2 stars for BYOB, in a nice part of town, and a good vibe inside.
Everything else was meh.
The rolls are tiny and expensive. I ordered the Hot Lava Roll, which was $14 and supposed to be covered in octopus and squid...what I got was a stack of rolls the diameter of a half-dollar with small, chopped pieces of rubbery and dried out octopus and squid sprinkled on top. I also ordered an eel and avocado roll, which was the size of a quarter for $5.50. I can sincerely get a more hearty and fresh sushi meal from Shop Rite.
The staff is also a little deficient in the English department so I had to repeat and restate my questions and requests at least 2 times before I was understood. I don't really mind this, but when you've got such shitty sushi you'd expect the staff to not be native. Know what I'm saying?
Anyway, the best part of this place is the BYOB. You can get drunk off your ass with your own cheap alcohol and eat AE's sushi until it actually tastes good. Not a bad marketing strategy if you ask me.
This was one of my favorite restaurants. Â I am very friendly with the staff as I come here often. Â Last night, was the last night I will go there. I ordered food for pick-up and to my surprise, I found a cock roach in my food. Â I am still so disgusted by it. Â When I called to confront them. Â I got a very rude lady, who returned my money but didn't seem apologetic to the fact that this is what I found. Â Like I said, this was one of my favorite places to eat and this is very upsetting, but I will not be going back there ever again.
Review Source:No complaints here. I dined here for a late lunch on a Friday and it wasn't too busy. I really enjoyed their ginger dressing. A few places that I've gone to that serves it, usually was decent. However, Ave E's ginger dressing made me want to purchase a bottle of it to take home. It's very clean with a nice decor. I had no issue with the staff, we had two servers who were both equally attentive and made sure our glasses of water were filled. I had the pad Thai and split 2 appetizers although I can't recall what they were. I do remember just being very pleased overall and can't wait to visit again.
Review Source:I really like this place. Â It has a very nice ambiance to it. Â BYO. Â Portion size is great. Â Food is good, tasty and of quality. Â Not the BEST thing I've ever tasted but it's chinese in new jersey - unless you're going to a dim sum, this is as quality as you're going to get. Â Waiters are not the kind to smile or chit chat. Â Quick and effective with little to say.
Review Source:Love this place! Went here for the first time for a bachelorette party dinner and the staff was so friendly and accommodating... here's why. I made the fellow bachelorette an inappropriate cake (I'll leave that up to your imagination as to what it could have been). I was a little embarrassed to serve it at the restaurant when I realized how nice and classy it was inside. So I walked into the place with my cake covered and whispered to the hostess if it was ok to serve it and she started giggling and said "But of course, why not? Goes with your theme right? We'll be more than happy to serve it for you whenever you're ready." I kind of giggled, no pun intended! Anyways, food was delicious, portioned perfectly and extremely affordable. I consider it to be a fancier Chinese restaurant that also serves sushi. Chicken and Broccoli is one of my fav dishes! Also it's BYOB and you just can't beat that. We had a great night and the cake was a definite success ;) ... happy bachelorette for sure and we were definitely the center of attention that night haha! All in good fun. I've returned a few times and I'm always satisfied!
Review Source:Our go-to Asian restaurant! I'm very surprised by the bad reviews. My husband and I have been here many times and we've had great service and food each time. I always get the sushi and my husband usually gets a Thai curry or another Chinese entree. We have always been pleased with the quality and portions of our food. Aside from Fujuyama Mama I think this is the best sushi in the area and it's definitely the best in Cranford.
This is a great place to bring groups as well. So many of the places in this area are tiny and struggle to accommodate groups bigger than 5. This place has large round booths and plenty of space to  push tables together. Give it a shot!
Three strikes and they are OUT! The first time I went on a date for dinner. There were about three different waiters handling our table. It makes it difficult to know who to tip. The restaurant wasn't crowded at all. The waiters seemed very unhappy to be working there. It made for an unpleasant evening.
I figured I would give the take-out a chance the second time around. When I got home and bit into my coconut shrimp, I was greeted with a huge, disgusting, black vein of waste! Obviously, I could not eat it and wasted money on the shrimp.
