Dorrian’s Red Hand

I recently went to Dorrian’s at a private event for a rehearsal dinner. We originally choose Dorrian’s due to its close proximity to our hotel and the fun, casual vibe with private space available. They have a private room that you can book for your event that allowed you to have a quaint celebration – it even has a cozy fireplace. Dorrian’s is one of the more affordable options in the area and one of the only that we saw that allowed for a private space for about 30 people. The servers were very polite and attentive. There was a personal bartender for our party for the entire event. They made drinks for us at the bar in the private room and went to the main bar if we wanted anything beyond what they had in the separate party bar. For entrées, you can either order a buffet or a la carte (with a spend minimum). We did a la carte.  There were buffet appetizers like mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, chicken quesadillas, and calamari. All of which were very good. The mozzarella sticks had shredded cheese on top which was a nice touch. For entrées people could pick between a handful of options. I chose a burger which was very tasty and the fries were delicious and crispy. My friend got penne vodka plus chicken which was very tasty. For dessert we got whiskey cake which was surprisingly light and to die for. I’d definitely recommend Dorrian’s for a casual night out or if you need a private space in Jersey City.

Nice place for drinks after work.
Service was decent. No complains, but nothing outstanding.

Food

We came on a Saturday night for Laugh Tour which was a lot of fun! Even if the food wasn’t great I still would’ve had a great time but luckily the food was enjoyable.

The Big Wave beer was okay, but my mojito was barely drinkable, it was so bitter for some reason? And not sweet enough.

We shared a Spinach and artichoke dip – the dip itself was great!  The tortilla chips were slightly stale but not a huge deal.

I really enjoyed both the Shepherds pie and chicken pot pie. The ultimate comfort foods! The shepherds pie had fluffy potato on top of ground beef, tomato, peas… and the chicken pot pie crust was chefs kiss. The filling had great flavor too.

I live close to this place and used to go there often. The service has been deteriorating over time and today was the worst. I ordered a meal and then ordered their cake and ice cream, was sitting on the table for 15-20 mins wondering why its taking so long. Place was not crowded at this time. Went to check at the bar and saw they had left the cake at another table, no one had cared to check where I am. It was also missing vanilla scoop, when I mentioned I had ordered it as well all I got was, “Ohh, I must have not heard it”. No apologies for leaving my food at a table and not checking on me, no apologies for getting it wrong as well. I was so upset with the poor service, did not touch the cake, paid the bill and left.

This sucks since I used to like this place and have good memories, one of the bartenders was always nice to me and one of their owners is super chill as well. Its a very old bar and hope they get better with their service.

Place looked really dark from the outside, thought it was closed. Nice beer selection. Tried the grilled chicken sandwich and pastrami melt. Pretty good, the fries too.

Customer service was good, but too good perhaps. Server was really friendly and smiling all the time…. At my boyfriend! He was even checking my boyfriend out when we walked out of the place (server was at another table and did a double take).

Ambience 6/10
Food 8/10
Value 7/10
Customer service ???/10