River Hills Cafe and Bistro (formerly John's Cracker Barrel) — Restaurant in Neptune Township

I feel like this is a "salty fisherman's" kinda place.. and they probably better serve their "regulars" ..as opposed to some chick they don't know..

I have some mixed feelings about this place.. (thus the second star..) so I'll list "IMO" pros and cons-

BUT FIRST "This Happened Today" (OUR ORDER WAS INEATABLE THE SAUSAGE LOOKED LIKE IT WAS PEELED OFF A PRIOR SANDWICH AND REUSED ON OUR PLATTER.. [there were bits of cheese left on it..] THERE WAS A RANDOM PIECE OF SOMETHING GREEN... [???] THE TOAST WAS STALE, SOGGY, AND TASTED LIKE IT WAS PRE-MADE AND BUTTERED HOURS AGO, THE HOME FRIES COULD HAVE BEEN GOOD [..if they were salted and a little crunchy..] THE BACON WAS GROSSLY UNDER COOKED, THE EGGS WERE WAY PAST "OVER EASY" [..more like fried..] PLUS.. THE COFFE BAR WAS NEGLECTED.. [the milks were getting warm and they don't even offer cup sleeves..] AND LASTLY, the thing I was most looking forward to- THE DANISHES, [what was left of..] WERE STALE... NATURALLY.. )

"Then There Was Their Customer Service"

When I called, I had some cell phone issues and "guy one" basically hung up on me.. when I called back, I apologized- only to get.. a much nicer.. "guy two"... (presumably because "guy one" didn't have much patience.. which was confirmed when I met him..) THEN.. when I picked up my order.. "guy one" was SO condescending when I asked about and ordered pastries... and even MORE so just because I didn't know that cups were at the coffee station... OVERALL, I felt like I was bothering them by trying to support local community and patronizing a local business..

Anyway...

PROS- • It's the only business "this side" of the water, so it's easy to access if you are going to the marina or live in the neighborhood. • They have some random convenience items. • Food might be good when they're busy (I wouldn't know..) • The lunch meats/cold subs are quality and fresh. • Service is fast. • They offer delivery. • Coffee is good and one price for any size. (but no sleeves..) • One cute, small table if you want to dine outside and smell the bay.. and a couple tables inside..

CONS- • If you order breakfast off peak, don't call it in.. (RE: "This Happened Today") • The food is WAY over priced. • Egg sandwiches only come with ONE EGG.. (which may be "ok' on an English Muffin.. but a "NJ HARD ROLL BREAKFAST SANDWICH" comes with 2 eggs... standard..) • Coffee bar not well maintained.. (unavailable and limited options, milk turning warm, etc..) • The staff is SO rude.. even though I tipped.. (which I wish I could take back!) RE: "Then There Was Their Customer Service" • The parking lot sucks.. (it's at an intersection so getting in and out is a pain.. especially during peak hours..) • Delivery is slow, unreliable and randomly available.. • It's SMALL... definitely not a "dine out" kinda place.. unless you just plan on wolfing down the food and leaving.. • I can't give an opinion on dinner because it's too expensive, I heard it sucks, and delivery.. as mentioned.. is spotty at best.

This has been my second or third visit.. (I try to give places a "benefit of the doubt" chance to do better...) however, I will NEVER eat here again.. unless there are MAJOR changes..

sorry guys!! :(

I truly wish it...

I only rated one star because I have to to write this . I ordered 2 burgers , 2 chicken fingers , and one wrap . I picked the food up and returned to the boat club. When I got there I realized that I was short one burger . I contacted them and made them aware of the situation. They told me they would make me a new one and deliver it to me. I then receive the phone call 20 minutes later that my burger is ready and that they will not deliver it to me and then if I want it delivered I will have to pay five dollars. I agreed to pay the five dollars cash and 20 minutes later I still don’t have my burger. I called him back and made them aware of it again and they told me that they’re waiting for me to make a payment with my credit card for the five dollars this point I told him forget it keep the burger and I’m going to put this on line to let everybody know that the place is ran by a bunch of little kids that have no respect for people. This is totally unprofessional and I am going to also make a point to contact the restaurant later today and tomorrow because I’d like to make the owner aware of the situation. The extreme disrespect and unprofessionalism. Don’t go to this place unless you want to be treated with this respect oh and by the way chicken fingers I got for my kids were all dried out...

EDIT: this business is closed. I don’t have the full story but it sounds like the family who leased the space was forced to leave when the owner significantly raised the rent. The owner also refused to let them make improvements to the space to help grow the business. I was later told the owner’s ultimate goal was to clear the space so a relative could move in. To be fair, most of this is second hand information.

I realize this isn’t truly a review. However I did feel it was important to remove my previous 5 star review as it was no longer applicable. Losing this business was a terrible blow to our little community. The operators were a family who lived here in town. They had kids in our school. They supported the neighborhood whenever they could e.g. PTA, local kids sports, etc. My new rating is simply a neutral place holder. I am not sure it will ever change as I will probably not give my business to the new operator. I know others in the neighborhood feel the same way. I will update this information if and when I have additional...