Tj's Lounge - Youngstown

We had an event at the hotel that required not only catering but audio visual equipment. The staff was great to work with and made sure we had what we needed. The ballroom was perfect and they listened to our requests. Food was served on time and they helped us have a fantastic event. Would not hesitate to go back for the next one!

This place needs a major renovation in every aspect of the word. The menu is dismal, outdated, lacks healthy and allergy-sensitive choices, and may actually be the original menu from 1980. The food was no better than a hospital cafeteria and arrived to our table as it was ready. Two of our party received their food first. One was piping hot, the other was less than warm. The third entree arrived 10 minutes later, just as the first two were finishing their meals. There's no drink menu, so don't plan on getting anything special here. One of our party recommended the sangria, which she has had several times. Apparently they do not have a standard/house recipe for sangria, so whatever your server decides to make is what you get. We received what appeared and tasted to be red wine with a floral liqueur. It was syrupy, warm, and contained no fruit whatsoever. Our friend who had recommended it to us was extremely embarrassed and disappointed. As for the atmosphere... sad. The decor is vintage 1980s, and not in a good way: sticky oak tables, plastic maroon booth benches, stained green carpeting, insect-filled light fixtures, and cafeteria dishware and flatware. The open ceiling tile with a soaking wet towel stuffed in it above the table next to us didn't exactly enhance our dining experience either. And to top it all off, the service was pathetic. There were no more than 3 tables of diners in the place while we were there, yet the server was overwhelmed. With what, we don't know. It took her 10 minutes to approach us to get our drink orders, she didn't check in with us to ask how our food was once it all had finally arrived, and she never came back to refill our water or ask if we would like another drink. Even if you are staying at the Holiday Inn in which this restaurant is located, go elsewhere. There are dozens of much better restaurants within a 1 mile radius of this run down and soon-to-be health department shut down disgrace.

Pasta and meatballs to go. Pasta was decent. Meatballs were terrible.

We went for the special Valentine’s Day menu. I ordered a boar chop, baked potato, and broccoli. We also had tossed salad, calamari, crème brûlée, and strawberry shortcake. There was only one server for the whole place and she had to work as a bartender and bus person as well. Our reservation was for 6 pm and we were at the restaurant for a full two and a half hours. Much of the chopped lettuce in the salad was brown at the edges. The potatoes seemed like they had been baked and sitting all day and they were barely warm and rock hard from sitting or maybe being in a steamer or wrapped in foil prior to service? They were awful. My boar chop was so tough it was literally too hard to cut off the bone. It had no flavor and was rare. The broccoli was not any fresher than the lettuce and had yellow and brown spots through out the whole serving. I am so disappointed. This is the first time in years my husband and I decided to go out for Valentine’s Day. They did take my meal off the bill. My husband had Filet Mignon and scallops and it was good with the exception of the salad and potato. Our desserts were good. Incidentally, doesn’t my chop look more like a small shank? I don’t even know what the heck they served me.

As one that don’t get breakfast often, but really enjoys it, I was glad to find out the breakfast is the best I’ve had. In fact, the wife and I came back for lunch and it was really good too. Service in the afternoon was amazing and knew how to really make you feel at home and would go out of her way for your experience. However, service for the morning wasn’t the greatest. Took a bit to get seated and once we were seated, refills were a bit tough to get. I wouldn’t let that get in my way of thoughts for the next time. We will be back