Hat City Kitchen

My third time. Food and the Afro fusion band were outstanding! We will definitely come again.

Food was delicious! Stuffed catfish with crab meat was awesome! Band not as good as previous visit.

Everything was delicious and flavorful! Started with Crab Puppies. Entrees were fried shrimp & fish and seafood paella. Can't wait to go back! Live band was good.

AWESOME place great atmosphere. delicious food. will definitely be returning again! music was also very nice!

I having surgery so my friends took me out

This place deserves credit...Always good music, above decent food with interesting menu! I love this place! Wish there was some parking...

I think their dining area can be a lot cleaner. There is one waitress who is SUPER nice and sweet and the others the opposite. Somewhere a long the line they lost the special touch in the food.

I arrived announcing that I had a reservation.

The young lady offered a table nearest the stage although my reservation clearly stated I wanted to be furthest from the stage and near the ladies restroom.

I told her I wanted to be further away from the stage, so she gave a table further away.

However, there was a horrible draft from window and it didn't seem as those there was any heat being given.

I told my server that I was freezing and wanted to move my table.
There was a table available, which she said was a reserved table and it had to be for the 6 prople.

This is not true because the table I had the very same table only the week before!

Anyway, I ended up moving to another table that still exposed me to the draft, so I was cold all night.

And, the table the server refused me remained empty the entire night. I know this because I was there until closing @2AM.

Thinking about it now, I saw several people with their coats on throughout the show, so apparently they were cold as well.

The day after a significant snowfall and temperatures well below freezing, one is well within their right to expect heat.

There are so many really nice employees there, which is the major draw for returning.
Still, improvements are in order.

I have been there 3 times in the last w weeks.
2 of the 3 times I had some unpleasant experiences.
That is not a good ratio.

I love the place and would simply like to have one flawless experience.

Also, there were many times throughout the show were the noise levels from the bar area outvolumed the band. Not cool!

It is not my intention to extend a poor light on this establishment.
I am simply giving truthful account of my experiences.

I travel quite a distance to patronize Hat City Kitchen, so it should be obvious that I want to lend to it's success.

Very lively with live jazz on stage, kids loved it. Nice that the dining room is separate so you can still sit & eat & talk while the live music is on. Food was great. Very very slow though.

Food was excellent. Go for the fried chicken and Mac n cheese and collard greens. Delish!!! One negative was that the place itself was cold temperature wise. Not sure how loud it gets during open mic which starts at 9: 30.

Temperature in restaurant was cold. Server didn't explain correctly.

I always come to HCK but this time was special because we were celebrating one of my best friends bday .!! It was amazing and fun

My friends and I have come to Hat City Kitchen to see Micheala McClain several times. The food and the service are always exceptional. The servers are always on point refilling drinks and are super friendly and solicitous without being a constant presence. I have recommended Hat City to several friends and plan to go there again in the near future.

We went for the music. It's a really cool spot for sure. Great beer and drink menu. Food was ok - not great or outstanding. My mac n cheese came with the top cheese layer cold... The food service is super slow - don't go hungry. I would go back for the music and a drink but eat somewhere else.

Hat City is always a great local place to go for comfort food in a lively atmosphere.

The noise coming from the other room was excessive, the sliding glass door was wide open although was cold outside, and even after I closed it, it was still cold in the room. The server brought me the wrong appetizer (it was one that someone else had ordered). She also brought the wrong side dish to my husband. She also overcharged for the side dish. My food was extremely spicy and I can't eat spicy food. The menu did not indicate that those items were spicy. The food took a long time to come. The server told us that it was her first day and ours was her first table.

One of our late-nite go to places. The modestly priced southern creole dishes are good and tasty. Service friendly. Great live music on weekends can make the place loud. Nice casual neighborhood find.

If you are a Seton Hall parent, this is a great close by but off the beaten path place to take your student and some friends to dinner

Good food, good music, great service. Homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Enjoyed the evening first time would definitely come again .

The band and vocalist was excellent . We enjoyed ourselves!

I live 5 blocks away from Hat City and never stopped in. I was amazed and blown away by the food. I will definately stop in again. Amazing mac & cheese!!!

