The bar and restaurant look great inside, and the staff were all pleasant. Our server was very sweet, but her section was too busy for her to maintain on her own. As a result, we waited ...a lot and at different times throughout the night. Also, the food was a miss. I only ordered appetizers (wings & empanadas), and maybe it was what I ordered and maybe it was a bad night, but I cannot say that I am interested in returning. Parking is difficult. If there is a parking area assigned to this restaurant, we could not find it. The friendliness of staff was the best part of the night, so I will end this review on that note. read more

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Sat at the bar as directed by the bartender only to find out that those sitting next to are vaping. .major..and its blowing right back in my face. Was told they are friends of the owner. Right. Does the owner know? Ruined the ambiance and my appetite. Was relocated to the other end of the bar..now I can't see the game on the large screens. Now I see they stopped vaping..just making me experience bad? Great food and drinks. Great service. Just customers that are allowed to ruin it for others and their experience. read more

Envy Bar & Grille - Shrimp and a mule. - Bars Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Street parking only, this place is sooooo cute. Kayla our waitress/bartender/everything is amazing. She made really great drinks. Her service was impeccable. She had a full bar and we didn't feel neglected. Happy hour until 7 food was good only had some apps. The bathroom could have used a little more love but everything else was perfect. Can't wait to go back and try more. Thanks Kayla read more

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I met a friend for food and drinks. When I arrived I parked on the street nearby. I walked in and was greeted and sat at the bar. Nana was our bartender. I ordered the vodka martini and it was good. For food I ordered the vodka penne with shrimp. My friend got the rasta pasta and chicken. My penne had a hair in it so of course I didn't eat it. My friend's rasta pasta was good. All in all it was just ok. read more

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Upon walking in this place definitely has a curated vibe in terms of appearance but the longer we were there it seemed like that was the only thing they put their energy into. This place was advertised as a sports bar, but the music was way too loud to even hear ourselves think, and when my friend asked the waitress if she could turn one of the TVs to a specific boxing match she just said "we can't put that on" and walked away. Aside from the complimentary water we got, service was pretty slow all the way from being seated to us having to walk down to the bar to ask for our check because our waitress was nowhere to be found. The prices aren't so bad at least, it was a pretty cheap night for my friends and I to get away with a couple beers and some onion rings (which were good! but not seven dollars worth for the portion I received). The only thing one of my friends complained about was the hookah she ordered was $35 for just one flavor (I don't indulge so no clue how good this price point is) but she did complain about how it didn't last very long and was not as good or flavorful as some of the other places she's tried in Newark. The wait staff in general seemed to be pretty unprofessional with our waitress very rarely checking in on us (or on the floor at all) and we even saw one of the busboys vaping right outside the kitchen door which at the very least made us laugh. I can't even blame my waitress because I'd probably have an attitude if that music was blasting at my work all the time too! Also, just a nitpick but I'll never understand when places have single-stall bathrooms that aren't gender neutral! I had to sneak into the men's to grab some toilet paper because clearly no one was doing the restocking and when I was in there I realized the bathrooms were the exact same! It wasn't very crowded (despite it being 12am on a Saturday night) but I could see this being a bottleneck on a busier night especially if staff are not going to be managing the upkeep of said single bathrooms. read more

Everything was amazing. Food, service and the stuff! Loved the music and the setup of the restaurant. read more

Envy Bar & Grille - Bars Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Envy bar in grill is just the spot to be at! Whether to watch the games or Get a hookah or just to eat the food is amazing . Wings are recommended and if you like spice then the Rasta pasta . All Of the staff is pretty friendly and attentive with service and the space itself is very well kept I love the bar stools very chic and vibrant read more

Envy Bar & Grille - Loved this glass - Bars Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

