The North End Bistro

this is not the place to go with your boyfriend. the mood isn’t cut for that.
it’s basically a diner, that’s located on the tip of downtown princeton. I went on sunday evening and the crowd was mostly elderly or families.
the ultimate negative was that the food, while decent, took forever to come out. very slow service and we had to flag our waitress down several times for things we wanted.

Quaint atmosphere, extensive menu. Visited with the family for lunch and had the following excellent and tasty choices: lobster roll sandwich, shrimp po’ boy sandwich, scallops, lobster mac n; cheese, chocolate mousse. We were thoroughly satisfied.
Note: The place is a bit pricey for a casual establishment, especially if you go with entrée, dessert, drink (approx. ~40/​person — Dec. 2015)

Always great service, great ambience, and stellar food. Only complaint is that twice the food came out so hot (temperature wise) I had to wait nearly 10 minutes to start eating. Plus side: it was still perfectly hot on the last bite. Go. Here. Now. And often! You won’t be disappointed.

So it would have been five stars, but our experience with the manager at the end left a terrible taste in our mouths.
We arrived at 6pm on a Friday night to celebrate my friends birthday. One of our party drove in over an hour from the shore. We ordered two apps for the four of us, an entrée each and two desserts to share. I got the brioche grilled cheese and it tasted like HEAVEN. So crispy but not greasy at all. We had the funnel cake fries which were so crispy and sweet– perfect and a great share.
Then things went south… around 8, our desserts were brought out with our check and the waiter said no rush. We continued eating and around 8:15, the manager came over to our table and said «I don’t want to be rude, but we need this table in five minutes.» First of all, you were rude. Second why even serve us dessert? Maybe give us more than a five minute warning? We’re reasonable women, but you treated us like we were two teenagers splitting a plate of fries and not 4 women drinking and eating a three course meal. And if you messed up and needed us out in five, maybe comp the dessert we couldn’t finish to make it less rude. Either way, I don’t know that I’ll be back, which honestly is a shame because this was not my first time there and the food is always awesome. Do better, NEB.

I have now been to North End Bistro 4 times in the last year and a half, trying to find the right thing to order and I finally got it down pat. The best menu items are the Pat LaFrieda burgers (specifically the Mexican and Cowboy), the homemade chips (that are complimentary instead of bread) and the mushroom truffle mac and cheese! The burgers are constantly good and would definitely go back to get them!
Unfortunately, I brought in a large group who was visiting from NYC and they were a bit underwhelmed with the non-​burger choices. My friend got a chicken rustica dish that came with brussel sprouts which were very visible came from a frozen bag (and tasted like it as well), my husband got the chicken cannoli which also had green beans on top that were also from a frozen bag. I spent a lot of time trying to pick the perfect «talked about» Princeton location and half the group was happy but half said their food was just ok.
My recommendation, go with the burgers– you can’t go wrong! And also recommend the restaurant to incorporate JERSEY fresh veggies into the mix!
Will be back for burgers!!!

I was between a 3 and 4 but the place was nice enough so I gave it a boost.
Went here for lunch and got a brioche grilled toast without the bacon. The sandwich was delicious! I’m a fan of the brioche for sure! I would recommend – though it was a tad greasy (my friend got their burger and it was pretty greasy as well).
The service was swell. Light crowd for a weekday lunch, and a bit slower than I expected. Probably a better place to go for dinner.

I am giving The North End a 2 out of 5 because of the poor service and lack of kjnowledge in the food service industry by the staff, particularly our waiter German L (or at least that’s the name printed on the receipt). I have been a waitress for roughly 4 years at restaurants very similar to this one and have never seen such poor execution from the server. While the fried calamari and zucchini was to die for, and the seafood cannoli i ordered exceed my expectations, the service was sub par. While we were eating our entrees, the server reached over my plate to fill my water and in the process spilled water all over my food. As a server it is customary to serve on the right side but due to the placement of our table he was not able to. However, he should have at least moved the glass to a position more comfortable for him.
After this we saw, who we assumed to be, the owner walking by and explained the situation. We made it very clear that we were not looking to get the server in trouble but he did make a mistake and we wanted it to be fixed for future customers. Then during our dessert he, the server, made a snide comment to my boyfriend «Hey buddy how are your pants? Are they still wet from the water?» with an obvious smirk on his face. Which confused us because he did not spill on his pants he spilled on MY food. So not only did the «owner» snitch on us while we were still there (I’m 80% sure he spit in our nutella hot chocolate, which was still delicious btw) he also misinformed the sever on the situation. However this sort of immature behavior is resulted in a 5% tip. (Being a server myself, I have never left less than 20% but this put me over the edge).
As a note, he brought us our check before asking if we wanted dessert, but I’m not even gonna get into that right now.
A few weeks prior we had a 30 person party there and had a terrific time. We were hoping to make this our weekly spot but the poor service has us looking elsewhere.

