Regina M.
Yelp
Spending a rainy afternoon at Washington's Crossing State Park can be fun, really, when shared with cool people. We managed to get some hiking/scavenger hunting in but gave up pretty early on because A) it was raining and B) the clues were all 'look for a mossy log'. There are hundreds of mossy logs on the trails. It stopped being fun after checking all around the 10th.
By the time the sun was setting, Lion and I were hungry. As in, want a good hearty pub meal hungry. I consulted my Yelp App and located Isaac Newton's was reasonably close. Lion had been there before and thought it was a good place. So, off we went.
Thank goodness for the map directions linked to the app, because this place, while in the center of "Downtown Newtown", is kind of hidden in that it's not visible from the street, you get there through a walkway between buildings that face the street. It's really more easily entered and visible from the municipal parking lot it faces, behind other buildings, which is where the app took us. Yay!
The restaurant is very nicely outfitted, warm off white tones and dark wood, comfortable spaces and higher ceilings. We were greeted and sat pretty quickly at a four-top with higher bar-style chairs tucked in a corner by windows. We got there just before the dinner rush so it was only somewhat crowded, by the time we left there was a waiting list.
Our server came and took our drink orders. Lion got one of their many beers, a dark beer with coffee flavors, I took a sip and actually kind of liked it, which is not usual for me. I am a pilsner gal all the way. Surprises abound every day. I ordered the prosecco, which came in it's own tiny bottle and, oddly, a red wine glass. I asked for a flute and was told they don't have them. Okay...
Lion gets the brisket and I go for the vegetarian chili. Our waiter brings a huge towering bowl of bread, sort-of sliced, no butter or oil though. We flag him down and in a few minutes a plate of butter is brought to us. The bread is good, coarse and soft with a firm crust. Pub bread.
Our food arrives a short while later. It's good, Lion enjoyed his brisket and mac n cheese, which looked I swear like Kraft but he said was better. My chili was very tomato-y and sweet and thick. There was a thick slab of cheese on top that was surprisingly not adding much to the flavor balance. It was OK, missing the savory quality that I enjoy in a chili, or any complexity of flavor beyond 'sweet' and 'tomato'.
We opt for a slice of chocolate cheesecake to split for dessert, it is predictably very good.
It wasn't a bad meal, however for what we paid - $75 with tip - we felt that it was not worth the expense. The food was fine, the drinks were fine, portions were OK, Lion got 3 long slices of brisket, which isn't a lot, and my chili was a small crock size. I would have paid maybe $50 all-in for what we had. It just wasn't special.
Service was earnest but uneven, things got busier as the night went on, and that may have contributed, however a good front-of-house can handle the expected dinner rush.
It's a comfortable, pleasant place in a pretty town, however we felt it wasn't impressive enough to go back.