The Hearth Charcoal Restaurant

We have been going to The Hearth for over 25 years.
With (5) children, a «night out» was always a treat, fairly priced, good char-​broil burgers etc.
Went there yesterday, ordered a burger and according to the main menu board it was $ 1.00 to «double it»
When the counter person tallied my bill she added $ 1.50 for the double.
Don’t get me wrong $ 0.50 is NOT gonna break me, but the principle of the matter is what the sign says is what I should be charged.
I told her that the sign said $ 1.00 to double it and her response was that the sign is wrong.
I told her that she had to honor the sign price … her response «want a manager?»
My response «no but please tell him that he has lost a life-​long customer over $ 0.50»
She shrugged her shoulders and went on to the next customer.
Appearantly The Hearth changed hands a while ago and in my visits since then I have been disappointed.
Prices are higher
deals are gimmicky
counter service indifferent
and they only accept cash
Since this is my second or third disappointment at The Hearth, We’ll take our business elsewhere.

This place has the best grilled chicken ever! Good on salad or great in a wrap. Great pink lemonade. The service is always great and the staff is on the ball. It’s clean and not too crowded. Good coffee. It’s a casual and a relaxed atmosphere.

Very friendly staff, pleasant atmosphere. I enjoy their pastrami platter and bacon cheese hotdogs. Nice condiments bar with pickle, onion (chopped and sliced), and relish. (I miss the red relish they had years ago, though.) The potato salad and cole slaw are tasty.

The burger was dry with no flavor. The chicken wings were average. The sides are also average. The place’s décor was very boring and drab.

Excellent food and great service. Definitely a favorite spot for a quick lunch and a great burger. Love this place!

Burger was a bit dry and came only with cheese. No tomato or lettuce.
Birch beer was sweet and delicious
Quesadilla was loaded with cheese but chicken had no seasoning
Fries were hot, crunchy, and soft on the inside
Onion rings were scorched and soggy

Quick steak because I’m starving and it was on my way. It’s better than the average diner so, it’s «okay.» Inconsistent steak portion size. Sometimes it’s midsize and sometimes it makes you wonder, why do I come back here!

CHEAP! That’s the good thing about this place. Food is just like any diner except you stand and wait for the food. You also put you dish and garbage in a bin. They have a great breakfast and lunch I have never went for dinner. It would get five stars but they don’t take credit cards or debit cards. They need to catch up with. The times. They do have an ATM on location.

Place is great, not many places like it anymore. It’s convenient and I always have a pleasant experience there

Wow, the people here are so nice it almost scary. The food is even better! Had a ribeye steak sandwich, and man did it hit the spot. I wish I lived in the area, i would be here everyday. The prices are good and the service is fast. Check it out if you can

The hearth has one of the best Taylor ham egg and cheese sandwiches in NJ. Their omelets are great, love the spinach and feta.
it’s a really different restaurant, it is reminiscent of places I’ve visited in other states in other decades; it’s a counter only self seating restaurant with a great pickle bar, fresh crispy dill picles, and other toppings for your burgers which I must try soon.
It’s a great place for breakfast and lunch, convenient to rt 46 shopping centers and the nearby mall.

I have been going here since before I was able to chew solid food. I grew up on trips to the Hearth while visiting my grandparents and depended on their tasty, reasonable priced eats to sustain me through college.
This place serves a variety of items fresh made as you order. Everything is reasonably priced. It’s sort of a fast food jersey diner.
Everything is good, some items are great. I love their corn muffins, omlettes, fried side items, cole slaw and veggie burgers. Their pizza isn’t bad, either! If you ask for a baggie you can fill it with tasty pickles and burger toppings from their condiment bar.
A local favorite!

After reading the reviews on this place and it being 10 minutes down the road I decided to give it a try. With high expectations I was met with mediocre reality. Plain and simple it is nothing special. I ordered a steak sandwich, it is an average steak on a roll with a piece of cheese. The service was fine and polite. I just don’t get what the draw is to this place. Inside resembles an old diner. Would not go out of my way to come here again. It would be good for an in then out quick meal but if you like burgers and the type of food served here and want to enjoy something flavorful and different this isn’t the place.

