Lambertville Station Restaurant and Inn — Restaurant in Lambertville

Where else to start but the beginning. I called in on July 7th to place reservations at this hotel for the Thanksgiving weekend. I was also making reservations for the dinner buffet. After speaking to a nice gentlemen about reserving the nicest room overlooking the river, we left the conversation knowing that it was too far out to make dinner reservations. I understood since it was 6 months out.

I made about 20 phone calls over the next few months trying to secure the dinner reservations. I left multiple voice-mails detailing we had hotel reservations and wanted dinner around 4. We never received a return call. I eventually accepted that they must have made the reservations and never called me to confirm.

We arrive at the hotel on Thanksgiving at 3pm which is check in time. We wait in the small unassuming lobby area awaiting a greeting. There are 3 ladies sitting to our left at the counter. Once we approach and interrupt their conversations, I introduce myself and express my desire to check in. I have received better service at La Quinta Inns on business trips than I received on this holiday.

After a painful check in process, we walk upstairs to our room. We are expecting the nicest suite, which is what was requested 6 months in advance. We walk in to a suite, as they call it, which is just a long bedroom with a gas fireplace and a view overlooking the back parking lot. Again, I've had nicer rooms at La Quinta Inns. We are obviously dissatisfied with the room and I'm now terrified our dinner reservations are going to be nonexistent.

I walk back down to the desk, and express my confusion and displeasure with the room considering my expectations were for the nicest suite. Samantha looks at me and explains with utter disdain and a condescending tone that the suite is over $800 a night. Implying I am below their status and unable to afford the room. I am a large, bearded man in my mid 30s. I was not surprised but still disappointed that Samantha would assume so little of me. I was thoroughly offended and disappointed.

I then inquired on my dinner reservations, confirming my fears, they had not been made. Samantha continued to talk down her nose at me saying that I hadn't called the hotel or the restaurant. I followed up by showing the list of calls I had made that were stored in my cell phone. Her response was a simple and dismissive, oh. This is when she finally decides we may need a resolution.

Her first offer was nothing and no dinner, unacceptable. Second was to wait and see if a table for the buffet opened up, unacceptable. I express that money is not an issue in this case, I want my wife to have the room she expected. The next suggestion was to have the better suite the next night with no resolution for the dinner, I still found that off putting at this point since I'm still getting the short end of the stick.

I ask to speak to the manager. He is sitting behind a wall, but is not in private. I hear him chuckle as he says, "well he checked in. I'm not doing anything."

He comes out from his hiding spot and escorts me to the chairs near the honor bar. He commences to explain that it's my fault for everything, and he can't do anything to help me. Which is absurd. After a few minutes of conversation, I am asking for at least his honesty in saying he won't do anything instead of can't do anything. He could do something but was choosing to do nothing.

He did finally look me in the eye and say, " Mr. Fry, I won't do anything for you."

I told him I did not care at this point even about money for the room I was currently assigned, but I would not be staying in his establishment and he should be ashamed and embarrassed.

On Thanksgiving, we left without refund or dinner, as these middle aged folks laughed at us.

We found dinner elsewhere, and drove home. You would never find me in that establishment again as long as my...

Last night on the eve of Easter Sunday I had the pleasure of taking my wife out for a romantic evening at the Lambertville Station restaurant in Lambertville, New Jersey. A former railroad station, it sits between defunct railroad tracks and the Delaware River, which is just yards away from the restaurant. The small town feel from the surrounding neighborhood enhances the character of the restaurant’s location. While the outside of the restaurant retains its historic look with its original brick façade, the interior of the restaurant is graced with solid wood furnishing and historic photos of the railroad when it was in service. The old ticket booth is where patrons are greeted by the restaurant hosts.

Although we were seated on the ground level, there are upstairs and downstairs levels with the bar-like setting being downstairs. With the choice of seating, the ground level offers outdoor seating which is on the original station platform that’s ideal for romantic and social settings as you sit directly alongside the old railroad tracks and the walkway which is directly adjacent to them. While the interior does not offer the same ‘railroad vibe’, indoor seating offers a more intimate setting which allows you to appreciate the historic view especially if you are seated by the window, as my wife and I were. Additionally, it would give you shelter from the elements when the weather is more inclement or when you want to avoid intrusive fruit flies.

