Hidden gem, surprisingly good, etc. Look this isn't a 5 star restaurant as compared to Manhattan options, but it's pretty darn good for being adjacent to an Embassy Suites in New Jersey. It's also better than nearly any restaurant in 50 or so square miles. The menus options are well thought out, and the serving sizes are more than adequate if you aren't obese. Honestly, do you really want to feel like you're going to pop after you eat dinner? Please stop eating at Chili's and Fridays. Go eat at this place so that it hopefully survives. With any luck the existence of good/decent food in Jersey will encourage my mother in-law to stop making me eat at Chili's and Fridays. Thank you. read more

I was excited to try out Grain & Cane located at the Embassy Suites in Connell Corporate Park. We tried it out on day 2 of the restaurant opening. It was surprisingly crowded especially the bar. There is also an outdoor patio which was being enjoyed on a warm spring evening. The inside has an industrial feel with very high ceilings making it feel really big. The opening to the patio is a garage door - very hip. We started with the Kale salad which was fresh and a good light way to start the meal. My wife had the short rib which looks gigantic. It was super tender and was the best dish of the night. My daughter had the parpadelle which was made fresh. It was perfect for her as she doesn't like heavily sauced pasta. I had the sausage pizza which was just ok. I probably wouldn't order it again but would try some of the other main courses. All in all it is a great addition to the Berkeley Heights restaurant scene. In terms of price it ran us about $30+ per person. We will return to try more of the food! read more

Perhaps it's unfair to pass judgment on a fledgling enterprise, but an experience must be taken on the merits. Grain & Cane is newly opened and there will be a few bumps along the way. But, OH! What bumps. We'd arrived early, 6:30 on a Friday. The bar area had a few patrons and in our section of the dining area we were the only table seated. Our friends had already arrived and were enjoying drinks. The server was attentive and took our drink order and returned promptly. A good start. It was all downhill after that. I ordered the Beet Salad with charred Brussel Sprouts. The Sprouts were raw, had been charred briefly under a grill, probably earlier in the day. Cold char, nasty. The beets were good but fewer than the offending Brussels. Shaved almonds and a crumble of Bleu Cheese had been poured on top as an afterthought. I'd have preferred the Brussels to have been blanched, not raw and the dish to be at least room temperature. My friends ordered the Caesar Salad which was a generous portion which neither of them finished. Nobody was oohing or ahhing by this point. We ordered the main dishes. My friend ordered the Buttered Lobster which looked to be on pasta. He said it was good. My wife had the Salmon which she said was good but confided later was merely average. My friend's wife ordered the Short Rib which was inedible--fatty, she couldn't cut through it and ultimately didn't eat it. I ordered the Filet steak which arrived on a bed of what seemed to be broken sweet potato chips with baby vegetables on the side. Baby vegetables? NO, embryonic vegetables. My steak was cold. Very tasty and a nice cut of meat but served cold. Grain & Cane needs to figure out how to have meals arrive at your table that are all ready at the same time. The steak was probably finished first and left to sit while the fish dishes were being prepared. Ever hear of heat lamps? The worst thing about the experience was the wait. We were seated at 6:30 and ordered soon after. We waited nearly two hours to get our cold inedible food. We asked for bread to have something to hold us over. We were told they had no bread. The manager did offer us an appetizer, a spicy chicken wing dish, which was tasty but arrived after our meals had been delivered. They comped the appetizer, which was good. They should have comped that inedible short rib. Our waitress was busy circulating among the tables apologizing to the other diners for how long it was taking to get their food. And the place really was not crowded. On the plus side, it's a nice new facility with high ceilings. The bar area was well patronized. Don't know if they had a different "pub" menu. The drinks were good. The napkins were nice, very colorful and a heavy fabric. Grain and Cane may be experiencing growing pains and maybe they'll get their act together. There are many alternative in Berkley Heights that get it right so I won't be returning. Rating: 1 star for the nice napkins. read more

Loved Grain and Cane. Awesome ambiance, great music and the food was top notch. I had the oysters, sprouts, steak frites and cobbler and my wife raved about salmon. It's a little pricey and it's in a hotel, but I very much would reccomend and go back. I for one need to go back and have the tomahawk rib eye for two with a carnivore friend. read more

While waiting for our room to be cleaned, we stopped here for an early lunch. Amazing decor and great service. I had the spring vegetable salad and the chicken pop which was amazing. The food was very flavorful and yummy! Definitely a must try! The food was very fresh! Definitely worth five stars! read more

Amazing lunch, service, and atmosphere. I had the southern comfort, which was outstanding. I will definitely be back here soon!

