3/31/2017

Here are my thoughts. Take them for what they are worth:



To begin, we came on a Friday evening. We were greeted well enough by the hostess and seated in the dining room. I was grateful to have selected the dining room because of how overwhelmingly loud the lounge ended up being, even for us in the dining room. As I perused the menu, I was struck at how little logic the pricing seemed to follow with entrees ranging from $10 (for the burger) upwards of $40 a plate. One item was priced at $10 with the chicken option being priced at $12 and the steak option being priced at $16. Really? $6 to add some steak when the chicken was only $2 more?



I ordered a burger, which was the most flavorless burger I have eaten in a while. For a great while now, I have eaten my burgers without ketchup so as to better engage with the flavors present in the burger. Tonight I had to add ketchup so the burger would taste like something at all! To wash it all down, I had Jersey tap water, which our waitress never refilled until the end when we asked for more water.



The design aesthetic at Above is also a bit disjointed. When I walked in, the restaurant had the trappings of an upscale establishment. But as I spent more time in the space I could not decide if I was in an Italian restaurant, an American Grille or a lounge. The plates and silverware did not cohere with each other and the ketchup and olive oil (to dip bread in) were served in disposable plastic containers that scaled the experience down on the whole.



Last thing: the soap in the bathroom is WAY too fragrant. After washing my hands before my meal, I couldn't get my hands near my face without smelling anything other than the soap. This may seem like a small and insignificant thing, but it really does change the experience when your trying to engage with the flavors in the meal.



I'm in agreement with one of the previous posts that there does not seem to be a compelling reason to return.