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| - If delicious food and attentive, fine service were the only barometers for a meal, Tender would rate five stars. There are, however, many other factors which detract from its rating.
Parking on a weekend night in an area which is residential and which has one restaurant or bar after another on the "main drag" of Butler Street, is an adventure, and if you do find a space where parallel parking is necessary, good luck trying to pull it off on the narrow streets of Lawrenceville. The restaurant states at the website that parking is available on the streets surrounding it: try to find it. Three of the four members of our party waited a long time for the fourth individual to find a place to park and return to the restaurant after he dropped off his companion.
The website states that the restaurant has a "no standing room" policy, which apparently precludes individuals from congregating in the entry room as they wait for a table, perhaps because there is no true waiting area. Fortunately this was not an issue as the table we had reserved was ready for us upon arrival.
The dining area into which one enters is loud, crazed, and jam-packed. I was delighted when the hostess said that she would take us to our table, and headed toward a back room. We had one of the best tables in the house. The noise level was tolerable; we were away from those that were massed in the entry room.
There appears to be no provision for coats, so they dangle on one's chair.
We saw no bread and none was offered.
There are no salt or pepper shakers on the tables.
There is an excellent selection of unique cocktails, pricey at $10 and up.
This is not a place to linger at length, at least not on a weekend night. After we had been at our table for nearly two hours, we were told that another party was awaiting it with a reservation. We were told that we could sit at a sofa and chairs in an adjoining room, which we did. We were there for twenty minutes before we were asked to leave it as well due to another party with a reservation. We would have hoped that some arrangement could have been made to accommodate us
within a meal that was $200 for four people.
The portions of all dishes are tiny and not inexpensive. The menu contains a total of only fourteen items, including appetizers, small plates, and large plates.
Turnip soup was delicious and beautifully presented: $8 for a tiny bowl. The best buy on the menu is the excellent Tender Burger for $12 though it comes with no side dish. The a la carte potato skins, an additional $4, were marvelous. My brussels sprouts appetizer, $6, was great, but overpriced for the small portion. There was a choice of all of two desserts. Our milk chocolate bread pudding for $8 was delicious, but barely enough for one person.
There is no one leaving Tender with food to take home because of the tiny portions.
The evening was a mixed bag.
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