Still serving great charcoal grilled burgers I have loved since I was a teen and they were on Route 3. Simple, inexpensive, fast & good.

I’ve been coming here since infancy, the menu has added more variety over the years but you can’t go wrong with a charbroiled burger (double cheese– the best) with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Load up on pickles and onions at the side of the counter and don’t forget to add an order of their homemade onion rings (order them well done). If it’s too early in your day for lunch/​dinner their breakfast offerings are good too; your standard NJ diner fare: but oh yeah it’s going to be cooked much faster and cost way less. I wish they were open ²⁴⁄₇ as The Hearth would be some good late night/​early morning eats.

I love this place! They grill their Taylor ham on the charcoal grill, leaves it tasting great! Plus, this was the first time I ever had a French toast bagel!
I recently had their mexican omelette and it was delicious and the home fries were perfectly cooked. My lady had a virginia ham sandwich, and it was also delicious — lots of ham in it!
Three things to consider: while this looks like a diner, there are opening and closing hours each day. Also, this is cash only — there is an ATM at the door if you need it. Number 3: a good amount of older folks frequent the restaurant. This doesn’t mean as it is just for them — we take it that the owners had these locals for decades before their children took over.
I would recommend this restaurant not just for its food but to preserve a legacy of great dining on rt 46 west.

This review is for breakfast only…
I would describe this place as a CASH ONLY, self-​serve diner. You place your order at the front counter, pick it up there when your order is ready, and bus your plate and silverware in the area provided by the counter. This is how you save money because you don’t need to tip a server.
When you order in the front, be very specific how you want your food prepared. I like my bacon extra crispy and the home fries with a crust on them. Previous to finding Hearth, I would go to a nearby full service diner down the street. My bill with tip would come out to almost $ 10! Today at Hearth, my bill was $ 6.15 – now with tax $ 6.58 – with an extra egg in my meal. I’m always happy to save a few dollars!
Happy eating.

Still the best steak sandwich at a semi fast food place in Jersey. It’s a rib-​eye and it’s awesome. Get some onion rings on the side and you’re good to go. Everyone says their burgers are great too.
Their breakfast is good too, but I wish they would teach the Mexican gents cooking in the A.M. what corned beef hash is… because they supposedly make their own… but my corned beef «hash» was a bunch of corned beef cut up and mixed with way too much home fries… served on top of home fries. A real disappointment when there’s so much potential.
Hot dogs… TERRIBLE. Definitely stick with Hot Grill or Ruts Hutt… this thing was a mushy cold Oscar Meyer on a saggy bun. Don’t do it.
The service is great and they seem to make that extra effort to make sure your food is packaged properly if taking to go.

This place was very good. For you Bergen County peeps you can compare it to The Fireplace and this place blows the doors off of the Fireplace. Great cheeseburger cooked to perfection with a char– broil taste. Crispy fat fries and pickles and onions for you to garnish. Yum.

Have been coming here since me and twin brother were both in highchairs as babies. My family still loves coming here. The menu is pretty big for a grill they have burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, steak sandwiches, etc but they also have pizza, cold sandwiches (once in awhile I get turkey or roast beef they are STACKED with meat) and rotisserie chicken. Breakfast is also good here.
Ninety percent of the time I get a cheeseburger or double cheeseburger platter with lettuce, tomato and mayo. You should swap the fries for onion rings on the platter though. The fries seem to be the standard diner fries and there’s wrong with them however, the onion rings are of the hand breaded, light, and crispy variety. I am 99% sure they are breaded in house as opposed to coming out of a freezer package, order them well done if you like. You will not be disappointed.
Anyway after your food comes out grab any ketchup, mustard, onions (chopped or sliced) and of course the pickles from their condiment stations. Sometimes they run specials like buy 1 get 1 free but I’m not sure if they do that anymore. They might be under new management.
I wish they were open later, especially on weekends!