bernadette Restaurant

Review summary

1. S

   Shannon

   New Jersey

   6 reviews

   vip
   1.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   Resturant is beautiful and I wanted to love it, but there were too many problems for the price charged for the experience. I reserved a high top since tables were booked. High Tops are generally small tall tables in the bar area. In this case, our seats were across from each other at a very wide community table that had a father/child pair seated on one end and a family of three seating at the other. The seats in the middle of wide table between these two parties was very close on each side to strangers but too far away from my husband for any chance at talking privately. I can't image trying to share tapas across that width comfortably. We decided to leave but was moved to bar. If High Top was advertised as "Community Table" I would not have booked that option. The curved wide bar is beautiful and a much better seating experience for couples who want to share tapas. The bartender was attentive and helpful. However the food service was outrageously too slow. It took 2 hours to recieve three plates. We were warned that the last dish could take 25-30 minutes to prepare (pasta with shellfish on top really), but it was well over an hour or more for something that really is not a complex plate. We ordered 3 total glasses of wine in that time. The bartender apologized for the slow but deducted nothing for the inconvenience. The bill was over $160 with the tip. I walked away annoyed that we paid a massively large bill for three small pates of food and two glasses of wine and at least an hour of wasted time. An apology for bad service doesn't make bad service good. We will not return.
   

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2. a

   allison

   New York City

   11 reviews

   4.0

   11 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Delicious food. Tried a variety of tapas including croquettes, tuna tartar, pissetta, patatas, cheese plate and profiteroles. The only disappointment was the cheese plate. Everything else was outstanding. There was a group of 7 women that was very loud which made it difficult to have a conversation.
   

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3. D

   Deborah

   Charleston

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on November 30, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   A New York style restaurant in Scotch Plains NJ? That's weird, but good. The food was also good. We had the squash salad, brussel sprouts and bacon-wrapped dates. (We weren't very hungry.) All yummy.
   

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4. k

   katie

   New York City

   6 reviews

   vip
   2.0

   6 reviews

   Dined on November 29, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   We waited at least 30 minutes to receive our drinks after ordering. My drink was inaccurately described and tasted terrible but there weren’t enough servers to really even ask to send it back. The food did taste good!
   

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5. E

   Erika

   New Jersey

   3 reviews

   2.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on November 22, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   We had high expectations based on other reviews but left disappointed in Bernadette. Our reservation was for a “high top” but only when we arrived did we find out this was an oversized communal table in the middle of a lounge area. The distance between our seats was awkward and made it very hard to have a conversation especially with the loud club music blasting in the background at 6pm. If you’re planning a date night then look elsewhere. The restaurant markets itself as an “elegant, city-like dining experience” but it really feels like a noisy hotel bar in a strip mall space. And the food leaves something to be desired, literally, we had to go across the street afterwards for a satisfying meal. The grilled Caesar salad was two soggy pieces of lettuce and unfortunately ours came with hair in it, gross! The tuna tartare is served in a tiny dish by itself without the typical chips or crackers to go with it. The croquettes were mushy and lacking flavor or any sauce. The menu makes every dish sound special but it’s mediocre at best and the portions are small! Even for tapas-style, we couldn’t even find a tasty bite. The staff tried to make up for the hairy Caesar by comping out drinks, but overall the service was lousy with one server running circles around the dining area and another who seemed to only pay attention to our table when repeatedly asking to clear a plate of bread that was clearly not finished. Maybe next time we will have to go to the city for a pricey meal that’s actually worth it.
   

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6. K

   Kyle

   New York City

   1 review

   vip
   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 16, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Bernadette was a perfect spot for a date night - drinks were fantastic, food was delicious, and the atmosphere perfect to sit and have cocktails and tapas.
   

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7. N

   Nicolette

   New York City

   3 reviews

   2.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on November 16, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   I’d go back solely for cocktails- the food was lacking in flavor
   

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8. B

   Bryant

   New York City

   14 reviews

   vip
   3.0

   14 reviews

   Dined on November 14, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 2

   Struggled with this review as experience was mixed. The waiter 95 % of the time was courteous and most respectful. But here and there had some sarcastic tones. And it fits in with the place having some 'pretense' of being an upscale place but not delivering an overall upscale experience. For example, the minute we got there the person who was to be our waiter said " glad you finally made it' Interestingly we were 5 minutes early but the couple we were with arrived 15 minutes early. Maybe he just meant to see glad to see you. Upon seating, I explained that I didn't eat much today, wanted a cocktail but needed bread before I drank. 10-15 minutes later the cocktails were delivered ( no issue with that timing, and drinks were very good) I asked about the bread and the waiter somewhat barked "I'll just tell them to burn the bread in the back and I'll bring it out." And when the bread came it had 3 pieces. We're a table of 4, bring 4 pieces of bread. We'll pay for the extra piece. Next , one person in the party ordered a cheese platter. They asked if it came with bread or crackers. And the answer made us feel like we so bourgeois in the way he told us "that we don't serve crackers with our cheese platter here. ' They went on to say we can get bread for an extra cost. Didn't mind paying extra for the bread but didn't like the attitude. Well the cheese comes out and the ladies nibbled on the cheese like mice trying to wait for the bread to arrive. We finally ask the waiter for the bread and he says, again a bit snippy, that he 'll get the manager. We didn't ask for the manager we asked for the bread to have with the seemingly very special cheese that is not worthy of crackers. She comes over, chomping on her gum, and asks 'what's up'" ? If I am in a pub where people are banging down beers , downing shots and eating pub food, I could deal with a person chomping gum in my face and asking 'what's up' But not a place at that price point.
   

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9. S

   Susan

   New York City

   31 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   31 reviews

   Dined on November 2, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   We had a wonderful birthday celebration last night! First time there and very impressed. We ordered 9 shareable plates - everything was delicious! The atmosphere and decor makes you feel like you’re not in Scotch Plains! Will definitely be coming back soon!
   

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10. G

    Gfmmhh

    New York City

    23 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    23 reviews

    Dined on November 2, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    This is truly a gem! Lovely place! Great service, yummy small plates, wonderful cocktails! Beautiful ambience and service! We will be back!!
    

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