It's a decent family restaurant if you aren't fussy about quality and if you are okay with staggered service (especially for big parties). We were a big party that decided to have separate checks. I completely understand how they can only allow it to be split 4 ways, since merchant companies have crazy processing fees nowadays. However, the staff treated us completely like separate tables. Our server/servers took one couples order, put that in , and their food had already come out before taking the rest of the tables' order. By the time that group was finished, with their plates cleared out, we were just getting our salads. It was insanity, the staff and table ratio appears to be adequate for the restaurant, but they're just mismanaged altogether. As for the food, the salad that came with the entrees was just plain sad. It had one tiny wedge of tomato and one slice of cucumber. The turkey meal was the sliced deli kind, the steak was tough and lacked in flavor. Entrees came with mashed potato, - which looked dry but surprisingly good and veggies which were terrible seemed like it came out of a bag you throw in the microwave. The salmon was okay, the francaise sauce I chose for it was delicious. Overall, our experience was second-rate, could be better read more

Emerson Hotel - Wimpy salad - American Near Me - Emerson, New Jersey

The outside deck and tiki bar are great for spring, summer and fall.. Stick to the bar food and you"ll be alright. The inside needs to be stripped and renovated... read more

Great for a nice night!! You can sit outside, have a cold beer and a thin crust pizza. The pizza is great, especially the Margarita one. Waitstaff is friendly; although, we ordered Buffalo Calamari - yes, we knew it was going to be hot. But it was the hottest thing we've ever had. When the waiter noticed we weren't eating it, and acknowledged that he realized it's been "hot than normal" lately, nothing was done about it and were charged for it. We didn't complain, we figured it wasn't a big deal, but when the waiter said something, we figured something would be done. Besides that, we had a nice time, and plan on returning to enjoy a nice night on the deck, minus the Buffalo Calamari ....... read more

You can't go wrong here if you're looking for basic food. Appetizers are good, fried calamari is really good for not being an Italian restaurant. Thin crust pizza is great, we like the vodka one. Great place to get a good salad as well. Burgers and onion rings are really good. Steaks are a plus......I wouldn't go here to get entrée dishes (pastas, chicken marsala, etc. - over the past few years I've tried a little bit of these dishes and they're not terrible, but not great. Not where you go to eat that kind of food, that's all. ) read more

How did I never hear of this place???Had an amazing late night dinner. Coconut Shrimp was perfectly cooked, the sliced steak platter was enough for two+ meals, dessert was delicious. Service was on point...This may be my new favorite restaurant. Going to try the thin crust pizza next time.....Looked delicious... read more

the long and short of this review is, lower your expectations and you wont be disappointed. The restaurant itself needs a major makeover. The dining room looks old and tired, the chairs are rickety. The place is packed on a Saturday night at 6pm, so getting diners in doesnt seem to be the problem. My main gripe is with the "sliced steak sandwich" which is touted as their signature dish. I use quotes because the sliced steak resembled a reheated Steak Um rather than a fine cut of beef, it did not appear freshly made. The bread beneath it was barely toasted. The onion rings were good. The serving size is generous, and to be fair, the Cole slaw is delicious, as was the blue cheese dressing, and the salad was crisp and fresh. The employees were friendly, and the service was satisfactory. On the whole, the four of us who all had the sliced steak sandwich were disappointed. read more

Some friends suggesed the Emerson Hotel for a quick dinner on a Tuesday night. Place was fairly busy at 7pm. I can't imagine why. The table split an appetizer of fried calamari. Relatively modest portion came with a tasteless tomato sauce that was spiked with hot pepper flakes. No seasoning on the calamari but it wasn't at all greasy. I had the sliced steak platter, a specialty of the Emerson Hotel. It came with an uninspired salad of iceburg lettuce, one slice of cucumber, one slice of tomato. I've had better in hospital cafeterias. The steak platter arrived looking about as unappetizing as could be. Thin slices of meat literally covering the plate from edge to edge. Some toast was hiding underneath and a small pile of french fries were plopped on top. A glaze of some kind was on the meat: I have no idea what it was. The dish was totally devoid of any seasoning whatsoever. Fortunately there there sizable salt and pepper shakers on the table and they were used. A lot. Service was disappointing. Each diner at my time had one beverage and one glass of water. Apparently this is the per-diner limit since refills were not offered. Just as well since I wasn't looking to hang around any longer than necessary. When the 4 piece band started playing (bad musicians, bad singer) it was time to make a hasty exit. So long EH. Perhaps another try in 2021. read more

