16 Prospect Wine Bar & Bistro

Came here on a first date and loved it so much that we came back on our 1 year anniversary! We have the scallop appetizer every time and it is to DIE for!

There is a limited menu, and the food was not bad. But it also means that the food was only OK. The food was not memorable. And if I’m going out for dinner, I want the food to be better than I would cook at home. It was not.
The atmosphere was quirky. We ate in the dining room in the back. The live music in the bar in front started before we left, and sounded pretty good. But because all the action is in the front and the back dining room is more isolated, you can’t hail down your server when you need to (like to get the check!)
My advice: go there for the bar and entertainment. Have dinner some place else (and I’m sorry to say that).

This wine bar was a surprising find in Westfield. There was live music, very relaxed ambiance (dim and cozy), and tasty cocktails. I did not order any food, but there was a bar menu that looked solid and bistro seating in the back with better lighting and a more complete menu. The clientele at the bar on the Sunday night that I went was generally 40+, but I am in my mid 20s and I found myself very comfortable.
I ordered a cocktail off the seasonal menu (a «winter solstice») and thought it was quite good! I would definitely come back the next time I am in town.

16 Prospect is by far one of the classier restaurants/​bistros within the Tri-​state area. It takes a lot for a restaurant to truly embody Americana while simultaneously capturing and cultivating a diverse customer base like the Boyles have expertly done. The dedication to what some restaurants may find trivial, such as the fresh juices, and aesthetically pleasing dishes, is what makes this stellar food establishment separate from the rest. Their scotch, whiskey, and wine selections are just a few examples of their dedication to fine dining, in addition to the attentive wait staff and bartenders.

16 Prospect is so special and unique for its great vibe. I mean, live music in this area?! Yes! Tonight i had the mussels with chorizo and the chicken tacos. Both were flavorful and so fresh.
Tim is a great host!

It’s hard to find a place with great small plates, an amazing wine list, and an incomparable scotch whisky list in this part of New Jersey. The staff is top notch; knowledgeable and friendly, with just the right amount of attentiveness. If you’re looking for a place with a NYC feel but don’t feel like traveling to the city, this is the place to go!

A great gathering place to come together. A wonderful warm atmosphere with great music at night. Extensive menu for lunch and dinner — from small plates to full dinners.

Very attentive, courteous staff! Wonderful ambiance, great food. Always a great experience, would recommend it to anyone looking looking for an all around great dining experience.

Love this place — am always satisfied and it is a cozy, homey place with an excellent bar!

Wondering why we haven’t stumbled upon this sooner. Cute little bar/​bistro, friendly service. Pleasantly surprised as we came at HH and they offer a small free buffet! Definitely will come back for the drinks food and atomosphere.

I love the ambience of this bistro. I make a point of coming here when I am in town. The atmosphere exudes the owners personal touches — just check out the Facebook entries! I get the feeling of reuniting with old friends even when dining alone as friendly patrons become fast friends. Always live music, great food — and family friendly dining area too with the live music streaming. I have also been here for private parties and it is so fun! Can’t wait to catch up at Thanksgiving!

let me preface my review by saying that i’ve been to 16 Prospect at least 6 times. overall, the food is good, but i have had a couple of poorly prepared meals. their drinks on the other hand, have always been excellent, as well as the desserts. it’s not a place i could say i’d rave about, so i never wrote a review. however, having had this bad experience, i was compelled to do so. my main complaint, is more about how poorly my situation was handled, more so than the bad meal. excellent customer service goes a long way, and 16 Prospect falls flat on that score.
a few weeks ago, my boyfriend and i returned for dinner. he decided to get the hanger steak, which he has had several times before and loved. i decided to go with one of the specials offered for the day. it was a tuna steak over mixed greens with a mushroom sauce… was how it was described to me. when the meal came, it was already apparent that it was not as described, for if it had been described as it truly was, i would have never ordered it.
first, the tuna was not over the greens and there was a pile of cooked asian noodles on the plate. every component was sitting there separately, completely drowning in a dark brown sauce. and when i say drowning, i mean drowning. i tasted it and it was teriyaki. it was as if the chef had taken ½ a bottle of teriyaki sauce and just poured it right over the entire meal. it was completely inedible, salty beyond belief. unfortunately my boyfriend’s hanger steak was also awful. chewy and tasteless. we were even wondering if there had been some change in the kitchen since both meals were so bad.
when the waiter finally came back to the table… never checked on us once, he asked me if i wanted my meal wrapped to go. so i told him no and started to tell him what was wrong with the meal. then he said to me, «that’s funny, because everyone who has had it today has raved about it.» so i challenged him to cut a piece off of the tuna and try it for himself. needless to say, he didn’t take me up on it.
after he cleared the table, he came back and asked if we wanted dessert. i did want something, since i barely touched my meal. dessert was fine. he brought the bill, telling us that dessert was ‘on-​the-​house’. when we looked at the bill, he had deducted $ 3.95. seriously? my dish was over $ 22-​$ 24, and you give us a free slice of cake? not free cake & coffee, or the right thing to do would have been to take off my entire entrée… but $ 3.95.
worst.customer.service.ever. never has this happened to us before in any eatery where we had a bad meal. needless to say, this restaurant has been scratched of the list of regular ‘to-​go’ places, as well as the lists of our friends who introduced us to 16 Prospect in the first place.