I gave take out one last chance. Prior to ordering, I had a conversation with the Manager about purchasing shrimp that was not clean. I asked him if he could check in the kitchen and make sure it wouldn't happen a second time. He never walked back there but assured me I would have clean shrimp. I get all the way home, bite into my shrimp and spit out another disgusting vein of waste.
I had to drive all the way back, showed the Manager the shrimp, and demanded my money back. He had the audacity to make me stand there and wait while he counted receipts!
I will NEVER give them business again. The restaurant is ordinary, the staff is mediocre, the food is worse than local take-out, and the Manager needs to be fired for his bad attitude!
I've been here once and the food was fair, but the portions were tiny. Â Some of the reviews here cite poor customer service and, while I can't remember out waiter/host being outwardly rude, the staff was not the most responsive I've ever dealt with. Â
The decor is pretty decent. Â Only saving grace is that (I'm pretty sure) it's BYOB.
I was looking for a nice restaurant at a midway point for a date and myself to meet. Â I found Avenue East and that's where we met for dinner.
As for me, I ordered the Pad Thai Noodles. Â It's not been an easy search for me to find delicious Pad Thai Noodels but Avenue East didn't disappoint. Â The chicken was fresh and tender, the sauce was flavorful and tangy just the way I like it. Â The service was good if a bit unfriendly. Â Apparently, it's just a job to the waiters there.
My date must have been living under a rock all his life because he had never been to an Asian restaurant.....ever. Â He agreed to go to be polite. Â So, let's just ignore what his opinion is of this restaurant. Â LOL
Food is great and the food never feels greasy or heavy. Love that they even put some of the nutritional facts next to their menu items. Prices are decent too. Never had a problem with the sushi either. Very modern look and byob which is great. Service is great, although sometimes it's tough when your server has an extremely thich accent and you can barely understand each other. Other than that, love it!
Review Source:The interior decor is modern and very nice, and I love the fact that it's BYOB. (Especially convenient with a liquor store being across the street!)
To start, we had the Wonton Soup. The wontons were very flavorful, as was the broth. They only give you two, small wontons, and I definitely think it could have used one more. Still a good soup.
My dinner was the Japanese Noodles with Chicken. The sauce was very flavorful and all of the vegetables were fresh. Everyone else enjoyed their dishes as well, except the sushi that we shared I felt was below average and not very fresh.
The service was very, very slow and inattentive.
I came here on a Wednesday for lunch, around 12:30. Â I work on Commerce Drive and decided to try Avenue East since my girlfriend was coming to visit me for lunch. Â
There is no parking lot, strictly street parking like the rest of that part of Cranford. Â I found a spot easy enough on the same block. Â A quarter gets you half-hour. Â We were only inside for an hour, and we weren't in a rush.
It wasn't too busy when we went in. Â A couple of tables were seated. Â They let us pick whatever table we wanted. Â The waiters weren't overly friendly, but they weren't mean either. Â They seemed like they were indifferent about the whole situation, just want to do their jobs. Â The were at the table when we needed them.
We ordered two green teas, pretty good. $2.95 each. Â We shared the veggie lo-mein off the lunch menu, it was half the price of the dinner dish, but still a huge portion for $5.50. Â My girldfriend ordered the Roll Combo off the lunch specials,, 2 rolls and a soup/salad for $10. Â I only had some of her Spicy Tuna Roll. Â She said the salmon was Ok. Â I ordered the Sha Cha Chicken off the weekly special menu. Â It was decent and I ate the whole plate, came with a side of brown rice. Â
The two fortunre cookies we got were kind of stale. Weird
Overall, it was a decent lunch. Â Not a bad price for a bigger sized lunch. Â Service was good, but not friendly. Â Food wasn;t bad, but it also wasn;t great. Â
I'd go back, but there are other places I'd probably like to check out in the area before going back. Â I'd say try it out.
Reeaally bad customer service. My mother was dissatisfied with her entree and asked the waiter if it would be possible to change it. He brought the manager over, who said no! That left her with the options to either not eat, or be forced to order an additional entree, which the manager said she'd have to pay for. Not only did I find this unreasonable, he was extremely rude and totally unapologetic. Considering the food here is only mediocre, it's no big loss that we'll never come back.
Review Source:My gf's mother ordered a tofu dish and it was oddly cooked. She asked if they could cook it differently or perhaps get something different. They were super rude and said no. I felt so bad for her. No one deserves to be treated like that. I will never come here again. Btw, the food is average at best.
