away... came back a few minutes later eith our drinks with no mention of the audio at all... then allowed us time to look over the menu.... but that was legitimately, 30 minutes... which we understood was very likely due to how busy they were, so just politely ordered and asked that the entree be split because our whole order consisted of the limited Vegetarian options and we wanted to share it all... we probably waited about 25 minutes for the food but it was separated nicely for us to share which we appreciated and loved they went the extra step of even separating the fries into two smaller portions for us to each have our own on our sides of the table.... and cut the veggie burger in half, served one half on each plate as well... so we didn't have to mess around on the small table doing it ourselves....very thankful for that. The food was very good, we just wish they offered more for Vegetarians... our server seemed very conciois of the difference between vegan and vegetarian as he made sure to ask once we questioned options with no animal products, weather we did dairy or not.... so they do seem generally aware of dietary restrictions at this place, and it would be nice to see their menu reflect that too. The audio issue was never mentioned again, so I assume our request was ignored or the system was broken... I installed commercial audio systems like theirs for almost 10 years, the music wasn't on.😊 They should fix that and the blacked out TV... the existence of both but them not functioning takes away from the cozy, welcoming tone in the space. The woman who greeted us as we walked in, was beyond pleasant... I wish we got her name, she even held two seats at the bar for us as we gave the hostess our name for the wait. We loved that as well.... our bartender was quick to ask our order, the bar was neat and clean, their appearance was sharp, I got a craft beer from a NJ based microbrewery, my wife got a vodka drink... the prices are about the same as all other bars in Ridgewood. The bathroom was very clean, they had an acoustic musician performing as we got our check....the crowd ranged from young professionals to middle aged couples and several familes with children, so it's very casual here even though upon first approach through the door, felt higher end. They should expand on that. I would give it five stars if they offered more for Vegetarians, if the music and video elements functioned correctly and if our server didn't vanish for half an hour. Not bad at all, but nothing new either, we will probably try it again on a week night...

What a terrible experience. Poor service. Mediocre food. Bad drinks. Long wait times in an empty restaurant. I’m embarrassed for them.

I went here to enjoy an evening dining outdoors on a cool, quiet weekday evening and could not have been more unhappy with my experience. When we arrived at the half-full restaurant the hostess asked us to wait 20 minutes to be seated because the kitchen was “swamped.” We were sat at an outdoor table with a built-in fireplace.

The waiter rudely asked “are you ready” several seconds after we were seated and we quickly skimmed the drinks menu while he loomed over is and ordered cocktails. We also asked the waiter to light the fire. Nothing. We asked the busboy to light the fire. Nothing. 10 minutes later a person, presumably a manager, curtly told us the fireplace at our table was broken. We asked to move to a different table as it was chilly and we were looking forward to the warmth of a fire. We were moved to a different table where we waited a few more minutes for the propane tank to be changed and the fire lit.

Finally our drinks came and our rude waiter demanded our food order. We ordered calamari and mozzarella sticks. The appetizers were lackluster, but edible (4/10). The waiter arrived shortly after the appetizers and announced over our conversation that he must take entrée orders as the kitchen was about to close. We both ordered burgers.

The burgers came out quickly. They were fine, nothing special (5/10). After we finished eating a couple was seated at our first table. The fireplace was magically repaired and their order was apparently submitted to the now closed kitchen. 25 minutes after we finished eating the busboy cleared our plates and we asked him to send the waiter over so we could order 2 beers.

It took 20 minutes for our beers to arrive in a nearly empty restaurant.

Needless to say we will not be going back. At the price point there are many superior options in the neighborhood. The service was rude and the food was “meh” at best. We felt we were rushed into ordering and treated deceitfully regarding the fireplaces and timeframe with which we were given to place our orders. Honestly, one of the worst experiences in restaurant I...

I enjoy this place (and town vibe) enough that I sometimes take the train a couple of stops away from Ramsey to visit. Not my usual spot, but over the last year it is quickly becoming only because I love a low key Sunday Funday. I know I can pop in here on a Sunday and get a good acoustic guitar guy, cold glass of beer or wine, and a simple plate to nosh on. I gave a low score for food tonight because I ordered the $19+ lobster, crab, avocado app and the lobster was terrible. Not bad, not meh... terrible. It appeared to be maybe 3oz size chilled lobster tail, all you really need in this dish, but it was drier than I ever expected it would be (the edges were hard, dark and chewy), water logged, and tasteless. I had to pick the menu back up to see what kind of sauce I could get to make it edible and ended up with ponzu (no cocktail). 😔 That shouldn't happen and I was disappointed that I spent that much for a scoop of lump crab meat, half an avocado, and quarter cup sliced cherry tomatoes. Ouch😳 At $19 you expect better and if it weren't for that experience, I would order the dish every visit. In theory it's the perfect small meal, especially for a hot day like today - light with decent flavors. It would have been the ultimate dish had the lobster tail not been dried out/freezer burned, or cooked and dried out from sitting in the cooler/fridge too long. I didn't send it back because there wasn't anything else I wanted and the rest of the dish was ok. Please please please.... 🙏 I hope this can be corrected. ❤️ Other than that, I'm a happy camper each time I go to Steel Wheel. I/we have the same bartender, she's a doll and I need to get her name. It's an easy place to sit and relax alone. Not to mention the convenience to the train across the street... PERFECT! I'll be back, but sadly probably won't order the same dish. 😭 I'll stick with a cold beer or wine. Thank you for being my go-to though in this...