Water & Wine Ristorante — Restaurant in Watchung

Wow, was planning on eating down the road at Rolf's (what a disaster that was) so ended up leaving there and inadvertently ran across this gem of a restaurant right down the street. We were there around 4:00PM on a Sunday, so it was not very busy. The staff was very pleasant and professional; we even had some nice conversations, especially with our waiter who was a wonderful gentleman named Mariano from El Salvador who works at both this location and the sister restaurant La Griglia in Kenilworth. The staff stood close by (not too close) and was always ready to fill our water glasses or collect our plates when we were finished. The decor is very nice (white tablecloth and napkins), and the ambiance is very appealing as the restaurant is situated right next to Watchung Lake where the geese and ducks swim by as you are dining.

The food is AMAZING. They say it is a mix of American and Italian, and I would even venture to say there is a slight French influence as well. The menu and food presentation is very European...we loved it!!! In terms of price point, there are some great options in the $19-$26 price range if you are watching your budget, while the veal/steak options go up to $46. Whatever your budget or whatever occasion you are celebrating, you can find a very delicious meal here!

The only issue (and it's a minor one) I have is they valet 100% of the time. I can see at night when it may be packed, but we were there with about 4 other customers and they insisted on parking my car. The lot's not even that big! I parked in a spot close to the entrance because my Dad has trouble walking, and the guy still insisted I give him my key so he could move my car about 20 feet away after we left...was that really necessary? Oh well, a small inconvenience to pay for such an amazing meal at an amazing...

I've been wanting to go to Water & Wine for many years, so when we were trying to decide where to go for our 20th wedding anniversary, I thought it would be the perfect place to try. It was a Tuesday and we went with an early reservation at 5pm.

They were still having a team meeting when we walked in at 5, so we passed the time at the bar with a drink. The bartender was very professional and made us feel welcome.

As we were seated, the first thing that popped out at me were the very dirty the windows. They are on a body of water so I wasn't expecting them to be spotless, but the accumulated spider webs and bug carcasses were gross.

The waitress was nice and was spot on with her recommendations. She was attentive without being too much... Although the Caeser salad was a bit warm and soggy (my choice), the ahi tuna appetizer and Pappardelle with Braised Short Rib was hands down amazing (her recommendations). She was sweet to put a candle in our shared dessert to acknowledge our anniversary.

The thing that got me was when the couple next to us (also celebrating their wedding anniversary) was immediately reprimanded when the husband scooched his chair closer to his wife so his back wasn't to the water view. There was no one else in our section to 'disrupt' yet the manager came over made them more to the next table (literally the next table) so that the chairs wouldn't be moved out of order. It was weird.

Although the food was overall pretty good, we won't be returning as the overall experience was unimpressive...

We were a group of 7 adult family members dining together as 4 of us had milestone birthdays. As always, great company which compensated for a very lackluster dining experience.

Food. Disappointing and underwhelming: 2 dishes of homemade pasta where the strands were mushy and elsewhere where they were clumped together, underseasoned and overcooked duck breast, scallops (only 4!) with a brown sauce counter to the flavor of this shellfish, tasteless crab cocktail, gnocchi so overcooked they were like gummy mashed potatoes, biscotti that were gritty, and not crunchy. Three items were good: the cranberry nut rolls, the breadsticks, and the coffee.

Service. Wait staff were ok but made amateur mistakes: forgetting a drink order, leaving the empty bread basket on the table. We did appreciate their accommodating our request for separate checks. Operations staff were more at fault: the leaves of our table didn’t open fully so that dishes and cutlery slid off into laps initially (so they needed to be placed closer to the table center, not the hallmark of a fine restaurant); the waiter noted this but then dismissed it. This is an accident waiting to happen. Atmosphere. Very noisy in the wood-paneled room where we were.

Even though the reservation staff had made note of our special occasion, the restaurant did nothing to acknowledge it. Even a greeting would have been appreciated.

We paid $100 per person. We will spend our money elsewhere...