The Publick House, Tavern and Inn

Reviews 5

A

A Private User

Our dinner experience at Publick House in quaint old Chester NJ this past Saturday evening could not have been ordinary or usual. If it were, the tavern and eatery could not count on enough repeat biz to sustain itself. It is housed in an attractive historic building that we (family of three adults) were drawn to after a lovely sun-drenched day at the 2012 state history fair at Washington Crossing State Park. Having worked up a nice appetite after the days pleasant exertions, we were shown to a window table at the rear of an appealing enough room; we settled in with high hopes. It was about 6:30 that we ordered and, truly, an hour and quarter later that our lone appetizer appeared – a plate of five very ordinary sized shrimp, with a vaguely chemical taste, priced at twelve bucks. During the course of our wait, while we nursed our pints of Guinness, no information was proffered as to the reason for the delay nor even an acknowledgment of it until I gently probed our waitress. It seems there was some unspecified “problem in the kitchen.” After more delay and more gentle probing we were told three staff members had not shown up for work. If true, I would suppose this easy enough to convey when I made my initial inquiries. So, who knows? In any event, our waitress was pleasant enough and was able to temporarily placate us with a couple of beers-on-house. Anyway, our food eventually showed up and my wife discerned the same chemical taste in her eggplant parmigiana, which she privately debated whether to eat. (Her concern was heightened by the disquieting information of a “problem in the kitchen.”) She finally settled on the idea that the off note of the food was mainly due to an inartful use of spices and flavorings and so, soldiered on. Meanwhile, I had ordered my strip steak ($29 – high for the boonies, I think) to be cooked in the range of medium-medium-rare but sections of it were quite rare – nearly raw – and required significant application of force to cut through. So, in short, on this one particular day, the service was abysmal, the communication inadequate, and the food peculiar and unsatisfying. As an aside, the management seems to have found opportunities to gouge the customer, as with the shrimp appetizer. It may have been just a bad night, but we wont be taking any chances on a return visit.

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MA

Mark Connor

This is a place that you have to visit. This is the small town, neighborhood tavern with a bunch of regulars that all get to know each other. It is likely that if you visit often, the staff greets you like Norm on Cheers. You wont be sitting around long before someone introduces themselves and strikes up a friendly conversation. Definitely a family-friendly place for dinner and entertainment. Lets talk about the food. The chefs do a great job with much better-than-average kitchen creations and specials. The ribs are outstanding. On the lighter side, the pizza is good, the deep-dish is better, in my opinion. And this is one place where a sausage roll is still made correctly!! Now on to the entertainment. This place gets some of the best local cover bands in the area, and these groups draw a great supportive fan base. The client base here is mostly local, friendly, responsible and fun people. Now the Inn... There are a number of exceptional rooms and suites available. I personally stayed in one this past New Years Eve. The rooms are richly decorated and exceptionally clean. As a local businessman serving people who often need overnight accommodations, I often recommend the Publick House. My clients have been very pleased. Other clients require private banquet rooms for special events, and have been equally impressed here. A large number of the staff has been here for a long time. I have gotten to know most on a first name basis. Great conversations and laughs are shared, making me feel more like family than a customer. If you have never been here, I encourage you to stop in. If you havent been here in a while, you should visit again. If you have been here recently, good for you. Bring some friends next time!

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AN

Angela Bohnhoff

My husband and I had a lovely experience here. We were passing through the town of Chester on our way to a strawberry farm. We had to come back because the town looked to be very quaint and a nice place to walk around. The hostesses were both very nice, and gladly let us sit outside on the porch. It is a nice and comfortable view of their little main street. Our waitress was what made our experience the best. I cant remember her name, but she is originally from Minnesota (we were visiting from WI) and we had a lot in common. She told us about the restaurant and gave us post cards with its history on them. Because we are temporarily in NJ for the summer, she introduced us to some of their local beers. She checked on us regularly, and was all about having some conversations with us. She genuinely was there to give us a great experience. She was also very nice to the table behind us with kids. We give her a thumbs up on making our visit wonderful! We both enjoyed every bit of our food. We each got a salad, butternut squash soup, and mozzarella/basil appetizer. Exceptional food that is well worth the price, and it looked pretty too. If youre passing through quaint little Chester, we would suggest making a stop here!

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CH

Christina Oliva

Could be so great but its a bit of a "miss." Somewhat romantic, semi-formal ambiance on one side of the seating area which includes cloth napkin dinner settings but has an open room view over the wood room dividing structure to a full bar that seems it could be a fun, "stop for a quick appetizer and drinks to catch up with friends." The wait-staff all looked young and a bit more worried about socializing than being attentive to tables, it took our waiter about 10 minutes (after my mom met me a number of minutes after I was seated) to show up for the first time & take any type of drink/food order. The menu ranges from what youd want as bar food like typic go-to apps and personal pizzas but also has more formally designed and specialized entrees. I ordered Chicken Francese with Broccoli Rabe and was highly underwhelmed by the quality but it was not bad either. Since moving to the area in the last month my mom has come to enjoy this restaurant but after my first visit I am inclined to return to others we have tried on my visit home from college (wouldnt necessarily recommend to others).

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CO

Colleen Hurley

We visited October 17th, 2015 for the festival. The bartender was sweet, courteous, accommodating and pleasant. Unfortunately, we had a bad experience with the food that was served. We ordered a Chicken Alfredo over Broccoli, as a meal, and a Meat Ball appetizer . The meal was overpriced. $ 16.00 for a portion that was the size of a saucer plate. The Bartender was kind enough to tell the kitchen that the portion for our Chicken Alfredo was so small. They were nice enough to bring out more to us. The Meatballs seemed to taste like they came from a frozen bag with salty red sauce. We both got stomach pains within an hour. We were not happy with the quality or the flavor of the food. We will never be returning to the Public House. The Bartender was awesome! I think, for an establishment that has been in Chester for many years and had a great reputation over the years should reconsider the standards for the quality of their food. PS I noticed that all the positive reviews were from several years ago. Most current reviews are from 2015

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