Shanty On 19th

I always look at the menu and read up on some reviews before trying a restaurant for the first time. Usually though, regardless of what I read, I like to advocate my own opinion. This is one of those times where I should of listened to the reviews.
My girlfriend and I were both extremely disappointed. She actually thought I was being generous giving them two stars. I thought the service was decent, and the salad bar was pretty good, which was my reasoning. Everything else was lousy.
We started off with the Bruschetta with Crostini. The bruschetta was bland and the crostini bread was dry and hard. It was edible but probably the worst bruschetta I ever had.
For lunch I ordered the 19^th Street burger and she ordered the Chicken Ciabatta sandwich. The burger was overcooked and burnt (ordered it medium) and the chicken on my girlfriend’s sandwich was so tough she couldn’t cut it with a steak knife.
If the cook can’t handle preparing a burger and a chicken sandwich correctly when the restaurant is slow, how can I trust him to make anything at all? I will most likely never be returning.

Very disappointed. Went for a quick bite to eat for lunch, however it took more than 30 minutes for our meal to come out when the restaurant was almost empty. I ordered a French onion soup and when it came out my spoon was dirty. When going to open my silverware I then realized the whole set was completely dirty with chunks of food as well. After finally getting our meal, our server dropped half of our fries on the ground and told us she would be back with more — which never happened. Not to mention the burger we asked to be cooked medium was over cooked and charred. Clearly dissatisfied, management or the server failed to ask us if everything was okay. First and last time we will be wasting our money there!

Wanted to try this restaurant in spite of the reviews. We walked in the entrance and waited. The bartender asked «May I help you»? Really! A server carrying clean dishes ushered us in to an empty room and told us to sit anywhere. After waiting 10 minutes for menus and a server we left!

This restaurant was lucky enough to get a star only because of the above average service. The food on the other other hand was bland, tasteless and uninspired. We ordered the ribeye and the l pork chop, both dishes were poorly spiced becasue there was no seasoning at all, and the sides could have been better prepared at your own home. Please, please reconsider this eating choice.

Best burger ever! The 19^th Street burger is SOOO GOOD! Charcoal broiled juicy seasoned burger with hardwood Canadian bacon and fried egg with crispy edges on a buttered roll… Better than I expected… Will be back soon!

Let’s be clear, I had high hopes looking at the menu. Those were all dashed. Thoroughly. I ordered the Cowboy steak (hipster for bone-​in ribeye) medium rare. I received a thin cut medium boot. The most prevalent taste was the char of the flame grill. In other words, they clean their grill so rarely that you get all the wonderful burnt meat build up in your steak. The instant potatoes were the best tasting thing. I declined to finish the $ 26 steak. My dog is less discerning so she’ll enjoy it. As this was a fact finding mission I ventured the desert menu choosing the easiest item to not screw up. That. Was. A. Mistake. My crème brûlée was, in fact, a crème anglais sauce with a burnt sugar crust. FYI: all the complaints about having to ask the wait staff every time for drink refills are 100% true. Brace yourself

Went there at prime time for lunch and only one table taken that had a few old men sitting and talking. Should have been my 1^st warning. My ice tea had to go back, tasted like cleaning solution was in in. Then I got a blt or should I say a pork jerky sandwich. The bacon was so old and hard, it was literally as tuff as beef jerky! There is a reason the place is always empty. Terrible!!!

I’ve been here many times and EVERY times it’s been a great experience. Good food, drinks & the staff is awesome. The DJ for Karaōke on Thursday is a lot of fun. Good Sunday brunch too.

First time here since they reopened. Food was good and the menu offers a large selection. Portions are generous. Salad bar offered standard selections and was very fresh. Our server seemed new but was very nice.

Stopped in prior to the movie tonight. Years ago would frequent the previous version especially during the holidays as it presented a good Christmas vibe. The pros; adequate and fresh salad bar, dinner green beans prepared al dente were good and enjoyed my 2 Boston Lagers. The server was friendly and attentive. The cons; 1^st impression dinner rolls hard as a rock the server brought over fresh when she noticed we could not crack open the hockey puck variety. The veal was horrid greasy bad meat and garlic infused potatoes were dry and tasteless. With all the restaurant choices in the area bypass this place and go elsewhere.

Stopped in for a bite and a beer and I must say I feel very welcome… The bartenders are very professional very warm and friendly! Definitely try the appetizers, they’ll knock you out…5 stars!!!

We cannot express how disappointed we were with our entire experience on Saturday December 14^th. Our friends made the reservation for 6:00 for 5 people. Our friends told the person taking the reservation that they had tickets for a show at The Civic for 7:30 so we would need to be seated promptly.
When we arrived, we waited 15 minutes to be seated at a booth for 4 and a chair on the end.
It took our waitress, Kristen, 15 minutes to get our first drinks. Kristen was not very nice, although she did apologize. We all received our meals except for my husband. Kristen didn’t notice he was missing his meal until she returned several minutes later asking «what did I forget?». She went back to the kitchen to place the order again. She never offered to refill our drinks. We had to ask every time. She returned saying she placed the order and we requested to have it «to go». For the most part, the rest of the meals were good except for the Shrimp Scampi that my friend had. Of course it was after 7:30 so we said our good byes to our friends.
We thought it would be polite to allow them to clean our table for another customer so we waited by the entrance for our «to go» meal. We noticed Kristen had her hands full of dishes and napkins to set a table. My husband approached her about his meal and IT STILL WASN’T READY. This girl had a bad attitude from the moment we walked in. She seemed «entitled». She blamed the bartender and the kitchen for everything.
A manager or owner never came to apologize or check on us. The staff looked like they were running around with their heads chopped off. Very understaffed and very disorganized. Unbeknownst to another waitress, she dropped a credit card that went under a table. Luckily a young boy saw this happen and he returned it to a befuddled waitress.
This was a night to celebrate. My husband just came off of 17mths of cancer treatment and transplant which restricted him from eating in restaurants. We will never return and we will never recommend this restaurant.

