We went for dinner last night and everything was perfect. Our server was cordial and not pushy to upswell anything very nice vibe. Ambience was very welcoming. Bars laid out with nice decor. Starting off with warm bread and perfectly chilled draft beers. Oysters fresh and clean. The blackened pork chop tender and juicy. Pasta with clam sauce very flavorful. Will definitely come back. Sunday seems to be a great day to avoid weekend crowds. read more

Recent lunch experience. Ordered burger and my wife ordered lobster roll. Burger was supposed to be medium but was brought out well done. I showed the manager and he refunded the burger (otherwise this review would have been 1 star). Lobster roll was very small andjust lobster and toasted bread - very dry, no type of butter or sauce (never seen this before in a lobster roll). Bread pudding for dessert was super tough and rubbery, probably the worst i've ever had. Waiter was too busy on phone for the whole time and we had to stand up and walk over to get his attention (and we were basically the only customers in the place). read more

Great restaurant love eating there food is amazing. The atmosphere is spacious and well lit perfect for that Saturday night dinner.

Other than the most recent time, this has been a very reliable place for a number of plates. The lump crab Caesar and the half fried chicken were stand outs. The most recent time we went however (late October 2021) these plates were just so-so. The chicken was underseasoned. We also ordered a scallop app and it was underwhelming. We were also not given the usual bread plate that the tables around us got. That said, the staff has always been really nice. The ambience is enjoyable too although the live music can be loud for some. read more

What an absolutely amazing experience at this new and terrific addition to the Bergen County dining scene. The restaurant is gorgeous and the renovated space is unrecognizable and fabulous. We had delicious cocktails at the well-appointed bar (there were 4 specialty ones on the menu and we tried 3 of them) which were inventive and perfect. Our meal was out of this world. The service was spot-on and the owner roamed amongst the tables making sure everyone was happy. We didn't even get to the 2 other bars and 2 other rooms. I cannot wait to go back. read more

Oysters and food absolutely delicious! Place was packed, our meals came out the second we finished our apps. But everything else was awesome, we will return and tall James is the best! Ask for him when you make a reservation. He is superb! read more

This spot had good food but 2 out of the 3 bartenders did NOT have masks on. For over 30 mins I watched them prepare 20+ drinks without masks and when I flagged it to my server she said there was nothing she could do. The restaurant was also at greater than 25% capacity. The person sitting behind us was less than a foot away. Overall extremely disappointed about the lack of mask enforcement. In addition to employees, there were multiple customers who crossed the restaurant to use the restroom without any face mask and none of the employees that passed them flagged it. read more

We had a bad experience here all around. Rude service who was also loose with the COVID-19 rules. Entrees came out overcooked and the strawberry shortcake was stale. read more

Went for brunch. Must have are the oysters. Portions on the menu was on the smaller side.

one and done. wings were good. salad yuck. 2 different people ordered clams and shrimp - came on one order. really? hanger steak (2 different people) was over done twice. lobster roll - don't tell me it comes from Maine. Awful awful awful read more

Stern & Bow seems "confused" at first glance given the variation of menu items. Well, let that not dismay you because the food is absolutely delicious! The general atmosphere is modern. Based on previous reviews, we sat outside to avoid the noise, and we were very happy we did. The few times we went inside for the restroom the noise level was very high- and made that much loader with the live music inside!!! We did not wait to get seated, we're immediately brought to our table and greeted by the waitress within 5 minutes. As for the food/bev: The good: The Cosmo was perfectly made, Gin and Tonic was heavy on the Gin (not a bad thing)! Seafood tower was good. Fish was very fresh and delicious, there just wasn't enough of it. The shredded horseradish was a great touch though! Margarita pizza was cooked to perfection and had great flavor. Fried chicken was cooked to perfection, but the best part of that dish was the jalapeño honey glaze!! The biscuit was reminiscent of a waffle making the dish our favorite of the night. The halibut and risotto were cooked perfectly. The bad: The desserts were no where near the flavor levels of dinner. The autumn stone turnover is essentially an apple empanada. It was ok, but could've used more flavor and more apples. The beignets were terrible- no where near a beignet... it was an extremely dense, yeasty, lemon zesty fried square. If it wasn't for the dessert experience- I would've given the full 5 stars! read more

