Vader’s Bar & Grill

House hunting in the area and stopped here for lunch. I ordered the Southwest Salad which was delicious (the guac was very good), my daughter had a burger which was okay and fries which were hands down, the best restaurant fries I have had. The right amount of salt and cooked perfectly. They had a cold Redbridge beer waiting for me as well, which went great with my salad. Hubby had the pulled pork sandwich we he said was good. It is not your typical pulled pork, it comes in pieces (chunks) as opposed to being pulled apart. I may just move here so I can eat at Vader’s more often. The restaurant itself has a nice atmosphere and the service was efficient and very friendly.

Vader’s is back and this time they have upped their game in a very big way. After opening and closing, the second generation who reopened Vader’s as a dark and gloomy nightlife type of atmosphere closed their doors and have reopened after extensive renovations and a very enticing menu.
The restaurant is chic inside with vaulted ceilings, freshly painted walls of pinks to cranberry with blond wood and a stone fireplace. The spiral staircase was inviting me to peek, but they were still quietly hanging wall décor.
Tables are dressed with cranberry cloths, sitting on new hardwood floors. There are three dining areas downstairs, with a semi circular dining room which greets you, to a semi enclosed area off from this. The bar & lounge is rather small, but it is cozy & very inviting with the stone fireplace & the background to the bar is a wall sized fish tank with maybe a dozen beautiful, colorful & large tropical fish.
Vader’s is a landmark in the Southampton area, however this baby is only four to five months new. Every area of their menu offers a great selection of vegetarian and gluten free dishes, they even have a list of gluten free beers. They claim to have the lowest priced wine list in the area and I enjoyed a Grayson chardonnay.
They have a vast selection of seafood from fish and chips, walnut vanilla tilapia, crab meat stuffed trout to a wasabi tuna, over 24 of the most inventive & alluring dishes. They have veal, pork, ribs, pastas, poultry & prime rib to steaks.
Their sandwich menu got to me after reading someones review on a black & bleu burger, it was just on my mind & my mouth was watering for one. The burger was served on a tasty grilled brioche bun & the burger was ten ounces of char grilled fresh ground beef. I added crisp applewood bacon & fresh sauteed mushrooms. The bite I had of the burger was delicious & my only disappointment was it did not come with the promised crumbled bleu cheese on top, but with a side of chunky bleu cheese salad dressing. I felt an explanation was in order, but it was not offered and I left it go.
I substituted shoestring cut sweet potato fries, fresh & very tasty. I had asked for the bacon to be crispy & it wasn’t, but by the time I was done eating appetizers, soup & my fries & I knew I had crumbled bleu at home, so I packed it up & will crisp the bacon today & finish my burger.
The most disciplined diners couldn’t resist their appetizer menu from raw, to drunkin clams, Rochelle scallops wrapped in bacon & served with a Dijon mustard sauce. We went with their «famous for over 29 years» clams casino & they were outstanding. I rarely order onion rings but when they say breaded fresh with a chipolte dipping sauce, oh my gosh were they good & the sauce had chunks of chipolte peppers, so addictive, so much so that I asked for it for my sweet potato fries.
I’ve never been a cheap date & if I could have gotten away with it I would have ordered the crab stuffed mushrooms & the scallops, but I ordered the crab & shrimp quesidilla instead. Hubby said, you know it won’t be as good as yours, well guess what hubby it was better than mine. Loaded with crab meat, shrimp, sauteed pieces of onions & peppers, just oozing with cheese. They serve it with salsa & sour cream & I was missing my guacamole. I would most definitely order this again & carry in a concealed container of guac.
They serve French onion soup, snapper & soups of the day, I had their split pea soup which was good. For hubby’s entrée he ordered the pork Marsala & he was not thrilled, I tried it and knew why he was disappointed. They use a pork loin, thinly sliced & it was tough, the sauce was good & the mushrooms were plentiful. I seriously believe they would have a home run if they used pork tenderloin instead, especially when the menu reads medallions of pork. He ate half of it & did not speak up until we were leaving. He did love their homemade red skin mashed potatoes & said the gravy was very good.
I like to build a rapport with my server, just makes dining a bit more enjoyable. What I do not like is when you have one server for the first half & then disappear, later to have another server finish you off. The first did have trouble smiling so it was refreshing to have the robust server who has been with Vader’s off and on for thirty years, but a little explanation of this is the end of my shift & introduce who will be taking care of you is always a nice touch.
I was impressed enough to want to go back & I am anxious to try their all you can eat BBQ & beer or their Sunday pig buffet. They serve breakfast on the weekends & the menu is something you would expect to find at the Ritz, I know I will be checking this out.
Happy hour with half priced appetizers & $ 1. off drinks Tues.- Fri. Order take out on line, closed Mondays. I never believed in the saying that a new broom sweeps clean. Vader’s impressed me but they do have bugs to work out.