TJs On The Avenue in Mentor
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Mentor, Lake County, Ohio, US
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Site: http://www.tjsontheavenue.com/
- Monday:11AM–9PM
- Tuesday:11AM–9PM
- Wednesday:11AM–9PM
- Thursday:11AM–9PM
- Friday:11AM–9PM
- Saturday:12–9PM
- Sunday:12–8PM
Today was my first day at this restaurant. It was immediately packed and hyped up the entire evening. The bread was either burnt or soggy and all drinks were low to none of syrup. I went with 5 other people and three of the people (including me) had to take their dish off the bill due to undercooked dough, and an exaggerated amount of sauce. Napkins and silverware for missing and asked for repeatedly until given. I didn’t enjoy any of my food except the simple side of fries. It was overcrowded and not COVID-19 friendly. On the plus side, the waiters were kind for the most part and very sincere when it came to help.
We went for the fish fry. The fish is decent. The pasta served with it is cold and is horrible. I guess they are trying to make a lemon penne of some sort. And it was served cold. The waitress was completely dismissive of us and didnt even offer drink refills. We wont be going back. Subpar to say the most. Edited to add the garlic rolls were cold and hard. And you call this Italian??
Great food, always good service, and great price. No longer live in Mentor, but I always stop here when I am back in the area. Both my husband and I had the meatball sub with fried for lunch on a Saturday. Very tasty! Also, garlic butter rolls are always serviced before the food arrives and wow are they good!
Tjs on the Avenue is great place to take the whole family.Craig Pulling has a great Italian Eatery with takeout and Catering available.If you find yourself in Mentor ,Ohio or passing thru this is a place that is on the must stop in list.I enjoyed a Italian sausage over angel hair pasta,it was fabulous. Their basket bread for the table with garlic, butter,and salt is wonderful fresh out of the oven.Before that our table of five adults enjoyed wine and appetizers of TJs sampler and calamari was very enjoyable. All five of us had something different, smiling faces all around the table.Thank you very much for a enjoyable night out for us,and that Thank you goes to Kim for our great service.
First time experience there. Service was excellent, food was excellent. Flavors were a delight, freshness shown ( they make their own pasta ) the rolls were most delicious and salads fresh. They have superior stuffed mushrooms! Forget the chain restaurant. This is what you want.
Good experience.Made reservations. Seated right away. Told them we were trying to catch a show at Andrews. They got us going at a good speed. Gave one of us the wrong soup but brought a replacement with no problem or fuss. Everyone seemed to like their food except me. Wasn’t what a thought. But that happens sometimes when you try new things. Mints with the check, nice touch.
My daughter had the unlimited soup and salad. Its a Lg bowl of soup and Very big salad. She had to take home her salad. My son had a shrimp dish and I had chicken. We both had a salad and all had bread. It was all delicious as we taste tested others. First time there for lunch and will be going back. Love dinner there too!Wait staff is always helpful and friendly!
Somewhat busy at 2 PM on a Monday. Quick service. Had Italian wedding soup, which was delicious. My entree was chicken broccoli Alfredo. The Alfredo sauce was excellent, perfectly seasoned and piping hot. The broccoli was done nicely as it was tender. The chicken pieces, however, were not very tender. Overall everything was good, especially the garlic rolls!
As a dasher, the orders are never ready on time. The front staff are not friendly. They act like they are doing the customers a favor. I could be standing there for 20 minutes waiting for an order and not one word. They don’t seem to care we make our living by picking up on time orders. This is a business that has grown way too comfortable with their success. I hope the food is good and worth it. There are other choices.
Subpar food. They clearly are NOT a real Italian restaurant. They have no concept of what marinara sauce is. They brought me spaghetti with what I can only describe as watered down tomato paste on top. Bland and tasteless. They also burned my chicken parm. It had black spots and was so dry and tasteless. The waitress disappeared and didnt return until our party was done eating. I didnt even eat half. I told her that it was the worst chicken parm and spaghetti Ive ever had, and she still charged me full price. I will never return, and dont recommend it to anyone.
Service was good but I wasnt a huge fan of their Alfredo sauce (thats just me). I didnt care for salt and pepper shakers, I think they should use packets. Same goes for the cheese. It appeared clean and staff was friendly to their customers. Let me add that their Chicken Pecan salad and Broccoli Pizza are amazing.
My wife and I have been coming to this location in Mentor OH for over 10 yrs and the food seems to have gotten better. The waitresses are always friendly and the pizza and stuffed mushrooms are always delicious. I cant forget the salad which is always fresh... Keep up the Good food!!!