The best of this Hotel is Stella, who works on the restaurant's bar called Grain and Cane. She makes the best drinks I've ever had and is SUPER nice/polite and professional. Knows what the clients wants and is very efficient. I'll highly recommend to visit this restaurant, you're going to have a good time!!! read more

My wife and I had lunch here twice and based on those experiences I would not "invest" in a dinner meal. We both ordered a lobster role and were disappointed when the roll came with a heaping of some sort of apple jam/sauce spread thick into the roll. It's hard to screw up a lobster roll but this place managed to do it. read more

Awesome spot! Hotel bar with some of the coolest pieces around and absolutely delicious food. Great staff too

Food was excellent! Haven't been here in years and years but really enjoyed it. The menu is small but everything the three of us ordered was really delicious. They have a good outdoor set up too. read more

Had a really nice dinner tonight at G & C. First of all we haven't had a better waitress than Victoria in a long long time. So nice that we almost invited her to join us for dinner...she was so great! The food was also on point..crab cake app was solid. I got the Ahi Tuna over sticky rice and my wife got the burger. Both were prepared to perfection and delish. Also got a side of Brussels that were really good. Full bar with lots of cool drinks and also some really nice dessert choices. Will def be back! read more

Split the Lobster salad, calamari and spicy sprouts. Haven't stopped thinking about that lobster salad, delish!

Ordered the filet and it was salty and not cooked they way we wanted. The potato domino was hard and not really cooked. Disappointed. We ordered calamari for appetizer and it was so over-fried. We also ordered the double burger. That was the only meal that we enjoyed. read more

Decided to try this place out because it was something new and let me tell you - we were not disappointed. First off, this place is beautiful. It's got a modern, industrial look that I just love and a really cute outdoor seating area. The waiters are all very friendly and attentive. We ordered four appetizers instead of entrees and it was way too much food for two people. The appetizers are huge portions and everything was phenomenal. I highly recommend the poutine and the 'sprouts and chokes.' They didn't have the bottle of wine we wanted so the manager personally came over to explain and offer us a higher end wine instead (which obviously we accepted because who wouldn't?) We will 100% be going back! read more

The restaurant is really cute and the waiters were very nice! I got the ceaser salad which was pretty good. Overall great experience and would go again for sure. read more

Victor is a Horrible bar tender! Can't Evan tell if a draft beer is warm when he poored it! Then they want to charge you! Don't tip that guy! Ten minutes later I go to order my next drink and he rubbed is in washed hands all over the rim! read more

Great hidden gem in NJ. I'll admit I had my doubts. This is a restaurant attached to an Embassy Suites Hotel in the middle of a corporate office park with a sign off I-78. The moment you walk inside you realize this restaurant does things well. The interior is incredible. Everything from the fireplace to the crystal wine glasses, to the custom light fixtures is done well. Service was very good. The menu was creative. Steak tartar was just as good as any NYC restaurant. Ricotta app was a very generous portion with some perfectly grilled bread for dipping. Filet mignon was cooked perfectly with a delicious sauce. My Tuna was very nicely done as well. This restaurant has all the makings to be successful. Can't wait to come back read more

Upon arriving with reservations the restaurant was relatively empty. If nothing else this restaurant is very beautiful and contemporary. Regardless, we waited with two other groups while the manager tried to locate the hostess who was MIA. The waitress was very attentive as was the bar tender. The food quantity was much more than necessary, as to be expected by a new establishment taking there first steps. The food itself was middle of the road. We had the pork belly lettuce wraps as our entree. Ample amount of pork very few accoutrements. Nothing really stood out all in all. Worth a shot to try a new spot in the are. read more

If i could give a 3.5 stars I would, but 3 seemed too low so I'm going with 4. Fan of: Portions were large, drinks were good, decor is nice, staff is friendly. Not a fan of: They have a board over the bar that kept changing to super corny sayings and it makes a lot of noise as it happens. Perhaps if it's busy and loud it's harder to notice, but when I was there it's all we kept hearing every few minutes. Pass on the short rib. It's huge and looks fun but taste wise a disappointment. Our sweet, sweet waitress responded with some of her favorite dishes when asked if there were any specials. I'd go again for a drink and appetizer with friends but it's not the first place on my list to run back to. read more

Great late night spot! We recently attended the local festival and stayed for the fireworks. It's hard to find a nice place to eat after 10pm. I found this spot and after one visit it has quickly become my favorite! The decor in this place is impressive. The staff and service was excellent as well. We arrived kind of late but there kitchen is open later on weekends. We weren't rushed which is so refreshing and the food was phenomenal! Everything was fresh and the plates were well put together. The menu is fairly large and there drink/cocktail menu is also impressive! They have a nice private party room, and a large bar area. They also have a cute outdoor seating area but it was unfortunately closed due to the extreme heat weather advisory we were having that weekend. I was very pleased to see that for being a trendy and upscale establishment they were also family friendly. They had high chairs available and the bathroom also had a nice changing table for my little one. You might be wondering why I'm even bringing up such a thing, but you will be surprised as to how many restaurants we attend that are this type of style and they don't have either of those things. read more

