Reviews for No. 12 in Ridgewood, NJ
Love the speakeasy concept, but unfortunately the concept is very poorly executed. For starters, the service was terrible - our... waiter had no familiarity with the menu, read the specials right out of his notebook, and had no sense of how to space outservice of the dishes from a timing perspective to ensure our meal wasn?t rushed. Although we are fans of tapas style eating,these small plates left much to be desired. The menu consists of many appealing items, though they lack imagination. The tasteof the food was okay, though a few items, such as the octopus, were not cooked properly. The presentation was abysmal, withgarnishes restricted to parsley and iceberg lettuce. The food was also clearly precooked based on how quickly each dish came toour table - the food would arrive less than five minutes after each order (we spaced out our own orders after seeing how quicklythe first few dishes flooded our table). From an ambience perspective, the place has a fun vibe, which makes it well suited tolarger group gatherings, such as birthdays and bachelorette parties, as long as service/food quality aren?t high on the prioritylist. When we were there, the restaurant was playing 90s hip hop music, which, while fun, was far too loud for easyconversation. It was not background music - it felt more like what you?d experience at a bar. We won?t be back, or at least notuntil some major service overhauls take place. In our view, this place needs better management, needs to recruit moreexperienced staff or at least provide training to its staff on basic principles of restaurant service, and needs to get a littlemore creative/sophisticated in the kitchen. Our experience was no better than what I?d expect at the average chain restaurant. Read more
Went here for a bridal shower and everything was great. Service was quick and food was so delicious. The decor makes you really... feel like you are in a speakeasy which for cocktails and something small to eat is perfect. It is quite dark inside but that'sthe vibe of the place as they are going for the speakeasy look. I'm definitely going back to try the cocktails they make as thedrinks were provided by the hosts not the restaurant. Also, it's a bit hard to find, so when you're looking at Stella on thecorner go to the right of it and walk down the alley, it's the blue door on the left. Read more
Where do I even start! From the outside. So I love the cool speakeasy vibe where the main entrance is hidden in an alley and you... need a special door code to enter. Something totally different and unique for Ridgewood. Upon entering I was greeted by Zaid, hewelcomed us in, was super police, warm and friendly! The lighting, decor, and music fit the vibe perfectly for the speakeasytheme. Definitely works for a first date spot as well if you kinda wanna take your date to an intimate spot. To the food, Ireally liked a bunch of things on the menu so tried about 10 items. The plates are tapas style so they are great for sharing. Wehad the claim chowder fries, oysters on the half shell, ceviche, grilled oysters, scallops, foie Gras, octopus, and honey glazedcarrots. For dessert we had the beignet which was perfectly crafted. Everything was delicious! My favorites were the octopus,scallops, and beignet. Lastly the service by Zaid was top notch! He was very attentive, knowledgeable about the menu and madegreat recommendations. The service alone is a reason to go back alone. I definitely look forward to going back again soon! Read more
Had an amazing experience at No. 12. Jake was our server and made our night that much more enjoyable. Food was delicious and... came out fast with reasonable prices. Made this reservation about a month in advance and was definitely worth the wait Read more
Bottom line: so good I want to leave a bad review so I can get reservations when I want. Gluten line: very willing to... accommodate and knowledgeable of their ingredients. Bottom line: the whole thing is more about the experience. From getting thereservation, to arriving and how well they play along with keeping it hush hush, getting the code and walking to the side door,to finally getting inside and feeling the very intimate atmosphere. Wifey and I had a blast. Even the menu is only written onthe large glass pictured. Servings are not as small as they say. From a culinary standpoint we were pleasantly impressed. Wewill definitely be back. Read more
A+ dining experience. So cool that you need a code to unlock the door. First off, it's BYOB so plus points right there. We had... oysters to start. They have a phenomenal selection of east coast to west oysters, be sure to try a variety! The menu changesweekly (good thing, because we will be frequent diners). It is mostly small plates but some plates are larger than others(chops, steaks, etc). Everything we ate was delicious. First, they give you fresh baked bread which was maybe the best bread Id ever eaten. We started with burrata toast which was delicious. Then we had the short rib stuffed peppers which were creativeand tasty. The clam chowder fries might've been the best plate of the night. Chicken pie was hearty and very tasty. The pastawas the best pasta I've had in years (and uses fresh-made daily pasta from their sister store around the corner). Simpleingredients executed perfectly. We finished with the beignets which are very light so if you have even a little bit of room inyour stomach, make it happen. Prices are fair for the quality/experience. Looking forward to the return. Read more
Have a little mixed feelings on the place. The good: It's a really cool way to get into the restaurant. You go to their sister... restaurant Stella Artisan and get a card with a code on it. You then walk down the alleyway, punch in the code, and voila you'reinside a really vibin speakeasy style restaurant. They have an oyster bar which was great - all so fresh with a nice variety.The food was pretty good. The honey glazed carrots were a surprise hit, the chevre truffle dip(?) was tasty at first but startedto get overpowering after a few bites, and the scallops were okay. The bad: So the food was mostly solid, like I mentioned, thechevre truffle dip was a little overpowering after a few bites and not that great once it got a little cold, and the scallopswere fine but nothing special. But what I had a little issue with was the bread. They serve you freshly baked bread in this cutelittle mini pot and it was delicious. But the problem is that they charge you for the bread but dont even mention they're goingto charge you when they bring it out. Like instead of paying, what $7, for the bread I would have rather put the money towardsanother plate. I dunno, it just peeves me when places bring you something without disclosing the details. Also the reservationsystem kind of sucks. I got the email that they opened up reservations for the month so checked probably 20 min after it gotsent to my inbox and the website was telling me that there were no availabilities at all. Not just no availabilities for aspecific date but for any date. So then I set up a notice to get alerted to any openings and then all of a sudden I get noticeafter notice saying they have availabilities all of a sudden. But overall, it was nice. Is it overpriced? Yeah kind of. I dontthink I'd necessarily be jumping and saying I want to go again, but it's like one of those places where you dont mind if otherpeople want to go. P.S it's a tapas style place, byob but they do have a selection of wines, an Read more
Let's be clear. You are not a speakeasy if you don't serve alcohol. Sure, it's BYO, but that's not what I was expecting from a... "speakeasy". Anyway, the food was good and the service was attentive. The waiter recommended the rigatoni special which was myfavorite. But the music was awful and too loud. Really set the wrong mood for a small intimate "speakeasy". Early 2000s rapmusic does not pair well here. DMX while eating oysters? No thanks. The tables were also a bit small so they could have done abetter job spacing out the courses/plates that came out. But I was too distracted by the awful music selection. Read more