Mc Keansburg Hotel — Restaurant in East Brunswick Township

In 1803, the first house in this town was built on the site in New Ringgold now occupied by the current establishment. First opened in 1890 as an eatery and hotel, the hotel portion is no longer in service, but the restaurant is still thriving where my partner, his family and I came to this hidden gem for breakfast yesterday morning.

Reservation was luckily made last minute by calling that morning for an available 830am seating; otherwise, it would have been at 11am. They are that popular for brunch, and patrons would be turned away without one. Upon arrival, some of us stood at the "wait to be seated" sign for a few minutes before being acknowledged. The restaurant appeared to be empty by the number of available parking spaces off of Chestnut Street, with at least three or four tables occupied by customers. Once greeted by the staff, we were immediately seated by the kitchen in the dining room to a simple, traditional, and inviting atmosphere. Like many older buildings, the bar is in a separate room from the restaurant.

The breakfast menu was limited compared to other establishments in northern Jersey. We decided on the Farmer Breakfast, Creamed Chipped Beef, Breakfast Quesadilla (no meat) with potatoes substituted, and Eggs Benedict. Our meal was served hot, delicious, homemade with fresh ingredients, and cooked to order. Our server, Sheila, was attentive and accommodating. The price was very reasonable. With history and roots for food and drinks, we can...

A friend and myself walked into the Mckeansburg Hotel last night to grab a drink and dinner. We ended up sitting at the last two stools left at the bar in the corner. Right from the beginning we felt awkward as we got looks from the "regulars" I'm guessing because we were not in their "clique." The bartender came over and asked what we wanted in a very unprofessional and rude tone. Not sure if he was the owner or just a bartender and I really don't care. The waitress we had was great...friendly and helpful. But she was the only thing about the whole place that was nice. Food was not great but not terrible...expectations were not met. The bartender ignored us as we sat with two empty glasses for well over 20 minuets. When he finally came over and asked us "you two want anything else?" like we were bothering him. I politely said no, just the check please. He then proceeded to bring over the bill and threw it down on the bar and threw the pen at me to sign the bill. He walked away and I bit my tongue because I really wanted to tell him what i thought of him. My usual hangout is the Port Clinton Hotel where EVERYONE is friendly and the food is so much better. Because of the bartender, our time at the McKeansburg was a waste and I will never step foot in there again. I regret not telling that miserable bartender where he could stick his attitude! On this review I put one star...

Long story short: make a reservation for Sunday brunch!

We’ve enjoyed dinner here a few times over the year. Service was good and food was good. Weve always heard how incredible the Sunday brunch was. We finally got an opportunity to go last minute, checked their website to make sure they were open for the day, jumped in the car and drove over. We arrived with 4 adults and 4 children. We waited at the front door for about 5 minutes before anyone came to greet us. The restaurant appeared to be empty other than maybe two or three tables of couples. We were told that because we didn’t have a reservation we could not be seated. Apparently reservations are required for Sunday brunch, no exceptions and when asked why they are required she responded with “so this doesn’t happen.” I’m still trying to understand what that means because to me what happened was an empty restaurant turned away a table of 8. There is NOTHING on their website or Facebook page that discusses reservations or that they are required to be seated. I’ll be honest, despite the rave reviews the brunch gets…I’m not sure well be back for brunch or any other meal based on the service. I’m still curious if this is true because I’ve tried calling multiple times since and can’t get through to confirm if it’s...