INSTEAD OF ACCIDENTALLY BOMBING WEDDINGS IN AFGHANISTAN, why can’t the U.S. military accidentally drop a big one on the way-too-long-running Jekyll & Hyde Club? While worthier eateries have fallen victim to high rents and stiff competition, this bastion of tourism lives on. It is not just the tourists and bridge and tunnel gawkers excitedly waiting to enter that annoy us, it is also the, um, theme.
With stunning inspiration, the owners of this shrinking franchise (outlets have gone bust in Chicago and Dallas) have set the club in a haunted house with mechanical monsters and costumed actors; a greeter in dark eye make-up escorts guests to a room that resembles The Adams Family. Oh, the creativity! And this is just the beginning of the fun. The four-floor décor includes lights that flash, a ceiling that moves, cobwebs that cobweb, and—if only we’d thought of this ourselves—portraits with eyes that move. And the food—perhaps the scariest part—is American. Brought to you by the same magnificent culture that brought you the corn dog—it includes burgers, pizza, chicken, salad, and, throwing caution to the wind--spaghetti. If you are still wondering why you left New Jersey to spend $300 on Mama Mia, then order the brilliantly-named Cannibal Carrot Cake. Ha! Ha! Even the waiters are in on the act, cracking scary jokes throughout our meal. For the young at heart (i.e. losers who can’t find a real club), visit after midnight when the restaurant magically goes disco. What a scream! But don’t take Recharger’s word. Read these raves from real customers on Menupages.com:
Posted by Rachel on 11/01/2006
Waiting for Godot--or dinner!
We went to J&H club for dinner last night expecting fun and fright--instead spent an hour awaiting a table, only to spend another thirty minutes awaiting a menu. Putting in our orders immediately once a waitress finally came over was pointless--because they just lost our order sheet 45 minutes later. Over two hours after initially arriving at J&H, our stale overpriced burgers showed up, one of which had the wrong toppings. The restaurant itself showed a lack of provisions--you would think it was the great depression or something, what with no supply of onions or vanilla ice cream. Although the manager tried to dull the pain of our experience by discounting the check, nothing could compensate for the way my friend felt after consuming this meal. On a lighter note, the atmosphere is pretty cool and there are plenty of things to check out around the restaurant…I was kind of entertained by the actors--but also kind of pissed off, hungry and restless for the entire time.
Posted by Michelle from Philadelphia on 10/16/2006
Don’t believe everything you hear! We made our trip to NYC to see a show, we heard great things about this restaurant and truly did not hold up to the expectations. The atmosphere is a cool concept but that is all I would go for. The food was blah…could not get pizza, fried shrimp and even the cold beer we wanted. The service was terrible, the servers are more worried about selling the souvenirs cups than actually bringing you drink in five minutes. The bathrooms were ugly. The entertainment charge.. you did not get anything for 17.50 everything was on a wall and you had to get up to see it. I believe they should have interactive entertainment for that price.
Posted by Susan on 10/11/2006
Run Forest Run-far away from this place.
I was sorely disappointed with this restaurant. The food was mediocre at best. The entertainment was scarce. In their defense, maybe it was because it was late afternoon, between the lunch and dinner crowds. But it certainly did not warrant a $15.00 entertainment charge. All in all, I was aghast at the restaurant for all the wrong reasons. Not the ones I went there expecting. I would tell anyone to run, far away to a restaurant that has better food, better service, and no lame entertainment charge.
-- Justine Giordano