The French Press — Restaurant in Lakewood

Nightshade allergies/sensitivities** Avoid the hollandaise, which is made with cholula hot sauce.

I was here this morning to celebrate my birthday over brunch with a friend. It’s unfortunate that our service experience was so poor when the food and drinks were so good.

Reservations- I called ahead to ask what the wait time was for 2 and asked if we could put our names in- I was told 15 minutes and that seating was first come first serve, no reservations. No problem. When I arrived with my friend the wait had jumped to 30-45 minutes. We were called up quickly however. The host told us two parties of six had just canceled so wait times decreased drastically. Perhaps reservations are only allowed for parties of a certain size- but I had been told it was first come first serve. This policy is still not clear to me as a customer.

Food Allergies- The menu is helpful in pointing to vegan and gluten free options. What is not mentioned on the menu, is that they use the owner’s special recipe for Hollandaise which includes hot sauce. I cannot eat nightshades (tomatoes and peppers most of all) without severe side effects. I ordered what I thought would be a “safe” food- a croque madam. Because tomato and peppers weren’t listed as part of the sandwich and hollandaise traditionally doesn’t include those items either I didn’t bring up my food sensitivity to the waitress.

When our food arrived I saw the sauce was tinted orange - unexpected for hollandaise- and asked what it was. The waitress explained the owner’s special recipe. I explained I couldn’t eat it and could I please have a plain hollandaise instead. She pointed to the cholula sauce they keep on the table and said “it’s just that, added to the sauce,” as if I didn’t know what cholula is, or that it’s considered a very mild hot sauce. I told her I know what cholula is, and that I cannot eat peppers or hot sauce because it will make me sick. She told me that they make the sauce first thing in the morning in bulk and there is no plain option- but would I like another dressing, a salad dressing, instead? (Because a ranch or blue cheese on an egg sandwich would be so appealing, right?)

I ate the sandwich without the sauce- thankfully it was at least served in a separate dish so I didn’t have to worry about it already being on my food. While I do think it would have benefitted from hollandaise it was still a delicious sandwich. All of our food was delicious.

I did ask the waitress if there could be more done to notify people about the special hollandaise before they order- she said she would pass it on to the owner, but was rather rude and dismissive about it.

She made me feel like I was being picky and childish- not a paying customer asking for an option that wouldn’t make me sick, or the ability to make an informed choice about ordering foods that won’t make me sick.

Customer service- On a last note- we ordered two coffees. Mine arrived before the meal. My friend’s cappuccino arrived after we asked for it 3 more times and after we finished our meal.

I refer to “our waitress” throughout this review as if she were a single person- we were actually interchangeably helped by three people over the course of the meal. I’m unsure why.

My friend says they had much better service last time she went and sat at the bar- so if you go, perhaps that would be...

As a resident at Belmar, I can truly say the shops at belmar need to up their game, and the French Press is no exception. It’s the only non-Starbucks coffeeshop in the area and so because of the ease of walking over with a newborn, I’m inclined to go here more than I would prefer. Without fail, every single time I have been here, the staff have been unfriendly. Just this morning I came in carrying my newborn, a baby bag, my wallet, and water cup, and was eager to set my stuff down so I could order and just relax. I said a cheerful “good morning” to one of the ladies who is always here (potentially an owner) and she responded with “you have to order before you set your stuff down.” So I proceeded over to the register to order, with all my things + baby, in hand. The lady at the register was also unfriendly and cold, and handed me a coffee with milk on the side and told me where I could fill the coffee. When I poured the milk into the coffee mug and left the rest of the milk on the counter (because I didn’t have enough hands to hold the coffee, baby, baby bag, etc), she coldly asked me to take the milk as well, either not seeing or choosing to ignore my struggle. The chairs and tables were uncleanly- the former having dust all over the corner seat and table having bits of syrup (and flies). If the staff here weren’t so unfriendly, that would make a huge impact of the negative impression I get every time I come to this place. Belmar needs a study coffeeshop that is 1) clean 2) has good coffee 3) doesn’t have a time limit on how long you can stay 4) allows you to pull out laptops (the French press doesn’t and has a 90 minute limit on staying) 5) doesn’t have flies 6) has friendly staff that help with the vibe, not hurt it 7) has a...

We really enjoyed our brunch here a few weeks ago. The food is good, and varied so there's something for everyone. The tricky thing is, ordering (and trying to decipher the overwhelming wall menu). I understand the goal is to order then sit down, which I respect. This is great - unless you decide you need something else. We ordered our food, sat down, and realized we didn't order drinks. I stood back in line for 10 minutes (due to the amount of people in line), placed my drink order. Went back to my seat - and we received our food within the next 10 minutes - and still didn't have our drinks. My latte arrived right before we finished our meal. My recommendation would be to have someone take drink orders at a second counter, the bar or something that allows to bypass the long food line. In the time I waited for my drink - there was one other drink order being made - it wasn't a matter of them being overly busy. Lastly, the menu, and ordering process, is very cumbersome and if there is a wait, very inconvenient. There is no rhyme or reason to the menu, it isn't really broken up into sections - there are salads in the mix of breakfast/lunch items. It is very odd - and overwhelming to look at. I didn't see regular menus, and had I not looked at the menu online prior, I probably would have left.

FWIW - I also got the Turkey and Brie Croissant, and while it was good, it was VERY dry and needed mayo or some sauce (there was the cranberry-ish sauce on it, but not much - and truly needed a mayo or ranch to balance the flavor profile). There was also the tiniest bits of Brie, so it was really a Turkey Sandwich, with 1.5 bites of Brie on it. The butter on the pancakes was phenomenal, as was the...