Review Source:You've got to be kidding!
Owners of avenue east have got you all fooled.
If you're looking for Chinese quality takeout food served on fancy plates and a byo then I guess this is the place for you, especially if you're willing to fork over the extra $$$ to sit down.
Kind of wish I thought of this idea first. I'd be rich!
Don't get me wrong the food is alright, like I said ...good "Chinese take out" quality.
I've been going here almost every Friday night for the past year. Â The food is GREAT (Shrimp and asparagus) the prices are GREAT, the service is so-so. Â It reminds me of a city restaurant, except is BYOB and the prices are soo much better.
One recommendation to the owner/waitstaff- We see you almost every week! You have to remember us by now; its not that big of a restaurant!
I recently took my mother and girlfriend here for a Mother's Day dinner and we had a great time. Â I had dinner here once before, but I wanted to wait until a second meal before writing a review. Â
Avenue East is a trendy looking Asian Fusion place, similar to what you'd expect to find in Manhattan. Â Its decor is mostly dark, but very modern and the seats are all big and comfortable. Â There's even a really nice waiting area in front with comfortable seating. Â The lighting is just right to give the place a sophisticated atmosphere.
Service both times I visited was great. Â The host seated us quickly (despite it being busy) and our waiters were all courteous and answered all our questions. Â The place is BYOB, so we brought a bottle of wine. Â When the cork broke, they actually gave us a replacement rubber cork so we could bring the rest of the wine home! Â Super cool. Â Another neat point is their listing of calorie counts on the menu, which is super helpful to those of us battling the bulge!
So let's get to the food!
SPICY BASIL CHICKEN
I've had many basil chicken dishes before, but most of the time it just tastes like a stir fry with only a hint of basil. Â This dish brings the basil full force, and in a good way. Â The basil and the chicken are the stars of the dish, not peppers or onions. Â Truly a favorite.
GARLIC SPINACH TOFU
This is a simple, yet incredible addicting dish. Â The spinach is always cooked to perfection and the sauce on it is amazingly addictive. Â The tofu is a softer type that melts in your mouth. Â I could eat this every day!
SAMBAL NOODLES
Or as I like to call them "crack noodles". Â The Sambal sauce is a wonderful combination of deep, savory flavors with a touch of sweetness on top. Â The noodles have a nice, soft texture but were never overcooked.
Just writing this review makes me want to go back today! Â If you're in the Cranford area check out Avenue East for a really tasty meal.
First and foremost, my boyfriend and I had an emergency and had to leave for about 45 min. We had already ordered our food and opened our wine (byob) and the staff was very accomodating. We came back and our wine and place settings were still
there and they brought our food right out. With that being said, the food was delicious. Not overly spicey and very tasty with no MSG. Definitely intend to
come back here more often.
Bottom Line:
Respectable Chinese food in a nicely designed, somewhat loud space. BYOB is a draw and a plus. There are lots of Chinese restaurants in the area, though few that offer the scope of dishes of AE. Service is consistently slow and inattentive.
Eh...I want to give this a good review, but I live here in town and there's not much exciting going on here at AE. It's not bad either, it just...is what it is. Adjust your expectations accordingly, and be confident you've made a good choice.
Scoring a parking space directly outside of Avenue East was what started my night out on the right foot. AE is BYOB and luckily there is a liquor store (Breen's) right across the street. Â And they had our favorite Riesling chilling in the fridge (Dr. Loosen's). Two pluses and I'm not even in the door yet.
Our 8:00 PM reservation was honored and we were seated promptly. Â AE was hopping at that point and there were several people waiting for tables. We split an order of edamame...a very small order, might I add. Â Maybe I'm spoiled but this was the smallest plate of edamame I've ever seen. And it had to be split between three people.
We decided on sushi (as per) and ordered a few pieces of sashimi, in addition to the yellowtail jalapeno roll, the Philly roll, the fantasy roll, the rainbow roll and a couple others that escape my memory right now (they were on the special rolls menu). Â A lot of their special rolls come with dipping sauces and the like, which is nice, but in some cases the sauces overpower the rolls and you cannot truly taste the sushi. One negative is that they serve you the rolls on separate plates (due to the sauces, I presume) so we wound up having a table filled with plates with only one roll on them. Since the tables are small, this made for a very crammed situation.
