Need a quick review? Scroll to the bottom for my final score!
After bailing on my sweetie for Sunday night’s movie, she demanded I pay her back and take her to see Looper. Our favorite movie theatre is an AMC location in Linden, NJ. The styling of the building and hit-or-miss crowds are a major draw for us, especially when we arrive to see a 5 PM movie. The shopping center that it’s located in has 3 restaurants; Applebees, Chevy’s, and a place named Dragonfly.
Dragonfly has a little tagline under its name, “asian fusion, sushi, tabletop bbq”. This always frightened me a little and I’ve been frequenting the other two places for the better part of 2 years. Last night however, I decided to finally check this place out when I knew it wouldn’t be busy.
We headed over at 4PM, happy hour. Parking is plentiful as the restaurant is in a large shopping center. The hostess at the door greeted us upon arrival and informed us of their happy hour specials. This being my first time, I decided to head to the only section with people in it, the bar. For 4PM on a Thursday, I was surprised to see the place had maybe 4 or 5 patrons. This lead to excellent service since the bartender had very few customers to deal with.
I also had the opportunity to observe the shift change at 5 PM, for the bartenders. The hand off was clean for me, I got my check and paid it in about 5 minutes, but another couple who had just arrived was left waiting for 10 minutes after sitting down.
Anyway, let’s get to the heart of the matter, drinks, dinner, and Looper. For happy hour, draught beers are $3 and the selection (from memory) was Yeungling, Sam Adams Seasonal, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Guinness, Blue Moon, and Stella. I ordered a Yeungling and my sweetie ordered the Plum Sangria ($5). I tried a sip of the Sangria and it definitely was delicious. I did however get a twinge of an allergic reaction (apples or something), despite there being no apples listed in the ingredients. I can’t pinpoint what make my tongue itch, so I won’t cry about.
We ordered the most expensive appetizer ($9.95, then half price for $5), bacon wrapped scallops. I was expecting 2 scallops, based on the price, but was greeted with 3 medium sized ones. They were great. The scallop wasn’t over cooked, was clean, and the bacon was crisp.
The sweetie ordered a Miso soup and I also ordered a Caesar salad. Much to my dismay, they do not stock anchovies. The salad and soup were of good portion size for their price, I’ll even admit to being surprised by the size vs. price for the salad, it was quite large. If you were to add the chicken or shrimp to the salad for 3 or 5 dollars more, this salad would make a great small meal.
After enjoying our apps, I ordered a black and tan from the bartender. For those unaware, a black and tan is Guinness and ale. In our little section of the country, black and tans are typically made with Yeungling and Guinness. You’ll find the occasional place that uses New Castle Brown Ale, but this wasn’t a problem for this bartender. You see, this bartender had never made a black and tan before. She handled this very well though, asking the sweetie and me how one was made. A co-worker of hers eventually showed her how to tilt the spoon to make the Guinness float on top.
The drink was good, just as expected and because of her learning experience she chose not to charge me for the beer, a very generous (somewhat customary when learning to make drinks) gesture. I returned the favor when the bill came.
Before I wrap up with the final bill (it was quite surprising), let me tell you about their spicy salmon roll. It’s spicy. That’s all. Typical sushi, spicier than the cheaper sushi places nearby. The general chicken I ordered was nice as well. The portion size was nice for the point in the meal I was at (scallops, beers, and a salad), but would have been on the small side had it been the only thing I ordered. For $16, I was a little surprised, but as a complete meal (app, salad, entrée) I felt the price was very appropriate.
The bill. For two people, with $10 worth of plum sangria, the bill totaled $51.69. When I said earlier that I was shocked, I was! I love nice food in a nice environment and I gladly pay for that premium. It boggles my mind that had we just ordered water all night that the sweetie and I could have walked out of that restaurant for the grand total of $37.79. The restaurant is beautiful, very modern, somewhat chic, but to have that dinner for $37.79 during happy hour is a steal. Sure, this ain’t no 2 for $20 that I could get next door, but for the service and ambiance, I am very impressed, despite the newbie bartender.
Atmosphere: 4/5 – Very nice, very modern, with a lovely tropical fish tank splitting the dining area from the bar.
Service: 5/5 – For happy hour, the place was empty and didn’t fill up at all by 5PM on a Thursday. Fast, courteous, and fun service.
Price: $$$/5 – Since this is my first restaurant review here, I’ll compare Dragon to its immediate competition. Not as cheap as Applebee’s next door and only slightly pricier than Chevy’s. Happy hour drinks and portions were appropriate for the prices.
Final thoughts? I like this place a lot, I’m sorry I didn’t stop by sooner. I’ll have to check back on Friday to see how the happy hour looks, but so far, this place looks very promising.
