Next Door by Wegmans - Rochester Wiki

Next Door by Wegmans is an upscale restaurant owned by the Wegman family. The restaurant opened in December 2009 and is across Monroe Avenue from the Super Wegmans in a refurbished building next to Petco. Originally called "Next Door Bar & Grill," the establishment replaced Tastings, another restaurant owned by the family that was previously attached to the Super Wegmans.

Beware: If it's a busy night you might not find parking, they offer complimentary valet service, so keep some cash for tips.

Awards

Next Door was voted "Best New Restaurant" in City Newspaper's 'Best Of' awards in 2010.²

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2009-12-15 18:01:50 WOW! It's GREEEEEEN! The menu is up online for dinner service, interesting collection of some good-sounding stuff. I'm looking forward to giving it a try. I'm really amazed at the amount of sushi on the menu, the pizzas look scrumptious and the robata grill sounds fun. —StephanieTodd

2010-01-02 12:10:22 Called at 5:30 pm on Wednesday 12/30/09 to see how long a wait in might be for a party of eight. Woman on the phone's tone was a little rude. She said "We're full". I asked if we come come and wait for a table and she told us "No". I have seen the menu online, I find it odd that the burger uses irradiated beef (so that they can cook it to your liking) but that this place is also a sushi bar. I understand that the beef issue is more about E. coli, but still, I find that amusing. We ate at Tavern 58 instead. I ordered my burger medium-rare, my wife ordered her fillet rare, they came out as ordered and non-irradiated. —JohnGreatly

2010-01-10 11:15:01 Not so positive, even allowing for the 'new restaurant' syndrome. Reservation at 7:45, seated at 8:45. Slow service. Sushi and sashimi OK, pizza like cardboard. Menu is limited, if you aren't a sushi person then you will be disappointed. Very, very noisy, still had ringing in my ears an hour after leaving. My suggestion, go during the week and do bar snacks. No doubt it will be successful but not for me. —sieats

2010-01-17 09:26:26 Now happening place! Great for the younger crowd. We had 6:00 reservations and were seated immediately. Sushi heaven! Food was excellent. Very different menu. We wanted to go to the bar for an after dinner drink, but it was packed. Extensive wine list. It was noisy and it made conversation with dining companions difficult. We will definitely return. —SueZee

2010-01-25 16:43:12 I walked in to this place in Dec. of 2009 w/o reservations. The hostess was less than personable, but she did get us a table within 5 minutes. My fiance ordered a goose and soda, but the waitress informed us that they were out of just about every premium vodka. Why not walk over to the liquor store across the street that Danny's kid owns? Besides that, we had a great meal. The steak was perfectly cooked, and my fiance's sushi and pizza were of good quality. We will definately be back. —ScottLaRock

2010-02-01 21:01:20 After trying to get a reservation for a month, my husband and I finally ate at NDB&G last week… While we were very excited about the new restaurant and menu, we were greeted with disappointment with each course that came to our table.

The Gravlox appetizer was typical smoked salmon on unimpressive cracker (which looked like the same paper thin cracker the pizza is served on). The cracker was not what we would picture when we think of “crostini,” which was the label on the menu.

We ordered the pork and mushroom Robata. The small portion was initially disappointing for $6 but once tasted it didn’t matter that it was small in size as there was nothing exciting about what we were eating. Many bites of the pork were pure fat and the rest was just pork.

We skipped the pizza and sushi since we had read poor reviews of each. From observing other tables, the sushi indeed looked like the sushi you buy at Wegmans (my favorite sushi place in Rochester is Plum House on Monroe Ave) and the pizza was indeed served on a cracker (Pizza at Rocco and Cibon are among our favorites in Rochester).

For the entre I ordered the Grouper and my husband the tri-tip steak. The Grouper was OK, the sauce was very salty and unoriginal. The gnocchi served with it was also OK. I noticed the woman sitting next to me left her Grouper meal half eaten. The Steak was tough in places and the “carmelized” onions were what you would find on a taco bell fajita.

For dessert, I ordered the sweet potato cheesecake which was basically pumpkin pie, and the whipped cream didn’t even taste home made. My husband ordered the molten chocolate cake, which wasn’t even as good as Wegman’s ultimate chocolate cake.

