always have a great time here. Â food is worth every penny and its not overpriced at all. Â one of my favorite barstaffs in the area, kevin is just as good as they get and its nice to see a place hire competent attentive bartenders. Â i recommend the tuna tartar and def go for a smokehouse burger.
Review Source:My entire family LOVES this place. We moved to Scotch Plains 4yrs ago and heard about the "free bar-b-que" and thought for sure there HAD TO BE a catch. No catch, just delicious, well seasoned tender bar-b-que. We "donate" what we like and then get A COUPON TO COME BACK for that amount! How can you go wrong? I Â frequent this neighborhood restaurant all through the yr and More times than I can count (even with co-workers) and have NEVER been disappointed!
Review Source:I always enjoyed going to this place when they have bands or on a busy night. Its average american dining, they do have great burgers and really good seafood specials.
The bar area is large and gets very crowded but its a fun time. The resturant is also very big, they have a lot of parking but again it gets packed.
If you have never been and you want the big bar scene that is loud with good food, go on a busy night thurs-sat night.. If you want to enjoy a good meal, obviously come earlier then check out the bar scene for later. If you want to relax do not go here when they have events planned.
Bottom line, just go!
Went to dinner for their Ravioli Mondays, all you can eat along with soup or salad and a half a craft of house wine. Â I opted for the onion soup, hit the stop, and declined the house wine so I can't comment on the quality. You have a choice of 6 types of ravioli and 5 sauces. Â I did ask the waitress's for sauce combinations for the ravioli I wanted to try and she was knowledgable of the popular combos. Â Spinach and mushroom with basil cream and goat cheese with vodka were our favorites, least was the smoked chicken and their marinara sauce is just ok.
Review Source:LOVE this place. Â I love it extra on Tini Tuesdays (yes, any cocktail drink on the menu is half price which works out to be $5).
The menu has a fair selection whether you are in the mood for pub food (burgers, club sandwiches, pizza, salads) or something fancier (scallops, roast chicken, steak, lamb, etc). Â They also have homemade ravioli which I've only tried once and it was just OK (pasta was a little undercooked).
The food items I've also loved in the past: the pizza, the prime rib sandwich, the ahi tuna sandwich.
Went here for lunch on a Monday. The lay out of the place is pretty cool. It's old. You kind of feel like you're in a saloon from the Wild West.
I went with the $12 pulled pork lunch special, which was pretty good, but messy! The fries sucked and were clearly frozen. The salad that came with the lunch special was pretty basic and the house dressing was nothing to write home about, but the service was pretty friendly and efficient. Four of us were in and out for lunch within an hour.
The bar was packed on a Monday afternoon so maybe this place is better or grabbing a beer than a bite.
I drop in from time to time and really enjoy this place. I took one of my best friends here for lunch today for her birthday and we had a blast. We're both very picky as to what ingredients are in the food. The waiter was great, running back and forth to the kitchen in order to answer all our questions. We also were indecisive. The waiter kept coming back to our table, always with a smile on his face. He truly had a lot of patience with us.
I had the seafood raviolis and they were delicious. If you order the "large" it comes with a big salad. Everything was fresh. We cleaned our plates and were too full to order dessert.
I love the atmosphere in the back area, away from the sports bar area. It's just so cozy and a nice place to take your time eating and kill a few hours.
Again, I can't say enough about how great our service was today. We wanted him to take a photo and I had the camera on the wrong setting, but our waiter kept taking pictures until we got it right. And when he was busy, another waiter was right there being attentive to us.
Amazing!
I simply adore this restaurant. Â They've got the whole rustic charm working very well for them. Â They've got several small dining rooms that makes it feel cozy and romantic. Â But they've got large dining rooms too and two great bar areas indoors and one huge outdoor bar area that I'm sure is a big hit in the summer. Â
I think my favorite item on their menu is their homemade ravioli. Â Figuring out which type of ravioli and sauce is my favorite is like figuring out which one's my favorite child. Â They're all so good!
The service is always friendly and the food always comes out fast and hot. Â
I can't recommend this place enough and if I come here more often, I'd be in danger of becoming disgustingly obese!