Very nicely designed, bright, contemporary space, located just across the driveway from Whole Earth grocery. You have pretty high expectations when you enter, because it’s obvious they put some time, energy & thought into the décor. The menu as well looks promising, with a nice variety of lunch selections (the time of day I visited).
The server was helpful with my questions about gluten-​free options, and my dining companion had her questions answered as well.
The weakest part of the visit was perhaps the food itself, which was quite bland. Nothing wrong with it, really — just not much flavor. I ordered the pulled pork tacos, and there was just no zip at all. Even a side of salsa verde would have been a big help. My friend’s grilled cheese was okay, but there was a LOT of bread — maybe more than needed? The cheese was reported as being flavorful and the sandwich was grilled crispy as requested.
I am sure that with a few tweaks to the menu here that this attractive spot could easily be a four star dining location. As it is, there just nothing flavor-​wise to make it stand out among the many Princeton restaurant choices.

The food was rather disappointing. After many great reviews from friends I was estatic to go and try this restaurant. I got there and the restaurant was FREEZING, it was nice and warm outside but could not have been more than 60 degrees in the restaurant. The food was tasteless and very overpriced. I ordered the fried calamari and zucchini as an appetizers and altho the calamari was nicely fried, the zucchini was soaky and still hard wet raw-​ish batter on it. I then ordered the fish and chips, the fish was absolutely tasteless and the fries were soaky as they were placed under the fish.
All of this plus the freezing atmosphere made us ask for the check half way through our entrée and leaving as soon as possible. The only highlight of this dinner was a nice server.
As a review, tasteless disappointing food, overpriced, extremely cold restaurant but good service. I will not go back.

Unacceptably long wait for food; had to bring glasses to main station to get water.
Food ok when it came. Decent lobster mac and cheese, but not the best I’ve had. My companion had a salad with chicken that was ok.
In all, decent but not amazing food. Poor service. High prices for what it is. I wouldn’t go back.

When you sit down and look around at other table’s food and then look at the menu, and then your wife says we have to come back, so many things look so good, you know your in for a good meal. The calamari was cooked well, but the marinara sauce took it over the top. The pork chop I had was cooked perfectly and tasted so good. Wife enjoyed the lobster mac. Ended the night with the seasonal cobler, which was apple, I can never turn down an apple desset, and I’m glad I did not. Can’t wait to come back.

