Egan and Sons in Montclair

[pnapoli]

I have very high hopes.....

[HeatherRP]

As the wife of an Irish citizen who lives on Claremont, we are eagerly awaiting its opening.

[pnapoli]

they missed their goal of being open by st. patty's day, but it looks like they are getting pretty close. every time i drive by, they're busy at work. they've done a really nice job with the decor.

has anyone heard anything about when they might open?

[rhubarbd]

[has anyone heard anything about when they might open?]

OK - i have never tried to "quote" before, so this will either be a raging success or total disaster !!

In any case, they're supposed to be open for a private party on May 11th ...

[Susan]

What is the location?

[Montclairite]

Walnut Street, Montclair

[SusanGiff]

Has anyone tried it yet? I'm hearing scary stories of two hour waits and 86s on everything, but still haven't gotten a realiable report about the food or beer. I figure I'll wait in any case until things have calmed down a bit (FYI, Raymond's was relatively empty Friday at 7:30, and I'm crediting Egan-mania), but if someone else has been braver--what do you think?

Susan

[Susan]

Are these the same Egans who owned a restaurant in Kearny?

[Curlz]

Has anyone tried it yet? I'm hearing scary stories of two hour waits and 86s on everything, but still haven't gotten a realiable report about the food or beer. I figure I'll wait in any case until things have calmed down a bit (FYI, Raymond's was relatively empty Friday at 7:30, and I'm crediting Egan-mania), but if someone else has been braver--what do you think?

Susan

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I was there on Saturday night--went with a girlfriend b/c we were just in the mood for a burger and a beer and a chance to hang and talk. It was a ZOO, but I didn't realize that they had only been open for 9 days! The place is beautiful; you can tell that a lot of work and heart went in to getting it ready. There's a 'cafe' area up at the front where they have tables and serve a limited menu (apps, mini-burgers, etc) and a short stretch of bar (4-6 stools). Then you go up a few steps to the main bar, which is where the hostess was (odd location, imo) and the dining room is in the back. It's a nice-sized space overall, but it's not huge--I bet there are only about 20 tables, and only a few large rounds for bigger parties.

The guys at the bar were handling things very well, and even though we were told it would be a 60-90 min wait for a table in the dining room, it was just over an hour. The bartenders, servers, hostess and patrons were all in great moods, and it really seems like it will be a great neighborhood and/or destination spot to really hang out at. We got seats at the bar fairly quickly, which was an unexpected surprise, but trust me--we weren't complaining!

Sadly, they were out of all of the house-made brew except for their wheat beer, but they were more than happy to let me taste it, and I liked it enough that I drank it! My biggest complaint was that I had to YELL the entire night, whether we were sitting at the bar or at the table in the dining room, the noise level was ridiculous.

It was a long wait for food, but luckily, they brought us some terrific soda bread, so we survived. My friend said her burger was great, but my fries were close to cold on arrival, and I forgot that fish and chips have no flavor. The pieces were huge, batter generous, and the fish cooked perfectly, but they had no flavor! That's my bad--I really don't eat much fried food, so fish & chips in a place like that often seems like a good idea, and I'm usually disappointed. I'm sure someone who loves f&c can evaluate whether or not they're a good rendition. They were served with a ramekin on s/mashed peas that were surprisingly minty. I also ordered a side of onion confit that was yummy, but $4 for a small side plate seemed a bit pricy. Other dishes being served at the tables around us looked good, and the prices were reasonable (i.e. lamb shank for 16.95, iirc). We had coffee, but no dessert.

I'm definitely looking forward to another trip there, as I liked the vibe of the place a lot, but I'll try it on a weeknight to see if it's a little less chaotic, and of course, give them a chance to iron out their opening kinks.

[bobferdon]

Are these the same Egans who owned a restaurant in Kearny?

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YES!

[pnapoli]

check it

[bobferdon]

If you want a full menu be sure to be seated in the back of the restaurant... The front is a small menu.

[EMcD]

Are these the same Egans who owned a restaurant in Kearny?

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YES!

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Wasn't the one in Kearny/NA spelled Eagan's? Why the change?

[rhubarbd]

Has anyone been here recently? We had a VERY mixed meal tonight. The place is jumping - what a business they do! Impressive. Service was scattered. We waited an awfully long time for someone to pay attention to our table, and when we tried to get our server's attention to hear the specials, she kinda shouted, I'll be right with you! and went on to do something else. Hard to get refills of water, bread, that sort of thing.

The food was mediocre - fish & chips were fine, but what can you really say about f&c? Crunchy, tasty, fish was fresh. One of us ordered the pork chops, which came way overcooked and dry. Another ordered the chicken pot pie, which was topped w/a gorgeous pastry crust ... but when she cut into it, we were appalled to see that the ramekin was maybe 1/3 of the way filled with food! It was a shocking sight - this oversized, fresh-from-the-oven pot pie ... which when you actually looked inside had practically no food in it! And what was in there - a few bits of chicken and mushrooms in a watery white sauce - was kinda tasteless.

Desserts - we tried two - were the best part of the meal. My decaf was weak and not worth the $$. Not rushing to return.

Don't mean to be harsh, but am i missing something??

[Curlz]

Bummer. Sounds like it hasn't changed much since my first visit there. I've been back one other time, about a month ago. This time we sat in the front area, and ordered burgers--I think that's the way to go. The service issues were the same as the ones we both experienced in the back (main) dining room. And yes, it's ALWAYS mobbed; any time I've driven past on a Th-F-S evening, there's a line out on the sidewalk. But if you're in the mood to hang for a while and have a drink (or 2 or 3) and a burger, great spot. I think I'll just stick to the pub food from now on!

