On going saga. The GM was true to his word and was very kind to us. Kudos to him again. The only thing left is to give them another try. Let's see if the food improves. read more

Blue Spruce Lounge - a view of the lobby - Bars Near Me - Liverpool, New York

Joe Borello put some thought into the name of his new business, the Blue Spruce Lounge. Since the interior is decorated mostly in blue, and since it's located in a hotel called the Maplewood, he wanted a tree in the name that tied in with the color. So he picked spruce. The Blue Spruce Lounge opened in the space that had been the Carnegie Cafe in the Maplewood Inn at 400 7th North St. The opening coincided with the completion of interior renovations to the hotel side, and is a bar and full-service restaurant, with live music several days a week and a banquet room that hosts weddings and other events, including a Paint Night and a Trivia Night. I found a Groupon for Blue Spruce and had been interested in trying it since I work very closely with it. The wife and I decided to try it out today for lunch while running errands. When you walk into the restaurant entrance, there's a small foyer area with a trash can. There were napkins and papers all over the floor today since that wasn't exactly a welcoming sign. We walked into the restaurant, which was empty, but there was no hostess at the stand. The bartender, who I now know is the owner, and also ended up being our server, ran over and sat us. We thought it was a little odd, as he was dressed in a sweatshirt and basketball shorts. We were told we could sit anywhere, as there were no other customers. The place is a very nicely decorated place, but for a sunny day, it was very dark inside. The owner turned the lights up, but we would've preferred just having the curtains opened. We sat and were given our menu. I chose The Northside, a sub with sliced pork, broccoli rabe and a roasted garlic aioli, while the wife chose their sweet Italian chicken griller sandwich, grilled chicken, a grilled sausage patty, roasted red peppers and mozzarella. All sandwiches and burgers are served with fries. Our order seemed to take a long time for two sandwiches. Especially seeing as the restaurant was empty other than us. It was also DEAD quiet...you could hear a pin drop. There were several TVs on in the place, but none of them had the volume on, and there was no music playing in the place either. The quiet was even more noticeable, as the owner/host/server/bartender spent most of the time we were waiting for our food on his cell phone having a rather loud conversation, then after he hung up, we clearly heard him yelling at his staff when he went into the kitchen. He was nice enough to us, but just didn't seem very professional. Our food came and we started in. The wife and I both switched a half or each other's sandwiches so we could try both and everything was just ok. The fries were good...we both like crispy, battered fries, and that's what they serve, but they had WAY too much salt on them. My wife's sandwich had a balsamic glaze on it that isn't mentioned on the menu, but we found both our sandwiches bland. The pork on my sandwich was pretty good, but besides that, it was also bland. There was apparently a garlic aioli on it, but the flavor was non existent. The sausage on my wife's sandwich was sweet sausage, but it also had very little flavor along with the chicken breast. Everything was just very plain. The owner rang us up, but rang the Groupon incorrectly. He was very easy going about it when I pointed it out and fixed it though. I went to use the bathroom and when I came back, the wife said the owner spoke to her and said they had a more extensive dinner menu and bands at night, which answered my question as to why they had such a huge, empty space in the back of the restaurant. Overall, it was just disappointing. I'm glad we used a Groupon and barely paid anything, as the flavors on the food just wasn't there and there was simply no atmosphere to the place. I think we could give it another shot for dinner at some point, but lunch just missed the mark. read more

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Went to the Blue Spruce Lounge last weekend for a little change of pace and was extremely satisfied at what we had. I had the classic chicken riggies and my buddy had the chicken français's. Both meals were quite good. The bartender/owner Joe was very accommodating and welcoming with his suggestions. If you'd like to try something a little off the commercial beaten path, I suggest trying the Blue Spruce Lounge. read more

