Stephen L.
Yelp
Great American brunch spot in downtown Jersey City for drinks and food. I got the Brunch Double Cheese Burger ($18), which had two smashed beef patties to go with nicely melted American cheese, a fried egg (nicely over easy), a delicious sweet and savory sauce, and the sesame buns - very satisfying if you are looking for something more substantial. The only thing was that they didn't ask me how I wanted to burger cooked, which was a bit odd, but luckily for them, they cooked it to roughly a medium level, which is what I would've asked for anyways. The burger normally comes with fries, and our waitress said that I could choose parmesan truffle waffle fries, so naturally I did. They were delicious- good truffle flavor with a generous amount of parmesan and nicely crispy on the outside. However, what she didn't tell me was that this would be an additional $5... not a big deal, but still something she should've made me aware of.
I also tried the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes ($16), which was delicious- fluffy pancakes that were also moist throughout. It was a stack of 4 decently sized pancakes, so a very solid portion size. There was a good amount of blueberry compote on there, although they were a bit stingy with the honey pecan butter. It of course came with maple syrup as well.
To drink, I got a Mango & Dreams Mocktail ($14), which was a tasty fruity mocktail with orange, mango, grapefruit, and lime flavors. Despite the name, I think the grapefruit and lime flavors were definitely the strongest. My main complaint about this drink though was the portion size / value. The portion size was very small (especially if you consider the amount of ice in that small glass) for $14.
The restaurant itself is a bit on the small size, but still had several tables available for brunch when we arrived on a Sunday early afternoon. I would say it has sort of a Southern American kind of vibe with a bright color scheme, plentiful natural sunlight, and a bar area with (fake) vines/flowers overhead. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. The service speed was pretty quick, although it did take them a bit longer than expected to just get us some water to start.
Overall, I would say that Mathews Food & Drink is a very solid 4 star brunch spot. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for an American brunch place in Jersey City.