I have been wanting to try this restaurant since it opened! Russell did a wonderful job with Harvest (his old restaurant), so I couldn't wait to try this one! All I can say is, OMG!!!!! I simply do not remember the last time I enjoyed a meal so much! We started with the smoked scallop special, which came beautifully presented on ice with several mignonettes. But, for me, nothing can top the cocktail sauce and fresh shaved horseradish that it also came with! Then on to the homemade bread that simply melted in your mouth! We shared a french sausage pizza that was one of the best pizza's I have ever eaten! Could barely look at the crab caesar salad that we also ordered because we were so full! Definitely will have to save room for desert on the next visit! Russell, you have outdone yourself with this one! And, did I mention that our waiter was attentive and delightful!!! read more

Service was very, very slow, our waiter disappeared for at least a half hour while we waited for our food. Paella for two was disappointing and the prices were a bit on the high side, will not be going back. read more

easily the best restaurant in bergen county! a little loud inside, really nice setting and great service! read more

See all

We had high hopes as just returned from New Orleans Jazz Festival! My husband and daughter ordered the Gumbo. There was literally ZERO meat in the gumbo but were tons of skinny very sharp bones. I'd guess all the meat fell off the bones and went in someone else's order. We got the bones. It was literally scraps you'd throw away. Someone could have really chocked. Taste was awful. Paella had overcooked rice and what tasted like frozen seafood. The sauce on my Margarita Pizza was a dark, dark red almost brown. It was pure acid. Wet underwhelming crust. Everything went in the garage. If we had eaten at the restaurant everything would had been sent back. Icing on the cake were the Beignets. I wasn't expecting Café Du Monde but why would they have such a strong lemon taste? If you're serving lemon beignets which I've never heard of, nor would have ordered write it on your menu. So disgusted my husband said don't bother calling. I certainly wasn't going to drive this mess back for more awful food. Lesson learned. Expensive lesson. read more

Crazy good. Food is fabulous and quite an active bar scene. Reservations are a must

Rebecca is the best bartender I have had by far. So very personable and makes sure you have the best experience at this establishment. The food is also beyond amazing. We come for the mussels particularly because they are absolutely to die for. read more

We went to Stern and Bow last evening and ate outside under the tent. The wait staff was pleasant and attentive. The bacon wrapped wings and fried pickles were good The pizza was really tasty. My husband's ribs were fatty and the sauce was not to his liking. One of our party had the hamburger which was good but it was ordered medium well and was served medium. The cocktails were delish but pricey at $15 each after all its Closter not Manhattan. read more

AMAZING! Another great place in Bergen County. Yay!! I hope more great places like this will open in the suburbs! Fantastic food, good drinks. Opens late Great atmosphere. Good service Keep it going! read more

Just want to say this place is mine and my husbands go to for date nights. We went with a group this weekend and had James J. as waiter and he was awesome! He was really on top of everything, extremely thorough and made it fun for us which just made the experience even better. Definitely a go to. read more

The food was absolutely amazing. No better oyster spot outside NYC. The service was horrible. 30 minutes to get a glass of wine (which we had to remind him of). Didn't mind waiting for food....at least hot when it came out. Owners need to hire more servers (or more efficient ones). read more

I highly recommend dining in at this restaurant. It's a surf and turf style restaurant with nice modern decor. The staff is friendly and courteous. My wife and I enjoyed our meals which were crab Caesar salad, lobster roll, bacon wrapped wings and Cheeseburger. Everything tasted very good with the exception of the cheese being absent on my CHEESburger. If you going to charge high end prices then details like this can not happen. It still tasted good but would have been excellent with that slab of advertised Gruyere cheese. My wife enjoyed her Lobster Roll and only wished it was a little larger. We took our order home with us and it was all a little cold by the time we got home but that is our choice considering we live kind of far from the restaurant. I would recommend this restaurant but I would also say to expect prices set at the higher end of the dining spectrum. The quality of the food is what you pay for. Maybe just have a final check of the orders before they get shipped out. Thank you. read more

Great outdoor space...live music...delicious food! Oysters were perfect, fish special was amazing. Recommend the grilled octopus--super tender and tasty. Kudos to a very hardworking staff...it was a warm evening, they were masked and hustling around, but still super friendly and attentive. We'll be back! read more

Just ok. First of all..the entrance to the restaurant parking lot is horrible. First I drove by barely noticing the restaurant sign and when I circled back it was hard to find the entrance to the parking lot. The atmosphere of the restaurant is nice. The menu is limited, especially for vegetarians. The acoustics are bad and I could barely hear the conversation at my table over the bar noise and music. Food is just mediocre, I had to eat vegetable sides because there was not a "main" for vegetarians. My friend, not a vegetarian, also had trouble finding something on the menu. I'm hoping it will improve. read more