Nice little newly-remodeled restaurant situated in the Maplewood Suites. We went on a weeknight and it seemed like most people there were guests at the hotel. We ordered fried mozzarella, caprese salad, chicken riggies and a bacon swiss burger. The fried mozzarella was awesome! The chicken riggies had a nice kick and the french fries were delicious. The burger was a little over cooked though. Our waitress was very nice, but the service was slow. Overall, I would recommend this place for decent food at a good price! read more

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This is NOT the Maple wood from before. The remodel is amazing! The new lounge looks beautiful and the food we had was great! Decent wine and a live band on a Wednesday was cool! I heard someone taking about this place and decided to check it out. We ordered 3 appetizers and a bottle of wine and enjoyed everything. Very interesting menu and you can tell the chefs take pride in the food they are putting out. The flat bread pizzas are great and the caprese salad was pretty awesome for March! The hand cut mozzarella wedges fried with panko crumbs and marinara was so good! Really cool place completely different than before. Please check it out you won't be disappointed! We will definitely be back! read more

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Not a fan of this place, our food arrive cold at the table the waitress was not very friendly and she charge my card for 20% gratuity without my permission and then the original receipt was still asking for a tip after we were already charged for a tip. Needless to say I'm never going back to this place. read more

The food was excellent. I have seen many complaints about slow service, but we did not experience that. Our waitress was very efficient, but also very busy. There were only 2 servers and the restaurant was full. We might have waited a minute longer for something, but certainly not long enough to be annoying. We didn't realize that the band started at 7:00. At 6:45 if you count the warm up. We sat at the back of the restaurant and the band was at the opposite side of the bar so it wasn't really that loud. The band was actually very good. They played a lot of Bon Jovi. I would have preferred the band start a little later, but it wasn't a big issue for us. We had a good time. The Groupon made it a fantastic deal. We will probably go back. read more

I was barely impressed at all with my visit here. I came out to see a band, who by the way was amazing. The drinks were okay and so was the food, but I only ordered a Cesar said how can you mess that up? There was a massive puddle in front of the bar and I mentioned it to the bartender and she said oh I'll get someone to clean it. An hour later the puddle was still there and it grew larger. I started a tab at the bar and then sat down to eat, turns out you can't order food at the bar or put your food on your tab, you have to have two separate bills. read more

A new restaurant that has great food, great staff,and live music. We have been a few times and just love the food. The chef is outstanding, he is a total rock star with soups and sauces. We love the appetizers. They smoke their own salmon! Entrées are done very nicely. Good choices, love the weekend special. The owner is personable and accommodating. We have had some of the best waitstaff ever. Knowledgeable and helpful. Offered some good wine pairings for us try. The decor is upscale. The only thing that is not stellar is the desserts. Those are at best average. One exception was a home made strawberry short cake. Plus live music . I am a fan read more

Blue Spruce Lounge - two men sitting at a table - Bars Near Me - Liverpool, New York

This may be my second favorite review of all time. It gets two stars as the wife ordered Margarita pizza, and she approved. But my story starts in Philadelphia. I ordered Joe's Phily Cheesesteak, described as "a generous portion of ribeye...." etc etc. I will admit, it had more cheese (real cheese) than any other sandwich I have ever had. Mushrooms and onions, some pepper shavings. But it ends there. There was but a few pieces of meat. But here is the best part of the review. About ten minutes passes, and the waitress returns. "How is everything?" I show her the sandwich, devoid of said generous rib-eye. She looks at me annoyingly, points to the sandwich, and says "There's a piece.". I'm now thinking dinner is like a "Where's Waldo" game, with the beef being Waldo. In deference to the wife, I just say take it back, and take it off the bill. First time I've ever said the latter. Begrudgingly, she does. Oddly, there was no offer to correct! (For the record, I never accept any free dessert, coffee, etc, so the review is not jaded). read more

Blue Spruce Lounge - Where's the beef? An fries, for that matter? - Bars Near Me - Liverpool, New York