As a Yelp Elite for four years, I've experienced a wide range of restaurants, and Envy Bar was by far one of the most unprofessional and unsanitary places I've visited. While the food was good, the service, staff behavior, and hygiene were absolutely unacceptable. Poor Service & Questionable Policies When I arrived, I was seated promptly, but no one acknowledged me for 16 minutes--despite the restaurant having only about nine guests at the time. I eventually moved to the bar, hoping for better service, but it wasn't any better. The only staff actively working seemed to be the hookah servers and bottle girls, who were only tending to their own tables. To make matters worse, they put an authorized hold on my card but refused to return it. The bartender's excuse? "What if it declines?" That logic makes no sense--the charge was already pre-authorized, so keeping my card hostage was unnecessary and unprofessional. This is not a standard practice at any reputable establishment. On top of that, the bartender threw out my unfinished drink without asking and then refused to make me another one. I paid for that drink, and there was no reason for them to discard it, let alone refuse to replace it. Disgusting Lack of Hygiene & Cleanliness The most disturbing part of my visit was the complete disregard for cleanliness and proper food handling. Here's what I witnessed: * Bartenders spraying perfume on themselves over open drinks * Staff actively drinking and eating on the main floor during business hours * Employees not washing their hands after eating * Servers standing on the steps, touching the railings, then making and pouring drinks--without washing their hands If this is what's happening in plain sight, what's going on in the back? The lack of basic hygiene was appalling, and it made me question the overall sanitation of the kitchen. Between the poor service, sketchy payment practices, blatant health violations, and outright disrespect from the staff, this is not a place I can recommend. Envy Bar desperately needs to improve staff training, hygiene, and professionalism before I would ever consider coming back. 1/5 - Good food, but the service, hygiene, and professionalism are a complete disaster. read more

Visited this place last night. Lucked up and found parking at the corner, but I can tell parking can be a problem on the regular. There is no lot, so you have to look for street parking. The place is pretty. Nice decor on the outside and inside. Love the pops of grass wall as well. The bathroom was fairly clean and is a one staller for men and women. We had sit at the table right next to the host stand because they only had two seaters available and it was three of us. The hostess was super sweet so we didnt mind sitting beside her. There waa a dj spinning and the music selection was great. However, the dj may need to work on his transitions a little bit and stop cutting songs off at the good parts lol. We ordered a hookah, which came out fairly quick. Much quicker than the food and drinks. For drinks, I had a lemon drop and one of their specialty cocktails. The lemon drop was just okay but the specialty cocktail was good. So mad I cannot remember the name but its the first one on the drink menu. For food, I ordered the honey lemon pepper wings and some truffle fries. The fries were soooo good. The wings were just okay. It was just a bunch of honey on them. Couldnt taste any lemon pepper at all. I also had some of my husbands hot honey wings and they were a little better. The games were playing on a dew tv's behind the bar. The vibe was nice. I would definitely go again. read more

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This restaurant was trash . Food was disgusting made me sick to my stomach literally !!! Drinks are expensive and super sweet !!! Congested street parking ... Waste of my money and energy !!! read more

Thank you for the amazing service, Kayla!!! She listened to everything we needed and wanted and she had a dope personality. The penne was not my cup of tea, it needed to be more creamy. The lamb was asked to be cooked medium and it came out well done- quite disappointing and it was cold. The linguine with marinara happened to be the second best thing after the seafood dish (not pictured). My homegirl said the lobster was cooked to perfection and the taste was delicious. The drinks were superb. Kayla made us a banging red sangria- needless to say, I called my ex by a mistake on purpose lmao. I'll definitely be back AND the space is beautiful. The vibes were vibing. Time to check out the rest of the menu. I'll let ya'll know what else is good soon, but def stop by and try this spot out ! read more

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This spot is definitely one to watch for! The ambiance is lovely and super artsy. The service was great! While you wait for your food, they bring you warm bread, butter, and olives, which was yummy. They currently don't have a liquor license, but we tried their mojito mocktails and I'd highly recommend for folks that don't drink alcohol. As for food, I had a seafood soup that I thoroughly enjoyed. It contained shrimp, clams, calamari, and squid. My husband had chicken quesadillas and beef empanadas. He really enjoyed his quesadillas and thought the beef empanadas were "okay", not something he would get again. Overall, we had an enjoyable experience and will be returning when we're back New Jersey! If you are in the area, check this place out, you won't regret it! read more

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Went here for my friend's birthday! The ambiance was beautiful and the paintings they are dope. I got the lamb and it was really good. It wasn't dry and had the right amount of seasoning. The service there is great and I can't complain. read more

The service was great! The tall, young lady whom work the bar on that Friday was amazing. Delegated the bar & floor beautifully. Culinary techniques are poor. Food is very sauce based. Garlic and butter is not a cooking technique. Food quality is no bueno. read more

Nice inside but the wait for food and drinks is not worth it waited a hour for drinks and a hour and 30 minutes for food won't return the host and waiters are great that the only good thing i can say read more

