The Pluckemin Inn — Restaurant in Bedminster Township

Several years ago I posted the below review with only three stars. Today, March 2022, I'm pleased to say things have improved. Though we've been here a couple times since the earlier review, as guests of others, it wasn't until last night that I felt a need to update my review. Last night's meal was back to the quality and service level we had become accustomed to at the Pluckemin Inn. Food was well prepared as specified by each of us dinning, and our server Latoya M. was professional, attentive, but not over-bearing. She even picked up on the fact that we were celebrating a retirement and finished our meal with a complimentary "Congratulations" desert plate. A nice evening and meal once again.

October 2013 - The Pluckemin Inn used to be one of my wife and my favorite restaurants. We've been going for 10 years and each and every visit was as spectacular as the time before. Sadly, this is simply no longer the case.

When we started going years ago, David Felton was Executive Chef. Food was excellent, presentation was excellent, wine pairings were always spot on. We loved this place. David left in 2009 to become Executive Chef at Natirar and we were skeptical that food quality would remain so high. We were pleasantly surprised upon our next visit as the new Executive Chef, Juan Jose Cuevas, not only kept things to perfection, we think the food was more adventurous and even better. Juan Jose did an excellent job!

But earlier this summer we had dinner at "The Plucky" again and both my wife and I noted it just wasn't it's usual stellar quality. We also noted that many of the wine pairings were the same as our previous visit though the tasting menu had changed to more summer traditional fare. The next day, I looked online and noted that Juan Jose Cuevas was no longer Executive Chef having been replaced by Andrew Lattanzio.

This past Friday night, good friends of ours took us to celebrate my birthday at The Pluckemin Inn as they knew it was one of our favorites. We were greeted quickly, table for our reservation was ready on time, and we were seated upstairs. Having looked at the tasting menu online earlier in the day, we already knew that all four of us would be partaking along with the wine pairings. I could go into each course of the meal and tell you why it was not the perfection we had become accustomed to. I could tell you why we felt the service was only 'good' as opposed to the higher ratings we'd always offered in the past. I could tell you that three of the five paired wines were the same ones we had tasted now three meals in a row. But instead I'll just say, the mediocre meal earlier this summer was not a fluke as this meal and overall dinning experience was just 'good'. It was not The Pluckemin Inn experience we had enjoyed for so many meals and years before.

And while we don't mind paying what fine dining demands these days, we do mind paying those prices for the lesser quality food and service that sadly now seems to be what the Pluckemin Inn...

Yes, go here. I had been putting off trying this place because the regular menu seemed boring. However, we went because of the good reviews and word of mouth and were pleasantly surprised. Our first time, they had several specials, of which I ordered an appetizer, lobster salad, and a steak for an entree. The lobster salad was innovative and delicious. It was not what you'd expect a salad to be. It was not traditional - small chopped veggies with micro greens and a delicious sauce/dressing. The steak, forgive me I forget the cut, was to die for. And the sauce it was in was delicious. My boyfriend had a veal chop as an entree, but I forget his app. The veal chop was out of this world. I thought I hated veal (and I do, when it's prepared smashed to death and breaded) but now I love veal chops and have since bought them to make at home. The drinks were also amazing. We went back a second time and there were no specials left except a porterhouse which we were not in the mood for so we ordered off the regular menu. I had cod which had a barbeque glaze. It was different, something I wouldn't think of and the flavor and texture was fantastic. The fish was cooked perfectly. I ordered tuna poke as an app. The tuna poke was good but not as eventful as the previous app. I will definitely be going back but will definitely be hoping for more specials. Id give a 4.5 if I could because the regular menu is less intriguing than the specials but I'll give it a 5 in this case because the atmosphere is wonderful. Very intimate and quiet. It has multiple floors and it is just very pretty inside. There is a wine closet/case encased in glass and it sits in the middle of all the floors and spans the entire building. It is, overall, a great experience. The servers we had were also very friendly...

The Pluckemin Inn made one of our first night's out since COVID ultra special. From the moment you walked in (everyone in gloves/masks, tables socially distant and time-slot seatings) to when you left (we even left with two extra wine bottles from their distribution center next door!), it was a wonderful experience. While they have over 40,000 bottles of wine in stock, we struggled to find something on their list that we'd like. Thankfully they have a sommelier on staff who was able to share some additional options that weren't on the menu (and who didn't try and sell you the most expensive bottle).

As for the food, it was AMAZING. Side note - I requested a hot water with lemon at the beginning. As I was taking my last sip, they were coming out with a new one. As our wine glasses got a little too low, they immediately came over to pour. Their attentiveness (for what you're paying) was much appreciated and well executed.

Ok, now the food. We had the gnocchetti sardi (little gnocchi with pheasant ragu, pecorino, and truffle) which was TO DIE FOR. I would have had this as my entree alone. A must get. As another appetizer we had the foie gras. Having foie gras the night before at a different restaurant, THIS was the way and quality it should be consumed. Entrees were the suckling pig (not the whole thing, but a sizable piece) and the special cod (I know, cod right?) which came in an amazing seafood broth with calamari, clams, and artichokes. Both were incredible in their individual flavors. To finish, we had the apple crostata (could have had more apple than crust, but a wonderful flavor) and the dark chocolate bavarois (think the consistency between mousse and fudge covered in a chocolate shell).

Pluckemin Inn did a fantastic job, and we will...