Manager was awful! Didn't know how to properly handle a fight in his lounge. Telling people who had been drinking to leave and DRIVE. Witnessed an altercation where several women were hit or knocked down. Manager escorted out those trying to help. We won't return. read more

We purchased gift cards from the local radio station and thought this would be a nice night out. The food was awful! Our salads were all wilted lettuce that we couldn't eat. The broiled haddock was tasteless and rubbery. The 12 oz Delmonico was more like a 5 oz round steak and so tough you couldn't chew it. The vegetables were straight from the freezer bag and heated in the microwave with no seasoning of any kind. We will never go back! read more

Purchased a Groupon and went on a snowy Wednesday night. Choice of seating, so we took a booth in the bar area. Very comfy. Ordered the CNY Chicken Wings buffalo style crispy, traditional red hot and butter cooked as ordered and good, spinach dip, while the cheddar melted to the top looked good, it was difficult to infuse into the dip itself, which was very good with the cheesy pitas that came with it, shrimp dippers boom boom style were very tasty, Sam's poutine gravy on the side had melted cheese curds on top and fries were crispy and lightly seasoned, and the sweet Italian chicken griller, which was a grilled chicken breast with a sweet sausage patty and roasted red peppers I had never had before but was very flavorful. The ciabatta style roll looked good, but not being a bread eater, and with all of the other foods to try, it was sadly left behind, plus more fries came with this one. Prices are very reasonable, especially since the lounge is part of the Hotel. Love the decor and ambiance and wait staff are very good. Definitely a good dining out choice! read more

Happy hour at the bar is half price on all drinks including top shelf liquor and wine. Food is pretty good for the price too. I like going here because the people are rather talkative and the locals are animated. read more

First time here for our date night ..wow. Awesome evening, the food was fantastic, and I'm the picky eater. We met owner Joe, he couldn't have been nicer and genuinely welcomed us. Our waitress Jen, was the best. Attentive & personable. Even met the chef...lucky for us they had a great country bane, Country Swagg...fantastic. We found our new favorite place. read more

Blue Spruce Lounge - Bars Near Me - Liverpool, New York

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Drinks were never made correctly. Decor drab. Place has a musty smell. Almost fell on the icy unsalted sidewalk. Went to hear a band (which was awesome) and had to leave when a drunk guest got out of hand and literally punched a young girl. I get it, once in a while there will be a drunken moron at a bar. But management chose to coddle him and kick out everyone else that were trying to help her. Probably didn't want to get in trouble for over-serving him. I don't care if The Stones we're giving a free concert there. Never again. read more

My flight from Chicago to LGA got diverted and cancelled in Syracuse. Myself and 4 other plane full were sent to The Maplewood to stay. We went to Blue Spruce where the owner and his friend took over and made everyone happy by making food in the kitchen and tendon bar. Both of them made a terrible situation into a memorable evening. The burger was great, and can't go wrong with Titos! Highly recommended for the genuine hospitality. read more

Will never be visiting this hotel and lounge again!!! And I will be asking for a refund at checkout. I booked one night at the adjacent hotel for the night before the Syracuse half marathon. Weather conditions were already predicting a terribly windy and snowy morning for the race. Ok, nothing a good nights sleep can't prepare me for... Well the blue spruce lounge played their live music ALL NIGHT and I could clearly hear the drums and lead singer from my room. This is absolutely ridiculous. read more

My mom and I stopped in to check out the new restaurant and it was absolutely beautiful inside. My mom ordered the salmon and I got the strip steak. Bread and our salads came out immediately and the main course came out shortly after. The plating of the food was gorgeous. My steak was cooked perfectly and the garlic mashed potatoes were amazing. My mom said the salmon was some of the best she's ever had (she gets salmon wherever we go.)! The head chef stopped out to make sure our food was good. Great service, delicious food, and beautiful decor. I highly recommend the Blue Spruce. Definitely 5 stars! read more