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Entrees were overpriced. Portions were small. My entree was fatty. They brought me additional meat to make it up. Roasted potatoes consisted of 4 small pieces. Asparagus was about 2 spears cut up. My choice of wine was not available so they offered the house brand and charged $2 more. We ordered expresso and were told the machine was broken. They had no bread in the place. The check had prices on it that were more than were on the menu. I will not return. read more

The kitchen was unbelievably slow, from ordering to entree was over an hour. The waiter did his best to accommodate us, but when the meal finally came, the short rib (bone in) that was posted by so many was 1/4 of the size with no bone. The waiter went on to tell us that many others have complained. Side dishes included a lobster Mac which had a very off taste (we sent it back). The vegetable that we ordered (collard greens if I recall) they ran out of and gave us what little they had left. Drinks at the bar were served in a hot glass. Overall a big disappointment. Management couldn't have cared any less than they did. read more

If you are looking for a restaurant that offers a wide variety of dishes, drinks as well as a great atmosphere for outdoor dining, look no further than Grain & Cane. With the pandemic, it's been a struggle finding a restaurant that has it all, especially a nice outdoor dining area that doesn't involve an unsightly plastic tent. Grain & Cane's outdoor patio is perfect for relaxing over food and drinks with friends or family. The service was great, but what impressed me most was the hostess who had the patience of a saint when I ended up needing to change my reservation numerous times. When I arrived, I was greeted by that same hostess (I recognized her voice from over the phone), so I ended up introducing myself and personally thanked her for her patience with all my changes to the reservation. She brought us to a nice table, which turned out after a while to be too hot with the sun. By then, we had just received our appetizers, and I felt bad wanting to ask if we could move to another table, but I went up to the hostess to ask her anyway if we could move to a shadier spot, and she said it would be no problem at all. For entrees, we tried the Asian chicken salad and the sticky jerk ribs, and both were really delicious. Service by the waitstaff was great too, and we were brought our food and drinks promptly. Will definitely go back again for more to try their other dishes. read more

Beautiful, trendy yet comfortable interior; friendly and efficient service; delicious food. We particularly liked the burrata, fried chicken, and grilled salmon tikka dishes. read more

They really went all out in decor spending...no wonder it was late opening. Food selection very good for appy's all the way to desserts. Our table had chicken and shrimp pasta dishes. Very good wait staff. Very slow kitchen. It took hours. Could have done with fewer flies and birds in open air setting. Pricing about right for setting and quality. Fancy bar/yuppie eatery atmosphere. Not for quiet dinner for 2. read more

Save a trip! Atmosphere is lovely! Server was terrific too but the food was lousy. We ordered the highly recommended chicken pops. They were so spicy we could not eat them and I love super spicy food. They were atomic hot. Thank God our children didn't try them. Next, the burger was the equivalent to Wendy's but that would be insulting Wendy's. They didn't drain the grease off of the meat so the bun was soggy. No onion, pickle, lettuce was sparse and soggy. I ordered a cocktail but could not taste any alcohol. The best item on the meal were the Brussels sprouts but it is hard to mess those up. We really tried to give this restaurant a chance. You only get one chance to make a first impression. read more

Overall very good. Beautifully decorated and trendy with tasty cocktails. Aesthetically its probably one of the nicest restaurants I've visited in NJ. I've been there a few times and they are working through kinks and tweaking the menu regularly as does any new restaurant. The Grover Burger is excellent. The food and service has gotten better and better each time I visit. Definitely worth checking out! read more

This is the 2nd worst restaurant I've been over the last five years. Period. The Caesar salad was flooded in oily vinaigrette (no mayo or mustard). The seared salmon drench in sauce and the gnocchi over-cooked. Drinks are over-priced. Menu offers a short list of meals. read more

I sat at the bar with my wife near the waitress section. The waitresses were definitely not happy about the kitchen (they were complaining of long waits). My wife ordered a beer that smelt funny (don't think the glass was clean) We heard someone ask for a wine list that the bartenders didn't have. The bartender kept calling me by a first name that wasn't mine...not sure why he kept doing that (I felt like he was trying to sell me a used car). I ordered broccoli rabe with dinner. It was broccolini. When the manager asked how everything was, I told him the broccoli rabes weren't that and he told me "the chef calls broccolini by the name of broccoli rabe". Classic read more

