Medley’s Jazz Restaurant

I went here and I ordered wings and mac and cheese. The wings were generic and if I didn’t order takeout I would have sent them back. The mac and cheese was ok, but I definitely am not thinking about going back.

Never have I been so disappointed in a dining out experience than I was tonight. I was with a group to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The live music was great and the setup of the restaurant created a nice atmosphere but that’s pretty much the only positives that I’ll have to share.
One woman in our party requested blackened fish instead of shrimp with her grits due to an allergy. The chef owner told her he needed to «check» because he wasn’t sure what the kitchen could do. Blackened catfish is already a menu item and seeing as he was the owner, we weren’t sure who he needed to «check» with. That should’ve been the first clue that things were going to be off.
The chef owner proceeded to let entire restaurant (all 4 tables it wasn’t crowded at all) know that the food would be cooked «fresh to order». We took that as code for slow… so we were expecting a bit of a wait but after an hour and a half of waiting that was beyond cooking «fresh» food. ⁵⁄₈ of us received our food at first. The waitress came out to inform 2 of us that the chef was cooking the whiting «fresh» and we’d need to wait a few extra minutes. After another 20 minutes waiting we asked what was going on. We were informed that the whiting needed to be defrosted! At that point I think we started to lose it. We’d been seated for over 2 hours already to be told that the food being cooked was STILL FROZEN!
I’d ordered blackened catfish so I asked the waitress about my order. She then came back to ask me what sides I wanted. That tells me they forgot about my order and hadn’t even started to prepare it. Another 20 minutes go by and out comes a plate of fried fish. I sent it back citing I’d ordered BLACKENED fish. The chef comes back out to speak to the two who were waiting for that frozen whiting. He tells them he’ll make them a «special dish» instead. I tell him that my order came out wrong and he actually tries to tell me that I’d been given blackened fish. Please don’t insult my intelligence.
It wasn’t until 11pm that we all received our entrees. Mind you, we were all seated at 8pm! Even with that amount of time they forgot to bring out one of our appetizers and they mixed up another one of our orders. My friend told the chef her entrée was missing mushrooms and he tells her that there are no mushrooms served with it. She points out where it says «sautéed mushrooms and onions» clearly on the menu. He then says that it was a mushroom sauce. Which one is it? What’s the point in lying? Why not just admit there was a mistake?
Now I understand that things happen. Cooking isn’t a perfect process. What I ultimately didn’t appreciate was the way the chef/​owner attempted to throw his staff under the bus instead of taking full ownership and responsibility for his kitchen. A shut down POS system doesn’t account for that many mix ups when there were so few tables actually seated. It being the first night for some of the staff doesn’t explain why it took 2 hours for someone to communicate that our food was still frozen especially when being told that it was being cooked fresh. The chef did remove 3 entrées from our bill, take a fraction off the total and offer us a free meal if we come back. We informed the staff we wouldn’t be back for that free meal. Why would we waste another evening there? I actually do hope that he gets it together because the place has good potential. However with the current level of disorganization and poor management, it will make it difficult for anyone dining there to have the type of experience you’d expect when you’re going out to eat. I’ll never try this place again and I don’t recommend anyone go there until they figure out how to deliver at least decent service.
Oh I almost forgot to review the food. I’ll just say I don’t know what took them 3 hours to prepare. The mac and cheese and greens I’m sure only took 5 minutes to microwave and catfish cooks quickly. Nobody was blown away with what they ordered. Very mediocre and nothing that we’d ever crave again.

The food was very nasty. We waited for 2 ½ hours for the appetizer to come out burnt. The best thing that was served was the sangria. They are very unprofessional there. The staff didn’t seem to know what drinks were being served or what the prices were. When I finally received my main course it was nasty. The fish my boyfriend received had a strong fishy taste that lingers in your mouth. The pasta shrimp and crab linguine barely had any crab. It had little piece in it. I received mostly dry noodles. It was a bad experience

No stars for this place only because I have to give a star for Unilocal… It’s the absolute worst and very unprofessional. Forget making a reservation that’s just a big joke. Last night (12.11.2015) my partner and I showed up at 7:37pm for our 8pm reservations that I had made on Oct 24 only to be informed that the restaurant was booked for a party. I got there and saw some Musicians setting up and a guy there got someone from the kitchen (a Poetic Justice looking young lady) for me, who nonchalantly told me «oh yeah you spoke to Lenette right, she told me yesterday about your reservations but it was just for two people». Whether it was for two, one or ninety people a call beforehand is not only common courtesy but also professional and I wouldn’t have wasted time driving from Newark to there and I would have also made alternate arragments for my partner’s 40^th birthday celebration. I called and emailed my reservations on Oct 24^th, in my email I had requested the 12^th of Dec, I then call on the same day to change the date to the 11^th. After receiving a confirmation email on the 26^th of October from Howard Medley, I called once again and confirmed the change of date with him and he confirmed that he was made aware of the changes. Did they send notice of their changes by snail mail, as a quick email or phone call was all that was needed.

When are they open? Not Friday night at 8!!!