Always great food, always great prices. The Italian Wedding soup is probably some of the best wedding soup Ive ever had. The bread is also delicious. The serving sizes are nice so I always leave with a box for lunch the next day. The building itself is old, could use a remodel or a pressure wash at least. But the friendly waitstaff is always attentive.
Food was good other than the extremely over cooked broccoli poppers that had nothing inside them but guess thats what you get for free after the waitress completely forgot about the order of them until our food came out. Waitress hardly ever checked on us. Not only did she Forge the poppers but she completely forgot about my daughters side of fries that came with her meal. What food that came out and wasnt forgot about was good but service was less than adequate
Most of my order went in the trash can. Terrible breading on zucchini and eggplant. Caesar salad was mostly tough romaine. For an Italian restaurant the side of pasta was more than disappointing. Delivery was about an hour later than expected. How long did my food wait for a delivery driver? There are better choices in Mentor.
TJs has always been a wonderful place for food. The service is spotty at best and the same happened on this trip. I took over 10 minutes for the drink order, then we had to hunt our server down for our checks. The food was good as usual and plentiful. I ordered the taste of TJs with chicken parm, lasagna, and fettuccini Alfredo. The first 2 were excellent. Alfredo was quite boring. Some people came in, a group of about 20 and were seated even though the 10 person maximum is stil in effect for OH. We felt very uncomfortable.
We discovered TJs On The Avenue by accident on the drive back to Erie. I was very impressed with the homemade pasta and the variety of sauces to choose from. I had the Chicken Madison which was full of favor. My mom, who is very picky about red sauce, had the pasta and meatballs. The meatballs were done to perfection. We got the NY Cheesecake to go, however; I wish I would have ate it there because I would have bought the entire cheesecake. It tasted just like the NY Cheesecake at the Carnegie Deli.
When my girlfriend and I went to the restaurant we stood at the front for 10 minutes or so while the 2 employees were talking and then when we were seated the food was not what we were expecting, the salad was freezer burnt and the chicken parm I ordered looked like a piece of store bought chicken with some sort of string bag cheese ontop of it. Only reason i gave 2 stars was because our waiter was very nice and polite, otherwise, would not recommend.
TJS on the avenue. Excellent! I ordered a salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles and 1000 Island dressing. The portion was huge and it was delicious! I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan appetizer as my entree. It was good. I received Four deliciously crispy Eggplant Pattys with just the right amount of sauce and cheese! I really think this is the go to place for Italian in Mentor! Our waitress did a great job keeping our drinks topped off and bringing the bread. My wife loves the lasagne here! This place is yummy and as they say in the movies...Ill be back!🤓
Used to be our favorite Italian restaurant. Its not the same. Another table was offered refills on soup & salad, we were not. Other tables were offered refills on bread, we were not. The bread we did have was hard. The Italian wedding soup used to be overflowing with vegetables & meatballs. There was 1 carrot, 1 meatball the rest was broth & celery. My lasagna had barely any meat it was mostly cheese. My husbands ravioli were rubbery & looked like theyd been sitting out for a while & his sauce was cold.
Fun, quaint location and atmosphere. Friendly staff. Large portions and generally good food. The reason for 4 instead of 5 stars is they didnt properly cook off the alcohol in my wine sauce so it tasted more like booze than chicken. Fix that and it would be near perfect.
My new favorite restaurant! Never dined in (due to covid), I ordered through DoorDash/UberEats. The food is delicious, I love the pasta with meatballs, the sauce tastes homemade. I also love the bread that comes on the side with the entrees. The fried ravioli, chicken tenders, and fries are also delicious. I have yet to be disappointed.
Four of us went to TJs for lunch. We were seated immediately. Our waitress was very efficient, taking our drink and appetizer order, then our lunch order. The food was delicious and served hot. We have always had excellent food and service. Thanks also to the owner, Rick, who came over and greeted us. This is a great restaurant.
Absolutely disgusting- went here to get Italian food to only be told the wait was 30-35min and ended up waiting an hour after calling again to see what was going on. Ordered spaghetti with meatballs, the noodles were way over cooked & the meatballs were too hard to even cut. Terrible food.
It is a smaller intimate restaurant serving very good Italian and American food with a very diverse menu. They also have custom-made pizzas and soft drinks as well as beer and wine. Reservations are recommended during the busy hours on the food was served nice and piping hot.