This has become a favorite date night spot for my husband and me. The food NEVER disappoints. We love the charbroiled oysters. They are insane! The crab ceasar, pizza salata, and the paella are also delicious. They give you the most delicious fresh bread, too! The atmosphere is so fun, and the service is always great. We are always happy! read more

Went to have diner this past Saturday September 28th with two other couples..The noise was so loud that one couple had to leave before there diner was served.The waiter told me they were out hanger steak at 28$ but they had a flank steak.The steak was priced at 85$ which they did not tell before I ordered.Very close in price?When we left for the evening we could finally hear each other without yelling.The85$ steak was not very good I wish them good luck Richie from River Vale read more

Definitely impressed! Bacon wrapped wings, lobster roll, and bourbon bread pudding were all delicious! Service was outstanding and the restaurant had a great vibe! read more

Went here for the first time Friday night to celebrate my boyfriends job offer. We were excited because this was our first meal out since COVID-19. Excellent dining experience overall. Our waiter was very attentive and informative about specific items on the menu. We shared the s&b mac as a starter. My boyfriend ordered the special which was the soft shell crab and I ordered the margarita pizza. All of the dishes were delicious. I had two Spring Blossom cocktails which were absolutely amazing. The manager John was very friendly and attentive to us and made sure we were satisfied with our meal. Overall I would give Stern and Bow a 10/10 and we will definitely be back soon! read more

Exceptionally fresh oysters but it's just as loud as the oysters are fresh. I couldn't bear to be there for more than an hour last night. The acoustics are absolutely atrocious. I'll come back, but most likely on a Tuesday at 5 PM when some middle aged mother of 4 from Closter isn't on her girls night out and screaming as she drinks her fifth Cosmo. read more

My first time eating at this restaurant. I was excited to try something new. My server James recommended I get the gumbo and it was absolutely delicious. My main dish wasn't that great but James was quick to fix the issue. Every time I look up, my glasses were filled. James didn't miss a beat. I'll try Stern and Bow again, maybe it was just an off day. Honestly, If James wasn't so attentive, I wouldn't think to give it a second chance. He reassured me the menu is delicious so I'll take his word for it and try again. read more

So glad I found this spot! Had the Bronzino for dinner which came with a side of butternut squash and pickled cripollini which was absolutely divine! I got to take the other half of the bronzino home to because I was so full the dish was big and could barely finish it. The atmosphere of this restaurant is fun and cool. The people here are so nice and pleasant. Only thing is that they serve you very quickly, would wish if they gave us a little in between dishes. But other than that 10/10 will be back in a heart beat! read more

Like the restaurant decor and the food is good, a little expensive. Contacted them about a private party and the owner quoted me a price that then the party planning coordinator said was too low. Called and followed up a bunch of times, left a few messages and they never returned my calls. Don't really think that's a great way to do business. If you made a mistake either honor it or own up to it; just ignoring someone is really rude. read more

More like 2.5 stars. First off, unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the food but, the acoustics in the restaurant are by far the worst i have ever seen. I equate it to eating a very expensive dinner in a beer hall. I am certain the owners are aware of it as they have hung sound deadening panels on the ceiling but it is still awful. So much so that when the owner comes around to check on things he leans in so closely to hear what you are saying that even he knows its bad. On to the food- if you like seafood, then this is your place. The oysters and the crab legs looked fantastic. The chicken wings wrapped in bacon were really good. My wife has some kind of pizza (which came out 15 minutes after everyone else's food) and it was a swing and a miss. I ordered the fried chicken that the description sounded great and came with a warning of a 35 minute wait to get it ( I ordered it prior the apps) when it came out, it came with 2 deep fried to hell southern style biscuits ( right in the garbage) with a basic fried chicken with a pretty interesting spicy/honey glaze. On to dessert, there are NO DESCRIPTIONS of the desserts on the menu at all- that's a pretty big deal since the descriptions on the regular menu items were pretty detailed. The one dessert someone got ( chocolate cake? ) looked like it came right out of the box. All in all, i don't see what all the fuss is about but, the place was jammed. More like a who's who of Bergen County on a Saturday night. I don't need to be seen, would just like a good meal in a reasonably quiet place. If you are going, go on a less busy time or bring ear plugs. One last thing, the service was very good- in line with the pricing they charge- the food? Not so much. read more