My husband and I stumbled upon this restaurant on an early Saturday night looking for something light to eat for dinner. Well, I am so glad that we found Medley’s while driving toward a known local soul food spot in Linden. The atmosphere was warm, the food for fresh and ooooh the live jazz was fabulous. I cannot remember the jazz artists name but she was sooo good. She even had guests from NYC and Russia to visit. It wasn’t crowded which made the atmosphere for us even more intimate, and we got to sing a diddy w/​her on the mic (ya had to be there)! Kudos to Medley’s Jazz Restaurant in Linden, NJ. And they were showing the fight after the Jazz set. We will be back.

Food is amazing wide variety of choices EVERYTHING is fresh so it’s takes time but it’s well worth it. Haven’t been at night but I know there are Jazz Nights and I’ve heard from many people it’s great. Owner/​Cook Howard is very nice and accommodating person. I can go on and on for days about the food it’s just so good the BEST Soul food I’ve had since moving from down south check it out you won’t regret it!!! My favorite items which are hard to chose because EVERYTHING is amazing were Mac n Cheese Cornbread Fried Fish and the wings.

I will consistently review and give 5 stars. I came here for a brunch and the food options seemed limitless. There’s a buffet of fish, cabbage, string beans, jerk chicken, barbecue chicken, different types of rices and others. When one tray is empty, they bring another entirely different tray. As always, Howard has renovated and made the place even better than it was prior (still was a great ambience, setting, seating, etc.). I could talk for days about how much I love the food but that’s a given in my two prior reviews lol. I love this place. I love this place. I love this place!

My husband and I have been coming to this restaurant for the past year and a half and the food is amazing. The owner who is also the Chef does a wonderful job with the ambiance. The live band is incredible. The only downside is the wait time be prepared to wait. But once the food comes
It well worth it.

And what a nasty and unprofessional response. No apology? I ordered a shrimp boat which comes with fries??? How is that not a menu item? Clearly this is the owner and he is both rude and dishonest!!!
Never ever again. I was willing to give it another go but definitely not now. Howard or whoever you need to humble yourself. Restauraut goers beware

So I recently visited the restaurant and to my surprise they were actually opened however everything I ordered off the menu wasn’t available so I asked the cook what he had? I got the wings Mac n cheese with collards and cornbread… The wings were huge and soggy… This place is overpriced, never open, under staffed, with a very limited menu… This will be my last visit. Good luck … Smh

Good luck. They’re never open. I’ve tried to eat here twice this week (and many more occasions since moving to town a year and a half ago) and the curtains have been drawn with the lights off, despite the fact that it was well before the closing time posted on their front door. I’m perplexed how this place is still in business. They have a banner on the side of their building that they have live jazz nights starting in 2014– which last time I checked was last year. I invite the restaurant to stay open the hours that are posted out front so I can try them out. I would love to meet someone who’s actually been there when they’re open because I’m dying to know what the food is like and if it’s any good– considering I live a 3 minute walk away from this place and need another staple restaurant for when I get off the train and am too lazy to cook.

We stumbled upon that quaint spot in Linden looking for dinner. What a find!!! The service was excellent, the food delicious, nice atmosphere and we even engaged with the wonderful chef who explained the menu and delivered!!! I will definitely go back and fill my belly. Amazing!

We were a party of 11, ordered our food at 8:19 pm. Never got dinner and now the band is leaving. Still no dinner. Worst place for dinner I ever been to. One hour just for a salad. Never again will I go or let any one of my friends go here again.

The spot has a nice ambiance. The live band and music is a nice touch. I went with my girl and we really enjoyed ourselves. The food is good but it took a while for the food to come out. Luckily we were being serenaded by the wonderful sounds of Joy Elaine and her band. Nice place to go on date. There’s a level of intimacy unmatched by other restaurants.

My boyfriend ate here once and wanted to take me but every time we tried it was closed. (We tried 8 times) one day we finally got in and were really excited to sit down and eat… We walked through the door and there were a bunch of people with secret service headsets and I felt like that was very unnecessary since they really aren’t all that high class and with the Unprofessionalism of being closed everyday they don’t really need all of that. So we go in and sit down and they tell us that the meal will automatically be $ 30.00 per person for food that we couldn’t even choose. Meanwhile a bunch of people just stared at us and gave us really weird looks and were asking why «these people» (us) walked in. It was such an awkward experience and we just walked out. I’m still confused to this day. I have no idea what happened that day. But I’m surely done trying to find a day to eat here. It definitely is not worth all the hassle.

I can’t say enough good things about this place. Most definitely Linden’s hidden gem and freshest food in town. Have yet to taste anything that I did not love from this restaurant because everything is made fresh and with pride. The staff is very friendly and attentive the food is prices right for the portions that are given which can feed you for more than one meal. Do not pass this place up, hands down best food in town.

Oh, did I mention the Live Jazz Band ! They were spectacular, awesome,­great.What I liked most was how they interracted with the customers, this is what Union County needs, instead of traveling so far, it’s right in your neighborhood. Comfy, quaint, intimate atmosphere you’ll just love. Again thanks Medley’s you have my business!!!

This is an amazing restaurant great service delicious soul food and good prices. Everything is fresh and mouth watering taste like a home cooked meal from the South. Owner Howard is amazing so nice and accommodating best food I had in awhile. My new favorite restaurant hands down. Easy to look over so pay attention its right across from linden train station next to Chinese spot. Definitely a hidden gem i could go on and on about how amazing the food is but check it out for yourself!!!

Great food accompanied by great jazz music. It doesn’t get any better. Definitely exceeded by expectations.