I would agree with the other reviewers that the service is spotty. My friend was dying for a water refill and it took a very long time for our server to swing by our table. She didn't check on us at all. That being said, the prices at AE are very reasonable. Â Most sushi places in North Jersey charge in the upwards of $13-$15 for special sushi rolls. Â Here they were mostly $10.
I might have bumped this review up to 4 stars had my friend not been parched by her lack of water. I hate to watch her suffer.
It definitely is difficult to write an average review.. I went here for a work lunch - found it on yelp, and figured it might be decent. Cranford is a cool little town and this place fits in well - nicely decorated, comfortable - not necessarily authentic but still good.
For the lunch special - i had the sushi and sashimi platter, and a miso soup.. It was ok.
Nice space, great food, great service, low cost, BYOB, lunch specials. . .
I was meeting my parents for dinner, and they were staying in Somerset. Since I live in Garfield, we needed a midway point. I wanted someplace different from where we had eaten before, so I did yelp reviews on Cranford restaurants, and eventually decided on Avenue East. Since I was treating, the BYOB was a plus.
I was very pleased. The space is nice, like it shows on the website, though the tables are a little crowded, and high ceilings with little insulation make it a bit on the loud side.
We had the crispy squid and veggie dumplings. The squid was very very good and the dumplings were also great. I had the green curry with seafood, my mother had the Bangkok crispy fish, and I cant remember what my father had, but we all completely enjoyed our meals.
Yum!! I love this place so so much!
My boyfriend and I frequent Avenue East whenever we're craving chinese but don't want to deal with that post-general tso's chicken-guilt-hangover. The food here is flavorful, apparently healthy, and SO CHEAP!
We always start with a wonton soup because the wontons are insane. It's none of that giant mass of dough you get other places, these are delicate little pouches where you can actually taste the pork and the ginger! I also follow that with the singapore noodles which I actually think I might have an obsession with...I dream about these noodles they're so good!
Overall it's a great place to get really full in a romantic atmosphere on a cheap budget, hello it's BYOB and there is a liquor store across the street! It doesn't get much better.
Avenue East came just short of perfection. With a friendly staff to greet you upon entry, you immediately feel welcome and excited to eat. The atmosphere elicits feelings of comfort, coziness and excitement. Avenue East is a great place to bring a date or even a night out with a group of friends.
My girlfriend and I went on the Saturday night before Valentine's day so needless to say it was PACKED. Definitely recommend making reservations, but what was said to be a 20-30 minute wait ended up being 13 minutes. This is a seemingly small thing, but don't you HATE when they tell you 15 minutes and your wait is actually more like 25?!?! Now going along with the topic of waiting, one thing that was bad for those of us hanging out in the lobby, NO BAR. But hey, BYOB isn't bad either (saves a lot of $$ on the final bill).
Now to the good part, the food. Avenue East boasts a large menu filled with plenty of Asian themed options. They have Chinese, Thai, & Japanese selections... All with a little unique twist that makes some of your favorite Asian dishes sound a bit more enticing than the classics you're used to. Oh, and a weekly specials MENU adds plenty of options for you to choose from.
We started, as we always do, with some appetizers. We split the Pan-Fried dumplings which were cooked extremely well and accompanied with, my favorite, Gyoza sauce. Hot & Sour and Miso soup were next. The Hot & Sour was excellent and my girlfriend being the miso expert she is gave it a thumbs up. Â On to the entrees...Masaman Curry Chicken and Mango Tango, a shrimp/chicken and veggies dish mixed in a sweet & sour'esque sauce served with rice (brown) and served generously on a large white square plate. The Masaman Curry Chicken was superb. Ordered Thai Spicy the dish was expertly season and spiced to give a bite of spicy while not overpowering any of the classic curry/coconut milk taste that drenched the chicken and veggies.
Overall an EXCELLENT restaurant with friendly staff and awesome food. Oh and to pay $39.96 for TWO!!! Definitely warrants a return trip.
My recommendation....GO...again and again and again!
3.5
My go-to Jersey chinese spot. Â This asian fusion BYOB Â restaurant is not the go to for authentic chinese cuisine but definately still serves its purpose of offering low price, good quality grub to the white yuppies in the area. Â The sushi is adaquete and the entrees are good as well. Â The lunch specials here are a great deal and are served with a salad and a spring roll. Â Among the million chinese restaurants in the area this one is my favorite.
