Chimney Rock Inn Flemington — Restaurant in Raritan Township

3 1/2 stars

My initial feelings on this place changed dramatically over the course of the first 10 seconds. When I saw the freezer of pizzas for sale by the door, I was thinking to myself, "I don't know...Friendly's can pull that optic off. Can a regular restaurant though?" And then a passing waitress complimented my sneakers and I was on top of the world. I came here for lunch on Sunday with my chum around 12:30ish. I grew up about 25 minutes away in western Hunterdon, so I'm very familiar with Flemington and its ridiculous traffic circles but I'm PRETTY sure this restaurant popped up within the last few years well after I had left, but I wouldn't swear to it; I usually was on this section of Route 31 to get UFO pants at the Flemington Department Store because I thought I was gangsta. Anyway.

It was super toasty out and I was ambivalent on booze, but the Blueberry Mule (I think around $12 or $13) caught my eye. It was the highlight of our adventure - I thought it was both delicious and refreshing, with the vanilla and blueberry flavors actually being pretty subtle though still noticeable/enjoyable and the ginger beer providing a lovely zip. Absolutely would get that again.

We split the Garlic Nuggets app ($7.99), I ended up getting the Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich ($13.99) sans toppings, and my chum went with some type of hardcore grilled cheese (I just went on the website to try to find it like a responsible reviewer but couldn't - my apologies). She was a big fan, regardless. The Garlic Nuggets turned out to be a super misleading name for what showed up, which was...garlic knots. After they showed up, I read over the description and it does clearly say it's bread, but we thought it would be fancy chicken nuggets or something to that effect. Absolutely our fault, but I personally think they should call them something other than nuggets. For what it's worth, they were pretty decent. A little heavy (it is knots of thick bread after all) and definitely needed to be doused in the olive oil for flavoring purposes. Just bring your reading comprehension skills and you'll be fine.

The initial Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich that showed up had toppings on it, which was mildly disappointing but not the end of the world since all I had to do was scrape them off. I was just about done completing that process when a server came rushing over to give me the correct, naked sandwich. You obviously don't want to get the wrong order to begin with, but points for correcting it pretty quickly. The brisket was a little dry, though part of that undoubtedly was because it had no toppings. It was supposed to come with BBQ sauce on the side, but alas. Thankfully my friend was able to get our waiter's attention immediately to remedy that issue, and the remainder of the sandwich was good - not earthshattering, but something I wouldn't be upset about ordering again.

The service was okay. It felt worse than it was because we had somewhere to be that afternoon, but we were in and out of there in about an hour and 10 minutes. Our waiter was nice but seemed harried and a little overwhelmed; it looked like he was assigned most if not all of the tables in our section, which hovered close to double digits. Given the circumstances, I thought he handled it well. And I thought the price point was on par for the area - no issues there. I'm honestly mystified at how many people are writing negative reviews about the credit card transaction fees as if there's a nefarious conspiracy afoot - that's been prevalent everywhere for months now. If you're that riled up, go to the ATM beforehand.

The pizza seems to be the big selling point here, and we saw several nearby customers ordering/enjoying it. I would probably give that a shot next time so I can avoid getting tricked by the garlic...

Please read this all the way through because while it starts off negative I do provide positive feedback in the second half. Basically I hate the pizza but love the rest of their food. I went there recently because my neighbor and many on local Facebook groups lauded their pizza. Folks the pizza here SUCKS! I had the "Epic" since it is one of their signature varieties. I also chose it because I rate a pizzeria primarily on their plain variety where the other ingredients can't obscure the base ingredients and the overall quality of the pizza. The crust on the Epic is almost paper thin and bland with no flavor characteristics that make it appetizing. I felt like I was eating pizza off a saltine cracker. I actually wish it were a saltine cracker because the pizza lacked salt. I actually added salt to the slice because the sauce is bland and almost non-existent and the cheese is no better. I also had the San Gennaro and the Mediterranean which with the addition of the toppings were better but their crust and sauce detract from the experience. Also the more toppings you get the harder it is to eat a slice as the thin crust just cannot support the weight. Now to the good stuff. Their other food is awesome. We had the ribs, chicken wings, and brisket and they were delicious. Their salads are fresh and the vinaigrette on each was really good. Their desserts are decadent. Their beer selection is vast and they rotate seasonal selections which makes it worthwhile to come back. The service was slow but I put that down to growing pains and the fact that the place was packed at 7:00 PM when we got there. The waitress made up for it by being super nice and the staff are very accommodating. So why 3 stars? I feel that The Chimney Rock lauds and promotes their pizzas. They don't call themselves a pizzeria but the perception in the community is that they are "known for their pizza". I am not sure if this is an unintended consequence or if the ownership markets the pizza more prominently over the other dishes they offer. The pizza selections are only %16 of their overall dishes (not counting dessert). Regardless the first thing I hear or read about The Chimney Rock is their pizza but I must say that in my opinion it is the worst...

Typical of new Flemington restaurants, the Chimney Rock was good for a day or two after opening but has become very inconsistent. I really tried to make this my favorite restaurant. Its been so inconsistent that now my girlfriend will not go there with me. My favorite dish is the cedar plank salmon. I have probably ordered this every time I have gone there. When I ate there yesterday, after taking a very long time for my food to come out, when it did the cedar was absolute black ash and the salmon was way over done. I was very surprised that anyone would send this out. Clearly they do not have a chef that checks everything before it goes out. You would have thought that even the server would have questioned it. Yes, it was that bad. Imagine a forest fire and you are eating the remains of what is there. I sent it back. It then took another extremely long time to arrive again. This time the manager brought it out. She said that they cooked it on another cedar plank and she had them remove that one and put a new one on which it was served. Not sure if that is sanitary. I ate it because I was starved at this point. It was as it should be - except for the raw cedar plank that it was served on. I did tell the manager that the first one the fish was way over done and that the cedar plank was black ash. No comments, no apologies, no taking anything off my meal because of the poor experience. Regarding why my GF wont go back. The first time we went she ordered the fish and chips and it was great. The next time we went she ordered it again and it was served undercooked. The batter was gooey next to the fish. We sent it back and it was corrected. She tried several other dishes on the menu including chicken, pasta, salads and even the pizza, and she felt that all of them were just mediocre. None the less - I may try it one more time but my last experience left me wondering if I really want to go back. Management needs to be more responsive to screwups. Looks like CR may be another Flemington restaurant that starts off great but ends up low quality and not...