It took me an entire week to do this review I was struggling with should I leave it or not! But I realized I must leave it so that management will learn from it and become better polished. First off the place is beautiful and the food amazing! And at first I had no issues with the servers at all, just dealing with the manager and securing the space. We had a 75th Birthday party for my mom which was stressful in it's on. My parents grew up and met very close to that area and because it was black owned we thought it to be perfect. We decided after taste testing we will also have them cater the food, initially we were given a price we agreed and placed a deposit. Fast forward we were quoted the wrong price and was told it would be more than the initial price and was not given a contract. Long story short them catering the event in there own space does not coming with serving trays, tables, table clothes utensils or chairs ALL of those things are separate with separate fees, clean up separate fee, servers and bartenders separate fees. Nothing is wrong with that if it is worked into a physical contract instead of added every discussion. Although agitated we still chose to go through with the party invitations had been sent and people were coming from out of state. Party day despite rude staff we had a wonderful time, i was then asked to step outside by the server and surrounded by the servers and manager for having an less than pleasant experience, they were very argumentive and angry with me for MY UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE, we were even told that because I stated I was leaving a one star review that we would be charged extra! Never was I asked how to make it right. I have told everyone about my experience even recorded unbeknownst to the staff. Again i will never do business with them again. It is very important to listen to your customers and learn from every mistake. Your bartenders were rude to the guests and you were rude to the people paying for the party. There was no toilet paper or trash bags when our guest arrived. read more

The ambiance, food and drinks were all good. The bar staff was completely overwhelmed by the crowd. There was only one bartender on a Friday night. You couldn't pay your bill with anyone else.....We had to wait until she finished making drinks for the bar and the tables before we were able to pay and leave. Went there for Happy Hour but wound up paying $18 for one glass of wine at 5:30pm, although I ordered from the Happy Hour menu and asked for the house wine. When I got my bill they said they misunderstood and had poured me one glass of the $18 wine. Huh There was no parking....and people had to tell you where the bar was actually located. In the directions it tells you that your there but you have no idea you have to walk around the corner. read more

The food was good; however, we sat around the bar for 15 minutes before someone took our order, and it wasn't busy. After we had eaten our food and finished our drinks. No one ever checked on us to see what we needed. I even took a video of the bartender in the corner on her phone and smoking a vape. read more

Food was okay, nice looking place. Normally with a new restaurant it takes some time to work out the kinks and straighten things out, so I would give this establishment a 3.6 stars almost 4. read more

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The food is mediocre at best but the drinks were the star of the show. Most of the food was bland and lacked seasoning. We had the shrimp tacos, chicken quesadillas, BBQ wings. The wings were decent I would give them a 3/5. We went during happy hour after work so there wasn't a large crowd. Its beautiful in there but they need a new chef of menu. read more

I'm highly disappointed in the service that I received at this establishment!!! I went here on November 16th to celebrate my birthday with friends and after being there for almost 3 hours we never received our food. And to make matters worse, the manager didn't even have the common courtesy to speak with us or apologize for the service, well "lack of service" that we received. So back story... We arrived around 5:20 for our 5:15 reservations. There was no one at the door to greet us when walked in, but after a couple of minutes the bartender came over and escorted us upstairs to our table. The place was pretty empty, it was 3 people at the bar and 2 other parties seated upstairs. After seating us the waitress/bartender came back about 5 minutes later, she gave us some water and asked if we were ready to order. We were not ready to order just yet, our 1st mistake! She told us she'll be back in a couple of minutes, however 20 minutes pass and she was not back. Instead she was behind the bar serving drinks, so my friend went downstairs to tell her that we were ready. We waited about another 15 minutes before she finally came to take our order. We ordered our appetizers & entrees at the same time (6:19) so we wouldn't have to wait on her again. 20 minutes pass, still no drinks or appetizers. In the midst of waiting we notice on there Instagram that they were currently running a $44 prefix menu special with unlimited mimosa's from 1-11pm. So why were we not presented with this menu?? At this point were still waiting on our drinks & apps so my friend goes to get waitress again and we ask her about the prefix menu. She apologizes and offers us a free round of mimosa's. She's brings us the mimosa's at 6:50, but we still don't have our appetizers or the drinks that we ordered!!!! We finally get our apps & drinks around 7. We finish our drinks, the water is gone and appetizers are done and now were just waiting. No one never came to ask if we wanted another drink or anything and still no entrees. Now another party is seated across from us, we watch them order and we watch their entrees come out while WE STILL WAIT for ours!! Finally someone heads to our table with 1 of our entrees. Mind you we're a party of 6! We speak with the waitress again, she apologizes and says she'll send the manager over. We wait some more, no manager and still no food.. At this point it's 8pm so we tell the waitress to just give us the check and that we still would like to speak with the manager. She gave us that check so quickly, but still no manager. We ended up just paying the bill and leaving. This is definitely not the way I envisioned celebrating my birthday. I would never recommend to this unprofessional restaurant to anyone!!! read more