In all my 27 years of life and all the restaurants I have ever been to I can honestly say I have never had a worse experience than the one I had at the Blue Spruce Lounge. I once went to Darrien lake and ordered a chicken sandwich that could easily have been mistaken for a used dish sponge and this place made that meal seem like a delicacy. My boyfriend and I ordered the poutine, French onion soup, turkey club, and steak with side salads. I asked for "oil and vinegar" dressing on my salad and it was brought out with what was CLEARLY back shelf off brand Italian. The ranch was also sour so I decided to just take the loss and wait for the soup and fries. My French onion soup was, in the least offensive terms I can possibly think of, lukewarm salted sink water with some variety of stale cheese microwaved on top. The fries were edible but also lukewarm and the "cheese curds" on top were a slice of microwaved American cheese. At this point I had already mentally made the decision to get our entrees to go and gtfo before the wrath of the bad French onion hit me but before I could request this the waitress brought out the entrees. My boyfriends steak was so raw it was Mooing. This steak would have made Jeffrey Dhamer queezy. When we called the waitress back and asked for the check she apologized and said that "another man here ordered his steak really really really rare and they mixed your guys's up" which would have been almost believable if we weren't the ONLY PEOPLE IN THE DINING ROOM. Secondly, I am almost positive it is completely illegal to serve anybody an uncooked steak, requested or not. I was so off put I left my sandwich behind and spared myself and my intestines the misery. For your health and safety PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE avoid this place at all costs. I would instead recommend Golden Corral, Taco Bell leftovers, or anything you might find stuck between the couch cushions. read more

Ordinarily I would stay away from hotel restaurants, at least locally, as they tend to be mediocre at best while overpriced. I was enticed to try the Blue Spruce by ads in Table Hopping magazine/paper. The restaurant/lounge is in the renovated Maplewood Inn in Liverpool, NY. The decor is modern and attractive, very clean and new. There is a section for live music adjacent to the bar indoors, and a nice outdoor seating area/lounge. They seem to be featuring many local acts several night per week. The food menu is creative and interesting, and created a bit of excitement, but fell short in the execution. Our burger and chicken sandwich arrived and were quite attractive upon delivery, but ultimately quite a disappointment: dry, overcooked, resulting in a lack of flavor and enjoyment. Service was polite but lackluster. A manager seemed present, but was busy with friends, so was not checking on customers' experiences, at least during our visit. Sadly, disappointing...... read more

Me and my sister stayed at the hotel this restaurant is in. Looks recently updated. Beautiful inside the food was so delicious. Taste like everything is Homeade. We ordered the chicken Marsala which was phenomenal, chicken wings crispy, and bbq frips. I would come here again just to eat. Service was friendly and great. read more

There are not a lot of reasons why I would want to live in Syracuse but this place actually makes me wish I lived in Syracuse because this would be my go to spot. We have been guest at the maple wood twice now and and basically spent our time in here! The overall friendly atmosphere is complimented by amazing food and great drinks! Charles, Liz and Bryann are extra great and have been so welcoming and extra caring of the special reason why we are here and I don't even know were to begin with the executive chef, Rob! Everything thing I've ever tasted that Rob has made has been so phenomenal and he's gone out of his way to make us feel so accommodated and really special for the reason we are here! Have I mentioned that this place actually makes me want to move to Syracuse?! Thanks for the hospitality guys and if you are ever in CA- come find us (just look for the beard ) read more

Blue Spruce Lounge - Bars Near Me - Liverpool, New York

The only reason I'm putting a star, is because yelp forces you to do so. Very unprofessional, disrespectful employees at this place. If I were the owner, I'd clean shop quick an start over w/new people. read more

