Shakey Jakes — Restaurant in Stanhope

It's so hard to find simple and good food at any restaurant in the more rural regions of New Jersey.

Found Shakey Jake's through a search and I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it exceeded my expectations.

The bar is definitely a dive bar, but in the most loving way. With low ceilings and heavy wood beams, it feels a little tight, but intimate. And, while it was early on a Sunday, the atmosphere was calm, warm and you could see the restaurant history literally on the walls. Photos of staff and family members throughout the years, haphazardly placed in all the nooks and crannies popped out at you with genuine smiles and joy. There were old flip phones screwed directly into the walls, as well as memorabilia of time and people passed.

It was fun to look around to say the least. And if you happen to use the ladies room, you might be sharing a stall, sitting face to face with a painting of woman serenely grasping for toilet paper as she sits on the toilet herself.

But the food! Well thought out, simple and high quality ingredients. We started with a special of sticky Asian wings which were cooked perfectly and had a super delightful sesame and sweet chili style sauce, and it was speckled with actual black sesame seeds. Not something I'd expect to find in a "dive-bar".

My boyfriend ended up getting a mashed potato bowl with chicken which was Piled high with freshly mashed potatoes, cheese, bacon and gravy. The ingredients weren't just dusted on top either, they were layered throughout. Other restaurants might skimp and let you have your fill of mash and few pieces of chicken. It was certainly a meal that would stick to your ribs as my nan would say.

Finally, I had what I thought was the most interesting thing on the menu: almond and sesame fried chicken. Again not something I'd expect to find in a dive bar, but wow was it good.

The chicken was huge, pounded thin and tender. The batter was crispy and light with a gentle tang that I could not put my finger on, but I could not get enough of. There was also a generous amount of a sweet sesame sauce, or was it a gravy?

At the end of the meal, we were stuffed, painfully stuffed, but so happy and content with our choices. Stanhope is off the beaten path for me, but we'll be back for another meal for...

Came here for dinner and I was disappointed. The service wasn't all that great and the food was the same. Our server was a bit slow when it came to taking our orders and how she was charging us. When I ordered my food, I ordered two sides but she only brought out one. I figured my other side was still being prepared or something. Towards the end of my meal, I asked her about it and she thought I cancelled the other side when I requested one of my side items to be changed. I wasn't sure how she got that mixed up....because I want my sides if I'm supposed to get 2 sides. So I just told her to put my other side in a to-go plate and she was like okay. When she came back to the table, this woman charged me an additional four dollars for a side that she failed to serve to me that I ordered to go. My partner tried to explain the issue to her, but she got defensive and gave my partner an attitude. She was being snappy and walked away before my partner was done talking. She didn't bother putting the check in my partner's hand when they held their hand out for it... She just put it directly on the table as if she didn't want to touch my partner. Anyways...the service there was poo in general. The food was okay...I wouldn't order it again but whatever. This place has some good reviews so I wouldn't outright avoid this place. I think my partner and I just came at a bad time (sucky server) as well as ordered...

I had such a terrible experience here that I don’t even know how to start this review. I moved to Stanhope over the summer and coincidentally, a block away from this place. So I went there in the summer at a time where I had misplaced my drivers license, so I took my passport. Everything went fine, we had an excellent time, Chris served us dinner with excellent margaritas. I come back a week later and they send me away because of the passport. The manager comes out and says he does not accept passports. Ok no problem. A few weeks later, I come back with my drivers license that is still vertical from when I was still under 21 because I didn’t feel the need to change it to horizontal until it actually expired. They send me away one more time, this time saying that they cannot accept vertical ID’s. I then give them my passport card as additional proof, along various credit and debit cards, and they still turn me away. I even tried debating and saying, whether the ID is vertical or horizontal, my age is still the same; it does not change my age. At this point, I just think it’s discrimination and it was awful to be sent away that way in front of a whole bar/restaurant. Never had such an awful...