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We got amazing experience with girl dinner. Our waiter was Alex, good job And complimentary deserts was crazy tasty. Everything fresh and cooked like a pro i love it. Clean place, hope i will come back again read more

Envy Bar & Grille - Bars Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Amazing food and new modern atmosphere. Staff is 100% A+ it's a "have to go" kind of place and you'll be back over and over. And there's a lounge on the other side ! You'll love it ! read more

High quality, incredible food! great atmosphere! read more

Envy Bar & Grille - Bars Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

I truly enjoyed the food the music and vibe. I recommend for everyone to try the meat and chicken and ribs . My personal favorite was the shish kebab. read more

I don't usually write reviews, but this is what University Heights was missing: nice ambiance and amazing food and drinks. Not only was the food was amazing, but the experience was 10/10. It was hard to choose from their menu because everything looked so good. Their steak was cooked to perfection and the chef was kind enough to substitute the side for me. The staff is so friendly and helpful. Will definitely come back. read more

I live in the building. this is my absolute favorite spot to bring the homies, girls, and family when they come visit. I love the food and the staff. The owner, Big Pot, is a down to Earth genuine dude. Don't miss out read more

Ambiance is fine and modern, the word bar in the name is a bit misleading as they don't serve alcohol and you don't know until your sitting at a table and the serve tells you. First you walk up and the open sign is turned off and when you bring it to there attention they all look at each other and say sorry but we are opened, but still don't bother turning it on. Servers were mediocre and not trained in the art of serving. First bartender and server couldn't answer a simple question if $22 was for a glass or a pitcher, server said it's a pitcher bartender argued no it's for a glass. Keep in mind I was order peach sangria they that had no peach or wine and tasted like Hawaiian Punch. Turns out they delivered a pitcher to the table. Then server took our order and that was fine few min later out appetizers should up and they were over all ok about 30 min go by and my wife and I are sitting there for a while and no one came back to attend us. Finally one of the servers shouts up to us as we were on the second level.. are you guys ok. We were like we are finished is anyone going to come clear the table? Female serve sent up the bartender to clear the plates, when he gets there we ask him what's going on with our main coarse? He looks at us and says you have more food coming!? We were like yes, we said listen if you guys didn't place the order don't worry about it we don't want it. Bartender said let me check but never came back, we looked down at him to see what happened since he never came back to tell us anything and he looks up at us and says it's coming it's ready. I was like how long had food been sitting in the kitchen or did he just place the order. What a mess! We finally waited another 15 min and said forget it let's leave. We got up went to the bar and said just give us the bill we are tired of waiting. The female server said sorry I completely understand why your upset and gave me the bill with a discount but keep in mind that they still charged me for 3 plates that I never received or ate as they never made it to the table. This place is a joke as to call itself Envy. My family come from families in the restaurant business and this place has a long way to go before it can be envied by anyone even McDonalds has structure and organization. My wife and I try and go out everyday to experience new restaurants and give them all a chance but never did we experience this. It's a true shame as I truly wanted this one to be one of my new favorites. read more

I went there for dinner the other night and to say the food was amazing is an understatement! I ordered the Octopus and had a drink while I was waiting - the staff was attentive and kind and everything came out so good that I ordered it on Door Dash for lunch again the next day. I usually don't leave reviews but this one was worthy of it - def coming back as soon as I can :) read more

Very nice ambiance inside, love that is close by to the apartments. They play the music really loud everyday even when no one is dining the outside so this is the only downfall of it being in the middle of the residential area. Otherwise I love how you don't have to go far to dine. There should just be some volume control for the people that live in the area. read more

Great place! Went there on opening day, and the food was great! Quick service and friendly staff. I ordered the Ribs and Chicken ... so much food! Can't wait to visit again! read more