Joe’s American Bar & Grill

Don’t know why I’m writing a «review» when this place is now officially closed for business as of ¹²⁄₃₁. We strolled in for lunch without knowing they were closing for good after dinner service. If we had known, we surely would have turned around and eaten elsewhere. Not that it was ever great here, but this day was especially crappy. Service couldn’t have been worse and the food was barely edible. Doesn’t matter now. this location will likely be a furniture store in the near future. $ 50 bucks wasted. Ah well! Out with the old and in with the new year! Have a happy one, all!

what a disappointment. stopped in for a quick late lunch at approx 3p. and the place was empty. Sat at the bar; where Brian served us… if you want to call it service. He gave us no attention, instead he would rather converse with his coworkers who were also just standing around drinking. We ordered calamari, which we asked if it was fresh and were told it was… wrong…frozen. Sent it back and gave us an attitude; which just made the service worse. We ordered seltzer waters with mint, $ 5.00 each. Our lunch bill came to $ 53.00…never again. The only reason for the 2 stars is because we also ordered the ahi tuna app, with avacado, which was good.

HORRIBLE!!! I sure hope this place is in NO WAY associated with the Joe’s in the Short Hills Mall. What happened to this place??? Besides the fact that the server was extremely slow and awkward, the food was HORRENDOUS. I used to have the Honey Chicken Salad all the time! It was my favorite. Not anymore! Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting. So disappointed.

It is located at the mall. We have eaten here three times.
We like eating in the bar area because we like looking out the windows.
The bartenders are friendly and the speed of the service is good.
There are some tv’s but they are not overwhelming distractions.
Our favorite things to order are the Joe’s burger, the wings and the fries or sweet potato fries. Once, I had the buffalo chicken wrap which was mostly good but the wrap was a bit stale or hard on the bottom side.

I have been here a couple of times before, but it is certainly not what I remember it being. Maybe now that Papa Razzi is gone (still crying about it), they tried to make the menu more upscale and consequently a little more expensive, but neither are really warranted. Bottom line is it’s subpar for what you’re paying.
I had a skirt steak, which was $ 24 +$ 2 for a side salad instead of potatoes but should have been more like $ 20. It was good, but for that cut of meat at that price, I can go to a steakhouse where it would be better executed. My boyfriend also had a steak that was mediocre and overpriced. Were our choices a little ambitious and expectations a little high? Maybe, but I never remembered the food being bad or having a negative experience here so I thought «why not.» With 1 round of drinks, tax and tip, we ended up over paying and left pretty disappointed.
If you’re at the mall and want a bite to eat, I’d stick to Grand Lux or Zinburger.

This place is ok but I will probably not be back. For the prices you could go to a nicer non-​chain restaurant.
For starters the service was not that great. I may be a brat, but when I am ordering an appetizer it would be nice to have a plate to eat it with, I had to wait over 15 minutes for one and by that time I was getting my meal. I ordered the Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon with sautéed artichokes, spinach, mustard cream, and dill pernod sauce and a SIDE of mashed potatoes. Instead of giving me a side of mashed, the waitress substituted the sautéed artichokes and spinach with the mashed potatoes.
As for the food:
I had the Ahi Tuna Tartare as an appetizer which was pretty good. My only complaint is that it could use more wonton chips.
Aside from not getting the artichokes and spinach, the Salmon tasted fresh and the side sauces were good.
Overall, the food is ok but based on the prices and service I would go somewhere else.

I hate to do this, but I just don’t see any other stars in sight.
Spotted Joe’s as we wandered around the mall, and I had never seen this place before so silly me, I thought it was a new place. LOL it was so old.
The place is spacious and dimly lit. It has a sports bar feel to it, but it also feels like those types of places that your grandparents eat thanksgiving dinner at.
The service was ok, a bit slow, a bit frustrating. Just a tiny bit frustrating because our waiter was already pretty busy when we were sat in his section, so getting our initial drinks took a bit longer than I would have liked. I had to asked twice for some things, and send my food back once because it came out wrong. But I totally get that shit happens, I guess it was for the amount of money I’m spending, I didn’t need any more reason to feel irritated.
Which brings me to the main reason I’m giving 2 stars. The prices are too damn high! I spent $ 13 for a tiny salad with chicken. I got the house salad, which is $ 9. It’s the same size as the «add a salad to your meal… for «$ 4.40»??? My entrée was a side dish that cost $ 13 when you add chicken. And It was nothing special at all. Nothing on the menu sounded inspiring actually. It was a one page, boring menu consisting of burgers, pastas, steaks, fish and apps, every single thing was between $ 18 – 30. Even the wine prices were $ 10 a glass. Just ugh for expensive mediocrity.
The bread was really good tho.

