Library Lounge at Skytop Lodge feels like stepping back in time in the best possible way…read more From the moment you walk in, everything slows down. Dim lighting, big comfortable leather chairs, bookshelves lining the walls, a fully stocked bar, and historic photos throughout the space create a classic lodge vibe that feels timeless without being stuffy. It is cozy, polished, and incredibly relaxing. The staff is knowledgeable and clearly takes pride in what they serve. The craft cocktails are well made and thoughtful, and if you prefer beer, there are solid options there too. As a bourbon lover, I especially enjoyed their private barrel pick served neat, a real treat and easily a standout pour. This is a perfect pre-dinner or post-evening stop, we have done both, and it works beautifully either way. Dress is slightly casual but leans upscale, and while pricing is a bit higher than average, it feels completely worth it for the setting, quality, and experience. We sank into the chairs, talked story with friends, and lost track of time, which really says it all. If you are anywhere near Skytop Lodge, make sure this is on your list. Plan extra time, you will want to linger.

Beautiful Place. Not sure why it has no rating on Yelp. Its must see if your at Skytop! Great…read moredrinks and light fare. Beautiful and relaxing lounge style room. Fireplaces and cozy sitting areas. What more could you ask for?

I have been here many times and keep coming back because they do a good job being creative with…read moretheir specials. Today I had the medium wings bone in which is a common go to for me. I love them. The wings are a bit on the smaller side but sauce and cooking is great. The chowder flavor was great it was a bit thinner that I prefer and more potatoes would have been perfect. Lastly the special drunk grandpa pizza was great. Quiet in here tonight but it's a Sunday in a local pub so as expected.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the colloquial use of the word dive to describe a…read more"drinking den" or "other disreputable place of resort" comes from the fact that these types of establishments were originally housed in cellars or basements, into which "frequenters may 'dive' without observation. I will leave it to you to decide whether Shakey Jakes Cafe is a dive bar, but they seem to take pride in it. As you will see upon arrival the door mentions that Shakey Jakes is recognized by Yelp & NJ.com as one of the top Dive Bars in Jersey. Bartenders are super friendly, helpful & professional. I sampled Bombay Sapphire, which is offered in a small glass or beer goblet...humm okay I'll bit let's go Big! I ordered the Steamed Clams, which come with croastini. On the menu it is offered with a Cajun Garlic Butter, I replaced that with just the regular drawn butter. Wow--wonderful nice size clams with the toasted bread, delicious. I loved it so much I had a second order. If you are are a steamed clam fan don't forget to sample the clam broth. This place is a keeper. I sent a picture of the front door of Shakey Jakes to my wife and son. I mentioned that "If I go missing this is the place to start." I showed the text to the Bartender, she got a huge kick out of it and said you are not from around here are you?

All the food was excellent. Beautiful presentation the pride the chef has for the food he sends out…read moreshows the love and passion shows Its always an honor to sit down and eat such wonderful dishes put together the menu was perfect we picked a tasting menu which was perfect so i can taste a more variety of German dishes in small portions. I highly recommend black forest restaurant The soup really packed with flavor we had to order two pints to go. Soup and lobster bisque The ambience of this establishment is cozy quaint lovely, beautiful, very beautiful atmosphere. Nobody's loud obnoxious place right now is becoming full. All the workers are very professional the young men and women probably from the Neighbourhood. This is such a great place that even gives young people the opportunity to work these young men and women in this place really work hard and you can see that they're proud to work here and they take extra to provide excellent service impressed with Black Forest restaurant. My compliments to the chef for excellent cuisine and my heart to all the employers who showed nothing but professionalism and establishment I also would like to thank the young man Zion for his professional and courteous service. Well presented with clean uniform prompt service Thank you Zion for your table service in your mannerism and thank you so much for making it pleasant for my wife and I You're truly a great representative of the establishment that you work in. I hope your bosses notices that you are very valuable employee as I can see for myself as a retired professional chef for 37years thank you Yours truly chef Ramos.

