Fred B.
Yelp
BIG DISAPPOINTMENT - mostly "NOT GOOD".
Dinner for 6 on a Friday night. Place was nicely busy, but not too busy. Plenty of staff.
First, "the Good":
* The restaurant is architecturally stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. Someone spent a fortune on this place, which is too bad - if they don't fix the very weak operating issues, that someone is going to LOSE a fortune...
* A few food items were tasty - sauerkraut balls, duck confit + gnocchi, burger, Poke appetizer.
That's it for "the Good".
Now, for "the Really Disappointing":
* Ramen Mac + Cheese flavor was just plain weird. Unpleasant. Not good. 5 of us tasted it, and no one would eat it. The extra-cost Chicken protein was so overcooked and rubbery no one would eat it either...
Our 14 year old daughter ordered the Ramen Mac + Cheese. She makes a lot of really tasty Ramen herself - with gochujang, egg, diced scallion, pork - the whole deal, and it's very good. This wasn't too sophisticated for her pallet - the flavor wasn't good.
She's skinny and I'm fluffy, so I pretended to love her mac + cheese and begged her to trade for my poke appetizer, which was solid, so she'd eat something. While she ate my poke I ate 2 sauerkraut balls, then made a big bowl of cereal at home.
* Jalapeno + Cheese Bread was just plain weird. Several of us thought it had an odd peanut butter flavor. Not good. We all tried it, and most put it down and didn't finish it.
* PB&J wings were - you guessed it - just weird. We could taste the peanut flavor, and the sweet grape jelly flavor, but the combination wasn't good. We ordered a plate of 12 wings - 4 of us tasted them, and no one ate them. I can't say what about the flavor was disconcerting, but the wings themselves were perfectly fried, and we all love wings, and these didn't get eaten.
* the candied bacon tasted like cheap, thin-sliced bargain Wal Mart bacon. I love candied bacon as an appetizer, but candied bacon should be thick, flavorful and decadent. This was thin and tasted like the cheapest bacon possible to hit a low price point on the menu. Yet another dish that didn't get finished.
* the Sidecar cocktail was only ok - not great. Something was off. It didn't get finished.
Summary on the food + drinks - $230 bucks of "meh", and "that was disappointing", and "I'll never come here again".
Now - for the Service...
* our server was friendly. I arrived a few minutes before my family (they were shopping nearby), and she came and took my drink order.
Then she disappeared for 15-20 minutes. The rest of my family arrived a few minutes after I did, so we sat for 15 minutes before she reappeared. My drink didn't arrive until after she took their drink order, and the bar was not busy. She just wasn't around.
She was doing "fly-bys", but not really engaging with us, so my wife had to ask her to take our food order. We appreciated the waters, but promptly taking our drink order, delivering our drinks, taking our food order - that's why we're there.
After the food arrived, she stopped by a few times, but also disappeared again for extended periods of time. She wasn't on the restaurant floor (we were seated 6' from the bar). She asked if I wanted a second drink AS SHE WAS CLEARING THE PLATES (plates of things eaten and lots not eaten). I literally wondered if they had her in the back helping cook or prep, because throughout the meal she mostly wasn't around.
* I watched a bar-back almost knock over a customer in his haste going from the kitchen to the bar. Literally forced the paying customer to step out of his way so the restaurant employee could pass first. That's not how well-trained staff treats customers...
That customer was my 32 year old daughter, and it was her birthday we were celebrating at Forbidden Root, and I almost got up and went after him...
* No manager ever said hello or asked about our meal. Nothing.
* The woman at the front desk didn't bother to say "good-bye", or "thank you" when we left. She was too busy playing on her phone - on a busy Friday night - to acknowledge us leaving.
Summary on the Service - disappointing and very underwhelming.
If Robert Finkel still owns this place, and if this is still his passion project, then he needs to fire the GM, fire the Trainer, and fire the Chef.
If Forbidden Root doesn't fix these operating issues, they're going to lose a lot of money, close, and then someone else will be touring this gorgeous space, thinking about opening their restaurant. Easton is a VERY competitive dining scene.
I know this isn't fine dining, but it isn't Rally's either. I've seen better managed campus bars, who treat customers like they're valued. Not here.
Food and service were severely lacking.
They need a GM who cares. And chef that combines flavors into tasty food. And a Trainer that holds the entire staff accountable for a good customer experience.
$230 bucks of "meh" and "that was disappointing" and "I'll never come here again"...