The only positives were the bread served in the beginning of the meal and the servers were very attentive and friendly. We will not be returning to NDB&G.

—MaryAult

2010-03-23 18:54:36 wow! yummy yum yum yum!!! the service is fast and excalant!!!!!! the desert was amazing!!! it was the best diner experince i have ever had!!³ —MARIESAMAOIU

2010-04-02 12:52:37 love the decore and atmosphere. it was very loud and noisey but ill be sure to bring a larger group and reserve one of those private rooms. this place seemed very organic and hip. it almost felt like a club because the music was so loud and the lightswere pretty dim. too bad the table was so small we could barely fit all of our food on it. the food was ok...... i ordered the pasta with chicken meatballs and it was delicious untill the third bite. it was soooooo salty my waitress had to fill my water cup so often because my mouth was so dried from the salt. i didnt want to complain to the waitress because she seemed very busy and i know how it feels being i used to be a waitor myself. it was a bit pricey, but what do you expect, wegmans own the place and quite frankly with the resession and all they could have any price they want and people will still continue to go despite the high prices and mediocre food. the menu also confused me because there were about two pages of sushi and then on another page you would have a hamburger that is irradted??? ... or pasta and mac and cheese. what is this place aimming for exactly? they should work on one theme first. —JasonDeruler

2010-04-12 22:00:02 i've eaten here 3 times in the past 4 months, so i feel i've been exposed enough to judge fairly. food has been just OK all 3 times and the service has been very strange every time! i wasn't sure the first time or even the second, but each waiter we've had is extremely strange - very hard to get thier attention (went tonight on a monday, not busy but impossible to find our waiter) and they have ALL made very off color jokes that left our party feeling awkward. i know this is a strange comment to make, but after having happened 3 times now i'm wondering how they are training the waitstaff....for sushi, you're better off at sakura home & for service and ambiance, you're better off at good luck or 2vine. there are many other great places in roc to spend your time & money!! —Leisel

2010-08-08 16:08:50 We went last night (Saturday night) and had a wonderful experience! Yes, the prices are a bit steep, but it is a Wegmans restaurant. I bit the bullet and got their nightly specialty cocktail for $8.50 - it was strong and very good! Our waitress was very knowledgeable, answered our questions, and gave good recommendations for our meals. The Waldorf duck salad was very well done and dressed nicely and their mac and cheese was very good (and was a HUGE portion). The other people in our party ordered the ribeye steak and the Margherita pizza - both enjoyed their meals as well (but at $32 for the steak, it better be good). We shared the creme brulee sampler dessert that was DELICIOUS. Overall, we really liked NDB&G and are eager to try the bar menu to see how that is. —Acarp

2010-08-10 21:32:16 A mixed experience at NDBG tonight. My friend and I sat at the bar, and ordered several of the small plates in addition to our drinks. The first bartender gave me a rather skimpy pour of wine, then took my credit card and, despite the fact that I had told her I wanted to order food, got distracted talking to her coworker and ended up walking away w/o taking my order. It wasn't at all busy at that point, and the bartender wasn't really engaging with other customers; she clearly just forgot about me.

The second bartender, who came over when he noticed my empty glass, was very responsive once I started engaging him and asking questions about the Finger Lakes winery whose wine I had ordered. He was very generous with his pour and suggested another of that winery's wine, chatted me up and was very friendly, much more so than the female bartender.

My friend and I ordered the spinach pizza and the spicy tuna roll. The spinach pizza, with roasted garlic and a sheep's milk cheese, was delicious — salty, but I like salty. It was crisp and all of the flavors really shone with the simplicity of the pizza. Then, our tuna roll arrived. My friend ate one of the pieces, then stopped. When I inquired why, she said the tuna tasted fishy. I tasted it, and had to agree — it wasn't terribly fishy, but it definitely tasted "off." We signaled the bartender, he took it back gracefully, but then came back out later to — not argue with us, exactly, but to tell us that they never keep fish more than 24 hours, that the kitchen staff tasted the tuna and said it was OK and that perhaps the "fishy" taste we experienced was just fattiness of this particularly fatty tuna.

