I have been meaning to write about this place for quite some time but keep forgetting to do so.

At my urging, my wife and I gave this place a second try a month or so ago. Once again, the place disappointed in many ways. While the decor improved ever so slightly (they finally got rid of the ghastly maroon tablecloths!) the service was just atrocious. The bartender was unable to keep up with the 10 to 15 customers that were sitting around the bar. It wasn't even particularly busy. He simply kept walking away to talk to a waitress and would never check back on anyone. Any person that wanted another beer or drink needed to grab his attention by waving and calling him out.

The thing that really peeved me was that the beers seemed watered down. Something was definitely off with their taps, or kegs, or both. I first ordered a beer that didn't taste right (it tasted somewhat stale, and definitely felt like it was watered down) so, after a few minutes of trying to get his attention, I asked him to replace it with something else. I asked for a Guiness, and it was equally bad. We finished our drinks and left. There was nothing to be done. My wife's beer didn't taste right, either. There were a couple of buys next to us and they seemed equally disappointed/annoyed by their inability to get a second round of drinks.

I hope they improve their service and continue to get customers. I am sure it can't be easy to make a go of it, but their establishment is lacking and we will likely not be back anytime soon.

Stopped in for lunch last week and have a mixed review.

The maroon tablecloths are terrible and actually take away from the overall decor greatly. Why spend all this money on designing the place and then toss a cheap tablecloth which matches nothing on every table?

Calamari app was underwhelming. The cornmeal/semolina? crust felt raw & under-cooked. The actual calamari was nice but the thick raw coating wasn't pleasant. Also, the portion size was massive but the bland dipping sauce was tiny, chef needs to rethink this one.

Steak sandwich was good, not amazing but very good.

The Shrimp and Risotto was very tasty, risotto rather thick though, I prefer a more traditional loose risotto, to each his own I guess. But the flavors were great and I would order this again.

Service was good and overall a nice lunch. Looking forward to the kitchen and front of house working out some of the kinks before I return for dinner.

After checking out the new candy store a few blocks away (How Sweet It Is) we decided to stop in and check out this place. It was fairly empty, so we grabbed a spot at the bar and ordered some brews. The bartender was really nice, outgoing and talkative and served us a perfect Guinness pour, and a frosty, cold Radeberger. Their tap selection is decent (about 10 different brews) consisting of mostly middle of the road beers (Guinness, Radeberger, Stella were the highlights).

Overall, the place was nice, but the decor is somewhat odd (some of the nicer touches were somewhat tempered by odd choices). I would lose the maroon colored table clothes. We may go back at some point to try out the food (we only had a beer each) but I doubt this place will become part of our bar rotation. I do wish them the best, and I do think they did a good job with the space. It just wasn't to my liking.

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Read the title of this thread again, you'll figure it out.

where is this place at

Here is an article on Cityside from nj.com. There is an interesting line towards the end which states that Peter Mocco claims he will be re-opening the Sandbar in a few weeks. No other details, though.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... rant_opens_at_70_gre.html

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Talked to one of the owners yesterday. Full bar and outdoor seating for 40. They will serve "hearty steaks" and continental cuisine. They are opening in early June.

A few weeks ago I walked by this corner and noticed the doors were open (it's in the new high rise) and saw what looked to be a long bar with lots of construction going on. Just yesterday I passed by and saw there were signs up for Cityside Bistro, and spying between the paper in the windows it looks as if it is ready to open any day now. Anyone know any details?