Chicken Madison is the best. Not a $50 per plate spot but a $15-$20 per plate and it is well worth it. The staff are attentive and the owners are great community people. I love supporting our local restaurants. Great sport for a 8-12 size party or rent the whole place for a special holiday event.
I am not pleased. I ordered spaghetti and meatballs and it was a very small portion for what we paid. We also ordered chicken piccata. No capers were included which is a part of the recipe and the pasta portion of that was tomato sauce with spaghetti. Which is exactly wrong. I will never order from this restaurant again. Nearly $50 wasted on small portions and wrong recipes. Disappointed is an understatement.
TJs on the Avenue in Mentor, OH has wonderful authentic Italian food. The pasta is fresh, the sauces are excellent and the portions are plentiful. My favorite is their Eggplant Parmesan. The atmosphere is casual. The staff is friendly and always checking to make sure you have everything you want. The prices are moderate. I highly recommend this place.
We have eaten here for years. Seafood Alfredo is very good, The pizza is my husbands favorite. T hey have the best eggplant parmeasn Ive ever had.This time when we went in there seemed to be bad attitude. The waitress seemed annoyed and short with us. It wasnt extremely busy though. The kitchen was off on their timing also. My meal came out first and it was at least 10 minutes later before my husband got his pizza.
TJs One the Avenue is excellent. As a family (and a few times as an extended family celebrating special occasions) we have eaten there several times over the last year. The quality of the food is excellent and they were able to offer gluten-free alternatives (which were also excellent). If you are looking for a nice casual atmosphere serving great Italian food, you will enjoy this place.
Food was delicious. Big variety in the menu, unlimited bread and salad. Cheaper similar, better tasting items than the big chain competition down the street. Interior decor is a little dated, but thats insignificant. Staff was friendly. Would visit again. They do have early bird specials until 6 Mon-Thurs.
Today I took my family to TJs and it was perfect! Every was great my wife and daughter both had the spaghetti and meatballs and all they did was talk about how good it was. I had a bowl of Italian wedding soup which may have been the best Ive ever had. For the dinner I had the daily special which was soooooo good. Thank you TJs!
You have not had ‘soup’ until you have ‘soup’ at TJ’S. Delicious! Many other places call their ‘soup’, ‘soup’, but it is flavored water. Just enjoyed their Friday Fish Fry. You can actually taste the fish. The fish is not buried in 5 inches of yukky batter. The employees are extra friendly which is passed down from the owners! A great restaurant for every reason!
Very homely place, nice and quiet ambience. The food was amazing, I got the TJs special which has generous portions of Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna and Fettucine Alfredo. My wife got the Calzone. Both portions were big and reasonably priced. We even got a bottle of wine and the check was only $50. We went here to celebrate a birthday and it was worth it! Definitely recommended and will go again :).
A great Italian style restaurant to go to with family and friends. Their menu offers fresh house made pasta, delicious pizza, and a variety of other options all served with their delicious homemade bread sticks. Here you will find generous servings, friendly service, a relaxed environment to enjoy a good meal.
I go here all the time. The food is always consistent and great. The owner always stops by to say hello and chat. The place is always spotless. Restrooms are the cleanest of any restaurant I have been to. I have never had a problem with the waitress staff. They are one big family. Prices are reasonable compared to others of the same type.
Okay good, service was terrible, our waitress took good care of her regulars and pretty much ignored my wife and myself. Never asked how our food was, and never refilled our drinks.The interior also needs updated, felt old and dusty, needed a thorough cleaning, cobwebs on curtains, messy floor. We wont be back.
Great tasting food. Our waitress did not bring out the bread rolls we had to ask.asked for a coffee refill and never got the coffee and never saw her. Asked for soup to come out first but soup and salad came out together.soda for 2 people never got refills and the waitress never asked if refills were wanted.
One of the best places in NE Ohio. They serve hot bread to the table right away, are always friendly and accommodating. A wonderful, family run restaurant. My favorite dish is the chicken parm. Comes with a lovely salad at dinner time, and generous portions. Food is always hot, and I have been going their for years. Nice atmosphere. Nice people. Highly recommend for a semi-casual dinner night out or for lunch.
When I found this place via Google Maps I wasnt particularly thrilled about an Italian restaurant called TJs. Very glad I went in for a business lunch. Food was excellent with great portion size, full menu, bread and salad included with lunch, priced very well. The place was pretty busy too so you know its good. Definitely will try to make it back here.