Won't go back. Service was good...it should have been as we were the only ones there for lunch on a Saturday. Ran out of chicken wings and someone was out buying some...server thought at Wegmans. Decided to split the Tuscan Pizza and a pitcher of Ithaca Flower Power. We had a $30 voucher. Pizza was $10 We asked the server if we had reached $30 yet with those 2 things and she said we were at $28. So we ordered 2 more pints of beer to get to over $30. When the bill came, the pitcher of Ithaca Flower Power was billed as a pitcher of import beer for $23, and not the $18. We would not have had the 2 additional beers if we were told correctly what our correct balance was...$33. Ithaca is an hour and a half from here, so hardly an import beer. We will not be going back for their mediocre food and bait and switch prices. Too many other good places to go. read more

I went in and ordered two Jamison's on the rocks. When I received my bill, I was charged $14.00 which is normal. Then I notice a $4 charge. I questioned the waitress and said I was charged $2 per drink since I ordered on the rocks. Who ever heard of such a thing. Said I should of ask for ice on the side. Glad I didn't ask for a mixer or I would of been charged an extra $5. NEVER WILL COME BACK HERE. read more

I don't think anyone here knows how to run a business! Service was slow, tables were dirty, waitress was rude but what upset me was my credit card was over charged and they couldn't figure out how to make it right so I got a gift card for the difference. Wow great thanks, I'm sure I'll use that next time I'm in Syracuse probably never! Tried to talk to the owner about this, I think his name is Joe, who ever he is but he was to busy at the bar drinking and flirting with a couple of women half his age. Real professional! I recommend you stay away, the place looks great but it's really now. Just another hotel wannabe restaurant. read more

I stayed at the Maplewood inn and decided to eat here. I ordered the chicken marsala which was awesome(no complaint about food) , but the waitress came back and said she accidently closed out my bill by accident so she couldn't give me one and proceded to tell me I owed about 5 dollars more than I should have. I understand 5 dollars isn't much but the whole thing was fishy and I truly feel I was scammed. No bill or receipt ect.. read more

Had the chicken Florentine and it was underwhelming. It was very under seasoned. I wouldn't eat here again but I truly enjoyed the band ( billionaires). read more

Had dinner at the Blue Spruce this evening, the entire place has been renovated and updated it is absolutely beautiful. The staff was very attentive,friendly and professional. The food is superb and the atmosphere is very warm and relaxing. Great place for dinner or drinks. read more

Stinks. Waitress says they are changing the menu. Not changing it for the better. Former hand cut fries are now those yucky coated ones. I had "chicken cutlet" which is chicken parm. The chicken tasted like it had been fried in last week's oil. There was an over abundance of thin, runny sauce covering mushy over cooked spaghetti. No bread was served with the meal. My husband had a better meal. Chicken Florentine. No complaints from him, except they had only one dessert available- apple pie. He didn't order it. This was a GroupOn deal. I'm sorry I bought it. I won't go back. There are much nicer restaurants in the Syracuse area. This restaurant is a small area outside the bar. It doesn't have a nice restaurant feel to it. It's just a bunch of tables and chairs thrown into a room. They only have two steaks on the menu. A strip steak, which I never order, and a delmonico. If I remember correctly, the delmonico is $22. I might pay that for a filet mignon, but not for the delmonico. All in all, go elsewhere for a good meal. read more

I wanted to give this restaurant a 5 star but I just couldn't. The food was amazing!!!!! Service unbelievably amazing.I come here often and I see the way the employees are treated and I don't understand how they keep any employees. I watch the bartenders take shots all night,eat full course meals and talk down to other employees while the servers and bust boys work very hard and they don't get appreciated for it. No matter how busy the servers are they make sure the customers are taken care of and keep there calm not sure how they do it since they are being treated like slaves.its very unfair to these ladies and the bust boys.I have been waited on by all of the girls and they all do great some better then others.Bust boys keep tables very clean and always helping when they are needed. The restaurant is beautiful servers do the best they can to make everyone feel important and taken care of food is amazing drinks are great the live bands are the cherry on top and we can not wait for the outdoor seating to open. But bartenders who don't put in much work should really start seeing how hard most of the employees work. I don't agree with the way servers are treated but overall I love this place read more