Captain's Inn — Restaurant in Lacey Township

This was a notable low point during our shore trip over 4th of July weekend. I came here for dinner with some top-tier chums after seeing some decent reviews and what looked to be a fun location right off the water (which I guess would technically be the literal Forked River). We were faced with an important decision the minute we walked in. The formal "restaurant" on one side of the street seemed very dead, with a median age of roughly 67. However, there was a significantly more rollicking establishment across the street that had a tiki bar feel. My understanding is they were both operating under the Captain Inn's umbrella, so to speak. We chose the casual tiki bar on the other side (the fact that we were on vacation was a significant factor) and after sitting down were ignored for over five minutes. We were JUST about to stand up to reverse our decision when the waitress showed up to take our order. Things could have been very different and probably better for us if she hadn't, but we'll never know for sure.

The vibe was off and not our speed for the most part. The Millennial Chum loves places like this, but it was super loud and chaotic and I'm not crazy about having to make an effort to lean across a table to talk and be heard. There were huge chunks of conversation I never understood, which is a shame. And for the most part, the live music wasn't a factor - I can't imagine what that would have done to the overall acoustics. As it was, the band there seemed to be having some technical difficulties and every once in a while there would be screechy feedback that permeated the establishment. But ultimately, I'm willing to acknowledge we made the wrong decision for the group in being at the tiki bar, and that part at least is on us.

We split a few apps, including the coconut shrimp and the tater kegs, which looked to be an edgy variation of a potato skin. Nothing here was mind-blowing, though my favorite was probably the shrimp - difficult to mess that up in my experience. I wish I'd taken a picture of the tater kegs, which I was picturing as shaped like literal kegs, but they were basically like hunks of tater. It's difficult to describe. Not bad, but in no way rises to the level of quality I expect from a "normal" tater skin.

For my entree, I thought it was morally correct to get something seafood-ish so I opted for the lobster roll. Really mediocre. The interior was lobster-centric (how could it not be?) but it was mixed with some type of condiment combination that in my opinion took away from the taste of the actual lobster. The best lobster rolls I've had just let the lobster be the star. The other issue (and this to me is an easy fix) is that the description of the roll on the menu is curiously lacking; it mentions a toasted roll but nothing to elaborate on the other ingredients. There were chunks of crunchy celery, I believe, which I'm not a fan of at all. Squeezing a quick sentence or two below that menu item would do them a world of good.

The drink situation was rough. I had a frozen rose drink (I don't see it on the website menu) that was just terrible and I didn't finish. Super dry and tasteless; there was no sweetness whatsoever to that beverage and what I was hoping would be a nice refreshing accompaniment was nothing of the sort.

The service was poor, and there's no way to sugarcoat it. We had the aforementioned red flags at the very beginning and they were a harbinger of things to come. It was difficult to flag down the waitress throughout the meal, and any thought to getting dessert here was put to rest during the second half of our stay when it was clear that doing so might add an extra 45 minutes to the experience. (We got ice cream nearby that rocked.) She was perfectly nice but had way too many tables assigned to her and barely had time to get our orders much less check in consistently. A shame.

If I had to do it all over again? The quiet old people place across the...

My husband and I just celebrated our wedding with our family and friends at the Captain's Inn. It was AMAZING! When searching for a venue, we wanted to find a place by the water that was reasonably priced, had good food, had natural light, and could fit 150 people. This, we soon realized, was a difficult task in the Monmouth/Ocean county area. Most venues were either too small, too expensive, too gaudy, too rude, too overdone, or too impersonal. We scoured the internet to find an off the beaten path type of place, and we found what we were looking for and MORE in Captain's Inn.

My husband refers to me as a "type A+ person". Being this way, it is hard for me to let others have control of my vision and ideas. However, after we met Debbie at Captain's Inn, she had my full trust and confidence that she would make our day picture perfect. She has such a calming personality and always made us feel comfortable. Debbie is so generous and caring. She treated us like family and we could tell she was just as excited for our wedding as we were! I was not stressed at all about our reception and knew full heartedly that Debbie and her wonderful staff would have everything under control. The moment we walked into cocktail hour, I could tell we were right to be stress free!

The staff at Captain's exceeded my expectations in the way they decorated and prepared the room. They displayed all of my DIY crafts and signs even better than I would have! The room was radiating with natural light, due to the window filled walls. Across the street is the water, which was perfect for guests to pop out to take beautiful "golden hour" and sunset pictures. The way the staff set up the room made it seem so spacious and open, considering the fact we had almost 140 people at the wedding. We could tell that Debbie and her staff had taken time to think of the logistics and to ensure that our guests were comfortable and happy as well.

The tables were spread out, but everyone could still see, and easily access, the dance floor from their seats. The dance floor was big and spacious. The temperature of the room was perfectly nice and cool, even with all 140 of us breaking it down on the dance floor! The bar line was NEVER long. The bartenders worked quickly and efficiently. There were two buffets set up that made dinner flow so nicely. Also, all of our guests were able to taste all of the passed hors d'oeuvres they wanted, without having to chase down any wait staff. The staff was always checking in on us to make sure that my husband and I were comfortable and had something to drink and eat. The staff always had a smile on their faces and seemed eager to help our guests in any way possible. The chef at Captain's Inn is incredible! Our guests have already told us that they are going to come back to eat there for dinner. The head chef was even part of the cocktail hour and carving the ham (that everyone is still ranting about). Our guests are ranting and raving about the beautiful wedding, amazing staff, and delicious food.

Overall, Debbie and the rest of the staff at Captain's Inn were so accommodating, professional, and compassionate. It was evident that Debbie has YEARS of experience in setting up and running events. Our wedding was honestly flawless because of her! She is a beautiful person, who truly takes pride in her work and her restaurant. She has hired such a motivated and big hearted staff that only enhance the quality of her work. Debbie truly made every experience we had along the planning journey run smoothly. Captain's Inn is a hidden gem for any party, special event, and especially any wedding! We are so incredibly thrilled that we picked such a special and unique venue for our big day! Thank you again, Debbie and staff, for making our wedding PICTURE PERFECT, exceeding our expectations, and bringing all of my visions to life! You were truly wonderful to work with and we cannot wait to...

We have lived in the town for over 50 years. Captain's Inn is an iconic restaurant with roots dating back many decades. It was always a great place to eat fresh seafood dishes. Well, today, makes the second time I have been disappointed. Tonight the Ceasars salad was very large, and the lettuce seemed fresh, a good thing, but the dressing was very sparce. The She Crab soup, which previously they have been lauded for was very thick white sauce, like a roux with a good portion of chunks of crabmeat, but had no real flavor. They did provide a small glass pitcher containing Sherry to add by myself. That thinned out the roux some and improved the flavor slightly. While not listed on the menu, both my husband and myself asked if we could order fried flounder and fried flounder and fried shrimp, respectively. Our waitress, who was very friendly and efficient, assured us that was possible. Upon being served our dinners, I could immediately tell my fried flounder and shrimp were overcooked and dry. My husband's fried flounder was not quite as brown, but was still on the dry side. We chose to go to Captain's Inn for fish dinners because the weather was not great and the restaurant was close by. It was my birthday dinner. In hindsight, we should have taken the longer trip to a seafood restaurant we have frequented often where the seafood is prepared differently and consistently well. To the manager's credit, she did offer to have our order remade...we declined the offer because we didn't want to wait and possibly have the same results. She graciously took my dinner off...