McLoones in the reservation?

Any thoughts on this place?  Did you enjoy the food? atmosphere? service?

I think it's known and respected for drinks and atmosphere, not so much for food

apple44 said:

I think it's known and respected for drinks and atmosphere, not so much for food

+1  I go there sometimes for drinks and appetizers.  It's a nice place for that. Have not heard great things about the food.  I think it's probably OK though and just overpriced.

Agreed with all of the above. We found the brunch to be surprisingly good, however.

Style over substance. Epitome of mediocrity.

if your goal is to sit under the moon and have a drink, it's good. Don't expect much from the food. Very nice wait staff.

Food was OK. Was there once for a private party, which was fine. Once for dinner with friends which was in the large dining room and painfully noisy. Once for brunch. If you only want something light, $35 a person is sort of high and there's no way to opt out of brunch and just have a croissant and coffee (or something like that).

If you are drawn in to the location and atmosphere enough to expect good service and food fitting the cost, you will be disappointed.

But you might see Joe D.

My kids would recognize Joe D faster than they would recognize Ronald McDonald or Jesus having grown up in Essex County.

Which will make them eligible for public office in ten years. . .

What a missed opportunity.  Maybe they wouldn't be able to handle the crowd if the food was better.  They appear to be busy enough with mediocre food.  

Last time I was there we wanted to sit outside and have a few appetizers and drinks, unfortunately we had to order lunch, so they wouldn't seat us.

Had they seated us - we probably would have ordered crab-avocado tower & calamari apps = $31.90

If they forced us to order lunch we would have ordered BLT w/avocado & Pulled pork sandwich = $24.90

So in the end we were prepared to spend $7 more and give them another chance.  Instead it was just another disappointing experience.

If you are up for a walk around the reservoir with a friend, followed by a drink and snack while enjoying some of the view, it can be refreshing.

the food isn't why you go to any of his restaurants - it's about the location.

this about says it all...

http://www.yelp.com/biz/mcloones-boathouse-west-orange

They seem to be doing fine despite all the negative publicity here. Tried to go for drinks once and couldn't even get in the door.  The parking lot was at capacity and there were clearly no seats available.

The brunch is pricey, but we've been there a handful of times for it and I've always been satisfied.

The burgers are decent. Everything else..... eh.

...and they're not very good at shucking oysters for the raw bar.

I find it to be a fun place and like it, especially in the good weather when their outdoor space really sets them apart. Inside is big enough and noisy enough that you can bring kids without impacting the adults around you but not too loud to hear a conversation. Service has been good the times we have gone. Fairly wide array of items on the menu. The owner has a bunch of places around the state, so it kind of follows a set model for menu/price/experience. Newest location is a sports place on 206 in Hillsborough. If you are looking for quieter, we have enjoyed Martini's in Millburn.

composerjohn said:

The burgers are decent. Everything else..... eh.

I was just going to mention that. They're reasonably priced too. That, a nice drink, a seat with a lake view ... not a bad way to spend an hour.

rowerg said:

 Inside is big enough and noisy enough that you can bring kids without impacting the adults around you but not too loud to hear a conversation. 

We had a different experience. My husband and I went for lunch and every other word of our conversation was "What?" 

The food was good, but considering that lunch for two with two NON-alcoholic drinks ran us $45 I didn't feel the food was worthy of the price tag.

My sister likes it, but only goes in good weather when they can sit outside, where they are basically paying for the atmosphere, which I can see. On food alone, i.e. eating inside, I personally didn't find it worth revisiting.  

It's sort of like "Tavern on the Zoo."

I love it.   Gonna steal it.

Stoughton said:

It's sort of like "Tavern on the Zoo.

I just went and re-checked the wine list online...its still largely predictable and uninspired but with plenty of selections for people who use the word "classy" a lot. A quick scan shows the mark-up to be the most consistent thing about the list...looks to be 2.5 to 3x retail, not even wholesale, in many cases. Santa Margherita at $14 a glass/$54 a bottle is a steal! Or is it robbery? I guess they aren't making enough money.

Not a lot to add ... Very disappointing dinner experience ... Loud band playing and jammed another table in next to us ... Food was over-priced for the quality ... 

Went there one year the day after Thanksgiving with the wife for beers/wine and some apps and I thought we paid a ton for what we had ... 

But I have had a couple GREAT happy hour experiences there ... It was a while ago, but $3 beers and some $5 apps ... You can't beat the setting ... 

Even with all of my criticisms, I still like going there to sit outside on the water with a drink. I'll still patronize the place for the atmosphere. It's nice to walk around the reservoir at sunset and stop for a drink/light meal.

TigerLilly said:

Even with all of my criticisms, I still like going there to sit outside on the water with a drink. I'll still patronize the place for the atmosphere. It's nice to walk around the reservoir at sunset and stop for a drink/light meal.

my thought exactly ... not the best food, but amazing atmosphere, you feel like you're on vacation at some fancy lakeside restaurant ... the place could easily be amazing ...

Joe D's affiliation is enough to prevent me from going there. 

seaweed said:

TigerLilly said:

Even with all of my criticisms, I still like going there to sit outside on the water with a drink. I'll still patronize the place for the atmosphere. It's nice to walk around the reservoir at sunset and stop for a drink/light meal.

my thought exactly ... not the best food, but amazing atmosphere, you feel like you're on vacation at some fancy lakeside restaurant ... the place could easily be amazing ...

Agreed.

Stoughton said:

It's sort of like "Tavern on the Zoo."

Perfect.

serious question....if you are sitting outside and the wind is blowing in the right direction, can you smell zoo? I was hiking up in the reservation behind the reservoir last month and wasn't that close to the zoo, but certainly could smell it.