[hitmanoo]

Went and tried it for the first time tonight. Stuck to bar food. The house brews a pretty good Ale which I enjoyed with their maple chicken wings and a burger.

The wings were the highlight. A nice, but by any means overwhelming spice coupled with a maple syrup glaze. Not too sweet, not too spicy, and very tasty. Not sure if I've had wings like that before, but I really enjoyed.

The burger was pretty good. I ordered mine medium rare, and it came out just a touch past medium, but well shy of medium well. The fries were delicious of the hand-cut, skin-on variety. I don't think they were deep fried either. I may be wrong, but they tasted pan-fried.

Pretty darn crowded for a Monday night as well. We didn't have a wait, but there were very few tables to be had. A decent bar crowd too.

I'm sure to go back some time. They've passed the bar food test, so I'll have to order a main dish next time. Has anyone had their rib-eye or hanger steak?

[hitmanoo]

Went again last night and decided to try something different. I went with the pork chops on the menu. My wife went with the short ribs that were a special for the evening.

The short ribs were excellent. Tender and delicious.

The pork chops were a different story. The waitress asked me how I wanted them cooked. I went with medium, stressing to the waitress that they pleas not be overcooked. Unfortunately, they killed them. They were so overcooked and dry that I had to send them back. It's so rare that I send back food at a restaurant that I don't even remember the last time I did so.

Now, the rest of my party had already been served. I decided I didn't want to wait for them to cook more pork chops, so I opted for another burger medium rare. Unfortunately, the burger came back a true medium well. Since I'd been given a nice taste of the ribs, a couple of beers and some wings for an ap, I didn't even care at that point.

In all, I was disappointed last night.

[richl2214]

Went there again last week to give it another shot. The homebrew beer IMO stinks. Not one of them tastes any good to me. The food is still so-so. Decent bar food but the overall service is terrible. Guess it's very hard to find decent help these days.

[Franky2Times]

Went there again last week to give it another shot.  The homebrew beer IMO stinks.  Not one of them tastes any good to me.  The food is still so-so.  Decent bar food but the overall service is terrible.  Guess it's very hard to find decent help these days.

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Sooo... Food sucks, beer sucks, service sucks????? Why is there about 2 to 3 hundred people a night there if not more?

[richl2214]

Went there again last week to give it another shot.  The homebrew beer IMO stinks.  Not one of them tastes any good to me.  The food is still so-so.  Decent bar food but the overall service is terrible.  Guess it's very hard to find decent help these days.

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Sooo... Food sucks, beer sucks, service sucks????? Why is there about 2 to 3 hundred people a night there if not more?

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You gotta have places for the "peanut butter and jelly with the crusts cut off crowd" too.

[hitmanoo]

Went there again last week to give it another shot.  The homebrew beer IMO stinks.  Not one of them tastes any good to me.  The food is still so-so.  Decent bar food but the overall service is terrible.  Guess it's very hard to find decent help these days.

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Sooo... Food sucks, beer sucks, service sucks????? Why is there about 2 to 3 hundred people a night there if not more?

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I've enjoyed the house brews that I've tried there, and they do a decent job with bar food.

As I said, the pork chops were way overcooked, but the short ribs were right on the money. The wings were delicious. If I decide to give it another shot, I may try a steak. I just think that this may be a place that you have to order your food slightly less done to get it the way you want it. If you like medium, order medium rare, etc.

[tommy]

as i sat at the (mostly empty) bar without any drinks in front of me i was left wondering who i had to screw to get a beer around here.

is the service always horrible? i mean i'd love to try the place for a proper meal and drinks, but what i saw (or didn't see) from the waitstaff bordered on the absurd. some people on baristanet.com seem to agree.

[hitmanoo]

as i sat at the (mostly empty) bar without any drinks in front of me i was left wondering who i had to screw to get a beer around here.

is the service always horrible?  i mean i'd love to try the place for a proper meal and drinks, but what i saw (or didn't see) from the waitstaff bordered on the absurd.  some people on baristanet.com seem to agree.

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Did you just give up and leave, or did you eventually have anything to eat/drink? If so, what did you think of the food?

[tommy]

Did you just give up and leave, or did you eventually have anything to eat/drink?  If so, what did you think of the food?

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i managed to get my beer (i was there only for a beer). but it was just an uncomfortable cluster-eff. enough to make me not bother trying them again. i'm a simple man, in search of a burger, a beer, maybe some chicken wings.

i've read so many negative reviews of the burger that i can't imagine it's very good. most burgers are horrible, and most people think they're good. if this many people have said their burger isn't good well then i just can't imagine how bad it is. if i return it might be for fish and chips.

[Curlz]

I can't say that I have had any complaints about the staff after my visits to E&S, but it does make you wonder if the bar isn't packed why one can't get a beer! Very odd indeed. Then again, you'd think that bartenders at a real Irish pub could pour a draft correctly...

My 6-8 visits there have been a mix of drinks followed by dinner (once in the back--the dining room, but usually in the cafe). The few times when we started at the bar, we didn't have trouble getting service, but the place was also full. Overall, I think the food is okay--with the wings being the exception--they were great. I hope they get their service issues cleared up, b/c in general, I think it could be the kind of place you'd enjoy on a regular basis.