Let me start by saying I did not eat here. I had made a reservation for Saturday lunch since my first Unilocal choice was closed for a private party. We arrived to find the dining room empty at what would have been the height of lunch hour. The place had a very musty smell that started to activate one of my dining partner’s allergies. As a result we up and left.

Great atmosphere for drinks and apps with friends or for a date night. When the weather is right, I love sitting outside. I’ve always had excellent service and the food is great! Let’s face it though, most people go for the drinks and the selection does not disappoint!

Stopped by on a Sunday night around 830. They have live music most nights, and tonight had a fiddle player and acoustic guitar player. The music wasn’t too loud, which is a problem in some places.
The vibe reminds me of a 100 year old pub, which was kind of cool. There is a mixture of sophisticated and local crowd.
There’s a few tables outside for when the weather is nice, and a large dining room in the back.
There is one small TV, so this is not the place to watch the game. That’s ok, as this place is not trying to be a sports bar.
The prices seem very reasonable. I wanted a snack so I ordered 6 buffalo wings for $ 5. Wings are hit or miss at s lot of places, but here they were quite good. There’s a very good selection of wines and beers as well.
Staff was friendly and attentive. I’ll definitely be back.

Returned again on a week-​night to see if lightning would strike again, and it «struck». They had a musical folk trio on stage, which was quite the unexpected treat. A nice night out.

Their buffalo calamari is the best thing you will ever have! I also had the chicken cesar salad which was light refreshing and with a perfect ratio of parmesan cheese and dressing. The chicken was a little dry tho. Also tried the white pizza was okay. It had too much mozzarella and it overpowered the ricotta cheese.
The staff is friendly and the vibe is very relaxed and artsy. Sort of a speakeasy feel to the place.

I’ve been here a few times for wine and small plates. It’s walking distance from the train station and a good place to grab a drink and some eats before heading home or for a night out. In the summer you can sit outdoors and share a bottle over a long dinner. Prices are typical for Westfield. They also have a happy hour with small bites Tuesday to Friday from 4:30−6pm.
I am a fan of their pizzas with a glass of Pinot Noir. My husband, a wing connoisseur, is a fan of their wings. Good food and drinks. Friendly service.

A second visit might yield more stars.
Plusses:Nice staff; very good service. Nice atmosphere. Live music some or all nights.
Extensive wine and beer lists at reasonable prices. Has been here for quite a few years, so clearly pleases many people. Broad menu. Saw free happy hour appetizers.
Minuses: This trip was to try it out during Westfield Restaurant Week. Portions were small for even the modest cost, as is often the case with places focused on alcohol sales and patrons who want a few drinks and just a little bit to eat.
Taste was just ok – not bad, but not good or unusual enough to inspire me to come back vs the good BYO places in town without a special deal, a friend strongly suggesting it, or a singer I recognize.
Many restaurants struggle with the Restaurant Week concept – it requires them to decide how to reward diners for coming out on normally slow weeknights or for trying them out for the first time without suffering losses. I hope a regular meal would yield a better result for me.

Great bar in the front with live music every night, cozy restaurant seating in the back.
They have a very extensive wine and cocktail list, and beers on tap. I noticed that all of their juices and many of their mixers are made in house. I had a cocktail that was really delicious — lavender ice cubes!
As for the food, we had four appetizers — the crab dip, the mussels with chorizo, the lemongrass mussels, and the hummus. The crab dip and hummus tasted homemade, and both mussel dishes were very flavorful — the mussels and chorizo was Italian red-​sauce based, and the lemongrass mussels were herbaceous, light, and coconut-​milk-​perfumed. Both came with grilled bread that was great for dipping.
The entrees we had were the hangar steak, the mac n’ cheese and cedar plank swordfish. All very good. They have dessert offerings but we were too stuffed to partake — something for next time!
The best part was the service — one of the owners Tim came over to check in with us, and since we hit it off, he spent a while with us. It was clear from the people who came to say hello to him that there are a lot of regulars here — I can see why.
Overall, the place gives off a comfortable atmosphere with lots of charm and great food. Worth a repeat visit.