For Sunday brunch, it's fairly quiet vs from previous reviews that in the evenings, the place is rocking. Â A modern Asian place with robotic service. Â I had the vegetarian (tofu) green curry. Â The dish was okay not extraordinary. Â My friend who wanted vegetarian massaman curry didn't get any tofu...to me I would have been disappointed as I think tofu makes it vegetarian in curry dishes.
They have an extensive menu so you're bound to like something off it if you're into Asian food (whether it's Chinese, Thai or Japanese).
Parking was easy on the streets in Sunday since there's practically no one around and you get free meter parking.
I could see hip couples dining in here because of the ambience and exotic food.
I've eaten here a few times and also gotten takeout. Â The restaurant can be a little crazed on the weekends and the service a little harried but I definitely feel like they're making an effort to keep things running smoothly. Â
I can recommend the wonton soup - it's probably the best I've had. Â Other dishes I've enjoyed are the Singapore Sling (shrimp & chicken with broccoli and mango) and their sushi rolls. Â The food always taste fresh and isn't greasy or over-salty like Chinese food usually is. Â They also don't skimp on the portion sizes which is much appreciated!
The place is a decent value ($10-15 an entree), and has a trendy decor. Â
The basil beef was low quality and fatty; might keep away from the beef dishes. Â The servers were kind of overstaffed and overeager, trying to clear dishes when we were in the middle of appetizers, and asking twice in 5 minutes if we wanted soda (No).
On the whole, nice looking, good prices, but not a place I'd rave about.
1 bottle, 2 bottles, 3 bottles, 4 ... who really cares when it's BYOB and you don't know who your waiter is.
I think I had 3-4 different staff come to the table, but hey why not, the more the merrier, right?
Beautiful chic NYC style interior, but don't fret, it's definitely not a NYC style crowd. Great for family, great for friends, and just great for about anyone.
Dishes are yummy, sushi is great. Everything I've tried has been great, with no disappointment.
Reservations are highly recommended for the weekend. Â
If you aren't for going out to dine, then take them up on their offer for delivery.
This is a hip Asian fusion restaurant in downtown Cranford. The food is delicious and their menu provides the nutritional information which is appealing for the health conscious. Â The service is quick and if you don't finish your meal, you can always bring it home. My cousins ate the pad thai which was delicious. I had the sweet and sour chicken which was tasty. Â For dessert I had the red bean mochi. Â A perfect way to end the meal!
The atmosphere is relaxing and cool; good for meeting friends and nice for a date. Don't forget a bottle of wine!
This trendy, new Cranford restaurant offers interesting Asian fusion menu. The food tasted good, and prices are reasonable. However, the service is chaotic and impersonal. You're not quite sure who your waiter is, and when dishes are brought to the table by a runner, you get the annoying, "who gets this dish, and who's is this?"
I had dinner here early on a Saturday evening, with my wife and another couple. We each ordered a soup to start. My three companions were served and completely finished their soup before I even got mine. After asking two different servers to check on it, I complained to the head waiter, who apologized, but did not offer to comp the dish. He tried to tell me that my soup takes much longer to prepare. Ridiculous! I've never seen a restaurant that makes soup "to order" one cup at a time, it's made in a big pot in advance, especially if it's a regular menu item.
My companions were embarassed by my belligerence, but there's more to running a pretentious restaurant than just good cooking. You have to coordinate front of house service, too. As a paying customer, I am not afraid to speak up if I have a problem.
As I said, the food was good, so I would be willing to come back on a slower night, and will, hopefully, have a more favorable overall impression of the place.
Nice place to take a date or out with friends.  I liked the relaxed atmosphere, contemporary decor, and good selection of Asian food.  I shared the Spicy Maki Combo (spicy tuna, spicy salmon, & california rolls) with my girlfriends and had the Shrimp Sambal for myself.  Although next time I'll ask for more spice, because it was noted on the menu as spicy but  was actually quite mild.  The desserts are served in small portions, so order two to share if you're hungry.  I also suggest you try the iced lychee drink.
It's BYOB/BYOW, but there's a liquor store right accross the street!
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