Well, I am a huge sushi aficionado, and I know the difference between "fatty tuna" and "not-so-fresh tuna." No fish should taste "fishy," and this one definitely did — to the exclusion of the other flavors of the roll. I didn't appreciate the bartender trying to tell me that I didn't know sushi, either — if it tastes off and old to a customer, oughtn't that to be enough? He did take it off the bill but the service was decidedly cool after that.

I would absolutely try NDBG again. The atmosphere is fantastic, and it's (literally) right next door to my office, so perfect for after-work cocktails and small plates. I really want to try the gorgonzola-fig pizza, and the spinach-roasted-garlic-sheep's-milk cheese was awesome. But no more sushi, and I hope the bartenders are a bit more responsive. —ZeldaPinwheel

2011-02-13 08:55:20 Went there last night. We sat at the counter over looking the sushi station. I would highly suggest sitting there. Even though there was wait staff running in and out of the kitchen behind us all night, we were able to spread out and have some privacy rather than sitting in the tiny tables crammed on top of each other in the dinning room. Also, it was very interested to watch the cooks. Our waiter was great.

The pre-dinner bread is delicious. They pay very close attention to presentation of the food. I had the Butternut Squash soup which was delicious. Our waiter gave us complimentary sorbet between our courses. For a meal I had the Beef Sirloin. It was great but the portion was smaller than I expected for the price. My partner got the apple and brie pizza. I tried a piece and was not impressed.

Overall, I would say the experience was good. I would bring people from out of town here if I went again. —RachelRobbins

2011-02-13 10:50:02 I'd say it's dinner with a show after eating here for the first time last night. I was sat at the food bar area in the main room. It's fun to watch the chefs, which is more fun if you've not done it before but if you've hung around a sushi bar, hibachi, or Carrabba's you've seen it before. After watching the salad chefs I wished I ordered a salad, they looked good. The 'Next Door Ale' was great and I had 2 pints. The food was the only part that I was a bit disappointed with. The oysters (which I've never had before) didn't have much flavor but I wouldn't ding them for that. The apple and brie pizza has way too much brie and not enough apple in my opinion. It also could of used a little tomato sauce. I don't think I've said this in a long time but the service was good, if a little rushed. Prices were mixed, the oysters may of been pricey ($14) but the pizza ($11) was priced right for a restaurant setting. —DamianKumor

2011-02-13 23:25:25 I was here last month for a birthday dinner with 6 others. We were sat in what I can only describe as seeming like an odd hunting lodge - it was a room off to the side. It gave us some privacy and quiet but the decor didn't really match the rest of the restaurant. It is possible that it is the room set aside for larger groups. The sesame chili shrimp-calamari appetizer was great. I ordered the California and Spicy Tuna rolls. I found shell in the first 2 pieces of the California so I sent it back - the waitress was apologetic and had no issue with me ordering another roll. I got a vegetable roll and it was good. The Spicy Tuna was alright - had a peculiar aftertaste. 2 friends ordered the salmon and swordfish - both were excellent. The mac and cheese was good as well - very rich. The best dish for me was the beef skewer from the robata grill - tender, sweet, spicy and overall delicious. The desserts were good but given I can't remember any of them, I don't think they were amazing. Our server was attentive and overall it was a pleasant (albeit a bit expensive) dining experience. I will return for a special occasion. —OneLove

2012-07-02 22:10:05 Worst mobile website ever. No menu from mobile device. On a PC, wait 2 minutes for site to load so you can be blasted with music and the chef talking to you. Can I just see the hours and menu please? Upscale restaurant, bloatware online presence. —BrianB

2013-02-16 23:29:24 Great service, but didn't feel the entrees justified their steep prices. Fiancee had a burger, which was very dry; my black garlic fettucini looked exciting on the menu but didn't deliver. However, I will always be thankful to Next Door for introducing me to black cod (aka sablefish)- was their appetizer special and it was perfection with wasabi on the side. —LH

2013-06-14 21:06:06 Will keep it short. Food was good, service was fair, the price was outrageously high. To many other good places in town to spend this much money and leave hungry. —almorinelli

1Website verified Jan 17, 2010
2http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/entertainment/guides/BEST-OF-ROCHESTER-2010-Restaurants/
3Edited comment to work around malfunctioning ! and caps lock keys