Stopped at Ikaro for a quick bite and so glad I did! The restaurant is located in a quiet side…read morestreet in Middletown with a parking conveniently located next-door. When you arrive, you're pleasantly surprised at how big the place is! they have a beautiful bar with ample seating. Our waitress was working the bar and tables solo but still managed to provide excellent service. Drinks were strong, tasty and pretty reasonably priced. We did not have a bad item on the menu, but I cannot rave enough about their lamb sandwich. A must try!!! It was deliciously seasoned and finger licking good- so good, I thought about it the next day when I woke up lol I would definitely return to Ikaro on a busier night or for brunch to check out the lounge vibe. Add this local gem to your list, you won't be disappointed!!

Enjoyed a lovely Sunday brunch at Ikaro. We got there before the crowds, and I'm glad we did,…read morebecause they filled up fast! Likes: - Service was friendly and appropriately attentive - The bao buns were fantastic and tasty, with the most delicious short rib filling - Their French toast, a crispy on the outside, soft on the inside affair, is probably among the best French toast I've ever had - My husband loved his avocado toast Could be better: - we were one of the first customers of the day, and yet the table we were sat at was sticky - we alerted the server who immediately wiped it down

Recently paid our 4th visit to Valeria's, this time for a birthday celebration. As in the past,…read morefood was very good (with exception of the disappointingly small Oysters in the appetizer). Service was, as usual, slow - bread showed up 5 minutes after being seated, server after 10, drinks took almost another 10 minutes to arrive. Major complaint was with the bar (this time) I ordered a Manhattan on the rocks ($11.95 - house liquor). Server arrived with shaker and glass as for up. Corrected her and she returned with drink in rocks glass with the consistency of a "slushy". Apparently bartender just emptied the shaker over more ice. Had it replaced as "too weak", new one was equally weak as they use some sort of "pitted" ice clumps rather than clear cubes. Spouse's dry Martini up ($9.95 - Absolute) was heavy on vermouth, and second round shaker did not fill the glass (remade without asking), the replacement arrived already in a glass and seemed weak. House wine by the glass ($8) seemed to be a 4 oz. pour rather than the traditional 6 oz. Drinks are nowhere near the quality the prices would suggest. Also from ordering to drink arrival was 10 to 15 minutes. Coupled with the lag between clearing one course and delivering the next (15+ minutes), there were long gaps with no food or drink on the table. At one point, the manager asked if we needed anything (like food?) With the house less than 1/2 full, and lot's of staff on hand, there seemed to be a problem "keeping up". They have the food part knocked, now, if Valeria can restore the bar to it's previous "standards", and make its wait staff more efficient, this could be a 5 star establishment. Added: In looking at some of the other ratings, I should point out that, at the next table, there was a Mom and 3 boys (early teens). Boys wearing baggy cargo shorts, tank tops, and untied sneakers. Other diners wore everything from jeans and short shorts to jackets and dresses. There is no dress code, and given the décor, this could cost them an extra star from those that care.

Valeria's is now Hacienda! They have good Mexican food and great service!read more

Aroma is the place to be in Monroe. Really amazing cigars and knowledgeable staff. I love relaxing…read morehere for hours.

This place is really, really nice! Space is beautiful and they have an amazing ventilation system…read moreso smoke is sucked up and out of the room as best as it can which is better than other places I've been to. The humidor is really small but I will say what you find in it are super popular sticks (e.g., Padron, Camacho, Plasencia, etc). I have yet to visit a cigar lounge were the patrons are unpleasant. Everyone here is what you'd expect from the cigar culture, very nice and welcoming. I love that we have a place like this in the area because many men (and women) like to come out and just relax in an atmosphere where they can make friends and not be treated like crap or even get hit on like they just walked into a dive bar. Nothing but kind and respectful community of cigar aficionados. My only warning would be to the ladies that the bathroom is a sliding door that leaves a small crack that someone could fairly easily peak in to see if the bathroom is occupied. I don't think anyone here would stand for any creepers (they'd likely toss them on their ass) but I figured I mention that because that may matter to a lady that wants to visit (i.e., having 100% privacy in restroom). Otherwise truly an amazing beautiful lounge with amazing patrons.

Came here for dinner with a party of 10. Service was pretty…read moreslow, it took about 30 minutes for everyone to get drinks. The room was dead silent, a little awkward at times. Food was really good, The French onion soup was 10/10 The best French onion soup I've ever had. Steaks were great, Spinach, baked potatoes, all good Scallops were awesome. Great place, needs a check up on ambiance for big groups, but otherwise food was great.

Service was AMAZING ! we celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary and stayed at the Branstan - dined…read moreat Homestead . The food was a bit pricey for what we were given but we expected that given the area . Calamari was so chewy we opted to leave it , the server was kind and took it off of our bill (we did not ask ) . The oysters were freshly chucked to order and were so delicious. I had the steak frites and the steak was well charred and cooked to perfection . Truffle fries were also good , not too overpowering as some truffle can be . My husband had the roasted 1/2 chicken , it was okay , nothing to rave about . The mash was basic mash . We also had orange creamsicle crème brûlée, not our favorite but it does taste exactly as the name describes. The coconut sorbet was INCREDIBLE! Tasted so fresh with real coconut pieces . We requested the best seats with a privacy and whole it was private , the bench seating was not comfortable, you couldn't sit back comfortably while enjoying dinner . I would suggest to sit at tables with hard seats . There were fresh flowers on the table with mint leaves so it smelled wonderful . Lighting was initially only sky light as we sat outside but once it got dark we had a beautiful views of the lighted paths , and the restaurant lightning provided a romantic setting .

