Grille 3501 — Restaurant in South Whitehall Township

I very rarely leave reviews, and when I do I only leave them to rave about the excellent experience I’ve had at an establishment. Frankly, I’ve never left even a mediocre review before. But unfortunately, tonight’s experience warranted a less than positive review. This has nothing to do with the service staff, but everything to do with management.

I’m also in the service industry in a managerial position in NYC, so I’m very familiar with the inner workings of the food/bev industry. For that reason, I try to be very understanding when dining out because I know there’s a lot that happens behind the scenes that guests are not seeing. But unfortunately, our experience was so disappointing that I couldn’t find a way to defend it.

I made a reservation in advance for a Tuesday at 6:30pm for my mom’s birthday. In my reservation note, I had expressed that it was her birthday and requested a low table in the loft area instead of the high tops (normally I don’t care but my mom prefers the low tables). We checked in early for our reservation and the hostess informed us it would be 5-10 minutes before we were sat because there were other tables finishing up. Totally understandable! We were also early so we didn’t mind waiting.

Some more time went by and the lovely and kind bartender offered to make us a drink while we waited. We weren’t sure how much longer the table would be so we ordered a round of drinks.

My patience only waned when 30 minutes passed, and we were still waiting for our table. Still I didn’t say anything and kept waiting patiently, hoping there was a good reason we were waiting so long. We were the only ones waiting to be sat while others continued to be seated. We were not sat for our reservation until 7:15, over 40 minutes after our initial reservation. Although the manager was apologetic, she did nothing to rectify the situation. I thought she would at least offer to comp our drinks we had at the bar after waiting over 40 minutes to be sat.

As we were being taken to our table, we were even more disheartened when we realized there were several empty low tables in their upstairs loft available that were not being sat. I realize they probably chose not to seat that section because they were short staffed (which was definitely the case because the section was not sat all evening and our waitress was clearly the only server on the floor for the busy area). However, we were told we could not be sat because they were waiting for a table to leave. Waiting 40 minutes to be sat for a reservation when there are empty tables is unacceptable. As a manager, I would have absolutely made an exception to seat that section in order to accommodate guests who were patiently waiting for their reservation— even if I had to serve the table myself (which I have done). After having my guests wait even 20 minutes past their reservation I would have made that decision to seat those empty tables.

The manager didn’t even check in after we were seated to ensure we were being well taken care of. Although our server gave the best service she could with the amount of tables she had (she was definitely slammed), we were not given the hospitality expected after waiting 45 minutes to be sat. Again, I’m not blaming the service staff because they were clearly doing their best being short staffed. But management should have stepped in to help the overwhelmed staff, especially for guests who had an extensive wait time for their table. The manager only touched our table when she delivered our entrees and still did not check in with us about our experience.

We were also very excited for the food since that’s always the highlight of our experience at 3501. But the food was also disappointing sadly. The protein of our dishes was good and cooked well but our accompanied veggies and risotto/barley were so under seasoned and bland

Unfortunately, my mom’s birthday dinner experience was disappointing. I just hope that we caught them on a bad night and this is not the new normal for one of our favorite spots...

Y ears ago I heard this was my friend's favorite place for drinks, but she never mentioned the food...I should have taken that as a sign. I suggested this off of looking for new romantic places to eat for vday weekend. We went for Valentine's Day weekend for the first time and it was just awful. First off-the reservation was supposed to be at 4 and we got there 4:10...I didn't think it was that late, but hostess shoved it in our faces that they gave an hour and a half time limit (news to us) and now (at 415) we only have an hour and 15 minutes to eat. She mentioned it like 3 times to us-Excuse me?! I get it-so unprofessional to keep saying it in front of everyone. Then they seated us in a casual area by the bar, which I wasn't expecting when I came for a romantic dinner and that's not what I got. They had the music blaring where I could barely hear my boyfriend talk either. I was surprised bc there wasn't a Valentine's Day menu-I guess it's only served on actual Valentine's Day on Monday, but not the weekend of, which I found unusual as well. Usually restaurants serve a Valentine's Day menu the whole weekend. The regular menu option was very limited and so we just ordered appetizers of octopus and tuna ceviche. The octopus was good, but the ceviche was terrible. Not seasoned properly and didn't taste fresh. The entrees of the short rib and strawberry grouper special came out and we were so disappointed and surprised at how NOT good it was. I was really shocked at how DRY and overcooked both our meals were. They also lacked in seasoning and were very bland. Dessert wasn't any better. We were starving, so we ate it, but I hardly get to go out anymore with kids and for what was meant to be a special Valentine's Day dinner, We were so disappointed coming here. My boyfriend said he'd never come back and I agree. Honestly, for how expensive this restaurant was, I don't understand the good reviews. Pricey, extremely dry and overcooked food that was not seasoned, bland food that tasted like it was frozen and given very little care as to flavor. Truly we were both disappointed and we will never come back again. Don't waste your money and time here. Only plus was our waitress...

The place improved since the last time I've been here.

Still has its Ostrich Steak Staple but other menu items have changed and improved.

Stopped by for dinner on Monday night. Sat at the table near the bar. I was surprised to see how packed it was even on Monday night. The food was immaculate. On a simpler side but immaculate, but Venison and Octopus were done to perfection (in my experience that's rare). My daughter finished her burger and then decided to do the same with our mussels. Threw me for a second but that was some vote of taste this place received.

As a local neighborhood eatery it's near perfection but as an innovative cuisine it has some ways to go.

But I digress. We were looking for a place to have birthday dinner for a friend on short notice and came upon Grille 3501 to our luck the place allowed 7 people to reserve a table the same day which is nice. When I was looking at the reviews and the menu the Ostrich steak caught my eye so it was decided.

The place was packed when we walked in but our table was ready so it was great. Service is top notch unlike some other places I've visited around town which is also a plus the best part for me though was that the wine list was picked to compliment the menu unlike most places where you have wine list being a wine list and menu being the menu.

Ordered filet's for the kids and Ostrich steaks for the adults. To tell the truth I've not had a better one yet and I would advise anyone who visits to get it. It's the places most interesting dish in my opinion and very tasty one too!

The only reason I place this restaurant at 4* instead of 5 is the tip added to the large party (which is not unusual) but the amount 20% is a bit steeper then...