Good southern food & jazz jams make this place a fun spot to visit. Food was good, with our favorite side being the Mac & cheese. Ribs were a little off, but everything else was good. Go Wednesday for as Jazz jam.

Get the Mac and cheese. You won't be disappointed!!!

The featured band, LT and the Ripple Effect Band, did a phenomenal Jazz performance, truly a crowd pleaser.

Enter through the bar. There's seating by the stage and the main dining room is up a couple of steps. It's quite a loud place when the band is playing What we like is that they serve past 11 pm, after the band stops and the place 'quiets' down a little. The food is a step or two above the casual surroundings. Service is friendly.

Such a great find!! Fantastic Cajun cuisine, I HIGHLY recommend the shrimp po boys. They have a stage and live jazz music. The main room gets loud, so if you like it a bit quieter, ask to sit in the side room.

great ambiance.
food was hot but just ok. not great! paying for sides wasn't great either. the black eyed peas were straight outta the can. not a drop of seasoning! rubs could've cooked a Lil longer. not impressed. gumbo watery not enough okra & shellfish. if I return, I'll stick to easy appetizers. Maybe then we wonb disappointed. loved the look of the place.

We went to see the Blues Tribute to Albert & Freddie King on 4/7/16. Great show! Great Food! Volume level of the band was perfect. We sat at the back of the Bar and could see the stage clearly. Food was excellent!

There appeared to only be one waitperson the night we were there. She was wonderful in every way except she had too many people to serve, and no help. When you could get her attention, you got everything you asked for, but the food was slow in coming; unusual from our other times there, but disappointing just the same

Great find! Hat city restaurant is cozy but has a vibrant vibe about it. The food is your usual comfort food with a twist. The menu has a good mix of your traditional southern cooking like the Cajun catfish fritters to the smoky BBQ ribs. Carribean cooking is also quite evident. The place is easy and laid back. Pricing is reasonable and in big portions! The servers are great looking and very attentive! I will surely be back again. Keep up the good work!

Have been here many times and always enjoy the music (Blues, Rock, Reggae). Brought friends this time around and they also really liked the music, good service and great food (Fried Chicken is fab!). Parking was easy too!

Finding a great place to see live music isn't so easy. We were so excited to go to Hat City Kitchen and they didn't disappoint! Food was good, music was great and the service was outstanding!! Great night out!!

Going to a concert at the NJPAC, looked for a place to eat, and was happy to find this place! The locals come in, exchange pleasantries and sit at the bar. But, everyone orders food! No one is there to just drink. The gumbo (soup) was excellent. My wife's fried chicken and ribs platter was out of this world, and I don't usually eat fried chicken or order ribs! I enjoyed a perfect fried chicken breast.

Resturant was pretty good overall, food was ok, not a slam dunk. Prices could have been better, space was tight however, the live entertainment was pretty good and had an ok time with friends.

I brought my husband here for date night. While I did enjoy the live music it was very loud and made it a challenge to talk at dinner. As for the dinner itself, I did enjoy the cajun theme but some dishes were more successful than others. I would order the gumbo again for sure. But the BBQ Shrimp and grits were a no for me.

great place to meet friends. lively bar scene and often live music

We made a reservation but they did not have it when we got thee - we got a table after a bit of wait but it was all the way at the other end squished in a corner - not where we requested ...a little away from the band but in view.

Good food. But didn't care for being subjected to a cover charge for the band. Didn't know anything about it until the check arrived.

My wife and I and two other couples went to Hat City Kitchen for the first time for dinner and to listen to the band. We had a a lot of fun. Had a NYC downtown small club vibe to it. An eclectic miss of people, young, middle-age and older, some dressed nice and others very casual. The place is a a bit small and seating is tight. Also a bit grungy, but it fits. You definitely want to sit in the main dining area by the stage if you want to fully enjoy the music, but be forewarned it is loud and makes it difficult to hold a conversation. You can sit in an adjacent room and you can still hear the music, but can't see the band. Only drawback was the food. The entrees were mediocre at best. The fried chicken was almost tasteless and very heavily battered I also tried the jambalaya and thought it was bland. The appetizers were better. The po-boy sliders were the best. I would go back to enjoy the music and just stick to appetizers and drinks. Perhaps the po-boy sandwich would be a better choice next time.