What a redemption story. A quarter of the way through this experience, I was fully prepared to write this place off, but somehow they came roaring back. I don't think this is necessarily a top two or three spot in downtown Asbury, but it can at least hold its own.
The Millennial Chum and I stopped by here yesterday afternoon for brunch. It was honestly our third choice after two nearby places either had long waits or seemed to be more bar than restaurant. But that IS one of the selling points of Asbury - if at first you don't succeed, there are 50 other places that might have an open table. The minute we sat down, I was put off. The acoustics in here are insane, and it's more like a concert hall than a restaurant noise-wise. We literally had to yell to hear each other from across the table. The interior has no dividers (it's all open space), so there's literally nothing in the building to muffle sound. To be fair though, that situation DID improve later on as the tables near us started emptying.
I decided to get a Call Me Old Fashioned ($16), which was one of the worst cocktails I've ever had - so bad, that I cajoled the Millennial Chum to walk 15 minutes in the oppressive humidity over to R Bar so I could get a decent bourbon-based refreshment to fix my palate. This might be it for me and Old Fashioneds for a while. A good Old Fashioned to me needs at least one or two additions, usually something sweet or smoky to enhance the bourbon. This allegedly had apricot liquor, but I didn't detect anything other than straight bourbon. Even dousing the orange garnish and smushing the black cherry into the bottom of the drink didn't do anything - it was like gasoline. If I come back here, I'm sticking with water.
And then the tide turned. We decided to split an order of the Belgian Waffles ($13), which was an excellent decision. They were DELICIOUS, and the passion fruit butter it came with was amazing - the Millennial Chum actually summoned her courage and asked for a lid for the condiment container so she could bring it home. That also meant I had to hear regular updates on our way back about the state of the butter, including that it was too hot from the car, and that it was cold again from the air conditioner. I've never been that informed about a little serving of butter before, but hopefully that gives you an idea of how valued it was.
I also ordered the Lobster Bennie as my main entrée ($22), which was fantastic as well. The lobster was fresh and the home fries were flavorful and cooked perfectly. My only piece of constructive feedback for that dish is that the cheddar biscuit it comes with is insanely small, easily at least half the size of a normal biscuit or English muffin that you'd typically get. If you're not careful, the biscuit will disappear well before the eggs and hollandaise.
The service was a microcosm of our overall experience. It was pretty rough to start - a waiter rushed by our table with water (the water was certainly appreciated though) and said he'd be back shortly. We never saw him again, and our actual waitress didn't come by for close to 10 minutes, at which point we were more than ready to order everything. She was very good going forward though, stopping by on a regular basis to check in, and of course was very helpful with the passion fruit butter situation.
Great brunch food but if you need a cocktail, I'd play it much safer or go somewhere else afterwards to fill that need. read more