I was fully prepared to come in here and unapologetically grade on a curve - I always feel a little…read morebad for this area of NJ when it comes to the gastro scene, and I want to support a legitimately unique enterprise like this. This was, sadly, not a good meal and based on expectations easily one of the most disappointing experiences I've had in recent memory. I came here yesterday with my top-tier chum from the Kingdom of Sussex, along with my #1 Honorary Young Pup Chum, fresh off a 20-mile walk down the Sussex Branch Rail Trail - so a bit tired and very hungry. Black Forest got me (and my appetite) in the best situation for them, in theory. Unfortunately it stayed just a theory. The atmosphere in here by far is the biggest selling point. I love a good taxidermy situation, and this place had it in droves. We were seated near a bear, and had eyes on numerous other wildlife, preserved for eternity. The stained glass throughout the restaurant is also pretty wild - it feels like you decided to go to church in a European hunting lodge. It's also deceptively large in there, which I discovered later as I tried to locate the bathroom (there is no signage for that) and wandered into two or three different dining rooms. Just wild and really does set this place apart from virtually any other restaurant in the area (maybe the far superior Walpack Inn can lay a claim?). I was intrigued by the Potato Pancakes w/ Applesauce on the appetizer menu, which ended up being the best item I ate. As you can see in the attached photo, they're basically big hash browns. They were good, and the applesauce made for an interesting palate combo. In what ended up being a bizarre theme throughout the meal, the accompanying applesauce came in a small plastic container that you had to open. This to me is one of the more egregious self-inflicted wounds I've seen from a restaurant, but also pretty fixable. This wasn't a crab shack at the beach or a taqueria in Newton - this is a restaurant with white tablecloths. Why aren't you serving the accompanying sides in a nicer dish, like a ramekin? What makes it more mystifying is that they HAD ramekins or something similar - they served the wrapped butter for the stale dinner rolls in it. I genuinely don't have a clue what the thought process was, but it honestly cheapened the optics and is something they should stop doing immediately. For my entree, I went classic German with the veal wienerschnitzel and a side of spatzle. The wienerschnitzel itself was fine - I've honestly had better from a food truck in Jersey City called Mordi's (I just checked and sadly they've closed), but it had no sauce or anything so it was super dry and overall not that tasty as a result. It would have even been an upgrade to get one of their infamous plastic containers of basically any condiment. The spatzle was honestly terrible; I had an excellent version of this at an Austrian restaurant in FiDI called Schilling (which has now converted to a French restaurant, apparently; I can't with these closures. Lord.), and this was just utterly tasteless. My chum likened it to "brain noodles," meaning the noodles you'd use in a blindfold game around Halloween. Fair, but even some of those probably had some flavor to them. Huge miss. I'm not sure why I kept going at this point but I decided to end this situation with the Black Forest Cake. It was a little stale (maybe it's kept in the same area as the dinner rolls?), but it was okay. Could have been worse, so I'm taking that as a victory of sorts. The chocolate mousse within it got positive remarks from my other dining companions in the context of their items, so that's probably the play if you're hitting up the dessert menu. The service was mediocre. Our waitress was very nice when she came to our table, which was infrequent. It seemed like she was waiting for food to come out (which took a while) as the context for a visit, rather than taking initiative to check on us. The Young Pup Chum waited close to 15 minutes for a second soda, which shouldn't have happened, especially given that we were there at a VERY slow time (just before 4pm). And the price point was honestly close to insulting. Neither of us are opposed to plunking down some Jacksons for a nice meal, but getting a bill for $200 (plus tip!) for not great food was not a fun feeling to close out our afternoon. I hate to end this on a dark note, but given that my two recommendations for German food in the area have both closed, you might not have much of a choice but to come here if you're hankering for schnitzel.

Probably the best overall spot on the lake -- which admittedly isn't saying a whole lot -- but…read moresometimes you take what you can get, and this place delivers. The food is consistently good, the service is attentive, and the overall atmosphere during the day is relaxed and enjoyable. It's a great place to unwind, grab good food and drinks and enjoy being on the lake! Weekend nights can be a different story. The live bands tend to be loud and a bit over the top, which can overwhelm what would otherwise be a really pleasant setting. A cool, laid-back DJ with better volume control would elevate the experience and make it a place you'd want to linger longer. All in, it's still the go-to on the lake -- just pick your timing wisely.