On a mission to find the tastiest breakfast/​brunch in the area, my husband and I were led to the Shanty on 19^th on a Sunday morning. We were the only ones there and that probably should have been a clue… as we sat down it was immediately evident that this wasn’t the place for me. The utensils had water spots all over them, there was a dead mosquito on the window sill next to where my daughter sat, and there was a thin layer of dust/​dirt on my bread plate. Down to it: I ordered Brioche French Toast and my daughter had the same, my husband ordered a simple breakfast with two eggs, potatoes, toast, and bacon. I will say, my French Toast tasted pretty good, but it was luke warm as was the rest of our food and coffee. My husband’s potatoes looked discolored and were lacking in flavor, and the rest of his meal was just as disappointing. We spent $ 34 and could have had a better experience at almost any other breakfast spot in the Valley. To top it off, my husband spent the afternoon in the bathroom paying for the poor food quality. Definitely being generous with two stars.

Fantastic food and experience! Our server, Kaylee, was incredible and so knowledgeable about the menu. Her suggestions were right on! Get the Perch and the Salted Caramel cheesecake! Make yourself happy.
We will definitely be back! Highly recommended the restaurant to anyone interested in eclectic menus and comfort food!!!

Great steak perfectly done as ordered.
A fine Bistro style dinner. Polite, patient service. Nice birthday outing…

They want to be a fine dining establishment. The only thing that’s remotely close to it being fine dining is their astronomically priced menu. The food is mediocre, and definitely not worth the price. The greens served with the entrée was so bitter, I actually spat it out. Our bill was around 80 dollars for two adults (2 entrees and 4 house wines on «special») plus tip. I gave it two stars b/​c the salad bar wasn’t bad and the waitress was fine. My advice, this is not worth even trying once (nor trying if you use any promotional coupons they have advertised)!

5 Stars Well Deserved.
What we ordered:
Lobster Bisque
Chesapeake Pierogis
Chicken Carbonara
Chicken Florentine
Salad Bar
The Bisque was the best I have ever had. Not too fishy and just the perfect flavor spectrum all around. I could have eaten a million more bowls.
The 3 Pierogis were topped with crab meat, bacon, and onion straws. I’m not huge on bacon so I could have done without that but the crab and onion straws paired perfectly with the soft mashed potatoes inside the pierogi.
Salad Bar was also great. Nothing crazy just the typical fixings but everything was very fresh. Salad Bars are harder to come by nowadays so I appreciate that they’ve kept that from the old shanty (which I’ve never had but I know they had — thanks to my grandparents)
Chicken Carbonara was very thick and rich. Made it halfway through the dish before tapping out. All the right flavors though and for a pretty fair price around $ 20
I tried a bite of the Chicken Florentine my mom had and it was delicious. Spinach and tomatoes coupled perfectly in a much lighter sauce.
EXCELLENT choice made for Mothers Day dinner. Service was quick and staff was extremely friendly, everything came out in the correct order with no rushing or much waiting in between, thanks Shanty!

Awesome Sunday Brunch!
Just came from great brunch of smoked salmon. This is my second time here for their Sunday brunch and each time the I have had an awesome meal. The staff is very friendly and the Bloody Mary was excellent with bacon wrapped asparagus.
The restaurant is charming and I am happy to see this great addition to the West End of Allentown.
This will be a monthly treat for my wife and I!

The Shanty is a continuous evolution in improvement. I know when it first opened their were some mixed reviews but I have seen a restaurant that listens to it its customers feedback and makes necessary adjustments.
What more could you ask for?
I have become a regular and there are many aspects that I love about this place. There burgers are AWESOME! The staff is friendly, engaging and very customer service oriented.
The management takes great efforts to assure your experience is a positive one.
I am a big fan of small plates so I love appetizers! They have implemented some fabulous happy hour specials that are great for a quick bite and cocktail after a day of work.
I recommend you try this place and if you have before, come back again as you will be pleasantly surprised by the changes!

Disappointing! With 6 to our table, we were over ½ the patrons after 1PM on Friday. I thought that we had just missed the lunch rush. I found out otherwise.
All burgers & fries ordeded, but 1.
Kitchen timing needs work. Seriously, over 30 minutes to receive just 3 of the burgers. Then, another solid 5+ minutes to get the rest. With an open kitchen, I could see the buns being «toasted» a.k.a. ½ charred black for the last 3 sandwiches.
They weren’t started until after the first 3 were delivered.
In that amount of time, I didn’t think meat temperature would be an issue. When a customer verbally requests medium rare (a PINK Center) and receives an 1/​8″ of gray «sear?» with rare RED center, your temps aren’t correct. Guess I’m lucky the charred bun warmed the rare meat a little. Ha-​ha!
With no guarantee how long a reorder would take, I mentioned the state of the burger to the waitstaff. Since we were the last 3 to receive our food, 35+ minutes after order placement, we declined the reorder.
Since returning at about the same time, food quality has improved immensely.
Sadly, timing for food preparation has not.
While our party appreciates food prepared well, 40+ minutes seems like the back of the house needs some support.