Came here again, the service wasn't very good this time. When we walked in and asked for a table for 3, the hostess said "oh it will be at least an hour"
We left for 20 minutes and waited for our 3rd. Instead of going somewhere else we tried again, how long for a table for 3? "we can seat you right now if you want to sit inside." So the whole time, they had tables inside, they just assumed we wanted to sit outside without asking.
Our server was not very friendly, but she didn't get mad when i changed my order (2 minutes after ordering) from a steak sandwich to a beet salad & chilli. Most of the dishes here are decent, the buffalo pizza wasn't very good, weird texture in the dough and too much sauce.
Not amazing, just ok.
I love the casual - slash - new American gourmet food here and the bartenders are super friendly (waves to Kevin, most awesome maker of margaritas and mojitos ever). My favorite thing is to sit at "the little bar" where we are more likely to get a seat. This place is huge, with indoor and patio seating for at least 200 if not more. The ravioli is freshly made and comes in lots of flavors - come by Monday nights for "ravioli Mondays" when you can get all you can eat ravioli, a salad, and a half carafe of wine. I forget the price but it's a great deal.
Review Source:We had gone here for a friends birthday get together and when we walked in through the back we thought it was so cool! The outside seating and bar area, walking through to the inside bar area, it was pretty awesome looking. Too bad it was 100 degrees outside or we would have sat outside for a little and hung out but no thanks to sweaty, uncomfortable eating situations.
The group had a back room with two tables split between two rooms and a TV, with a bathroom that is really only supposed to be for handicap, and an upstairs area with a pool table! Free pool! The menu is pretty big and has a lot of things to choose from for vegetarians and meat eaters alike, lots of drinks and beers. They even have smaller portions or large portions, which I like because I can never eat all of my meal.
Mozz sticks were tasty, they were smaller than normal ones I am used to but tasted delicious. Calamari was great too. I ordered the small ravioli portion of mushroom and spinach with the creamy basil sauce and it was yummy! I really enjoyed it. Some other people said the goat cheese ravioli with that sauce is better so maybe next time. He ordered a vegetable sandwich that came with a side salad and he really enjoyed it too! Our waitress was a little awkward but it wasn't that bad of service.
I think this is a great place for a happy hour with friends, casual dinner, or just to hang out and eat/drink. I like the outside seating area a lot, always next time!
i go past this restaurant at least once a day. I finally had the occasion to check it out and it was worth the wait.
Wait a minute could you repeat that free BBQ now how does that work?? Seating in the back patio 50 minute wait... Â side patio available now. Â Ok I'm willing to try anything once. Â The free BBQ is a good gimmick to get customers back to this location and you know what I'll be back.
Although I could not at first distinguish what was on the BBQ plate? The pulled pork was delicious. Â The Beef Brisket was tasty I wasn't too the sausage was ok... and the ribs were good. Â I was not knocked out by the sides I had the cucumber tomato and onion salad, and vegetable medley. Â Definitely will go again and try the regular menu.
I've been hearing a lot about this place.
The FREE barbecue. Finally after a year of waiting. It was finally open!
You have to sit at the patio to get this deal. I came on memorial day.
Luckily, it wasn't too crowded.
First. Technically, it's not free. They want you to buy a gift certificate for the restaurant inside. Honestly, I don't like the inside. It's kind of dark and had that old building odor. You can put any amount you want on it so you can make it free.But I feel bad to put such a small amount. so... it didn't really feel like a free thing.
Second. They make the money off the sides and drinks. The barbecue meat is free. All the sides are not. It's individual size and they are pretty pricey. Their raw bar is pretty up there in price too.
The food itself was pretty good. The barbecue was moist and lightly sauced. Their cole slaw was reminiscent of KFC's. (Which is awesome!)
I think my expectations were too high for this place.
I'm sure you can definitely get your money's worth here.
It's definitely more of a check off my list of places to try but not somewhere I'll frequently visit.
WOW was I disappointed. I'll start by saying that this review is for the Stage House Inn, not the Tavern which is the bar/outdoor area attached to it.... which is a distinction that I don't think all of the other raters have considered.
