Cafe Cafe

96. Try five new restaurants. (1/5)

Cafe Cafe
16 Glen Road
Rutherford NJ

When trying a new restaurant, I think there are two areas to assess: service and food.  For me, one does not affect the other and I can always forgive lackluster service if the food is great.  I know people who won't eat at a restaurant if the service isn't as good as they'd like and they'll say things like, "It's a shame, too, because the food is so good."  I might not go to that restaurant if I'm starving and want to eat quickly, but I'll make the time to go.

I was really excited about last night's dinner prospect because both my sister and father like this restaurant and I love trying new restaurants.  I don't know if perhaps we had a slightly "off" experience there, but I wasn't as super impressed as I expected to be.  I had sangria, an empanada appetizer, and chicken enchiladas for dinner.  The empanada was really good.  The sangria and enchiladas were good - not great, but good.

There were some issues with the service; they weren't as forthcoming with drink refills as I like restaurants to be.  I don't mind if the food service is on more of a European timeline where there's a lot of time between your order and appetizer and dinner.  I enjoy a slow dining experience; I'm not a fan of the TGI Fridays/Applebees/Chilis type of dining where your food is practically stacked on top of itself.  I love having time to let my food settle and talk to my husband and friends.  Dinner out is supposed to be about enjoying the food and the company and that part was great last night.

They did, though, have an issue with our dinners.  Three of us ordered the same dinner but the cook (who I was told is new there) only read it as one so two of us were without dinners while the cook caught up.  These things happen and don't faze me much at all, but I felt bad because this was my dinner choice and I wanted it to be perfect for my friends.  Then there was a slight error with the check which, of course, gets people in a tizzy but it was settled very quickly and, again, didn't faze me at all.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10:

Food: 7.5

Service: 7

Decor: 9

Because my sister loves the place so much, I'm wondering if we just had an off night there.  Plus, she recommended the apple dessert but there was no way I was going to be able to have any of that because 1 - my husband won't eat cooked apples and 2 - everyone else is watching what they eat.  I should be, too, but I love hot apple desserts.  Perhaps I'll try this place again with my sister.  I think she and my father both went for lunch; perhaps that makes the difference.