A Garfield Restaurant With Steak, Bar Pie and a Back-Room Reveal

From the street, this Garfield spot can look more like a compact neighborhood bar than a destination for a ribeye dinner. Step into the front room and that impression holds: a casual place for a drink, a game on television, and a little local conversation. Then the restaurant opens up in an unexpected direction.

The more elaborate dining room is reached by a separate entrance or, depending on how you come in, through a passage by the kitchen. It is a pleasantly odd reveal after the plainspoken front bar: boxing gloves, photographs, Western objects, John Wayne material, and the accumulated decor of a place that has made its own rules over time.

This is not polished-steakhouse territory. Country music, the dense collection of wall material, and the lived-in barroom energy give the restaurant its own slightly rambling personality. A meal can begin with a beer at the counter and end surrounded by more memorabilia than you noticed on the way in.

The boxing memorabilia and Western theme do not arrive as a single carefully styled concept. They mingle with photographs and other old-school pieces, making the room feel collected rather than decorated. You can settle into a booth, take a high-top table, or sit at counter seating and still find something else on the walls to inspect.

The dining room accommodates a broad range of outings. Couples and solo diners fit comfortably into the mix, while families and larger groups have room to make a proper evening of it. At some meals the room has a lively family-dinner buzz; at others, conversation can remain easy and unhurried.

In warm weather, there has also been outdoor seating with the same informal, eclectic spirit. It is not presented as a sleek patio scene, which suits a restaurant whose appeal begins with being a little unconventional.

Steak is the anchor of the menu, particularly the ribeye. Diners can choose 12-ounce, 16-ounce, or 24-ounce versions, so a modest steak dinner and a serious appetite are both covered. New York strip is another option for someone who prefers that cut.

The kitchen cooks steaks to order and gives them the char that steak lovers tend to seek out. The setting may be a casual neighborhood bar and dining room, but the steak is treated as the main event rather than an afterthought.

Surf-and-turf-minded diners can pair steak with shrimp scampi. The scampi comes in a rich buttery garlic sauce, a straightforward indulgence that works well alongside a charred steak and a basket of bread.

One of the more distinctive orders is the beefsteak platter, which borrows the format of the old Clifton-area high-school fundraiser tradition. Thin slices of steak are served over small pieces of bread, making the bread a working part of the plate rather than a side left untouched at the edge.

It is an unusually specific regional eating ritual to find on a restaurant menu, and it has a pleasingly communal feel. The platter makes sense for a table that wants to share appetizers first, then pass around something more substantial than another basket of fries.

That local touch also suits the restaurant's family-run character. The owners and chef are known to circulate through the dining room, answer questions, suggest dishes, and swap a little restaurant lore along the way. The service has the direct, personal quality of a place where the people running the room are visibly invested in it.

Pizza has its own lane here. The bar pie is thin and crisp, with a light crust, tomato gravy, and enough cheese to balance the sauce without turning the pie heavy. It is a good order for the front bar, but it also works nicely as a shared starter before steak or an Italian entree.

The menu's Italian-American side goes well beyond pizza. Chicken Parmesan arrives in a notably generous portion, the sort of plate that can readily create a next-day lunch. Shrimp and eggplant is another worthwhile choice when the table is moving away from red meat.

Complimentary bread has been served with oregano, pepper, oil, and butter, giving diners something to nibble while deciding how much food they can honestly manage. Given the size of several entrees, taking some home is a common outcome.

Seafood appetizers provide plenty of ways to build a meal before the entrees arrive. Baked clams are unusually large, while garlic clams come in buttery garlic sauce. Neither needs much reinterpretation; these are old-fashioned, satisfying starters made for the center of the table.

Cowboy shrimp takes a more playful route: large breaded shrimp tossed with mild hot peppers and a glaze. It carries enough character to hold its own next to the steakhouse-style orders without demanding that everyone commit to a full seafood entree.

Then there is the Drunken Onion Burger, a juicy burger topped with caramelized onions. It is a useful reminder that a visit does not have to become an elaborate steak dinner. A drink, a bar pie, or a burger at the front counter can be a perfectly fitting way to use the place.

The front bar is more than a waiting area for the dining room. It is a casual place to settle in with a drink, watch a game, and decide if the evening calls for a full dinner or simply a few plates. Local taps have included Ghost Hawk and Hackensack, adding a regional note to the beer list.

Moving from the bar toward the dining room gives the restaurant an appealing two-part rhythm. You can begin in the small, familiar room, then find yourself at a table in the memorabilia-filled back area with clams, pizza, and a large steak on the way.

For younger diners, a children's scavenger hunt provides something to do during the meal. And dessert may not be handled as a mere final line on a menu; dessert selections have been brought to the table for sampling, another small gesture in keeping with the restaurant's unusually hands-on hospitality.

The restaurant is cash only. Seating includes the bar, booths, high tops, counter seats, and the indoor dining room, giving groups a few different ways to settle in.

Free street parking and a free parking lot are available, though a space can sometimes be hard to find. The separate entrance and kitchen-side route to the dining room can make a first visit mildly confusing, but that small quirk is very much in character with the rest of the place.