Let me first start out by saying that when I started this blog, this was one of the first restaurants that I wanted to blog about. I had this place recommended to me by multiple people, and it’s relatively new so I thought I’d give it a shot. The first few times that I went here I really enjoyed myself. However, I haven’t been in a while so to give the most accurate restaurant review, I went this passed week…and now all I can say is WTF Whitechapel Projects?

Whitechapel Projects is a restaurant/brewery located just across the street from Long Branch’s Pier Village. The architecture and murals were inspired by the Whitechapel district in London, England. It’s gastropub vibes definitely caught my attention!

Product: When looking at Whitechapel Projects’ menu, it’s actually quite exciting. There are different food options that I hadn’t even heard before (anyone know what lángos is?). Anyway, my first experienee there about 6 months ago I had a lángos-wrapped burger and it was great! The other day was a different story. I went to order and was told that they ran out of 5 of their food options…it was 6:30 on a Saturday so this was fairly disappointing. Then I was told that they did not have a cocktail menu even though they previously had one, and then I was “secretly” given the old one. When my cocktail came, there was very little (if any) alcohol at all. But it doesn’t stop there…when we finally got our food, my burger was well done when I asked for it to be medium rare, and the mediterranean tarte flambee came with olives even though I explicitly requested for there not to be any. This was arguably the worst dining experience I’ve had, and I hope it was just an off-night.

Ambiance: The converted warehouse has a plethora of indoor and outdoor space. During the summer, there is an outdoor bar as well as games of cornhole being played. Inside there are shared picnic tables and there are very few tables for just two people. If you’re going out with a larger group of people, this is definitely an ideal spot. There is also a large bar that you can sit at as well-you pick where you sit. The lighting and art add to the urban feel of the restaurant, and to me, is the most appealing. However, the concrete floor and metal ceilings aren’t great for insulating sound so it can get pretty noisy. My favorite thing is that they have recently added games like Cards Against Humanity to some shelves so you can play as you wait for your meal!

Customer Service: The customer service here is nothing short of a hot mess. The bartender told us to choose our seats as we walked in the door. We waited about 5 minutes and no one had come to give us menus and we quite literally had to wave our arms around for someone to come over and give them to us. We were helped by three different people throughout the meal which was pretty confusing when it came time to pay the bill. They were constantly saying “I’m sorry” to try to make up for the countless mistakes they made. As a former server myself, I was embarrassed for them. They also weren’t very busy, but upon leaving I noticed that there were only 2 people on the kitchen staff for an entire restaurant! That definitely explained the subpar food quality. Like I said, I hope this was just an off-night and that when I give this place another chance, I’ll have a better experience.