Le Grand Comptoir

Ok it is an airport bar. It is pricey BUT the bartenders pour freehand on the booze (wine seems to be measured but definitely reasonably priced especially for the mid price wines… Some bottles just 2 or 2.5 times retail). Food? Nah.

Amazing wine collection, was very excited when I saw this, however the service was less than informative (kitchen closes at 8:30pm sharp, bar closes a short time after that), and I think it is really poor service not to inform of this, particularly when arriving in decent enough time at 8:15 for a flight that was initially meant to leave at 9:50. To me, opening hours should correspond to flight times, and that goes for providing food until a reasonable hour. Very disappointing, although I’m not sure it’ll make much difference even voicing this as I got the impression that as there is no other choice in this departure area, customers will most likely have to put up with this lack of care and attention.

Ordered steak medallion Benedict for breakfast.
Issues:
1. Hollandaise sauce watery
2. Poached egg was completely cooked through like a hard boiled egg
3. There were eggs shells in the poached egg
4. Food came out way too fast meaning food was precooked
5. Meat over cooked
Hire a new chef or continue to not give a crap about your business. What difference does it make, your location is terrific so why give a damn right? Le comptoir my a$$

Overpriced and not good food under normal circumstances. For an airport restaurant, I suppose prices were near reasonable, and the food was mediocre. For my purposes — eating and killing time in a slightly comfortable setting — I was mostly satisfied. I had my own table, wine, and dinner. That said, the Croque Monsieur I had was the worst I ever had — it should just be named a grilled cheese with deli ham. I question whether the owners/​chefs actually know what a Croque Monsieur is. The Caesar Salad I had was fine. The wine was overpriced but satisfying. My recommendation — you’re probably better off getting food from one of the stands in the middle of the cafeteria-​type area, and waiting for a table there or bringing the food on your plane.

I did not get as far as the food or service. I walked in, saw unswept floors and dirty tables, and immediately asked myself whether this was indicative of the condition of their kitchen. Then, I walked out.

Very slow. If you don’t have much time between flights, don’t stop here. It took a half hour just to get drinks. The food is typical mediocre airport faire.

Forgot to take pics of food, but had a bottle of the Trivino Malbec, French Onion Soup and Pancetta Caramelized Onion. Great service and a nice variety for an airport property.

Sit along windows for great view of the city! Expensive, but all food was delicious and came with excellent service.

Good wine, great service, just a little to expensive to hang out. Wanted some cheaper options on the menu.

The service here is awful. We waited 30 minuted for the waitress to even acknowledge we were in the restaurant. Then got her attention we asked for a menu said we needed to wait. Nothing… like we aren’t here… I rarely write bad reviews but I just had to this time as I can’t believe how uninterested the staff is here… they just don’t care at all…

Not sure why this place gets such a bad rap, it’s better than a lot of food and booze options at MIA.
We sat down, were greeted by our waiter, sure he wasn’t super friendly but I’m pretty sure he was the only one working the whole floor so no biggie. We ordered a glass of wine, prosecco and their baked camembert appetizer. It was the perfect way to feel like you weren’t in the airport.
The prosecco also helped me shake off the not so friendly welcome EWR gave me in the security line.
I like this spot and would return.

You’re hungry at the airport, you decide to spend a little more money to get what you assume is the nicer meal at the wine bar.
The service was horrible, the hostess did not want to seat us (it was not crowded) then once she did seat us she was very rude. We sat a dirty table with dirty chairs and old menus showing signs of browning stains from use. The food tasted reheated from frozen and it costs 3x more than the other food in the food court. Just go get the Chinese or the burger and skip this place, a nightmare.

Amazing wine list. The food was sub-​par. Although the bruschetta was reasonable the Caesar salad dressing was awful. But I have to give this place 4 stars because of the great selection of wines available. You can even get Opus One or Phelps by the glass.

nice place to unwind before a flight with a decent glass of wine and some apps.
came here on a Thursday evening before flying out to Miami… sitting in a nice wine bar beats the food court scene a few steps away.
if you’re looking for a place to charge your electronics, grab a seat at the bar– there’s a strip of outlets right underneath the bar… super convenient!
huge glass of Tempranillo? yes, please.
pizza with pancetta and caramelized onions? uh huhhh.
baked camembert with crusty bread? yeah, I guess. wasn’t my pick, and I didn’t love it.
all of this for under $ 40? okay, deal.
we had no major issues with service like many others have mentioned… it was just average. I’d hit it up again before

Drinks were a little pricey, but it’s a airport restaurant so that’s to be expected. They offered two different salads that looked great. The one I had was the one with green beans and it hit the spot. I think I spent around $ 40 with a few drinks and the salad with chicken. They have a window facing out to where the airplanes load up so you have something to look at. Service for me was great, but there were some other folks there who waited for a while before anyone came by and ended up leaving in a huff. Just try to make it clear you’re ready/​go to the bar to order if needbe — I think they probably are just training new staff.

I did not get a chance to taste the offerings other than a (Hail) Caesar salad. I did have a modest glass or two of red wine. The wine was divine but to sit at the bar and watch those behomeths of the sky, roll by the window so very close … was sublime. The Caesar salad was lovely but it did not compete with the sight of those giant Continental jets moving back and forth while tippling a little vino. ‘Twas a fun way to spend a few hours while connecting at EWR.

My rating is only based on the service and the wine I drank.
The service I received was excellent as the bartender greeted me and made sure I didn’t wait to long. I asked for some suggestion since they specialize in wine. I told him what I was looking for and his suggestion of wine was right on the money! I however was a bit disappointed to pay $ 16.50 for a glass of wine in an airport. I did like the fact that they have some much outlets underneath the bar to charge your phone/​laptop. The place is nice with a nice décor.

I can only speak for the cocktail service since we didn’t have anything to eat. We sat at a table by the bar from about 3:30 — 4:30 before we boarded a flight to Turkey. Needed to get a few drinks in us to help us relax for the long trip ahead. Our waiter was inattentive to say the least. After he served us our first round, he took off and we never saw him again. I wanted a refill and he was nowhere to be found. I think his shift may have ended and someone was supposed to take over for us but never did.
Needless to say, when I became impatient, I went to the bar to get myself another drink and was told to sit back down and someone would come over and wait on us.

This place was a joke. From the outside I thought something like, «oh cool, a decent looking wine bar. I bet it’s going to be spendy, but it looks nice.»
Once I walked through the door the shine turned to shite:
— The seating area was filthy. Think stained and soiled.
— The menus were falling apart and completely dirty.
— The servers didn’t know anything about wine or the food they were serving.
— The prices were through the roof, as predicted.
— The «baked Camembert» was lame. I was expecting a gooey round with the crust. What we got was a ramekin filled with boiling cheese. The crostini weren’t very tasty either.
We fled and went to the United Club for cheese and crackers.

Wine tasting while a 5 hour layover to Seattle (which is a 5 hour flight)???
Why, yes please!
We were greeted by the niceset host in NJ, a smiling man very eager to talk about wines. Apparently you can taste anything on the menu, from a $ 300 pino noir to a $ 20 malbec. We actually settled on a bottle of Trivento Reserve Malbec (Australia) — light and fruity and a very nice sipper. The cheese plate had a nice selection: goat cheese, blue cheese, an Irish cheddar and Gouda– with a fresh baugette and olive oil. YUM, yum. Nice classical music mixed with French hip hop. Where am I??? Oh yeah, I’m in Newark Airport!!!