Lambertville Station primarily specializes in American cuisine at a two dollar sign $$ cost rating. Nonetheless, our dining experience was worth much more when I indulged in the chicken and shrimp pasta special of the day while my wife had the pork chop with sweet potato gnocchi and asparagus. Unlike most pasta dishes, my meal was originally loose and soupy, but my waitress instantly addressed it by asking the chef to thicken the texture which gave it a much more home-made thick Italian texture. Amidst my daunting task of peeling the scales off of the shrimp, the portions and the price were well worth it. While we were celebrating a special occasion I asked the staff to surprise my wife when they bring our deserts. We both had the crème brulée, they were nice enough to bring hers with a candle and well wishes for her recovery. The candle was almost as big as the deserts, but overall the entrée was well worth the experience. While my wife is generally the toughest critic between the two of us, fortunately she had no complaints. Since she had a healthy portion of meat to share with me (as she usually does) it was filling enough to make the experience more worthwhile.

While my overall review is positive, a strong recommendation that we both have for Lambertville Station is to be much more proactive about cleaning beneath the tables and not just their surfaces. When we sat down my wife noticed that there was still dirt underneath the table and she pointed it out to the host. Instead of getting a broom and a mop to clean it, he simply got a napkin to pick up some of it with his hand and brushed the rest of it aside. That said, a greater level of professional hygiene was more appropriate for himself and your patrons.

Since it was a job well done, we will return one day. Continue preserving the beauty of this historic landmark and keep up the...

This review is based on 40 years of frequenting lambertville, and not living far from the area. This used to be my favorite restaurant, it is where, decades ago, my father proposed to my mother; now it is owned by a corporation (look up Genesis Biotech) that has no business taking over a timeless wonderful classy restaurant. Tonight, at the behest of a request from my niece, i needed to pick up calamari. I decided to just pop in and get that calamari. Haley was at the host stand and immediately was kind, friendly, and helpful. Genesis bought the Lambertville Station in 2021... the chef and cooks do provide good food mostly, but i get the feeling corporate chokeholds them in spending on ingredients (i’ve worked decades in this industry), as quality has dropped, prices have risen. I know many people who’ve worked there and either quit due to Genesis (a biotech company just looking to stuff their coffers) or were fired for rediculous reasons. Being a resident of the area for years, i’m well aware of what happened to the Station. Genesis is a multi billion dollar biotech company with some subsidiaries that have nothing to do with the central corporation. (I am aware that “Genesis Hospitality”, is what controls Lambertville Station and a few others, but succeed or fail they don’t account for much profit. When good restaurants, with good owners (ask anyone at lambertville station and they will say they miss the previous owners), get sold to corporations things begin to crumble; look at Rat’s Restaraunt in Hamilton. This isn’t a catering company taking over a sit down a la carte restaurant, it is a completely different industry using a restaurant in to negate taxes. Haley was incredible. I don’t reccomend anything owned by Genesis; I am a veteran, i’ve seen bad leadership (people looking for a stripe or star etc) crumble something great; ie a great unit, company, division, whatever it is. I don’t reccomend Lambertville Station, it’s not what it used to be. There are amazing restaurants that treat guests and employees alike so well in New Hope and Lambertville, but hat you can’t go wrong! Havana’s, oldestone, revolution, under the moon? and mo i are places where you aren’t dealing with some button in a corporation’s office tax write offs… This review is long. I apologize, but i feel obligated to share the truth, especially people coming back since Genesis bought the restaurant. I hope that Genesis sells this restaurant to somebody who knows how to run a restaurant. This historic site should not be subject to being some blip on a multi billion dollar biotech companies tax write off. Genesis == Lambertville, Violates everything this town stands for while using the Lambertville Station name, and claiming to have been there for decades; no Genesis has been there since 2021. They did not build the reputation, the architecture, the history, but they certainly profit from it. i pray a chef, owner, or at least a company that focuses on hospitality buys...