A new place from the guy who owned Harvest, a wonderful restaurant. We were happy to get a late reservation for a Saturday night. The place was very crowded and noisy but that could be fun. We were seated in the room where the bar is. They had the Yankee game on and the crowd was very loudly into it. When it was obvious that we wouldn't be able to talk to our friends, I asked to move. The hostess and the owner very nicely moved us to the other large room which improved the night! So, the place. Nice and light with flattering lighting. Food was very good. We all ordered pizzas to share. Everyone had different entrees. The hangar steak was delicious. The one pasta was also very good. My pasta with seafood was really spicy and too hot. I didn't think it was going to be that way so instead of spoiling the night, I tried to eat it. Definitely won't order that one again. i don't believe menu warned me of level of spice. Dessert was a chocolate cake. Worth the calories. What was nice was the owner was there and very obviously cares how everyone's doing. We will return when the buzz dies down a bit. I hope the menu expands to more fish entrees. Best of luck to you guys! read more

Ate here on NYE and had a lovely meal. Started with 2 dozen oysters that were all incredible, however overpriced. $4.50/ea for many of them in our selection is, in my opinion, too high. Service was quite good, especially on a busy night like the holiday. I had a holiday special of deconstructed beef wellington. Each component was very good, but seemed to be a lazy way of attempting the traditional dish. My wife had he shrimp and grits and the shrimp were massive and delicious. However, I doubt we will be back. If we are going to spend that much money on that type of dinner, I'll drive to Montclair or Summit and eat at Fin. Very similar to S&B, but far better. read more

Easily the best oysters that I've ever had, I came in from NYC to try this place after hearing great things and I was not disappointed at all. he staff was very friendly and really tried to help me pick out the best things on the menu for my preferences, one of the people in our party had an allergy and the waiter even went back to the kitchen to make sure it wouldn't be a problem. Overall the food was great, the smoked oysters were amazing and something I've never seen before, especially with real wasabi. I've never heard of a restaurant using true wasabi in NJ until I came here. The pizza was incredible, it's not a new york slice or a football slice, its real Neapolitan pizza that few places in the area have and you know that when you go in and see the oven. But my favorite was the Short Rib pasta which I along with everyone I went with, thought was incredible. I will most definitely be going back here the next time I am in town read more

We went shortly after its grand opening. The restaurant was POPPING! The bar packed. It made you feel like you needed to get there for happy hour so you don't miss out on good times! The food was good. Nothing over the top. Drinks were great (cocktail menu). I probably would give this place three stars, but I am giving benefit of the doubt because I think they were still working a lot of things out between the kitchen and front of house. For instance, we never got one of our appetizers, and the entree I ordered wasn't as described as in the menu (for instance, it was fish and supposed to be served pan seared with greens, and instead it came out baked with potatoes and rroot veggies). It was fine - apparently they ran out of whatever it was supposed to come with then prepared it a little different with something else. It just wasn't what I had my heart (stomach!) set on. Over all, everything was good. We would try it again now that it's been a few months. read more

I really wanted to love this restaurant. It was OK. The food was good, the service was good, but not spectacular and I'm very confused about the overall concept. Nothing was wonderful, nothing makes me want to go again. I will probably try it another night but I don't see it becoming a go to neighborhood comfort restaurant like Harvest. read more

Food was very good, place looks great, and we could use more places like this. Couple issues they could work out though. Be warned that these are Manhattan prices. Even if you don't order one of their specialty cocktails, they charge you the specialty cocktail price. And the bar was unfortunately filled with fruit flies. I like the bar area though as 2 big screens and a little more casual vibe- you can eat at the bar too. We sat at the bar for a while because they tried to seat us (a couple) at a table facing the wall, and seated side-by-side. Next to each other. Facing a wall. We had a reservation. The waiter initially overcharged me for an appetizer. I ordered a basic wedge and he brought me one with huge slabs of bacon that costs $6 more. He claims he didn't know they offered it without the bacon but fixed it when called out... The waiter also asks if you prefer sparkling water or still water, hoping you'll say still and not realize you just ordered a bottle of water instead of getting tap water. They also forgot to bring us bread until midway through the meal. Bread was delicious though.They of course don't volunteer that the special is $55. Definitely some upsell, and these are already inflated prices. Also heard a rumor that the "patron" that "found" a pearl in their oyster is actually an in-law of the owner... But food and atmosphere are great so we'll probably be back at some point. read more

It was lovely to sit outside under their tent during COVID. My husband said the $25 lobster roll and $15 margarita were both good. They served some toasted focaccia, but it was burned which was unpleasant. I had the $34 smoked pork chop. It came with pickled watermelon, which was nice to have the juice because the pork chop was dry. I asked for it to be cooked medium, but not pink, but it was overcooked. Also, my pork chop did not have vegetables. We think the prices are too high, and not happy with my meal, so will not be dining there again, and will tell our experience to our friends. read more