Really a 3.5, but I’m feeling generous.
The food was good and we will be back. The service nice, but there was either a communication problem or we just have the best luck in the world when it comes to getting food served in a reasonable manner.
We aren’t like most parents: we take our kids out to eat with us and we eat with them. We don’t feed them special food first while we wait, then have them wait while we try to eat and they’re bored and monstrous – I know that that is standard procedure, but I guess it is up to us to INSIST that no, dear server, please – appetizer for table, all entrees at the same time. Really. It makes everyone happier, particularly MOM, whose tag line remains that you won’t like me when I’m hungry, which is most of the time.
They can only sell whole bottles, but we like Hopewell Valley Vineyard’s Rossa Della Valle. Maybe it was my mistake in the beginning to tell the server I wanted steak, fruit, milk, fried oreos for each kids – rare – but if we are making beverage orders, bring out their milk now and put in the calamare appetizer. Put in the kids order now? No. We want that with our entrees. Let’s just say this went back and forth – he did not understand that we wanted them to fire up the calamari NOW while I was being wishy washy about what to order. I was starving and having trouble focusing.
He came back with the wine and milk. I asked to put in the calamari. He left and then said he can only serve the steak well-​done. Sir, if you give my kids well-​done steak, they will send it back. They’ve done that at Witherspoon. They like it bloody. Make it medium-​rare then, just not grey and dry – they won’t eat it. He left for a few minutes.
I ended up ordering the chicken lollypops w/​sesame ginger sauce on the side and the rib appetizer. Jim ordered the pork chops.
The calamari came out – with only 1 appetizer plate. Um, could we get plates for the kids? Then 2 plates. So we decided I’d have the plate in front of me from which to divvy out the app. The calamari was perfectly crisp and not at all soggy, the marinara simple but tasty, the zucchini soggy. Immediately after a 4^th plate appeared and we were enjoying our appetizer, the kid’s dinners showed up. REALLY? So we shuffled around the plates. We reminded the waiter that we wanted their dinners with our dinner – he let us know that they would have their oreos when we got our dinner. We then had 6 plates on the table, so we put their apps onto their plates and stacked the app plates under Jim’s plate. Then we had to cut the steak into pieces for each kid instead of eating our hot calamari. That done, we ate our calamari. And waited.
My son’s steak was medium rare, my daughter’s medium, so we swapped meat. It was mild and may have had a lid put over it at some point, as it tasted a little liver-​like, which happens when beef is steamed. That said, the kids ate it all. The blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries were a hit too – of course.
The 2 tables sat behind us and seated after us were served. I believe the entire restaurant had filled at this point (we arrived at 6:50 on a Thursday), while we were staring at an empty table. I asked our waiter about our food, as all of the other tables were served, and were told that the pork chops take a long time. Good to know, but UGH. I was losing my appetite, in part because the appetizers are enormous.
Then our food arrived.
The kids loved the oreos. They looked a little mushy, but they’re 3 fried oreos that came with the $ 9 kid’s meal. Steak, fruit, milk, and deep fried oreos is a steal for $ 9, particularly when fried oreos are $ 3/​each at the fair.
The lollypops were fantastic, though I could only eat 2 of them at this point. You know the 18 minute rule? After 18 minutes, your stomach reminds your head that you’re full. It had been about 25 minutes. That said, they were delicious. Perfectly fried, crunchy, tender chicken. The sesame ginger sauce was not too sweet and the table enjoyed dipping everything into that sauce. I wanted to take it home. It was so good.
The spare ribs were good, but I forgot to ask for sauce on the side. The Agave bbq sauce is sweet and sticky and just too sweet. I’m not a fan of American BBQ sauce. It’s good – not too tangy, not as syrupy as most, but I’m not a fan of it. They did a good job, but ugh. The spare ribs were fork tender and had a good piggy flavour. I’ll definitely get these again, sauce on the side.
The pork chop was perfect – juicy, tender, succulent. Jim scraped off as much BBQ sauce before giving me a bit. Enormous serving. The sweet potato fries were soggy by the time I tried them, as there was a generous amount of sauce on the plate.
Everyone was happily eating everything, but filling up. Would you like another milk for the kids? Sure. Sadly, the milk ($ 3/​each) was delivered after our box and check.
By the end, our bill was $ 120, before tip.
We enjoyed the meal. The timing was not atrocious, as at Agricola. We will retu

I came in hangry and was so excited about the menu. There aren’t too many places with a Southern comfort food focus on Nassau and North End is BYOB, so I was pretty excited. I had the Reuben Mac and some corn bread, and both were good, but the bread was dry (with no honey butter or other spread) and the Mac wasn’t a terrible standout. The cheeses weren’t distinctive and it seemed like a one pot deal that I could whip up at home easily. It was still filling and comforting, though. Service was responsive, but they were pushing us out the door despite the fact that it was 9:30 (they close at 10) and the place wasn’t packed.
I’ll likely be back to try some of the other food, though, because I’m a sucker for comfort food. They also have what looks like a promising brunch on Sundays.

Not sure how on earth this place could get less than a 5 star review. We are North End devotees and love the food and atmosphere and the service is always wonderful! We go at least once a month — their specials are awesome, and their standard fare is the best food in Princeton, in my opinion.
So good. So worth trying. Also, it is BYOB. So that’s awesome.

First impression was great, the décor is very modern and tasteful. We so wanted to like this place but could not overlook the taste of the food, or should I say lack there of.
There were Four people in our party, so we ordered and appetizer and 4 meals. The Calamari appetizer was perfectly cooked and fresh but really lacked flavor. It is served with a marinara sauce which tasted like bland tomato juice.
We then had 2 Lobster Rolls, an order of Chicken and Waffles and a children’s spaghetti with meatballs. Again, fresh food but very underwhelming. I hope this was just an off day because the place is very nice inside and the staff was great.
This is the first review where I have been really torn because I really like the atmosphere and the staff, but was just not happy with the lack of flavor on all of the dishes.

