Tj Smith's restaurant & bar

Well, where to begin. We had reservations at 6 and it is now 6:30 and we are back home and I am leaving this review. I drove from VA this morning to visit my daughter who goes to school in PA. I wanted to take her and her boyfriend out for a nice dinner since they couldn’t be home in VA for Thanksgiving and their apt does not have the capabilities to cook a Thanksgiving dinner as it’s a basement apt. I had originally made reservations at another restaurant, but on my way in to town I saw people going into TJ Smiths. I pulled up their menu when I got to my daughter’s apt and the options looked good, so I called them and made a reservation. When we arrived, there was a buffet set up and that was the only option. It was my fault for not being aware that they would not be serving their menu. It was also my fault for not asking how much each person would be along with checking out the buffet first. I remained hopeful, but the food was terrible. Everything was cold. My daughter who loves Mac&cheese, was so excited when they brought out a fresh pan, but she was quickly disappointed. How do you mess up mac&cheese?!? It was cold and had no flavor. There was such a thick layer of fat on the turkey and none of that crispy skin. I took one bite and it and I couldn’t take another one as it had a slimy texture to it. The mashed potatoes were cold, the stuffing was mushy. They served fried fish and tilapia and both were cold. The fried fish was so dry, at first I thought it was chicken. The turkey gravy was very dark. The green beans were hard. The one thing that was decent was the canned corn and the tortellini, but while eating the tortellini I bit into something hard and could not continue to eat it. They referred to the rolls as “fresh,” but they were hard and once again cold. The family and I felt bad for not liking it, but it was simply not good. When the check came it was $44.99/person. Of course I paid it, but we barely ate anything so we basically gave them $140. I did speak with the manager Bill, who said he disagrees with me, didn’t say sorry, and did not come back out after taking my payment. Sadly, we would have had better food at Wawa. I also feel terrible leaving this review because I do believe everyone, especially the “chef” worked hard, but it was not good at all. Luckily, I didn’t eat hardly anything, but my daughters boyfriend did due to being very hungry and waiting all day to eat and now he is already in the restroom. I would not recommend this place, but I’m from VA and maybe people in PA prefer different food. This will be a Thanksgiving dinner that we won’t forget and we certainly learned from this mistake.

**Edit: WARNING! STAY AWAY FROM HERE!! The responses from this owner are brazen for an independently owned restaurant. I humbled myself and took responsibility for my mistakes. I have no issues paying for good food. For reference, I spent $200 at my local independently owned BBQ place for 2 people without blinking an eye. I then turned around and had an event at work and spent $300 on 5 pies and their cornbread. I have an issue paying for terrible food that we barely ate any of cause it was disgusting! My review is to warn other people that they will pay high quality prices for very low quality food that is not worth it. I’m not the jerk, you are and I have nothing to be ashamed of as you opened your restaurant on Thanksgiving and had your employees work. Your waiter saw and knew we did not like the food because everything we got off the buffet was still on our plate. This is the first time I have ever not tipped and that’s because although the waiter was kind enough, he brought us drinks and lied about bringing fresh rolls. Due to your cost for terrible food, I didn’t tip. I hope your employees find a better establishment to work at. Seeing how you treat customers, I can only imagine how you treat your team. This is all a YOU problem. Maybe try being humble and looking into making your establishment better rather than being so rude to the people paying to keep you in business.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

We have eaten here before and normally have a good experience, but our last visit (11/15) was a HUGE disappointment in so many ways.

I ordered one of the specials, Steak Au Poive (came with mashed potatoes and veggie) and my wife ordered a Patty Melt. When the meal came, I immediately notice that the veggie (roasted squash) was BURNT, like hard black in numerous spots. Mentioned something to the server, she offered to get me something else (broccoli), so OK. Not really certain why anyone would send BURNT food of the kitchen, especially when the burnt food creates an acrid flavor that never goes away if you eat it.

So, we begin to dig in after that is resolved and I try the mashed potatoes only to discover that they taste like someone dumped an entire salt shaker in them, completely inedible!!!! Mention this to my wife, she remarks that her Patty Melt is super salty as well and doesn't taste great, she barely ate 1/4 of it.

Here is where things really went off the rails.... the server comes over and we mention they hyper salty food and I tell her that the mashed potatoes are inedible. She remarks about a new chef or something, doesn't offer to replace the potatoes or the Patty Melt. Later she stops back and asks if we want to talk to the manager, but I am so frustrated at this point, I just want to leave.

The server should have sent the manager over to talk with us without even asking, as 3 of the 5 items on our plates were NOT good. Further, they didn't deduct anything from the bill and for what we paid, it was DEFINITELY a disappointment.

Not sure if we will go back, it's a shame because we normally enjoy the food, but this really leaves a bad taste.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Cheesesteak Egg Rolls

First time we ever ate out for Thanksgiving - but it won't be our last! What a pleasure to have it all prepared for us. Yummy turkey, plenty of veggies , good gravy and no cleanup. I'm a happy grandma tonight.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

The prices are high and the portions are small. We asked for more vodka sauce since there wasn’t enough. They charged us $2.00 for the sauce.

Vegetarian options: Very few

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 5

Horrible service!!!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Recently at a rehearsal dinner, we were cut off from the bar after the check was paid! Not even able to buy a drink at the bar! The food was cold and the service was awful! I wouldn't spend another nickel in this establishment! I had to rate this place at 1 star to write my review!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Gets worse each time. I don't think they taste the prepped food before service. Our server was nice, but couldn't make up for the quality of food and lack of drinks available.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 5

We either go in person or do take out very often but we’re told tonight to order on line instead of calling an order in and found out the prices for each of our dinners were $3+ more than what they showed on their menu and no, there was no surcharge for delivery service as I personally picked the order up. The owner, some what challenged me and said he would look into it. So be sure to call the order in and DO NOT order on line.

Super friendly staff, good beer, good food!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great place for dinner, reasonable prices, good food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We loved this place. Food is excellent but prices were different from the menu. They should upgrade their menu or at least inform the customer of higher prices. Was very disappointed how the manager handled it with us. Otherwise, great place!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 3

We stopped here because it was the first restaurant we saw leaving Doylestown. The place is nice with an underlying classy feeling, sort of like a high end place that is trying to appeal to a newer clientele. The food was excellent. I had the steak fajita wrap, my wife had the vegetable sandwich and her sister had the prime rib sandwich. Each was extremely tasty and enjoyed thoroughly. The fries are crinkle cut which was a nice surprise. The service was good, but like most places they are a little understaffed. There were three waitstaff for the whole place and they seemed to be a little overwhelmed. The bill came to just about $25 per person. Not bad with the meals and drinks we had. Definitely will eat here again!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

No Happy Hour prices for Fridays

The food was good. The French fries could be better- homemade instead of frozen. Please offer gluten free bread options! Also get eco- friendly straws to protect our environment. Also permit dogs on the outdoor patio.
Nice server!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Good food but it took us a while to get served while the place was near empty.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4