I came here back in 2004 with my parents (when the restaurant bosted a 4 star rating in Zagats, I believe one of the only in NJ), and experienced one of the best steaks of my life. The place seemed pretty pricey and I never really thought to return without some special occasion. I finally found something terrific to celebrate and decided to go to the Stage House. I've been to the Tavern several times since it has opened, and it's a fairly typical bar with some mediocre bar food and a raw bar that serves old shellfish, but I still assumed that the Stage House Inn preserved the quality that I had once experienced.
Almost immediately upon sitting down, we were approached (not by our waitress, but) by a magician "hired by the restaurant" to perform magic during our meal. I'm not sure what the purpose of this is, I'm guessing to encourage children to come to the restaurant, but it didn't really fit with the atmosphere, and I was dining with one other adult. Now on to the menu... I did not realize that in the 8 or so years it's been since I last went to the Stage House Inn ("the fancy side"), they completely scrapped the menu and combined it with the mediocre bar food that is served at the Tavern. I'm guessing this was to reduce the price point and encourage the younger clientelle from the bar side to pay for a full meal instead of just free bbq or $5 bar pies.
The person I was with got a filet mignon, which was fine, cooked properly to order, but was basically just sitting in an au jus. Granted, I don't remember what was promised in the menu, but I was expecting something more interesting from a formerly 4 star rated restaurant. I ordered a tuna steak which (not a steak, but more like sushi...) was covered in dried seaweed and tasted... like seaweed. The sauce that was offered with it helped to hide the ocean taste, but there wasn't enough of it for me to properly saturate my food with. After all this, didn't bother with dessert.
In conclusion, I'm not really sure why the restaurant continues to make a distinction between the Inn and the Tavern, as the menus are the same, and the Inn is just a boring version of the Tavern. From now on if I want a celebratory meal, I will not be coming here... I will reserve my Stage House visits for free BBQ and $5 bar pies... which are awesome.
Ummmm... how can anyone hate on a place that offers FREE BBQ in the summer on the deck with drink specials all day n evening? Â I mean come on??? Â I had the pleasure of going a couple times last summer and I really can't wait to go again. Â Memorial Day to Labor Day. Â And goes on from 5-10 Mon-Fri and 4-9 on Sun. Â That's right. Â GO GINA GO GINA!! Â Bringing my family out to eat has never been better! Â We get to go and enjoy free BBQ when we finish we get up and move to a different area so other patrons can get their free.99 BBQ on.
Who cares... Seriously I'll play musical chairs all day for a deal like this. Â The prices for some of the items on the actual menu were a little high. Â Paid $11 for my burger. Â And some of the prices on the other meals were just unreasonable for a place like this. Â Kind of took the fun out of the whole free BBQ thing. Â
So you could very well go out with like $25 here and get a really nice buzz, a full yummy, and what sure will be a great time no matter who you go with. Â It's a casual laid back atmosphere. Â Maybe some of my yelp friends will come with me this Summer!
Two words: love it!! The atmosphere here is awesome. Very relaxing and inviting outdoor area with a bar and ample seating. The interior is nice and cozy too. Always live music on weekends. The food is great! I love their pulled pork sandwich and the drink selection is not bad either. A bit on the pricier side, but well worth it!
Review Source:What a random find!
I managed to stumble upon the Stage House trying to find a place to watch the Giants/ GB playoff game. The main bar room was swamped, so we were lucky enough to find the other small bar in the restaurant. Seriously, it was quite the find.
Their happy hour specials were absurd... $2 bar pies... yes please. 1/2 off apps, and cheap beer. Three of us drank & ate throughout the game and our bill was $50! Even better than our cheap beer were the people there. Our bartender Matt was on point and consistently interacted with all the regulars & the staff; all of which seemed to know each other. It was an odd/awesome smalltown bar feel. Its something rarely experienced these days. I'll definitely be back soon
My review refers to the bar area.
Was taken there by a friend during football season. Sat at the bar, ordered the specials and draft beer. The $2 bar pies were a steal and the drafts were reasonably priced.
Although it was my first time there, I felt very much at home alongside the "locals". A most friendly atmosphere among the crowd and staff. And very diverse, from those wearing football jerseys sitting next to those dressed more formally.