Was a beautiful day out and we sat outside on the dock. Our waitress was nice and attentive. I…read morebelieve they updated the menu since last time we went (I did not see some of my previously reviewed items on the menu anymore). I decided to try the seafood risotto which was decent but a couple of the scallops were a little over cooked and the risotto itself was kind of sticky. My husband got the steak sandwich which he was surprised was a whole piece of steak (opposed to being sliced) but he said the steak was very tender and he had no issues eating it! I also stole a few of his sweet potatoes fries which were very good.

This is my new favorite Mexican restaurant. My friend told me about it and said she and her husband…read morego there often. My only concern is the lack of adequate parking because the place Is so busy! We started with a pitcher of white sangria for 4 people. There was plenty for 2 servings each and was refreshing and delicious. We ordered the guacamole and were pleasantly surprised when they came to the table and made it fresh on the spot for us. So yummy! The carne asada was cooked to perfection and so tender. My friend usually gets the carne asada, but switched over to the bistec poblano which was also seasoned and cooked perfectly. Hubby ordered the conchijita pibil which he thoroughly enjoyed. Her hubby went with the classic - tacos de carbon. We were too full for desert, but they have many options on their menu. There are a variety of coffees and they have a full bar. The service was excellent, the atmosphere fun and lively. I know I'll be back very soon!

Finally, an excellent Mexican restaurant in Budd Lake! Perfect dining experience from the service,…read moreambience, food, and view of Budd Lake. The waiters were friendly and helpful. Came for lunch on Valentine's Day before it got busy. Started with ceviche and table side guac, both phenomenal. Wife had chili rellenos and I tried molcajete loco, both were generous portions and delicious. Prices were good and there was cash discount. Will absolutely return.

143 Social is located in the basement of Better Days restaurant (which also looks good too!)…read more Stopped in with a reservation right at opening on a Saturday evening. The decor is stunning! There are multiple stairs leading to the speakeasy downstairs. There are accessible bathrooms down there but even just having opened - the bathrooms were not that clean. They smelled and had garbage on the floor. All staff were attentive and helpful and provided drink recommendations. The drinks err on the side of Tiki drinks mostly but there's some interesting whiskey and bourbon drinks too. We had some small apps to eat and all were good! And the portions were plentiful. We had fries and the hushpuppies. Loved the sauces that came with each. The space was not crowded for a while but started to pick up around 7:30 or so. I feel like a reservation may not be needed here. The upstairs restaurant was also so empty when we left! Not sure why as it looked nice. The noise level at 143 was not bad either even when crowds started to show up. Overall a nice option for drinks and apps in JC!

This was such a disappointing experience for us…read more Service: Only 1 waiter and 1 bar tender were working a busy Friday night.. Drinks: Took way too long to come and were good but not great. Food: Before we even ordered, the table next to us made sure to tell us the food tasted of expired oil. We ordered the Island Dip and were served a bowl of soupy beans with only 4 plantain chips to share. The beans indeed tasted like old oil and the plantains quickly ran out leaving us with nothing to eat the dip with. The vibe was lacking as a whole as the waiter was clearly stretched thin. I can only imagine the stress!

Once again, Panther has great food, exceptional service, and perfect cocktails…read more I got the Steak Sandwich, which I loved, and a Paper Plane, which can often be overly boozy but this version was delightful. We also tried the daily appetizer special, Turkey Empanadas, and they were insanely good. It's always lively, friendly and cozy inside. They've mastered the modern pub scene.

Stopped in for lunch on Black Friday while visiting family in the area. The place was pretty busy…read moreand we sat in the bar area. Service was terribly slow the duration of the time. There was 1 bartender and 1 server covering the area. It took forever to have our order taken and to get to water and or food. I wasn't impressed with my meal either. I had the aged cheddar grilled cheese. There was barely any cheese on the sandwich - it was 95% apple slices and fig jam. They didn't even bother to take the sticker off the apple. I would not recommend this dish. My husband enjoyed his french onion soup; his Reuben was average. My family member enjoyed their steak sandwich. Maybe they had their holiday crew working given it was Thanksgiving weekend and that's why our experience wasn't that great. If I was here again, I'd want to sit in the main area in the back and order something different.

