Metuchen Inn — Restaurant in Metuchen

This review is sad for me to type as I usually do not post negative reviews because I never want to harm a person's business however I am beyond disappointed with what happened to me here and I chose after much thought to share my review.

In October of 2024 I chose this establishment to celebrate my daughter's college graduation/ teacher shower after it was highly recommended to us. Please note, we came in blindly, we never sat down and had dinner here. We take recommendations very seriously.

We ended up booking in October 2024 for a May party of approx 45 guests in what we were told was the best area for the party. No deposit was required , no contract or paperwork was signed.

I called on my own time in April of 2025 to confirm our reservation. I was told by the gentleman who answered the phone that we were going to be upstairs. To my knowledge we were downstairs, so I asked if we can come to the restaurant to view upstairs and they said absolutely. On April 18th we went to the restaurant, checked out the upstairs and were underwhelmed. We had some questions about the seating so we asked to speak to someone. The owner who took our original reservation was there and greeted us and we asked about upstairs. He looked at his phone and said no you are in fact downstairs and we said great! He then said "but in my opinion, outside would be the best spot for you" and we said "Outside? we didn't know that was an option!!". He then took us outside and my daughter and I felt that outside was indeed the best location. We asked how the table arrangements would be and were satisfied with his answer. My daughter pulled out her phone and took photos of the space so we can make enough centerpieces and know where the balloon arrangement was going and where the gift table was going. I asked when we should call back to confirm the outside and the owner said days before. I assumed and this is where I may have been wrong but I assumed that if it rained, it would be inside. So I asked if I can leave a deposit and he said sure. He told me I didn't have to but I felt better leaving that security. I left $500. While on vacation, one week before the party I received a phone call from the restaurant confirming my reservation. I called back and spoke to a gentleman who confirmed the date and time. I said now what is going to happen if it rains since we are outside. He was very confused by my question and placed me on hold. He then said he didn't want to give me any wrong answers and will have the owner who made the reservation call me back. The owner called me back about 30 minutes later to confirm my reservation and then proceeded to tell me that my reservation was in the main dining room. I said originally it was however you showed me outside on April 18th and we committed to that. He told me he did not and it had always been in the dining room. I told him I made 5 centerpieces knowing outside was going to have 5 tables where as the dining room had 7 tables. I also told him I took photos of the outside and his response was "you took photos of every space." I absolutely only took photos of the outside, I can assure you. Those centerpieces were handmade and I know I would have made 7 if I knew I needed them. He said "Are you calling me a liar?" At no point did I ever put him down or call him names so now I am offended and started to get a little annoyed. We went back and forth for 20 minutes and after finding out the outside was booked by someone else there was nothing more for me to say. The day of the party came and went.. I didn't say a word to him, just thank you. He called me out at one point to claim I didn't make the deposit (thank god I had the receipt) and our bill was a lot more than anticipated. When I went home I realized they didn't give me an itemized receipt so I have since reached out for one and have never heard back from them. My husband wanted to address him for the way he spoke to me but it wasn't worth it. 45 people dined that day and not one of us will be back. That and this review...

"There's no place like home." I can't think of another restaurant where I feel more welcome nor where I want to be. Walking into the Metuchen Inn is arriving home. I have more on that note, but it's at the end so you can skip it easily.

A sign of any well-run business is reflected in the warm happy faces of staff where there's little turnover. When management treats staff well, staff treats guests well. Owners here must love and cherish their staff, as many are here for decades.

The single most difficult accomplishment for any restaurant is to consistently match the standard it set the last time you visited. The more frequently you visit, the more likely you are to be disappointed on one occasion or the next, especially if you rave about it to another, and especially if you take guests who insist on trying your constant rave. I don't know how they do it, but Tommy, Victor and Costa never disappoint. After a lifetime and two generations of visiting The Metuchen Inn, it continues to provide the finest, most consistent fine dining and romantic afternoon and evening experiences to be found anywhere. Service is personal and grand. Ask and it's served with a warm smile on a silver platter. There's not a dish that comes from the kitchen you wouldn't be proud to savor with guests. Quality of provisions exceeds what you can buy yourself. Tonight, we intended a quick bar bite, but the charm and service of the Inn captivated us for hours. We shared apps and an entree. My thirst for my perfect martini was satisfied: 3 parts Bombay Sapphire to 1 part dry vermouth and LOTS of olives - not 3, but LOTS of olives.

Here's what the Hotel did for us. Many years ago, when money was tight, and we had little for entertainment, I asked Constantine if it was upsetting if we just shared an appetizer and sat in the bar. What camae out of his mouth was stunning; words I'll never forget. He looked at me and said, "Mark, I don't care how much you have to spend. If it's ten dollars, I want you to come here. And I want you to sit at a table; not in the bar."

I protested, stating I knew linens were likely $10 a turn in those days, and I didn't want us to cost him money. With that, he walked us into the restaurant and held two chairs for us to sit at the fireplace. There's more to tell and other stories, but perhaps this isn't the forum to sing personal praises or express our gratitude. The warmth we received then and now is not reserved exclusivedly for us. If you've read this far, you know the secret is to walk into the Hotel with a smile grander than you might to hope to receive. You, too, will have stories to pass on...

Next time remind me to relate what happened when we had last minutes guests and no dessert to serve; or the time one of my kids had no summer job lined up; or the time we wanted to take a cruise; or we wanted poached lobster out of the shell; or the time I walked in off the street and wanted a dry aged porterhouse. It goes on and on. Here's a place to make your home...

I had my baby shower here: PROS: Food is good - Everyone for the most part gave a positive review Place - I was surprised that they had setup the room (center decorations) to make it look cute, very little decoration was really needed for the baby shower. CONS: *Space - * I had reserved 38 adults and 3 kids - I told the owner ahead of time the 2 of the kids were toddlers. When I did the walkdown they told me I would be in the main room and would setup an extra table and space in the back if I wanted to use it. I asked them if I could use the remaining space in the back for games and I was told yes, I would have the whole space to myself. To my surprised the day of the shower, the long table was there but the remaining space was setup for random people who were having lunch to also eat there. So, in the middle of dinner, we had some of those random people walk thru the smaller space we were using. Right away within the party starting, the layout made it inconvenient, so we didn't end up using the table in the back and instead camped in the other 5 tables they provided. I even asked the hostess is there was any way to close off that space, so we had more privacy, he said no. However, to my surprised when I went to pay, they charged me for 40 adults, and 1 kid even though 2 of them were toddlers and didn't have any food, and 2 adults didn't show up. The explanation they gave was that they couldn't use the table in the back because it was reserved for me therefore it was loss of business to them. If this was their policy, I would have appreciated knowing this ahead of time. Overall, if you are booking here for a party- the space is not really private and its more fit for 30 rather than 40-50 people like they say. *Alcohol - We selected the standard package that comes with no alcohol but asked them to provide red and white wine as requested. To my surprise I didn't realize that this would mean that they would push people to drink wine. While I was eating the waiter came and without asking filled my guest's wine glass even thought it was already half full. The guest had to tell the waiter to stop serving him wine. There seems to be a pushed people to drink to empty more wine bottles, which I...