Library III Restaurant

It's about time that not only the folks over at Library III hear this, but future patrons as well...

Southern Jersey is inundated with franchised food establishments, thus Library III served as my go-to cozy, low-key, no-frills restaurant. The lounge serves its purpose with basic bar food, at a reasonable price. DO NOT eat in their main seafood/steak dining room if you have a refined pallet--it will surely disappoint.

This review is primarily based on the lounge--the main dining room is not even a consideration because the food is THAT bad, and the prices match those of Stephen Starr restaurants, sans edible quality.

The Bar/Lounge:

Do not, I repeat, do not sit down in that lounge if you are sincerely hungry. The food takes forever, and the service is almost nonexistent. BUT when you do get your food it is consistently hot and delicious. This is the ONLY reason I have returned to this restaurant more than once. I know that the ex-ballerina waitress is going to be a b*tch. I know that the meek older waitress will barely say two words, and that I have to be aggressive in getting her to take my order (and with having her come back to my table).

We do not typically drink alcohol, so we usually order water. They started charging $2 for water. The owner explained this is because people would come watch the musicians, occupy a waitresses table, and order only water. Fair. I get that, you can't make money and it's not fair to the servers, to have people taking up space. BUT do you have to charge patrons who actually order food? That's completely illogical. The most recent time, my guest ordered a soda, and I ordered an iced-tea. We were charged for each refill, the waitress never told us that they charged for refills, thus I was confused when I saw how much money we spent "drinking." I asked our waitress how the drinks came to that price and she screamed at me! I was only trying to understand, since I usually just got water. I had no idea. Most reputable restaurants offer free refills (especially bars/lounges). Anyway, I then consulted with the owner, expressing concern over being charged $2 for water, but also that I was unaware that they would charge for refills of soda. He persisted to tell me that EVERY restaurant he knows of charges for refills, and that they're 20 oz. glasses. You can't tell me that I drank 40 oz. of iced-tea in an hour (because an hour is how long it took to order, make, and eat a chicken sandwich and fries... it and takes EXTRA long when they're not busy, ironic).

You know, it's just unfortunate. I like the Library III, I think they would be very successful if they just put in that extra, but necessary, effort. They just don't care. The owner. The waitstaff. The cooks. It doesn't work. The bar food is good. The bar prices are good. The atmosphere is cozy. But when you have a defensive owner, matched with a miserable and unforgiving waitstaff... waiting an hour for a reasonably priced, and yummy chicken sandwich hardly seems worth it... and of course, your $2 water.

I want to make it known that I raised these concerns and issues to the owner of the restaurant, who kindly heard me out, though with no apologetic or sympathetic revere. Now, I, myself, am a business owner in the service industry. The way in which he disregarded my concerns only validated the stagnant nature of this restaurant. The restaurant will die with its most loyal patrons.

Have been a customer of Library for 30 years. This visit found an old and tired location with a definite decrease in food quality and detail. For a steakhouse I was very disappointed in the grade of steak that I received(tbone). The service was subpar with little to no attention paid by our server even though there was an average crowd. Had we not been prior customers we would not have known the ordering procedure and salad bar location.   This location appears to need some new energy.

Ambience: Warm & cozy place friendly wait staff, (old home-towm feel)

GET THE PRIME RIB, forget the salad bar.

check for their Sunday specials.