Some friends invited us to check this place out with them for brunch this past Sunday. They had been there before and really enjoyed it, especially the Bloody Mary/Mimosa self-serve bar.
It was nice that we didn't have to be up super early to get in and grab a seat. Live music starts at noon and we didn't have to wait for a table.
The bar idea is great. For $6, they pour your liquor and you get to put whatever condiments you'd like in/on your drink. There's a ton of items to choose from; everything is really fresh.
For brunch I ordered the smoked salmon lox. It was tasty but nothing out-of-this-world. I'm sure I could have created the dish with smoked salmon that I have in my fridge presently. The only advantage was that it was nice that I didn't have to do the legwork. The portion was just perfect for me - I actually took home leftovers. Others may have scoffed though - it's two thin slices of a bruschetta bread topped with rolled up salmon. A salad of greens and tomatoes is placed in the middle of the plate.
However, other portions were undesirable. Our friend had the Corned Beef Boxty before and really enjoyed it; a huge slab of corned beef came on the side - the way most breakfasts serve sides of bacon. So, he got it again and my boyfriend followed suit. Unfortunately, it seems that the establishment changed their recipe and presentation of this dish because the corned beef wasn't on the side anymore! It was practically non-existent. Very skimpy pieces were hidden in the potato pancakes. It's very deceiving when the menu description reads as follows:
Corned Beef Boxty | 10
Potato Onion Pancakes | Corned Beef | Roasted Red Pepper | Caramelized Onions | Two Over-Easy Eggs
This review goes to show you what a shame it is when word-of-mouth advertising gets out there. A clear lack of consistency definitely doesn't go unnoticed when new clientele check it out for the first time to find that the exciting dish on the menu has now been completely altered! My boyfriend was really discouraged. The meal definitely wasn't substantial enough to sell for $10. This was extremely disappointing and deserved to be mentioned, here, on Yelp.
I really struggle with giving this place three stars. However, to me, three stars mean that it's at least worth coming back and giving it another chance. Sadly, I don't think that's the case. I live on the east side and this place should have really wowed us to get us to drive back over to Lakewood again.