In the end, the quintessential neighborhood hangout, free of rowdiness or pecking order. To spend 4-5 hours there and come away spending under $20 makes me a fan. I will consider them for dinner in their formal dining room.
We live close by and never tried this place. We were given a gift certificate by some friends and decided to try it out. We were pleasantly surprised! Â The wine selection is decent and they have an assortment of specialty drinks. Â My husband had a dirty martini, that he said was fantastic! Â
My husband had the gazpacho and top necks to start with. He only got 6 clams and wished he ordered more they were that good....fresh and the sherry cocktail sauce was delish! Â We also ordered the garlic bread, which was ok...
For the main course, I had the BBQ burger...it was fantastic!!! Â Cooked to perfection. The BBQ sauce is so good....sweet and spicy. Their fried are crunchy and the cold slaw was home made. My husband had the short ribs. They were moist and so flavorful....mashed potatoes were home made too! Â
We shared the apple pie for dessert. A little lite on the vanilla ice cream, but the pie was pretty good. All and all, we were happy with the food and the service. We would definitely go back.
We first went here 4 years ago and it was a total dud. They had an awful menu. The prix-fixe dinner options were awful in that they executed the food poorly. Â
Fast forward three years we have revisited twice and the food, ambience and service were all fine. Â We have yet to try the free summer BBQ deal but it looks delicious. Get there early, the people who were being served BBQ were going ape for it and the yummy drinks. Â
The place is very affordable and they have a lunch special which is awesome for $10. Â
Most importantly to me, they have a really fresh selection of clams and oysters, I mean really fresh, meaning you can still taste the brine and seafood of the ocean in your raw clams and oysters. Â The raw clams are a buck a piece and east coast oysters are 2 bucks.All day, this rivals any oyster happy hour in NYC anywhere!
Cool, historic restaurant that I've been wanting to try for quite some time. We went with some friends after they told us about an all-you-can-eat BBQ night. The platters that came out were mediocre but we had a great time stuffing our faces! The BBQ sauce was actually pretty tangy and enjoyable but the meat wasn't the highest quality (because of the buffett format for the evening)
Review Source:I can't believe we didn't already review this place! We're biased because we met here and got engaged here, so we have many fond memories of The Stage House. I will try to be objective though... Â we've been here many many times so I'll give a run down of the good and bad... we came here for a special tasting of raviolis and wine, and the ravioli dishes were great! The dining area is nice, but we mostly go for the inside and outside bar areas. We absolutely LOVE the free BBQ which opens when the outside patio opens. You can eat as much BBQ as you want (and it's surprisingly GOOD!) and then pay what you want... and what you pay is what you get as a gift certificate to the dining area. So if you decide you want to pay $10 for your unlimited BBQ, you'll get a $10 gift certificate to use in the dining area. Obviously they do this to promote their dining area, which is more expensive, but I still think it's a great deal. In the winter (when the outside BBQ is closed) if you order a BBQ dish in the formal dining area, they will give you a gift certificate to use in the bar area. Really cool idea me thinks!
Bar food= average. The last time we got a bar pie, it was soggy and kinda gross. Other times it's been better. They have happy hour 4-6pm Mon-Fri and there is a list of half price apps. Pass on the calamari. Drinks are $1 off, so nothing spectacular for happy hour. Sometimes the soda can be flat and nasty, which has happened when I've ordered a rum and coke. I think it's safer to order beer bc their expensive specialty drinks (They have a list of fancy drinks in the $8-$10 range) don't have much liquor in them. The pomegranate margarita WASN'T good.
