Redstone American Grill - Marlton, NJ

Posted by Chewru Guru

February 19, 2008

Fine fare spares no expense

Redstone Grill
Marlton, NJ
Menu: PDF Menu
Meal: Dinner / Weekend / 6pm
Price: $190 - 5 people, including tip

If you haven’t been to the Marlton side of Rt73 in some time, you’re in for a big surprise. With ruthless developers hellbent on profiting from every inch of open space left in our country, the once unremarkable field is now a bustling shopping center with the likes of Coach, Banana Republic, and a slew of other impulse buying destinations. Redstone American Grille shares the back of the parking lot not far from the equally popular PF Changs chain.

From the outside, it’s clear that the restaurant was planned from the beginning. Its exterior matches the ‘promenade’ shopping area perfectly; a modern brick design with an added fire pit visible in the outdoor seating area. Parking was ample only because of the overflow into the shopping area lots. The interior was very nice, but it was almost impossible to get a good look from the sea of people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar. It’s easily one of the most uncomfortable places I’ve seen to take someone for a drink on the weekend - if you’re going to Redstone, order your spirits at your table instead.

Once I escaped the human mass in the bar, I met my family at the table. The dining area has a good lighting level - it’s enough to identify your close surroundings but dimmed to offer a degree of privacy. The music was a bit out of place, and maybe a bit too fast for the expensive meal I was about to buy. The seating itself seems well planned. There are round tables, rectangular tables that can seat 6, and more intimate 2 person tables along the wall. The building is very new, so for the foreseeable future it should look sharp. I wasn’t able to visit the bathroom.

For starters we ordered the flatbread and a foundue platter. Both were large enough to satisfy 5 adults and were generally very good. Our waiter was young, but attentive and fairly knowledgeable about the menu offerings. We ordered some domestic bottles at $4.50 each, and figured them comparably priced against other restaurants. Across the table, my family ordered the chicken and ribs platter, filet mignon, and salmon, but I’ll speak mostly to the grouper special i tried (to the tune of $25).

The medium-sized carribean-style fish was presented on a bed of jasmine rice and topped with a pineapple salsa. On each side was half of a grilled banana, which was a nice touch and tasted pretty good by itself. I found the grouper delicate to the touch of the fork, tender, and its mild flavor enhanced greatly by the spicy salsa. I’m not crazy about rice as a side dish in a more expensive meal, because honestly, it’s pretty hard to tell the difference from rice anywhere else. Nothing against the aforementioned banana, but for $25 I’d have liked a soup, salad, or an additional side to join the fish. You can’t blame management for taking advantage of the swanky surroundings, but I could have gotten something comparable from Friday’s for ten bucks cheaper. The food quality was excellent, but perhaps not to a degree that would justify me returning on a consistent basis. Service times were average.

To keep things honest, my family seemed to love their offerings. The chicken and ribs were especially prized, and I stole some swabs of mashed potatoes, prepared homestyle, which I really enjoyed. The shoestring fries were perfectly cooked with a golden brown glaze. The salmon looked terrific and came with an interesting au gratin potato ‘brick’ which received good reviews. One miss was my brother’s filet mignon, which he clearly ordered as well done but looked to be more of a medium. For the price, we’re less forgiving of something like that. He didn’t send the meat back, however.

I finished my meal first and was still slightly hungry, which is why I got to taste some of the other things on the table. We ultimately passed on dessert, however. Overall, it’s a great place to come to now and then or for a special occasion. You won’t be let down by the food, but throw in some appetizers and drinks and you might still feel some stickershock. One exception is the $10 1/2 pound hamburger, which looks great on the menu and something we’ll definitely try the next time around. =)

Pros:

- Very high quality entrees
- Polite service
- Large-portioned appetizers
- Good dining room atmosphere

Cons:

- Cramped parking
- Beyond cramped weekend bar
- No soup or salad with dinner? Sheesh!
- On the pricey side against other options

Guru’s Score: 3.9 Chews

Subjective rating: We like it.

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