Joe’s American Bar & Grill used to be THE place to go for Prime Rib. They were one of the few restaurants which served a double cut of Prime Rib on the bone (and dubbed it the «Prime Rib Challenge»). I even got their Preferred Guest membership card just because I loved their Prime Rib so much. (Which gave me $ 25 gift cards for spending a certain amount of money at their restaurant.)
To my chagrin, they stopped selling Prime Rib. They don’t even offer the awesome coffee ice cream that I used to enjoy. (Or at least it’s not on their dessert menu anymore. Some of their desserts come with a scoop of coffee ice cream on top.)
Which means that this restaurant (which I previously considered to be a 5 star restaurant) is just a 3 star now. It’s like every other Bennigan’ish restaurant. Their dishes are still good. I had their Salmon the other day and it was excellent. But they no longer have any dishes that make them stand out among the competition.
(FYI: Now I go to El Cid for Prime Rib. It’s twice (or more) the size of the Prime Rib Challenge. Did you ever watch the Flinstones cartoon? Do you remember that part where the waitress puts a slab of dino-​meat on Fred’s car and the car flips over? Well…)

Dark and cold restaurant. food is ok but not amazing.

4 star service
2 star overpriced food! $ 15 for bland calamari, really you have to be kidding me in a pub!
Decent beer and overpriced wine.
Not much else to say, pub food that is way overpriced.
Bartenders are super friendly, the only redeeming factor.

Joe’s American Bar & Grill is a higher end version of your local bar and grill. They have the standard burgers, sides, ribs, calamari as other places but with a twist.
Our bartenders were really great, hospitable and helpful. They were honest about what was good and what wasn’t.
My wife ordered a mojito and I ordered a drink with basil simple syrup, awesome!
My wife ordered the chicken picatta with angel hair, lemony and perfectly cooked. I ordered the fried calamari with hot cherry peppers, a side of garlic whipped mashed, and a side salad. The calamari was really great, the peppers were a nice touch; the mashed potatoes were silky, but also had some small pieces, which was great; the side salad came with bacon and big ass croutons, what you want when you’re eating salad.
The whole meal was about $ 80, not cheap, but it’s a step above most places. You also can’t find a menu like this in too many places anymore, so for me it’s a step back to a simpler time… where cocktails were strong and salads came with a shit load of bacon and croutons.

I’ve been a fan of this place since I was a kid. The service is always good, the bread and whipped butter is amazing, prices are good too. I usually order the grilled honey mustard chicken salad (minus the ton of tomato). Tried the buffalo wings appetizer with a friend, we both liked it.
Definitely one of the good restaurants in the mall.

This spot is Ok. I would give it a two star but the customer service is good. The food looks great. The taste on the other hand sucks. They really need to up the flavors on their food. I got a margarita Petrone on the rocks and it sucked. It was the worst margarita Petrone I’ve ever had. The fish sandwich that I got it wasn’t all that. I won’t ever go back to this restaurant, waste of my money.

The best way I can sum up this place was good tasting diner food at double the price. The food is good don’t get me wrong but I’m not sure why they’re charging the money that they are. The ambience is nice inside and definitely more formal than a diner, but it’s basically just All-​American pub food.
One huge like about this place was the fresh bread-​probably the best bread I’ve had at a restaurant. Also their sweet potato fries are great!
Our server was really nice and he even ran out to the parking lot when I left my card in the money holder.
I was really craving wings but unfortunately their wings are basically just like chicken tenders with barbecue sauce on them– not what I had in mind. My boyfriend got the French Dip which he said was okay for the price.