Went here purely for their famous steak sandwiches. Well there was tons of food, but it was hard to cut through the steak. Not to mention when you got to the bottom the bread was just mush. The waitress was wonderful and so were the onion rings. I am not sure I will be returning. read more

The Emerson Hotel has the best sliced steak in the area. I have been going here for almost 30 years.

Overpriced considering the less than stellar food quality. This is how people ate 30 years ago. Very unhealthy. Beer selection a joke, like an old man's bar. read more

My wife and I arrived around 9:00 PM last night to enjoy a steak sandwich and onion rings as we have for the last 30 years...what a disappointment. After a few minutes we were shown to a table in their back room near a group of about 12 extremely boisterous adults and children. The waitress took our drink order, and as soon as she did, we realized that our table was filthy and clearly had not been cleaned since the last guests (maybe all night). After about 15 minutes our waitress returned with our drinks and we asked that the table be cleaned. She moved our utensils to a chair and did a marginal job of wiping the table. Really unsanitary to place utensils where people sit. She then took our food order and disappeared for about 35 minutes. When our food arrived we asked for ketchup and were handed a disgusting bottle with ketchup covering it on all sides. We had to request additional napkins to clean my hands from the ketchup mess. (Also noticed that the salt and pepper shakers were covered in grease.) Our food arrived and the meat portion was generous but the fries were paltry. The steak was clearly not the tender steak we were accustomed to and although ordered rare, it was closer to well done. Worst of all, they apparently changed the recipe for their famous onion rings to something far inferior. We spent $65. to eat a sub par steak sandwich at a grease laden table. Sorry Emerson Hotel, after 30 years we will never return. read more

Cheap dive bar. Food is nothing special and restaurant area is dated. Bar food and cheap drinks for a quick night out... Nothing more, nothing less. read more

Great place for burgers and sandwiches. Sitting outside on the deck and grabbing a beer with some food is typically the way to go.

Open sliced steak platter is amazing

If i could give this restaurant a 0 star i would. I went last night after my sons baseball game and the server who attended us was rude and never even looked us in the eye once. I think he was also the chef to be honest because he seemed annoyed when my husband ordered the sampler and i ordered the french onion soup and both were horrible and didnt leave the kitchen till they were done. I didnt even eat it but we still paid for it and gave him a tip even though he didnt earn it at all!!! Came out to $30 for a small uneaten horrible french onion soup, and an appetizer sampler that had 2 chicken strips, 3 jalapeno poppers and 2 reheated potato skins, and 2 beers. All in all, the meal wasnt worth $15, let alone $30. We decided to leave and go somewhere else for dinner because the food and especially the service was that bad. The music was depressing, the people there were depressing and i will not be going back, even if it was being paid by someone else. read more

Had dinner with a big group of friends, food was very good ( home made onion rings were fabulous) and came in a timely manner. Our waitress was super attentive and efficient, and the food was reasonably priced. Was happy to find such a great, local fun spot! read more

I would give this place 0 stars. Unbelievable, it's 90 degrees outside and it feels like it's 110 inside of this establishment. We were seated in a room that was hot as a sauna. We are out for a senior citizens-birthday. No one told us that there were two other rooms with working air conditioner. One of the workers, heard us telling another customer to leave because it was it was so hot. At that point the worker offered that customer to sit in the cool room. We were sitting there for 50 minutes In a hot room and the workers did not offer us to eat in the cool room. If it wasn't for the customer telling them that maybe they should sit us in the other room. Terrible service. I feel bad for the waitress having to work under those circumstances. read more

