Restoration Kitchen & Cocktails — Restaurant in Town of Babylon

I mean, they have potential. Maybe I just visited on an off day...

The greenhouse was spacious and warm. The ambiance was cute but lacking in consistency. I'm not really sure what the theme or inspiration was other than motivational quotes. Outdoors seemed nicer than inside.

The service was good aside from when I was trying to flag down our server for silverware and had to give up after 5 minutes and use 2 straws as chop sticks to eat my salad.

The food on the other hand.... Ugh. If I'm going out to eat, it's because I want food better than what I can make at home. And if I go to a restaurant that isn't a chain, I expect the food not to be frozen or sloppy. I expect love and artisanal skill to be put into a dish or cocktail.

Drinks: Lavender Lemonade sans gin was very good.

The Irish Caramel Goodbye was kind of terrible and unbalanced. The home made "whipped cream" had a unpleasant flavor and mouth feel. Reminiscent of shaving cream mixed with Fluff, it was too thick and very sloppy.

The Elvis on the other hand, though I only had a taste, was SO good if you like peanut butter.

I tasted the Campfire Cider also, which everyone thought seemed very unbalanced. It would have been nicer if that drink was more apple cider forward. But I don't think the smokeyness of the Mezcal and the rosemary simple complement each other when paired with apple and lime. In general, probably would have used a different citrus for the drink all together.. Maybe bergamot/lemon.

Most of the cocktails seemed to be lacking complexity. Something that could be easily established with something as simple as bitters and proper syrups. Over all in the drink realm, it was hit or miss.

The Food: Not impressed. Complete miss.

The stuffed pretzel reminded the table of bad relationship, cold and empty, yet leaving you hoping for some kind of positive change.

I originally ordered the Filet Mignon but they didn't have any.

The guacamole was not spicy so I asked for extra jalapeno, but it came with stale nachos. I thought I would take it home and enjoy it there only to find a dark medium length hair in it (not mine or anyone I was with).

The Mac and Cheese was very mushy and lacking any actual flavor. It was more like cheesy slop with broken squishy macaroni in it.

The Crispy Avocado was sub par also. The dish had a chipotle and overwhelming salty flavor. Very unbalanced and left the table thirsty and disappointed.

The Burrata Salad was ehh. Pretty much basic field greens with burrata and truffle oil. But with a handful of other things in it... The sun dried tomatoes are good on their own but we're a bit too big and I'm not sure if their sweetness really complemented the rest of the dish. It was hard to tell because everything was smothered in balsamic. I think it was supposed to be blood orange but whatever. The black olives were sparse. I didn't notice the craisins thankfully because the dish was already too sweet. The artichoke hearts were not great and still had inner petal spines on them. Over all it's as if the salad was not very thought out as to what flavors would complement and which would tip the scale for sweet or savory. Too extra. Too sweet.

However with all that said, I will try this place out again if I'm in the area because I like their motto and what they stand for. I like the fact that they give back to those in need. And the staff/managers were pleasant. Also, the bathrooms and dining area seemed clean.

Not enough gluten...

I wish this was my first time experiencing this place then I would try again but it was not. I always like to give a chance just in case someone was having an off day. I come to realize, it's just the establishment.

I did take out over the phone. I ordered the blue cheese stuffed burgers with sweet potato tots. My fault, I should have asked if it was doused in sugar and cinnamon. Sweet potatoes are naturally "sweet" so adding all that extra sugar is very unnecessary. I asked for Honey Mustard on the side, never received it. The burgers was very gooey. Soggy burgers are just gross, less blue cheese more meat, it's a burger. Then we had the Resto Steak Sandwich, it was dry, no sauce on it, at all. Luckily, I had ketchup to flavor it up. The Waygu Meatballs were really good, so that's a positive. We ordered 1 Blueberry Lemon Mule mocktail. They come in those bags that look like when getting an IV in the hospital. It had just a quarter of liquid in it. Maybe, they just put in enough juice in case we wanted to add something, who knows. What I do know is that it was a hearty sip at best and not worth the money. So, food gets 2 stars. 😒 Now the service, we ordered take out over-the-phone (Old School) to pick up. I fully disclosed I had a gift certificate. They said I could use. It was a print out of an email my nephew had given me as a gift. I get there, the young lady said she was having a hard time applying it. Then she asked her boss, the southern accent man, to help her. He looked at it, then said with a smile, there should be an attachment. I told him, I got the print out in a card it clearly reads a confirmation number. He said it was missing something, so he wouldn't honor it. Okay, fine I paid for it. I told the kids (not kids) that I appreciate the thought. They were upset because they paid $100 for nothing and then we paid almost $70 for our order. So, we basically both paid for bad food and...

Came here on a Thursday evening for dinner. They don't do reservations, but for a party of two we had no issue being sat right away. Love the rustic look of this place, it feels like you're going Upstate for a cool weekend by the lake. Their outdoor seating options are my personal favorite, especially being able to sit along the covered patio. They also occasionally have live music outside that makes a great pairing for any meal or cocktail outing.

Staff were friendly and quick to check in on us for anything that we may have needed, even during what seemed like a decently busy night behind the bar.

Food was pretty good, I got their namesake burger, which was a bit overcooked, but the flavors were good, especially if you like a little bit of heat on your burger. We also had the chicken bacon avocado ranch quesadilla, which was the superior of the two, and the perfect execution of a classic.

Cocktails were fun and interesting, I got the jam it up old fashioned, a sort of PBJ take on an old fashioned. Very tasty, but a bit sweet, but a great one and done in my opinion and a fun way to riff on a classic cocktail. My date got the peach sangria which was super refreshing and fruity for a summer day.

Now the real thing that gets this place their fifth star for me is their social causes they stand for. They partner with local charities to give back to the community and really make the house that they have set themselves up in, feel like a home for everyone that comes in.

They have a small lot for parking attached, but also plenty of municipal parking (paid and free) nearby, as well as street parking too.

Would be glad to help support this place for as long as they keep their doors open. Good food, great drinks, better community. You can't beat that, and because of that, I'll...