Great food and appetizers! The burgers were delicious and excellent. The bartenders that were there…read morethe gentleman and the 2 lady's were all terrific. Always on point very energetic. Great vibes, very cozy atmosphere awesome spot

It's nice to have good food and drinks served fast in a hotel after a long day. Happy hour 4-6pm…read moreis $5 drinks for the most part, over 50% off martinis. The martinis were great, some not as advertised for example one said it would be served with gummy bears but there weren't any so it was slightly less fun to drink. Music is fun and random people would be singing around the bar to themselves. The burgers were fantastic and served quickly- I recommend both the Cajun and Swiss bourbon burgers with the crispy fries. They get you in with one free drink per stay at the hotel. There are a few large games to play like connect 4 and foosball as well.

SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!!!!!! The ambiance was amazing, unlike…read moreanything I've seen in NR. It's like a seedy, gothy, divy, weirdo handout. All things I love. However, things all of a sudden halted for me the 2nd the bartender told my date they had to order something despite me ordering a $15 cocktail. My immediate thought was to say, "Okay, we'll be on our way then." I didn't like that my date was pressured into ordering something. THEN she hits us with "cash only." Ugh. The cocktails. She was majorly pushing these concoctions she'd made up and said every single cocktail was $15, so we might as well go with the boozier one (as opposed to what we wanted which was something simple like gin & tonic), so we relented. They were OK. Would never order again, though. Other than the desperation and pushiness of the bartender, the ambiance was great! Fun clientele and gothy decor. If she had just eased up, I would honestly have this place be my go-to bar in town as opposed to never wanting to go again. Shame.

Omg!! So we walked…read moreinto SILKIES's after a movie night .. sometimes around midnight!!! And we were blown away!! Silkie is the best hostess. I have been hundred of bars. This is amazing environment. The billiards table is amazing, Silkie even has customised cues. The music is great. I honestly, have to give in trying to use words to describe how great of time we are having. SILKIE YOU ARE THE BEST!! We love you. Hope to see you back this weekend!!

Very intimate spot. There's only space for maybe eight or so people. The drinks are good if you…read morelike whiskey but I do feel like it is a bit expensive.

Excellent selection of whiskeys. Great atmosphere and extremely knowledgeable bartenders.read more

This place is THE BOMB!…read more I've been coming here on and off for a few years now and the place is absolutely always amazing. The regulars here treat you like you're practically family. Everyone is welcoming, friendly and just truly great people. If you ever thought for a moment that humanity has lost it's humanity then step into this place and grab a handshake or a hug even if you don't smoke cigars because the men and women that frequent this business are truly angels on earth, so freaking nice! Carlito has since upgraded the walk in humidor to a mega size that has to be three times the size he originally started with so the selection of smokes available has literally tripled. If you like to experiment to find that new great smoke, let's just say the variety is so vast that if you smoke one cigar per day at this place it would probably take you almost a year to get thru all the options. Seating is plentiful but I don't think more than say 25 people can sit in this place but heck it's so welcoming that if I had to stand I'd be cool standing and shooting the shit with the fellas. I'm certainly going to try and stop in more often.

It is a truly fine and exquisite establishment with an excellent selection of premium cigars…read more Every single time my father and I visit we have a great time. The owner, all the staff, all the other regulars we've gotten to know and become friends with are truly wonderful. It's a great place to wind down and chill out with some genuinely good people. BYOB, bring any food you want. It's a wonderful place.

We were in the mood for burgers and wings for dinner and decided to try the food here. Honestly the…read morebest burgers and wings I've had in a long time. You can tell the burgers are hand made from ground beef. Everything was super fresh. The bacon and cheese waffle fries order (not pictured) was great and the serving size was nice, definitely shareable. I also ordered the hummus with garlic and pita chips--absolutely loved that. Maybe a little pricey (for size) but definitely tasty. The wings by far were the best from the area. We will definitely be coming back! We ordered take out so can't say anything much about ambiance but the place was definitely packed when I stepped in to retrieve my order. The service was great!

Let me start off by saying our waitress (Madelyn) was amazing and we had no issues with her…read morewhatsoever- HOWEVER, what I presume to be the owner (name is Jimmy he could just be a manager- I hope) did not make our experience very pleasant. My boyfriend and I had come in for dinner and we had ordered our food which was good. I enjoyed mind (steak) more than he did his (alpine burger). We had decided to order a cocktail for each of us and when his came out it was EXTREMELY strong- I bartend so I have a good gauge of mixology and drinks overall. We asked our server if a replacement would be possible and she was more than willing to help us out. After that, Jimmy came around the corner and immediately asked what was wrong with our drinks- when I told him about his drink his excuse was that cocktails are "supposed" to be very strong since they are doubles and said he could "water it down". We asked if it could be remade so we were expecting a fully remade mojito- BUT regardless of the simplicity of the drink he neglected to tell us that there was no more mint. And so, instead of telling us that he brought it to us with no muddled ingredients and it was just not a mojito. Sincerity, understanding and a straight up actual mojito would have been nice.