Fifty years ago their steak sandwich was served with thin sliced steak over fresh toast and topped with real melted butter. Yesterday we were served thin sliced steak over stale toast and topped with a heavy coating of an oily grease, no butter. If we had been alone, I would have sent it back to the kitchen, but I did not want to embarrass the group we were with. So sad. read more

Great to grab a drink on the deck with friends on a warm night, because it is convenient and reasonably priced. But other then adding a deck, nothing has been done to the place in what looks like 30+ years. The food which was once good, became okay, since gone way south and consistently has been worse each time I have visited. Other then the bar tenders (who are gems) and 1 or 2 waitresses, the service has also gone south. read more

I wish I could give it better review. The service again was inconsistent. Very slow. I like the food and the atmosphere. The house salad is good. Soup also. I'm a vegan so I usually get something along those lines. read more

Thomas Wolfe had a novel many years ago..."You can't Go home Again". I thought of this title as I pulled into the parking lot at the Emerson hotel recently for dinner. back in my way younger days..my folks were regulars here....as were many others. from the outside the restaurant looks a bit tattered and weather worn. inside..it looked amazingly the same....Happy to report..the food quality was similar to what i remember as a kid. wife doesn't share my nostalgia but she seemed to enjoy her salad and salmon entree. I had the onion soup(fine)..and of course had the sliced steak sandwich(large size) with french fries and those delicious onion rings. transported me right back to the 1960's and '70's. very tasty.... its definetely new management from what i remember but they haven't tampered with the steak sandwich!! we're not talking prime beef here but its very satisfying.... while not to everyones taste...the buttery bread under the steak is so so good!! young girl server was very nice....was a pleasant experience and the price is reasonable. full bar service. read more

For the past 3 years, we have hosted an end of year party at The Emerson Hotel outside on the deck. This year, I was in charge of hosting the party in June. In April, I called and spoke to Anne about reserving the deck which we have done for the past 3 years. She told me we were not allowed to reserve the deck and we just had to call ahead. The day of the party in June, I called ahead to let them know 30 people will be coming. The man who answered the phone proceed to tell me that they could not host us because he is the only one working. I explained to him that I called 2 months ago to reserve a table and they told me to call that day. I also explained to him we would just be at the bar and ordering appetizers, it will be an easy order. Everyone at my job already knew we were coming here, therefore it was too late to cancel. When we got there they tried to turn us away. After getting drinks at the bar people started to head to the deck where we always sat, Anne finally showed up and told us all we had to sit in a tiny corner. 30 of us in a corner with 4 tables and only 5-6 chairs per table. Obviously not enough room for all of us. People were going to their cars and taking out lawn/beach chairs. To say the least, I would not recommend coming here with a big party. They are not very accommodating and are very rude! read more

First of all i want to say is that this place had very good food. For an appetizer I shared pot stickers and buffalo calamari with me my aunt and uncle. Pot stickers were fried and really crispy and the Buffalo calamari was awesome. It's regular fried calamari tossed in a spicy buffalo sauce. It comes with blue cheese on the side but, you probably won't need it. For dinner I had the healthy grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and brocolli. First the portions were huge it was maybe 18 $ for my entree. They gave me 4 big pieces of chicken and a huge helping of mashed potatoes. The chicken was grilled to perfection with a nice blend of herbs and spices and the mashed potatoes were really great as well. The brocolli had a very light drizzle of olive oil on top and it was excellent. For dessert I had the chocolate mouse which was very light and airy not to heavy after a big meal so it's the perfect dessert. With some black coffee which was a great roast. The only complaint I really had is the staff. Our waitress didn't really seem like she was paying attention when we order. Our order came out right but when giving it she seemed distracted. It took a very long time to get her to come back to the table even though we were the only ones in the resturant. Towards the end of the meal she was sitting at table with all of her Co workers laughing and giggling while we were trying to get her attention. All and all a great experience though and will absolutely be coming back. read more