Holy cow, where do I even begin! My wife and I wanted to try this place for our date night (you…read moreabsolutely should make a reservation ahead of time) and we were completely blown away! From the food, to the ambiance, to the service, everything was absolutely fantastic. Their specials menu is absolutely spot on. My wife got a delicious pasta dish and I went for a meatloaf sandwich (don't let the that deceive you) and both were totally fantastic! Our cocktails were absolutely spot on and delicious!!! I would highly recommend you get there a few minutes before your reservation because the parking is limited and you may need to find street parking.

Went for late lunch. Greeted warmly by bartender/waiter. Interesting, different menu choices…read more Ordered calamari/scallop/zucchini appetizer; delicious (a quibble: too small serving of dip). Delicious fries served with sandwich. Laura ordered North meets South, an open egg roll. Mocktail tasty but small. Overall the tavern is a quirky place not in the usual mold, making it a good choice. Nice atmosphere, music a but loud. Small parking lot on the side. Worthwhile, different. Recommended.

I had researched speakeasies in Midtown West of Manhattan before we traveled there to celebrate our…read morefifth wedding anniversary. From our initial trip last year, I had marked a place called Bar 369 Miroku located in Hell's Kitchen. Being that we didn't make our way to the spot on our trip last year, and were staying in Hell's Kitchen this time around, I wanted us to check out. The only challenge was actually finding it. If you're seeking out this gorgeous speakeasy. You aren't going to find it through some darkened alleyway or non-marked door of a building outside. No. You need to check the website and read between the lines of it being located within a sushi bar on West 46th Street. I could tell you the name, but what fun would that be? Figure that part out. But once you figure out how to access, the staff at said-sushi bar will direct you to the back of the restaurant to wheee you will see a sign for the bar and a stairwell to take you up to the second floor. Once you reach and look around, it looks at first you have reached a dead end between the emergency exit you see and a door that looks locked. There is a black curtain in the darkened hallway you need to notice and peer through. And alas, you will discover the bar that is Bar 369 Miroku. Once you have been checked for ID, and your party number, you are escorted into the small, darkly-lit enclave with plush decor, a bit of a Rolling Stones theme with its large poster hung in the back and artwork perched next to the bar shelving. It's an intimate and relaxed energy that makes it perfect to enjoy one of the Japanese-inspired cocktails on an evening after dinner. The hideaway offers a creative mix of craft cocktail options such as the Ichitaki Spritz (a variation of the Aperol spritz with sake in it), which was quite delightful that I enjoyed immensely within the dark lounge surroundings. If we were here more often, I would have taken advantage of their Japanese whisky selection that looked on point. There is a delectable charm to their curation and craftsmanship of their cocktails, combined with the luscious ambience that makes for a great hangout spot to get away and relax for the night. Bar 369 Miroku hits the mark regarding the speakeasy experience you would think to have when describing one, outside of not needing a password. The bar combines dark, stylish elegance with modern Japanese mixology magic to create an environment nestled deep away from the busy Manhattan streets outside.

Awesome upstairs speakeasy behind an Asian restaurant…read more Went after dinner for a few cocktails. Was a last minute thing so did not have an RSVP, but luckily there was an open table. Ordered a few various drinks - all very good and balanced. A pretty intimate vibe also, which is appreciated. Would come back!

Stonewood Tavern is classy and charming . Feels rustic and modern with an interesting menu. I had…read morethe squid and it was delicious !server was a professional and very pleasant . If I'm in the area again I will stop by The Bar is so inviting and that large mirror is fabulous.

Stopped at Stonewood Tavern off Route 206 in Byram -- a great location and an even better dining…read moreexperience. Food: We started with garlic bread that was absolutely awesome, followed by grilled octopus with a perfectly balanced, succulent marinade. I had shrimp with pasta, while my mother-in-law enjoyed a fillet of sole stuffed with crab meat and my wife had the cavatelli with broccoli. Everything was flavorful, well-prepared, and satisfying. Service: Our waitress, Casey, was excellent. Always checking in and very polite throughout the meal. She made the whole dining experience feel welcoming and attentive without being overbearing. Aesthetic: The restaurant has a warm, inviting look with stonework accents along the walls and an open barn-style concept. The lighting creates a comfortable atmosphere, and there's plenty of seating for both small groups and larger gatherings.