Ye Olde Centerton Inn — Restaurant in Pittsgrove Township

As a lover of food and history this place really left an impression on me. Despite being a native to the area, I have never dined in or out of the Ye Olde Centerton Inn until my girlfriend requested a steak for birthday. I had a eureka moment and decided to choose this place. I made a reservation and when I was telling people, there was nothing but positive things said. I knew my girlfriend was in for a treat!

Upon arriving, I was greeted by the bartender who got our host/server. Wonderful people and I wish a lot more restaurants had staff like them. Our waitress was amazing and honestly I was not used to the service she provided. Despite the place being almost empty on a weeknight, she didn’t hold any punches when it came to the hospitality she displayed. I am really thankful and grateful for everyone’s efforts.

Now onto the important stuff. The food! I’ll keep it simple here. Hands down, one of the best steaks my girlfriend and I have ever had. Everything from the salad to the potatoes and the steak was out of this world. Worth every penny spent and some.

For dessert, we had cannolis and sadly I didn’t get a picture because they disappeared quicker than the Minute Men that dined in this tavern almost 250 years ago when the British came. It’s crazy to think this tavern has seen everything in American history before and after we became a country.

This place for me, was like a museum that just so happens to serve the best food in the state.

Can it be my girlfriend’s...

We went for dinner Saturday night for a special occasion. It's really a shame what has happened to this place. They did replace the old wood exterior with siding, but the interior needs a lot of work; the wall paper is peeling off the walls. Enough about the asthetics, let's get down to the important stuff. We had a 7:30 reservation and wer promptly seated. We sat ther in a room witih only one other table for almost 20 minutes before a server came by, and she only came by because we called her over. Her response was "I don't know who your server is, but I'll take care of you". There were only 2 servers there, and each one walked by us at least a half a dozen times before we called her over. Wow.

The food was excellent. We all had steak, and each was cooked the way we wanted and tasted great. The server was not overly attentive. In the 20 minutes we waited for her to come over, the place emptied out (it was 8pm by that point). And, by the time we got our food, it had to be around 8:30, yet she never came by to see how we were doing (although she did walk by us).

The last time we were here, we were with the same couple and the service wasn't all that great, and we hadn't been back since (at least 7 or 8 years). Well, after the other night, we won't be back at all. Prices are expensive, but allegedly it is a "fine dining" restaurant, although you'd never know it by the looks or the service.

Too bad they've run it into...

I've been hearing so much about the place, live nearby and remember it back 25 years ago when the wonderful antiques were all still in place. Visited twice, once in April and then again on June 15th.

On the first visit, my wife and I arrived and there was one person at the bar and no one else in the place. I was surprised at the dilapidated appearance of the building with shingles apparently rotting and falling off with all paint badly chipped. Inside there were none of the beautiful antiques to be seen and the atmosphere is somber as opposed to cozy. Steaks we had were ok, nothing special and the bartender, now busy with people at bar was doing double duty of tending the bar and waiting on tables. The Centerton salad we heard so much about was overwhelming with garlic and salt. Overall an average experience.

Tried another visit with another person who wanted to go with me and my wife. Got there at 630 and parking lot was half full. Walked in, bar was very crowded and the first thing the guy behind the bar says is "Do you have a reservation". When I responded "no" he said "you're going to have a long wait" - not "sorry" or apologetic in any way. To top it off, he then proceeds to tell us "we only have one server on tonight!" What the hell kind of restaurant takes reservations is three quarters full and has only one server on??

Never,...