Very disappointing. On a Sunday evening the place was practically empty but was told main dining room was closed and we could sit in the bar or their outside deck. Since it was a bit on the cold side decided to sit in the bar area. Waited 10 minutes, no service. Went to the woman running the place and was told a waitress would be right over. Waited 5 minutes more and still no service so we just left. I can put up with a lot but have no stomach for bad, not poor but bad, service. Will never return and certainly won't recommend. read more

Omg that pizza is amazing!! They serve in a timely fashion and it feels almost like home

I've been here many times. We like to go for dinner (I usually have the hanger steak and it's predictable) and listen to the bands. This was the first time I went to the Tiki Bar and had a hamburger. I enjoyed the hamburger very much. Drinks were so-so. And the service by the bartender was well - distracted. She was more interested in visiting with the patrons and the staff rather than waiting on the patrons. I thought to myself... that's a nice job.... just hanging and getting paid for it. read more

Terrible service and the decor and the floor were dirty. Avoid this place and try another local place that works harder.

Pizza is good. I expected it to be better due to the place being famous for the thin crust pizza. The place needs serious update. It looks like it has not been updated in decades . It needs John Taffer from Bar Rescue to help them! read more

This place is a take it or leave. Not a place I need to rush back to and I live here. Kid plate was ok. But cant go wrong with frozen chicken fingers and fries. Atmosphere is to be desired. Just a weird looking place. read more

Town Easter egg hunt was yesterday 5 minutes before the start the Emerson hotel kicks everyone out of parking spots. Clearly this place doesn't care about the community. Food is good but overpriced I'm boycotting for the simple fact dozens of parents missed the start of the Easter egg hunt because they had to move cars out of the parking lot. They probably lost 20 families eating there after the event. read more

The food is very very good! Have been coming here for years. Recently the service has gone down hill. If u eat in the bar area and Gary is working just leave! Drinks and service takes a while and it hasn't been that busy. Wish I could give it 5 stars but the service is keeping me from doing that! But try for yourself the food is really good it's a shame service is terrible!!! read more

Average food, good drinks, good pizza service is ok, dont go there if you are looking to be wow'd , bar is full of locals, good hangout for a quick bite and a beer, definately not a culinary adventure read more

Excellent food...this was our 2nd time here. The spicy flank steak and the salmon were delicious. Will go back again.

Bar food - nothing special. A fun place to go during the summer, sit on the patio and have beer.

Gordon Ramsey would close down this place!....nothing made to order ... they have specials they claim ....they serve all frozen apps ..they need a new chef and a renovation.. read more

I've always had great experiences here. I'm a vegetarian and they are very accommodating. Good atmosphere. Great food. Great staff. Ask for Anthony - most attentive server I've ever had. read more

The Emerson Hotel & Restaurant is one of the most welcoming dining locations I've found in Bergen County. The service is fantastic--always making sure everything is up to expectations--and the food is phenomenal. Between the bar, the restaurant, and the outside seating area, there's always a place I've found comfortable. It's become one of my most frequented dining options--thank goodness I found it. read more

The Emerson Hotel has been around for a long time and there are many reasons why. With its cozy, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere comes great food and great service with prices to match. Whether you decide to sit at the full-size bar, in the cocktail area, in the dining room or on my personal favorite, the outside patio, wherever you choose it is very easy to relax and enjoy yourself. Also located on the outside patio is their Tiki Bar which gives you a vacation-like atmosphere at a local place. With live music and karaoke on the weekends you are sure to have a great time. read more

Bar is akin to any dive bar anywhere. Nothing special about that. Some of the waitresses need to read an etiquette book for basic manners. Thin crust pizza isn't my thing, but I can say the rest is overpriced and not very good. They should reduce prices and stop trying to act like a real restaurant. It is loud and full of working men and kids. Keep the food geared in that direction and cut the prices. Tell your waitresses to be friendlier. read more

slow, ineffective service; uninspired clams; undercooked salmon; salty knockwurst; little salty bay scallops