It was my first time here and I enjoyed myself. My server Eugene was amazing. Very knowledgeable about the food and drinks.
I loved the buffalo chicken wrap and the French fries. Simply delicious, I would recommend to anyone who comes here and is looking for a quick, healthy meal.
However, the manager who was working as the greeter/​host was horrible. I came in and I asked for a booth and she found one but never instructed my party and I to follow her. How rude, nor did she speak.
I believe that you cannot be in the industry of public service and not be friendly… those two just don’t mesh well together. My advice: be nicer and more pleasant Ros.
In addition, the conditions of the bathroom were disgusting. It smelled bad and it was messy in each stall. They lacked toilet paper, I’m so happy that I walk with wipes to take care of my lady parts. Joe’s needs to do better!!!

Going in you have to know you are looking at a sports bar/​restaurant. The food is comparable
to a higher end sports bar, it isn’t the place for fine dining. But what you get there is good, like a veggie burger or a kale quinoa salad.
In the bar area they play the games, without volume, so for those big sports fans, don’t go there to watch the big games. They have a more formal dining area, it is well kept, and up to date.
I’ve always had good service, they are really great with the refills… Maybe too much so! I think my friend ended up drinking 1200 calories in cokes ;) but hey I think he switched to diet after that!
I’ve always had a good experience after shopping and will definitely be back next time I am at Westfield mall.

Joe’s American Bar & Grill is a pretty average restaurant. It’s a bit pricey for the quality of food. I ordered a burger and 2 beers last time I went here, with my sister. She got the roast beef sandwich. My burger was just alright– nothing special. The guacamole on the burger had an overpowering onion flavor so I didn’t even eat it. and with guac always being extra, it was a waste. Her sandwich was also very salty and not tasty. it also was not that warm, almost room temperature.
I wouldn’t come here for dinner again but I would stop by for a drink after shopping at the mall due to the convenience factor.

I really enjoyed this place (for the most part)
We went with a group of about 15 people and we all ordered a little bit of everything.
For starters the bread here is wonderful, so wonderful i actually took some back to work with me.
I got a chicken club and sweet potato fries (my go to side) and i was pleased with my sandwich, a little unhappy with the fries being a little soggy. I would’ve like them to be hotter and more crispy, but i digress.
My coworker got the buffalo chicken mac and cheese (and i stole some obviously) and it was completely out of this work. Tasty, spicy, a wee bit heavy, but so delicious.
Will go back.

Not too memorable, but the food here is decent. I’ve had the French dip sandwich which was good and I’ve also had the Joe’s signature burger. If I has choose a place to eat in the mall, I would choose this restaurant. Bread here is good too, make sure you ask for a basket of bread of they don’t give you one right away.
UPDATE.
Just came back from dinner here again today and had a couple of entrees that just made me bump this place up a notch in the ratings. I had the BBQ ribs with sweet potato fries and cole slaw which was a helluva meal. 2 lb rack on paper doesn’t sound like much but trust me the portion is big! My date had the Mac & Cheese with buffalo chicken which was easily my favorite dish so far. The perfect combination of spicy & gooey cheese! Would easily recommend that dish to anyone.

I’ve been to Joe’s many times. It’s the perfect dinner and a movie spot. Their food in general is ok but at least everything is reasonably priced (unlike Capital Grill). Their soups, however, are a whole different story. They’re freakin’ amazing. The New England clam chowder is fantastic combined with the fact that you can get it in a bread bowl, oh my. Their french onion soup is very good too but a couple times when I got it, it was bad and tasted sour. Very unusual for them though. It hasn’t happened again, so far, so we’ll let that slide. Their chili is great too!
As for the food items, it’s a chain restaurant so everything is all right, for the most part. Their burgers are standard, the classic reuben is good, the crab cakes are good, caesar salad is ok and the ahi tuna salad is good. The service is always nice, friendly and extremely attentive. Not once have I had a bad waiter.
I like Joe’s, I will definitely come back but only really when it’s convenient because it’s located in the Garden State Plaza where there’s always traffic and no parking. So, when I’m seeing a movie or shopping, this is where I eat if I want a nice dinner and not the food court.