Overall, it's a fun place to get together with some friends for a beer.. there are plenty of TVs everywhere so you can catch whichever game is on at the time... and now that the outside patio is open, it's even better! There are TVs out there too. On the weekends they have live music in the bar area and usually that brings a slightly older crowd (40's). There is also a pool table upstairs. I'm giving this place 4 stars bc it's a fun hang out, albeit the average bar food. The free BBQ and delicious raviolis make up for it. :-)
*3.5 Stars*
Drove past this place a few times and was curious to try it. Finally did so and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect much but typical pub fare, tight seating and spotty service. I was correct on the food but place is pretty big inside with lots of tables, 3 floors of seating and good service. We split the buffalo chicken fingers (money!). I ordered the pulled pork sandwich. My friend had the tuna salad. I liked the pork but the bread was over toasted and was falling apart. Fries were decent and crispy. The salad was good (based on what my friend told me) but didn't like the tuna. I explained "you don't go to a pub style restaurant and order raw tuna...". As I always say, "stick with what they are known for and rarely venture away from the standards". They also had pizza on the menu, steaks, chicken dishes and burgers (which I should have gone with but bailed at the last second). Service was attentive and friendly. The GM even walked around greeting people and asking how their meal is. Best of all their prices are reasonable and you get a good amount of food.
***The outside area, which was closed due to it being cold, seems really cool. The set up is tables and a bar outside. Definitely will be returning when the weather is nicer. Plenty of parking in the lot nearby***
Stage House was a delicious stop near Route 2 in Scotch Plains. The place is HUGE and divided into 2 sections -- a more casual side with a bar and tables, and a more formal side for an intimate setting.
I was here for a retirement dinner, so we were brought all the way upstairs to a table seated OVER the chandelier of the Inn -- it was really cool, and I'd never had a seat like that. We had a party of 15, and for the amount of people we had, the service was EXCELLENT. Our waiter had to keep traveling up and down 2 flights of stairs from us to the chef's room to get our food, and he was extremely prompt and polite.
The food was reasonably priced and tasted delicious. I had the Blackened Mahi-Mahi burger with a small side salad and some Balsamic Vinaigrette -- VERY TASTY.
I'll be coming by here with my girlfriend to check out the more intimate side of the Inn, but otherwise, this place was terrific.
I went there tonight to use up my $10 gift certificate from the summer bbq, which was also very good. I ordered a garden salad with balsamic, and the full rack of lamb with grilled seasoned veggies, roast garlic potatoes, pistachio demi-glaze. The meal was excellent and filled me up. The lamb was perfectly cooked and flavorful. The vegetables were the tastiest I've had as the seasoning was very good. The potatoes with the demi-glaze was also good. These three items complemented each other well.
For dessert I had the bourbon pecan pie with chantilly cream, which was quite sweet but still tasty nonetheless and an excellent way to top off my meal. While the meal was pricey ($34 with coupon), I felt it was worth it considering the fare and the quality.
What I also find attractive about this spot is that it can be a classy restaurant and sportsbar at the same time as flatscreens playing football adorned most of the seating area. As I mentioned, I came here during summer for the outdoor bbq, which I found to be delicious and also allowed me to appreciate a more posh setting. Oh and the service was good as the waitress was friendly and although my salad order was initially messed up, they brought me the right salad quickly.
Given I love football yet prefer fare that is more exquisite than that found at a typical sports bar, I give this place a thumbs up.
I asked relatives for a recommendation for a restaurant where I could get a steak and my college age son could get a burger. She recommended the tavern side of stagehouse. It fit the bill perfectly.
The service was so-so, and the only thing keeping it from 5 stars. The waitresses in our section kept going to their station to check their texts. I had the Tavern steak, and my son had his burger. All good, with lots of beers on tap.
I've been to this restaurant twice. Â The first time I came with family and ate in the dining room - I thought it was stuffy and was not impressed with the food at all. Â I didn't think I'd be returning.
The second time I came (reluctantly), I was pleasantly surprised. Â The outdoor area was bustling - while we waited for a table outside, we sat at the bar and ordered some beers and a bar pizza (only $5!) Â It was great.
We were seated within 15 minutes and I had a salad of some sort - I can't remember, but I was happy with it. Â Some of the people I was with had the BBQ where you pay what you want. Â They said it was pretty decent. Â Overall, I was pleased with this place the second time around - I would stick to the bar and outdoor area in the future.
