The Tap Room

ranger60

New Jersey

4.3/5  rDev -6.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25 | $$

I've been meaning to hit this place for some time. Glad I finally did.

Beer selection was actually great in terms of craft beers. I reviewed the beers separately.

Bartender could have been a bit more knowledgeable for my taste, but the place overall was great would definitely come back.

Foodwise, very good...had a house salad, and the fish and chips...was listed as an appetizer, but was a good size portion, served with sweet potato fries.

01-25-2013 19:16:19 | More by ranger60

JoesAboveUs

New York

5/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$$

I love this place! Never was a beer person until my co-workers brought me here and had me sample some of the fine beers available. I always hated beer and am not your so-called beer expert. That was until I found a place that had real beer. They let you sample what is available, and now I've found there truly is a beer for every taste. I know I am preaching to the choir, but needed to review this place because I they deserve credit for turning a non-beer drinker into someone that now knows the difference between macro crap and real beer. They draw a loyal following and many others that would not normally go to a beer bar, since they are in a hotel. I love seeing the expressions on new comers that would not expect 10 taps of beer loving goodness. Also, they get women at the bar! Not many beer bars can claim that.

10-04-2011 19:58:05 | More by JoesAboveUs

BelgianAl

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$$

I've been going to the tap room for years, meetin up with some of the other beer aficionados every Tuesday. Eva, Rachael and Carli are great servers and I love the wings there. They have happy hour with a dollar off drafts and some food to munch every day. There are always have great draft selections and my favorites, Rochefort and St Bernardus in bottles. When I went last night, they had St Bernardus on tap, so I was in my glory! The place put on an awesome Belgian event last year. I couldn't believe what great bottles they were serving for such a small price to enter. Looking forward to the next event, 10/20/11 - West Coast Beer and Food.

09-28-2011 15:01:07 | More by BelgianAl

PatrickSullivan

New Jersey

4.95/5  rDev +8.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$$

A beer lover nirvana! Kevin is outstanding when it comes to bringing in the best craft beer that's available to NJ. Being a BA himself, Kevin's always on top of what is available and desired by the craft loving masses and does his best to procure them for our enjoyment.

He holds tapping events for special releases (KBS, Parabola most recently), in addition to themed Food and Beer dinners where you can eat and drink all you please for one flat price. There is also a "Secret Bottle Stash", which includes some very nice bottle offerings that are sometimes hard to find, in addition to the impressive regular list of available bottles. The tap list always consists of quality craft beers with a variety of styles to suit all tastes.

The food is always amazing, with a great variety of both pub-type appetizers and creative entrees, some of which use craft beer in their recipes. My personal favorites are the Blue Point Wings, the Blithering Idiot Ribeye and the Kobe burger.

The bartenders (Carli, Rachel & Nelson) are very knowledgeable about the beer they are serving. The proper glassware and pour is always used and they are more than happy and capable of pointing you in the right direction if you aren't sure what you want.

The atmosphere is wonderful. There's a variety of all types of people that frequent the bar and there is almost always a very laid back vibe. The only slight drawback is that it is in a hotel that does hold wedding's from time to time. When the weddings are over, the revelers sometimes make their way into the bar. But that usually only takes place later in the evening during weekends and what bar isn't a little louder and crowded during a weekend night?

09-23-2011 17:59:49 | More by PatrickSullivan

BakerStreet

New Jersey

4.75/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I couldn't agree more with the previous reviewer! I feel like it could've been written by one of my fellow beer compatriots, or maybe it's the famous beer writer who I hear frequents the place. I go to the tap room often because of the regulars, the servers, the manager Kevin (the beer linguist) and of course, the BEER! If you haven't been there yet, stop by and pull up a stool. Anyone that is disappointed probably has very high opinions on what exactly a beer bar is supposed to look like. For me, it's all about the BEER, and that's what The Tap Room has in spades.

09-20-2011 15:01:52 | More by BakerStreet

CaptainBeerland

New Jersey

4.9/5  rDev +7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$$

Great Place!!! Don't let some of the others fool you with their so-so reviews. This place consistently changes what's on tap and always has exceptional beer there. My last visit, just to name a few, Great Divide Rumble IPA, Mikkeller Single Hop Willamette IPA, Brother David's Triple, St. Bernardus Abt 12 and Oskar Blues Ten Fidy.

Kevin is always putting on great and rare sixtels. Every year he gets KBS, so look for that coming soon. Kevin also has great beer events once a season. $40 for all you can drink and eat! Great food, giveaways, a band and most importantly, awesome bottles and drafts! What other place does that? All others that I've been to charge for every beer. Plus it's in a hotel, so you always have an option if you imbibe too much.

The Tap Room is attended by many local and non local beer lovers regularly, including a famous brewer ;) Quips about the decor? Please, are you here for the beer or are you an interior designer? I've been to many others in NJ, but always come back to the Tap Room!

09-20-2011 02:22:23 | More by CaptainBeerland

500w

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

The variety and quality of beer here is incredible. The taps are constantly rotated; one great beer follows another almost daily. The lines are always clean and the beer is fresh.
The friendly bar manager really knows his stuff and is glad to answer any questions or make a recommendation. Everything from the servers to the warm decor is perfect. I've made it a destination stop whenever I go out for great craft beer.
Here are four beers they just had on tap so you can get an idea of the quality the place has: Scaldis Cognac Ale, St. Bernardus ABT 12, Firestone-Walker Double Jack, and Saison Dupont.
They always serve the beer in the proper glass and at the right temperature which you don't see too often anywhere.
It may be hard to believe that a hotel bar is a craft beer mecca but this one is. In addition to hotel guests it draws a large amount of locals and people who travel for good beer.

09-17-2011 20:15:46 | More by 500w

beenitty

New Jersey

3.94/5  rDev -14%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

I'd seen that this place had some awsome offerings but didnt make the excuse to trek out there until I saw Parabola on draft.

Hotel Lounge, wedding parties coming and going, hotel guests. Not really your typical beer bar scene but good offerings. FW Parabola, Mikkeler Single Hop, Founders Cerise, Founders Centennial IPA, Anderson Valley DIPA.

Wallpaper makes you feel like you're on a TRIP, lol. The type of place I'd come if they have awsome stuff, but not just stopping in to hang out.

Good place, not anything to rave about. Knowing me I'll be back when they more rarities on tap.

08-23-2011 11:55:59 | More by beenitty

koopa

New Jersey

3.8/5  rDev -17%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Stopped here for the first time today with a buddy who lives about 30 minutes away. The front half of the bar feels like a hotel lounge area. The Scottish Tartan patterned wallpaper is hideous. The bar itself is alright...about 11 taps of good quality choices and about 40 bottles on the menu I looked at. The bartender seemed nice but not necessarily knowledgeable about beer. The mixture of beer drinkers and hotel guests created a weird atmosphere in my opinion. While the beer was decent, I'm really surprised by the high scores this place has received here on BA.

08-15-2010 02:42:18 | More by koopa

claspada

New Jersey

4.4/5  rDev -3.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Attended a wedding and was amazing surprised to see this great little bar in the middle of the hotel. Great feel and overall atmosphere. Great selection, kinda pricey, but what can you do. Some pretty rare choices as well, not your typical Blue Moon, Bass, domestic selection. Made my evening much improved from what I originally expected. It was a Saturday and they had a local band playing pretty awesome music followed by house tunes which were all quite modern and yet not "house" or dance music.

08-11-2010 19:48:42 | More by claspada