Old Man Rafferty’s — Restaurant in Hillsborough Township

Ok. So I felt I had to give a review. We went there for my dad’s birthday tonight. There was a 7:00 reservation. We knew that they closed at 9:00 on Sundays, and so we made sure we were out at 8:45. I’ve been here quite a few times, and although I never considered this to be a favorite restaurant of mine, I never had a problem if somebody said to meet here. But tonight there was definitely a problem with the waitress, Heather, and so I’d like to give my review on her. My husband and I came 10 minutes later than everyone else, and it felt uncomfortable as soon as we sat down. After saying hi to everyone, she wanted to take orders asap. I didn’t have a chance to look at the menu yet, but she said she’ll take everyone else’s orders and then take ours. It’s a huge menu (so star there), but when she got to me, I didn’t look at it all yet and just picked something. I saw her rolling her eyes at other tables and things, so i knew she wasn’t exactly friendly, but ok, no complaints about her yet I guess. People at my table were just saying maybe she was just having a bad day, giving her the benefit of the doubt. She came every so often to get drinks. Other people delivered the food. The food was pretty good, so no complaints there. After getting a drink, I asked if it would be possible to put the air conditioning on. I mean, it was in the high 80s today, and my glasses kept sliding down my nose due to sweat, and she did get someone to do it. But then she came to ask if anyone wanted to desserts. Usually when I come here, they just give us the menu back, but she told us to go look at the dessert case, and walked away. This time my mom got upset and complained to everyone at the table that she’s never had to do this, and that the waitress was terrible. I still defended her with the maybe a bad day stuff. My husband and I took my nephew over to see the desserts, and my husband heard her complaining to someone (maybe the manager) about us. I really didn’t know what there was to complain about. We said please, thank you, ordered our meals and drinks, and that was basically it. So I’m not sure. The bill came, and there was a 20% gratuity already added. I was kind of surprised it wasn’t the usual 15% or 18% added to parties of 6 or more. We were only 8, not a huge party. She kind of screwed herself I guess. We always give 25% whether we like you or not, but we made sure to give just the 20%. We were still counting it over, she came in, rolled her eyes that it wasn’t ready, and left. When we got up, we heard an “ADIOS MOTHERFCKERS!!!” screamed from the kitchen. The woman who was cleaning another table apologized quite a few times. So no longer defending her. I would just like to give an ADIOS MOTHERFCKERS to Old Man Rafferty’s. Get servers who act as if they want to be your server, or at least smile...

My parents and I have literally been going to this restaurant for DECADES, ever since I was a little kid! It USED to be one of our favorite restaurants in Somerset County and we would go there frequently. Unfortunately, it seems like this location (can't speak for the New Brunswick Rafferty's) has seriously gone down hill badly in so many ways. The menu has drastically changed and is a lot more limited than what it used to be. So many of their best dishes that they used to have are now gone and no longer available. The unique selection of desserts in their display case used to be one of the main highlights of the restaurant that made this place special. They used to have some amazing flavors of gourmet cakes and pies. But now they only have typical, ordinary, boring flavors of mini cakes that are extremely disappointing and are not even close to the high quality cakes and pies they once had. This restaurant is not impressive anymore, like it once was. Not worth the money either. I've had better food at some Diners for less expensive prices. It's very sad. Worst of all, BOTH my Mom and I ended up getting EXTREMELY sick from some kind of foodbourne illness after eating Dinner here. And the only thing my Mom and I had in common that could possibly have caused both of us to get sick was eating food at this restaurant. Makes me wonder if they have new ownership, negligent managers who either aren't paying attention or don't care about food quality, or unsanitary/unsafe kitchen staff now, since the COVID Pandemic. I notice that the last time managers responded to any reviews on here was a year ago and when I spoke to a manager on the phone about getting sick, he didn't seem to care or take it seriously. In fact, he was defensive against taking any possible responsibility. Instead, he claimed that he very much doubted that we could have gotten sick from eating food there and wanted to tout/brag about his food service education. So his defensiveness and smug attitude speaks volumes, but I have news for him: If I wanted to try to compare Culinary knowledge against him and make things into a contest, I could have told him that I actually happen to be a Johnson & Wales University Bachelor's degree graduated Chef myself. But I honestly wasn't interested in getting into a debate or argument with him, because I don't need him to try to tell me what's possible and what's not, since I already know better. Suffice to say: I don't think my family will be going back to eat here again anytime soon. We no longer trust the cleanliness and safety of the food handling. Definitely not worth the risk of getting so severely sick again and I can't say that I'll be recommending this restaurant to anyone I know...

I was in the area right before Valentine’s Day and wanted to try this place. I came here on a Friday and it was very busy. I found a high top table available in the bar area, and was seated. I was given a drink menu and my bf and I ordered a couple of cocktails. Old Man Rafferty’s has a large menu, there’s something for everyone. Anything from Appetizers, Starters and Shares, Kiddos, Soups, Salads, Burgers and Sliders, Hand Helds, Taco Meals,Pizzas, and Entrees. I shared their Coconut Shrimp with Fig Duck Sauce. The Shrimp were a nice size. It was good, the Coconut Shrimp were crispy and the fig duck sauce was a nice addition. It gave a sweet component. I also tried their French Onion Soup. It was served with a caramelized onion and Swiss cheese flat bread. The soup was good, and the flatbread was a nice accompaniment. For my entree I chose their Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Carrots and Beef Gravy. Their meatloaf reminded me more of Salisbury Steak then meatloaf. I didn’t taste any veggies in it. Their mashed potatoes were excellent and the peas and carrots were fresh and very good. My bf ordered their Kurobuta Pork Shank Osso Bucco with Mashed Potatoes, Honey Glazed String beans and Carrots. This is fairly new on their menu and my bf enjoyed his meal. We were very full and didn’t order dessert. They have a nice dessert menu.They do offer special requests, Vegan and Gluten Free dishes. Our service could’ve been better. I asked my server Rachel 3xs to please bring me a menu after we ordered. I wanted to check out something on it. I finally got one from another server, she kept forgetting to bring me one. Our food was delivered to our table by another server. Rachel was very nice but disappeared a lot. She checked on us after we got our cocktails and food, and finally when we got the bill. Once we were done and got our bill, it took another 15 mins or so to check out. I guess there are a lot of regulars in the bar area which adds to a lot of distractions. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable.The lighting is on the dark side. In the bar area are some high tops and in the back are some tables separate from the dining room. Old Man Rafferty’s also has outdoor seating in the warmer months. They have a huge parking lot, and I believe this place is wheelchair accessible. They do have handicap parking. This restaurant is a good place to bring kids. They have a kids menu. I would return to try other things on their menu. The cocktails are very good. The portions are large and the atmosphere is warm and comfortable.

Atmosphere- 4 Stars Food- 4 Stars large portions, big menu Vegan and Gluten Free and Special...