JBJ Soul Kitchen — Restaurant in Toms River

This place has heart to spare. The careful attention to dignity and compassion are evident in their message and their mission. The atmosphere is warm , welcoming, humble and inspiring. John Bon Jovi has a balanced approach to community and public service that is truly heart warming. The menu changes every 2 weeks. Ther are 3 course meals served with love to any and all. If you can not pay, they ask for a modicome of your time to help clear your table or do a dish or two to engage you with their mission. The staff has got it together and well aware of how to treat every guest. OK, the quisne is off the hook. There are skilled chef's the carefully craft each days dishes. We were so interested in their mission that the chef was willing to visit with us personally. We were able to express directly our appreciation of every dish in detail. This brought a smile and gratitude that his skills were strongly impacting the community as well as our traveling family. Each dish was remarkable in its oun way. The roasted pork loin was a juicy, thick well seasoned masterpiece so full of flavor with squash accompaniments. The eggplant parmesan was outstanding! We were informed the eggplant was grown in their private garden as well as all the tomatoes in the dish. This meal was truly a labor of love. The very generous portion over macaroni marinara was enough to feed two. The shrimp katsu sandwich was so delicious it is hard to break it down. The shrimp patty was made with whole shrimp and bound in some sort of binding glaze then lightly breaded and pan seared on a delicious sweet bread. It was such a good sandwich I asked to buy one to go. This being our first time, I hadn't known their policy to reserve food to be able to serve all guests and no take out was optional. The dessert had a simple charm and was unassuming. But, when the first bite was taken you were quite aware that the chef was a talented man. The filling was so creamy and shouted to your tongue Im here, how do you like me now. The cake layers were as fluffy as can be with such moist delicate finish you couldn't deny this was something special. Most icing is too sweet and tends to overpower the dish. This was carefully crafted to enhance the entire bite each bite after bite. This was a great experience that everyone should try. We were 90 miles away on vacation and was worth the time to go by a long shot. If memories and missions to restore yours and others humanity are on the to do list. Leave your mark on society by joining hands with John Bon Jovi and his dedicated volunteers by restoring hope and love in the hearts of your fellow man one meal at a time. Donations are the direct means they require and very little is asked. But, of course you can give until it helps pay it forward. God bless you and may you soon attend a...

Such a wonderful concept and great food. That latter might be the aspect you'd least expect and I know Jon makes it very clear this is NOT a soup kitchen. The food is prepared by a gourmet chef and it is great!! Some of the best I have ever had and this is not an exaggeration. The food on the menu has no prices they kindly ask a 20 dollar donation to cover the costs of appetizer, main course and desert if your a cash paying customer. Now where can you get a quality nutritious meal like that under twenty dollars? Realistically it is definitely worth much closer to 30 dollars, you'll will have no problem donating for another meal for someone who might not have it so good. If you cannot pay you can do one hour of volunteer work as a form of payment for a meal but the volunteers are all wearing the same JBJ soul kitchen shirts so as a consumer you wouldn't know if someone is volunteering to volunteer or because times are tough so that stigma so to speak is gone (great idea). I also want to say something about the volunteers because they are of the warmest most genuine friendliest people you will ever meet. That said I highly recommend the JBJ soul kitchen. Truly a hand up not a hand out, how could you...

JBJ Soul Kitchen makes good healthy meals, and the volunteer staff is phenomenal! They claim that " Everyone is Welcome at Our Table. " This is untrue. They claim that everyone is treated with respect and dignity, sadly, this is also untrue. The host/hostess staff are unprofessional, and in najor need of training. I have witnessed host/hostess staff treat both volunteers who work there,and those who eat there with disrespect, and I have witnessed the host staff choose to berate and humiliate others. It is disheartening. They also have been known to throw people out of the restaurant for valid reasons, but also without reason. This leaves food insecure people without healthy food, resulting in illness, lack of funds, lack of social outlet, and inability to meet with other friends in the same predicament. They do not put anything in writing, and fail to respond when asked for a meeting to discuss what has happened. The Soul Foundation raises money based on it helping all people in need, not just those whom the host chooses to like, It is not right. The Soul Foundation is also unreceptive to feedback and have no interest in improving. They doesn't even have a grievance...