Terrible experience, both the service and food were poor. I ordered alfredo and my husband ordered the Taste of TJs which comes with alfredo pasta. The alfredo sauce was extremely watery, like it had been watered down or the pasta had not been drained, and was cold. I did not send it back because I had not yet realized it was inedible when our waitress checked on us after the meal arrived. We did not see her again until the end of the meal (at least 25 minutes later). She offered us boxes for our uneaten pasta, which we declined. I explained that the pasta was very watery, and was told that it is like that sometimes. No apology/offer to replace it, nothing. The waitress came back, dropped the bill on the table, and said the owner said to take $6 bucks off, and walked away. She seemed irritated that we had complained, and still no apology. When she came back to collect the check, she told me that the owner looked at our pasta and that it seemed fine, and that I also should have said something if it was bad.Wont be going back. I would much rather the owner right the wrong with the service and the food than offer an insulting $6 consolation prize.
Total reviews rating 4.4
199 Reviews for TJs On The Avenue 2023:
Review №1
2022-05-27Nice little place along I90-E on the way to Buffalo,NY. Were practically the first folks there at opening and the gentleman said they werent technically open yet but we were fine (we were already seated) Lol.Ordered their lunch specials and their samplers. Chicken alfredo for my wife and parmigiana for me. All hearty servings with a side of bread and salad. Recommended!
Review №2
2022-06-30Decided to give this place a try. Im always skeptical of any Italian place. Its my favorite food but hard to find good sauce. But let me tell you this is my new go to. It was DELISH. The portions were very generous. Prices were not ridiculous. The server, the host, and any other employee were very attentive and kind. Wide selection to choose from. Great place for kids too. Couldnt have been happier.
Review №3
2022-05-09I have yet to have a disappointing meal... The staff has always been very friendly.. Down to earth... And food comes out very quick... I always give the chefs compliments especially when the food is extremely well prepared... And about 99% of the time it is... Definitely recommend The TJ trio... Everything is everything is amazing in it from the chicken to the Alfredo... I took pictures of the last meal so you can see what heaven looks like... enjoy!
Review №4
2021-08-02We are local and spending the day in Mentor. My wife was looking for a place for dinner that was not a chain restaurant. TJs is just that place, and apparently, people local to the area know it. This place was busy, but not so much to interfere with dinning experience. The menu is simple and clean. There is no bar, no drink specials. If you know your drink, just ask and they will make it as they have a full compliment of alcohol. Beer list is simple here as well. Feels nice to not have so much to choose from. And the food, large portions, reasonable prices, and delicious. The meal starts with their yummy cheese biscuits as well. Great food, servers, atmosphere, and simplicity, make TJs the place to go.
Review №5
2022-03-20It was my first time there today everything was great, but what stood out the most was the fried calamari appetizer! It was by far the best I’ve had in a very long time! I absolutely LOVED it! And Lori was such an amazing server! Made us feel right at home!! Can’t wait to go back!
Review №6
2022-05-10First time here, it was pretty good. It was fairly busy when we got there, but we had no waiting and were seated immediately. My wife had the lasagna and I had the manicotti. We each had soups, I really liked my wedding soup. The bread they serve is fantastic! We shared the breaded ravioli as an appetizer.Everything was very good. Nice and large serving sizes.Service was great and well definitely visit again. Looking forward to trying other items.
Review №7
2022-06-21We had TJs cater our sons graduation party last weekend. Craig was wonderful at suggesting how much to order and he even helped set up the steaming trays when he delivered the food. He went above and beyond to make sure everything was ready to go. The food was incredible. Many guests asked where it was from as they want to use them in the future. Thanks again!
Review №8
2022-05-02When my family and I placed a pick-up order yesterday, the employee at the front only gave us half of our food. While this would ordinarily not have been that big of a deal, we live nearly a half-hour away, and we had both my older mother and our newborn with us, making another venture out difficult.This is where the professionalism and customer service of TJs really came into play. They not only apologized profusely, they also had someone drive out to our home and drop off the missing food -- going well above and beyond the normal culinary call of duty. My family and I have been going to this restaurant for over 20 years, and it is experiences like this (not to mention the quality of their food) that will have us keep coming back for another two decades.Congratulations on a job well done, TJs.
Review №9
2022-03-13This place is amazing. I love the wedding soup and bread unbelievable! Dishes are huge and easy priced and so good! Great comfort food for a cold evening and great atmosphere. Love it!
Review №10
2022-04-08If you want more authentic Italian food tjs beats the olive garden hands down. Definitely family friendly with great portion sizes. Taste of tjs is like the tour of Italy you would get at olive garden and its amazing. Definitely love this place and havent had bad service with any of my visits.