Ernie's Pub & Grille

OK, I feel terrible about this review, but alas it must be done.  First and foremost, let me tell you that the service and attitude of everyone we encountered was fantastic!!  

We started out with the Smoked Salt & Pepper Wings, which were super flavorful, but way too salty.....I understand the description of said wings :-)  I ordered the Ribeye steak and my GF ordered the Shrimp Alfredo, both had their issues.  My ribeye was actually inedible due to the huge amount of gristle and fat (not the standard marbling you would normally see), plus it had zero seasoning (salt/pepper) and her shrimp were terribly over cooked and also had zero seasoning.  We ended up getting the ribeye replaced with a NY Strip, which was cooked well, but also had zero seasoning.

We noticed that all of the employees were very courteous and friendly, which is sometimes very hard to find.  The owner ended up comping my dinner, as well as our appetizer, which was certainly appreciated.  I feel that with such fantastic people working here, that they may be held hostage by their chef/cooking staff, as with changes there, this place could be great.

We are undecided on a return visit, as the food was so terrible, but the people and service was so great......maybe just drinks.

Yelp should allow 1/2 stars...would have only given it 3 1/2...so the 4 is generous.

Just returned from dinner this evening - been seeing the sign from 35E for a while now, and we decided to find out what it was all about.  Overall a pleasant dining experience - great, friendly service, above average food. From a first glance they are trying to be a high-end dining establishment in the middle of a Country Kitchen décor.  Menu touted "fresh food" and they delivered on that.   While they've added new light fixtures, the rest of the interior hasn't been updated too much in the dining area....even the salt & pepper shakers appear to be from the old restaurant.

My dining partner and I shared the "prime rib, 5 courses for two" meal offered on Friday & Saturday nights.   Popovers were good as well as the salads and chicken wing appetizer.   The smoker added a significant amount of flavor, so I recommend trying the wings if you're not getting anything else from the smoker when dining there.  When the prime rib came out, it was a very generous portion - well over the 10oz. that was promised.   Again, surprisingly good flavor from the smoker (I've never had smoked prime rib before) but it didn't have the "melt in your mouth" texture that one expects from prime rib - but it did come out mid-rare like we ordered it.

A couple words of advice for management:
- If you're going to have enough class to serve the auju in a metal sauce boat, then take the baked potato out of the tin foil before serving.
- Creme brulee being finished tableside is a nice touch....unless of course it's done with a blowtorch and one pound propane tank from the Home Depot.   Either do it in the back or spend $29.95 on a chef grade torch.  I would also recommend not sticking the tools under your armpit, as the next person will then will have armpit stink on their hands while handling the food.  Yum!
- The 15% referral discount coupon was a GREAT idea - more restaurants need to do that to bring in new customers.   Recommend that you have it last for at least 45 days though...having it expire at the end of April is probably going to make it hard to find someone willing to try you out.

All this said, I'm going to give it another shot...would love to try their patio out when (or if) the weather improves.

Came in for Sunday brunch and was greeted (?) by an extremely rude host who nearly turned us away because we didn't have a reservation, the restaurant was half full at best... The guy spent the entire time micromanaging the rest of the staff and guests. The food was good and our server was a sweetheart, but the host almost killed the whole experience.