The Bookstore Speakeasy

Reviews 7

RI

Rick Snyder

What an overrated restaurant! Where to begin - I ordered the Crab Cakes. They showed up and I was stunned by the appearance - COVERED in sauce. "These are Crab Cakes?" I asked. Yes, and the sauce was on so thick that it was spilling over the edges of the plate. Hey, I knew that it was coming with a special sauce, but I expected it to be DRIZZLED, not swimming in it! Ok, Ill try them. Great, they are ALL Bread filling. Since the restaurant is so dimly lit, I picked through them using my cell phone to look for crabmeat, found about 1/2 teaspoon of crab meat in one patty. What a joke. Didnt even touch the other one. When the server came back, I enquired about them. "Well, we dont make Maryland style Crab cakes..." Ah, honey, we are locals. We expect Maryland style crab cakes. These were bad. A light sweet taste? How about a little drawn butter, MAYBE some tartar sauce? How can you screw up crab cakes??? My wife ordered the "Book Club" turkey club sandwich. Ten minutes after the order, the waitress returns, "Ah, sorry but we are no longer making the Turkey Club Sandwich, and we havent updated our menu." HOW HARD IS IT TO MAKE A TURKEY CLUB??? I can make a turkey club sandwich in my own house, right now, without even going out to buy anything! Hey, thanks for trying, well just get a salad... At the end of the dinner, I told the waitress that we will be stopping at Wendys on the way home to get something to eat. As the waitress explains it, "Sal" the cook just came over from Italy earlier this year. Great, a 1920s Americana restaurant has Sal from Italy as the cook! Hey, have Sal flipping Pizzas or making Calzones for a few years before getting the call up to the real thing. Needless to say, I was charged for the crab cakes, but gotta $10 off coupon for my next visit to the Bookstore Speakeasy. Too bad I couldnt use the coupon at the Wendys!

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MI

Michelle Shafer

October 29, 2016: Weve been customers of the Bookstore Speakeasy since it opened. We love the ambiance, food, and live entertainment. For our anniversary weekend, we wanted a romantic evening which is why we choose this particular restaurant. We called for reservations a week prior and asked to have a table far away from the band because it is often very loud. The hostess was great. She showed us two different tables and allowed us to chose the one we liked best. After she sat us, she said our waiter would be right over. The waiter welcomed us and made a nice suggestion for a drink. Unfortunately, thats were the great service ended. He forgot to submit one of our orders and then thought we were ready to leave. We told him that we were sharing everything, and he submitted an order for two entrees instead of one. Instead of taking ownership for the mistake, he said it was a "computer error". Up until this point, we could overlook the mistakes. The third, and final error, was when he used my husbands credit card to pay the bill for the table next to us. Sadly, our romantic evening to celebrate our wedding anniversary was overshadowed by incompetence. Well return because of the excellent food and atmosphere. However, were hoping that management will see this review and train the staff so that these types of mistakes wont happen again.

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BR

brandy martinez

We had hoped for a real 1920s experience, unfortunately what we got was a cramped, dark, over priced tavern. Our table was practically on top of the sax player, literally our toes touched as he played, and my ear was inches away from the sax. The room was so loud we had to shout to hear each other, and so dark we had to hold the menu up to the candle to read it. The service was terrible, the waitress spilled my husbands food on the table and had him put the food back on his plate. She said "the table was cleaner than her hands." and she seemed to have forgotten us most of the time, and the portions of food in comparison to the high prices was equally as disappointing. I felt like olive garden could have done better. We felt completely taken advantage of, the idea of a 1920s speak easy lured us in and the end result was a pathetic attempt. In all fairness the music was great, the idea is nice, and the menu choices are unique, yet the prices and quality of the food, service, and, space just do not fit to make it all come together to be an enjoyable experience.

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TI

Tiffy Langen

First time coming to the Bookstore Speakeasy and my boyfriend and I were coming in to celebrate Valentines Day belatedly. At first we kept driving past the place cause its very inconspicuously located (like a real speakeasy) so I cant dock points for the location (For future reference for all who go so you dont miss it, its located on the side of a building and the door just says "The Bookstore" and it kinda looks like an employee entrance). Upon stepping inside I was super impressed; atmosphere was super cozy and romantic. The only lighting is candelight. The menus are glued to actual books. Vintage music played the whole time. Very excellent service. The food was amazing. I had salmon and it was cooked perfectly. My boyfriend had the pulled pork sandwich and everytime he took a bite said how good it was. I suggest going on a weeknight because when they have live jazz I imagine it could get really loud because it is a rather intimate, quiet space. Would recommend this to anyone! Love the experience there and my food!

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ER

Erik Boissonneault

The people complaining about this place kill me. Weve been here a bunch of times – sometimes its perfect and sometimes there are hiccups, but if youre out to have a good time, you CAN choose NOT to get bothered by every detail. The drinks may be 10 whole dollars each, but I can name plenty of spots around the valley with pricier, weaker, and more poorly mixed drinks. Ive never had a bad cocktail here. And the bartenders are happy to create something to match your mood. My advice is to get a seat at the bar, order an assortment of meats and cheeses, and try 2 unfamiliar cocktails. After about 40 visits, youll have gone through their full drink menu. Then post a thoughtful review. PS. The crabcakes are great. If everything youre served is just as you expect it, how would you ever try anything new? Maryland schmaryland.

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JO

Joseph

来Lehigh读书，你怎能错过Bookstore？Bookstore的好吃的，从Appetizer开始到各种主菜料理，都太过精彩。Seafood Bruchetta、Salami plate，各种cheese。。。开始流口水了。。Entree最喜欢Beef Ribs，炖得软烂、入口即化的牛肉，吃过才知道好。Bookstore有Bethlehem最好的Beer Collection，从Citrus浓郁的Belgium white到Lager，Ale，每种都那么美妙。我最喜欢的是Schneider Weiss，麦香混杂着柠檬的甜味，太美妙了。。。

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A

A Private User

I was given a gift card to Tap and Table, which closed. I called The Bookstore to see if I could redeem it there and was told I could, but only for half of the amount because it is now a different owner. Id just like to inform you that if you would have told me yes, youd accept my gift certificate and allow me to redeem it for its full value, even though you are owned by a new person, I would have been there with bells on, sang your praises to everyone I know, and gone back again and again. Because you (rudely) told me I can only redeem it for half of its value, I will not be dining at your restaurant. Youve missed a wonderful chance to do something nice for someone, which in turn will only improve your reputation. Instead, you have opted to be cheap about it and lost a good customer, as well as all of her friends.

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