I wish I could love this, as it's a really nice space. We had dinner with a round of cocktails. We then ordered a glass of wine (5 of us). When we received the bill that was over $300 for burgers and chicken we took notice. Why? The glass of wine was $19 for the HOUSE cab??!! Hello? We were never offered a bottle at a more reasonable price. We ordered a take out of Ceasar salad that was an embarrassment. Anyway, I wish I could say we love this place but we will never go back as we realized that they are just catering to a captive market (people that are staying at the hotel). My recommendation: Go to Water and Wine in Watchung or Trap Rock or Ancona in Berkeley Heights (just down the road) and have a fabulous meal for a fraction of the price!! read more

Thought we found a new local spot but completely ruined our Father's Day. Made reservations well in advance a month to be exact and when we arrived we were seated at the bar with three kids. After waiting over 20 minutes we advised the hostess who finally sent over the bartender. She took our order and that's the last we saw her. It was horrible experience. I emailed the next day and no one responded. I contacted again via instagram and the social media contact responded . Honestly the only professional person I spoke to the whole time. Horrible service and horrible customer service. Will not be going back read more

Had been holding off due to negative reviews but found none of what had been previously mentioned (ex the positive comments about the setting) Service was prompt - Food was good (we had burgers, chicken pops and a few kids meals so admittedly simple) and bar program was solid. Beer list was decent and drafts were fresh and cold. Wine list has good options at a wide range of price points both by glass and bottle. Additionally they quite clearly invested heavily in the location and it shows - It's a very unique space that adds to the experience. We will definitely be back. read more

Love this place. The burger and lobster salad are killer but the place is expensive. I come here for work a bit and the staff is great, the food is awesome. I love it! One of my favorite burgers and I'm a burger fanatic read more

You would stave waiting for the bartender and the first thing he wants is a credit card

Just shared the poutine and whole friend chicken with red beans and rice with my daughter. Yummmm. Just the right amount of spice in the fried chicken. Best I have had in NJ. Highly recommended. Nice decor. Great service from Victoria. read more

This place was very nice! Nice little bar and staff was very friendly! Must order the corn and crab chowder it was amazing and so much crab was in it. When I go back again I will probably ask not to sit by the kitchen we felt like we were in the way! read more

Great atmosphere, food and service. A tad pricey for a "hotel restaurant" but worth every penny and getting 5 stars here.

New restaurant in Berkeley Heights attached to the new Embassy Suites. Nice lunch menu with great starters. Chicken pops, heirloom tomato with burrata, and raw oysters were all outstanding both in flavor and size. The G&C salad was a hearts of romaine with blue cheese crumble, radish, heirloom tomato and crispy prosciutto in a beautiful long platte presentation. The "southern comfort" sandwich was on a brioche bun with southern fried chicken with a melted provolone and a special sauce, lettuce, tomato and dill pickle as well. The two dishes that didn't standout were the Lobster Roll ( too much bread for the amount of filling and the Chicken Caesar which was flavorful but too dry). All sandwiches were served with French Fries or fruit. The killer part was dessert; we had the melt in your mouth, Lemon Cake with lemon curd, a whipped cream icing, the homemade brownie with gelato and chocolate sauce and the peanut butter cookie ice cream sandwich. All could be shared with two or three. Since we were a large party we were put in the room holding 12 with a private fireplace. The ambiance was fantastic and the staff was attentive but not overly so. Since the restaurant is new there were little things in both service and food that kept me from rating them a five, I.e. didn't know the menu well ( they make there own ice cream but the waitress came to the table not knowing the flavor of the day, water wasn't filled for half the table and although she came back to refill drinks we had to ask for water. We plan to come back for dinner to check out the menu. read more

G&C is a great addition to the area. Had some "new restaurant Issues " at first but I think they listened to their customers and made some considerable changes in a positive direction. I have eaten there 3 times in the last month and it's been great! The shared plates on the outside patio with a great drink and friendly staff are an A+. Keep up the great work and do yourself a favor order the poutine with duck!!! read more

2 friends and I just returned from what I can only call a phenomenal dining experience! We began with a drink at the bar from very friendly/knowledgeable bar tenders. Our table near the open kitchen gave us a birds' eye view of the oversight given to each dish before delivery. Our waitress, Victoria, was superb. Her recommendations were very extremely helpful. Her service was above par!! The Brussels sprouts and cornbread starters were unlike our experience of either before....delicious! Our entrees of: roast chicken, NY Strip, and center cut filet were all beyond expectations!! All cooked perfectly and paired perfectly! Did I mention we also loved the red and white wine selections by the glass? My only negative was that their shiny new big coffee maker was out of order so, only regular coffee was available. I trust this is a temporary situation. We'll be back. read more