4.5 in my book. I’ve been here twice and never have been disappointed.
Appetizer Calamari was perfectly cooked and well seasoned. The coating was light and crisp with a nice fresh marinara sauce.
I’ve had the pleasure of trying a few different entrees here. On my first visit I ordered the surf and turf special, which was a steak & lobster tail combo. Both were cooked to perfection and delicious.
More recently I tried their lobster mac & cheese and it was everything I could have dreamed of. My friends ordered the Cheeseburger Mac (an upscale Hamburger Helper… but it was divine), and a simple Cheeseburger (which was also up to par).
Homemade table potato chips are offered instead of bread which I think it a nice touch.
The reason I have yet to give this place a full 5 stars is because although I appreciate a server who knows to let you enjoy your meal; I’ve felt both times visiting the service was a little slow. The food comes out at appropriate times; but the service lacks that little extra ‘omph’ in checking, filling waters, etc. (I’ve visited both at a typical busy dinner time 6:30 on a Friday and slow Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm and have found that consistent).
During both of my visits here the server (or kitchen) have forgotten side orders (the first visit a side of grilled asparagus; and the second a side of fries. Little things to note; but it ended up not being a big deal because the portions are so generous I would have cancelled both sides anyway.
Other thing to note: they have a liquor license, but only serve wine by the bottle and they do not have a full bar.
I look forward to visiting North End again!

Ok for starters got there on a Saturday evening, early, round 4:30, was not crowded. The homemade chips were great and not filling as a mini appetizer should be. I ordered a starter of French onion soup, was awesome. Wifey got the chili, again delicious.
For our entrees wifey ordered the steak tacos with a black bean and corn side. The steak was yummy but oddly cold.
I had the fish and chips. The batter was spot on. Perfectly crispy, not greasy. As a dessert I had the fried oreos. I have to say they give you 7 or 8 oreos soo after dinner you might have to share.
The only problem we had was the steak cubes for the tacos were cold and the chili was luke warm.
Service was great, wine was tasty! Also I might add as we were leaving the patrons were packing in.

I had a good meal here and felt happy and comfortable. Service was also nice. Only thing is… I do feel like it’s a overpriced for the food as well as the ambiance.
From the outside it looks like a chic little bistro, but inside you have paper napkins, diner-​style booths. Nothin too crazy. Not that that’s an issue… I love me a good diner! BUT, the prices were not diner prices. So that’s the disconnect
$ 7 for a plate of very boring, very dry fries. $ 18 for a salad that really was just a huge pile of kale, craisins, 4 small seared scallops, and some shredded carrot. Again, I REALLY enjoyed the salad! it was tasty and also had these little crispy shallots mixed in (not many, but they were there). It’s just not $ 18 quality.
I’d say either up the décor & quality, or lower the prices… it just doesn’t match up

We really wanted to like this place but it was pretty underwhelming.
Cons: Do not get the guacamole. I failed to ask if it was made fresh and it was delivered way too fast for the answer to have been «yes». $ 15 is absurd for bought-​in guac and bag tortilla chips.
Fried chicken and corn bread: across the board, good flavor but disappointingly dry. I was treating my friend to a birthday lunch and was sad that he wasn’t in love with his entrée.
Pros: Easy to park. Clean, comfortable, and well decorated. Service was excellent, our servers were attentive without being overbearing. The lobster roll is not a New England-​style roll, but delish nonetheless. Does not have the sweetness of Maine lobsters (cold water makes the flavor) so if you’re a traditionalist, take a pass. Sweet potato fries were passable. Can’t go wrong with BYOB.
Overall, it was adequate but we were one of a handful of people there. When we walked around and saw how packed some other restaurants are, it’s clear we need to follow the locals lead next time.

Came in here on a random day trip/​drive to Princeton. No one else was in the restaurant but us, so it was pretty quiet. The waitress was very nice and peppy and came to check up on us during our meal. I had the Turkey Burger with Sweet Potato Fries — the fries were so good! The burger was good too, had a strong turkey taste, on a multigrain bun with avocado, lettuce, tomato, red onion and a pesto mayo I believe. Boyfriend had the chicken sandwich with bacon, avocado, tomato, lettuce with french fries; I had a bite and it was pretty good! Both sandwiches came with a pickle. Good place to try in the Princeton area.