This review is for the main dining room, not the boisterous wine bar, which I should have chosen. Â While I did like this place a long time ago, it was haute french dining, they have now (a few years ago it seems) to have changed format in to a less formal dining option. Â The menu is just OK, seems a little too informal for my taste, i mean the empanadas were served on wax paper in a basket a la bowlmore lanes. Â
They tried hard, really they did, my scallop main was almost consistent, but it was over done and each scallop was a different size and texture, and they left the "foot" on it.  Eww.  Dessert was redeeming as their pies are made in house and the apple pie a la mode was really nice, served warm.  The slice was a bit big, but no problems finishing.  Will  I go back, maybe just to check out the wine bar scene which seems to be much more happening than the main dining room.
Any vestige of this being an upscale restaurant is gone. The tablecloths are still linen, and the waitstaff wear ties, but that's about it. On a Thursday night, the Tavern/sports bar annex was so jammed, that the fine dining side was crowded with t-shirt and-shorts-clad families. You know you're in trouble when a hand-written sign at the entrance says, "Welcome to our Dinning Room".
The formal dinner menu has been merged with the bar menu on one card. The tempura fried shrimp ($12.50) were greasy, and a small portion. The fish in the mahi mahi sandwich ($10) was dry and leathery, I could barely chew it. It was served with the optional limp green salad instead of cole slaw and fries, which I would have preferred. My bad for not specifying that, although, it would have been nice if the waiter had asked my preference when I ordered it.
My wife had a filet mignon ($29), which she said was good. Fortunately, it was reasonably close to medium-rare as requested, because they didn't bother to give her a steak knife. The reheated side of Potatoes Dauphinoise tasted like it had been sitting around for quite awhile. She didn't get any bread and butter until her entrée arrived, and that was only after asking.
The service was so erratic and slow, that the waiter offered to comp us a dessert, a slice of homemade cheesecake, which was lackluster, and for which we were given soup spoons with which to eat it, rather than dessert forks.
I ordered a Dry Sack sherry ($10) from the menu. The waiter confessed that he had to go down into the basement to search for it. It tasted old, and not in a good way.
It's another "great venue, horrible clientele" situation in my opinion (talking about nightlife). Â Very douchey, uber preppie, wanna get in a fight crowd. Â I'm sure if you're a townie and are a regular the outdoor area is nice and it's great to see all of your high school friends, but as an outsider it's too weird and rather uncomfortable. Â Crappy cover band, poorly designed floorplan to result in numerous bottlenecks, and just a subpar crowd adds heavily to my not wanting to come here.
Review Source:We visited late on a Friday night for a quick bite and I had the blackened mahi mahi sandwich which was in indeed quite good. When we got the bill I was surprised to see that the dirty martini exceeded the cost of one of the meals ordered. I know drinks can get expensive but in Scotch Plains, NJ? Perhaps this is how their BBQ promotion brings in money which I will be sure to check out when it is back in season. (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stagehouserestaurant.com%2FBBQ.html&s=a10a56367984cecc19c1d852abe5701a18e8590c76ea6f3ce1ff651cd107b829" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.stagehouseres…</a>)
The real source of the three stars for me (I would have bumped it up to four) was the 80's cover band that was playing way too loud, at least for the mediocrity of their quality, to be enjoyable. (At least we were on the second floor to get a little distance) Yes, I hate to admit I am a fan of 80's music but in this setting it did not work at all at least for me personally. Others seemed to be enjoying it, so to each their own, and whether 'ear goggles' (that's lousy rhyming extension of 'beer goggles') had anything to do with it there was no way to tell.
I will certainly come back to check out more of the food and will be sure to do it on an evening when the entertainment is not there (or they have someone else booked).
I spent a very enjoyable evening here the other night. Â We sat in the Dining Room, with its old hardwood floors, like something out of the House of Seven Gables, with the low-beamed ceiling and general ambiance giving the impression of an old New England inn - or an old New Jersey inn, which sounds more attractive? Â The lamb shank was delicious - didn't even need a knife, the meat literally fell off the bone. Â The lady got the grilled salmon - I stole a piece and it was good. The risotto was excellent - not mushy, not crunchy, but perfect. Â That with a glass of wine, with white table cloth service, a creme brulee that could have been warmer, and a waiter that was halfway between a boy band contestant and an Ivy Leaguer preppy, just added to the atmosphere. Â Afterwards, a drink in the Tavern, with plenty of large screen televisions catering to all your sporting needs, is a great closer.
Review Source:
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
