Per Red Bank Green blog looks like Tommy Tap owner is involved in the reboot- which should bring in the crowds…
Location is great and the area would definitely benefit from a plus place going in there.
Would be nice to have a place similar to his Sea Bright spot that you could actually get into over the summer.
http://www.redbankgreen.com/2016/12/lincroft-new-owners-for-historic-inn/
As this is the same guy behind the former Tommy’s Coal Fired in Red Bank I have to confess that I am a little less than excited.
Yet again:
Mediocre Food + Liquor License = Another “Successful” Monmouth Restaurant.
My understanding is he is no longer associated with the Tommy’s Coal Fire Pizza “chain” and is only currently involved in The Tap House in Sea Bright as the article mentions. While you might not have been overly impressed with Tommy’s Coal Fire Pizza (personally I wasn’t a fan) a Tommy’s Tap House style eatery/pub would be a nice addition to the area. Hell anything would be a welcome change from the Lincroft Inn.
agreed here. Tommys in SB is above average I’d say. Having someplace other than Luigis in the area to eat with the fam would be nice, since I don’t think the Greek place is gonna make it. When shopping for the tree we went to Lincroft and I tried to convince the wife to try the newest Greek place in that lot- 6PM or so on Sat night and not a soul in there other than staff…maybe that spot just wasn’t meant for Greek…
There was a brief period of time when the food at the Lincroft Inn was actually excellent. The owners hired Chef Eric Hambrecht who had helmed the kitchen at The Frog and the Peach. He overhauled Lincroft Inn’s entire menu turning it into Contemporary American cuisine (though he did retain a very few Italian dishes). We had dinner there a few times while he was there. Unfortunately, he left to become chef/partner of the Stage House Tavern, in Somerset, where he remains to this day.
Via Google, I found this old thread on eGullet re: his leaving. I was one of those who posted (aka “rozrapp”) as was Curlz.
I’ve never heard of Tommy’s Tap House. I just looked at the menu. If that’s what he has in mind for the Lincroft Inn, I can’t say I’m excited the way I was with the changes made at Fromagerie. Still, since it’s only 15 minutes from our house, I’ll probably give it a try.
by no means is it fine dining, but it’s well done type of place everyone should find something they would enjoy, little ones included; which beats the current reality in that area…
That’s something we can all agree with.
Tommy’s SB serves decent bar food, which is by no means a given in our area.
Sandwiches, pasta, pizza, & sushi. All the usual Jersey suspects, with lots of drink specials.
Nothing worth waiting in line for during the summer, and not a place that I think of as a destination in the off season.
Sorry but the old Tommy’s pizza in Red Bank is the same for me. Even if the name has changed, the menu and the people haven’t. Again, bar food with a focus on drinking, not the food.
Neither would be my first choice when dining out, and probably not my second or third either. But Tommy seems to have the winning formula in this area. If bar food is your thing, by all means.
Sea Bright has a DJ for New Years ! Reserve now!
I think we should get Sebastian Bach to move back.
He was always entertaining, especially in the parking lot.
I don’t get Tommy’s in sea bright. The food is not bad but the place is constantly packed…I mean railed with people. I can’t think of another place rocking out tables like they are locally. I see people waiting out in the rain for tables lol. The wings there are top notch though. Nothing else I’ve had there really did it for me.
I hope the lincroft inn is not an awful “combination spot” where they are trying to do everything…barfood/pizza, sushi, italian, whatever else you want to thow in the mix.
Is the queso place still open in Lincroft?
Yes they are !!! Arguably the best in the area.
They also have duck wings which are pretty good, but the teriyaki could use some heat. I can’t remember @corvette_johnny are you a duck fan? If so these are worth a shot.
Burgers are OK but overpriced at $ 13-16, unless you go on Tuesday when they are half off.
Calamari however can’t hold a candle to Brothers. I’ve also had barbacoa tacos that were anything but. Go to La Valentina for these. Meatloaf was also strange, had some wierd spice in it, and they topped it with cheese.
Overall to me neither the food nor the venue rise to the level where I would bother to do a separate review.
But if you are in the area, especially on a Tuesday, it’s lunch worthy.
Yes.
It’s in the restaurant strip of death, along with Luigi’s and Stamna.
Queso Grill has to have one of the most eclectic menus in our area. It’s a mile long, and none of it is very good.
Yet they seem to be succeeding where Kimchi Sushi failed.
In Lincroft I like Luigi’s for the meatball parmesan, Stamna for gyros, and Joyce’s for breakfast Sammie’s.
Yes the half price burgers are a decent deal there. I also do love duck. I never new they had them. Thanks for the tip. My go to duck dish is the basil duck at kunya Siam in atlantic highlands. Get it extra crispy and spicy…yum!
Some observations from my night last Wednesday night.
Went to Christines in Atlantic Highlands to purchase 2 gift certificates for gifts, arrived 6:15 and the place was full. I intended on eating at one of the small 2 tops by myself while I was there, no such luck. Ron in his best attempt at hospitality offered me a seat at the “Bar” which I declined, I know all too well I would only be in the way. Off I was.
Considered walking into the Gaslight…the bar wasn’t full but I wasn’t in the “mood” to potentially be disappointed since I already had my heart set on Ron’s. CC was out simply because all I really like is the steak and well I wanted some other options. Leave and head south on 36.
I decide to give Mc loon’s Rum Runners another try, after a mediocre first visit over the summer I pull in the parking lot 10 cars total, place looked dead. I didn’t get out of my car…next up Rooney’s…pulled in the lot maybe a dozen cars, but again the place just looked dead so I left.
Pull up to Tommy’s the parking lot is FULL, no on the street parking…screw it I wasn’t walking a mile away in the cold. Unfortunately Tommy’s screws up the parking for Surf and Angelica’s so they were out too. Woody’s looked decent, but if I"m going to Woody’s I might as well go closer to home. Ama…well it’s Ama I’m not going there alone…at this point I’m off to Beach Tavern when my daughter calls me to find out if I was eating yet, we then met up at the Chinese Buffet on rt. 36. (I wanted to meet her at Jimmy’s in Asbury Park she said she was in the mood for something quick the Chinese Buffet was the compromise)
Moral of the story…out of the Sea Bright strip with some very long standing and established restaurants only Tommy’s was full to the limit. There is something to be said about that on a Wednesday night.
Half price specialty pizza + Half price sangria = Full Wednesday Night in Sea Bright !
Also, just because it’s full doesn’t mean its good in that neighborhood, vis Salt Creek Grille.
I woulda taken the seat at the bar at Christine’s. Chef Ron would have taken care of you like the prodigal son. There was a veal chop with your name on it.
If you are talking about the Chinese buffet in there with the TJ Maxx & Vingo I truly feel sorry how your tale ended up. Maybe not the wurst buffet, but close.
Finally, speaking of Asian, you could have taken one for the team at Pho 99…
I swear I hear the sad Charlie Brown Christmas piano in the background of your story…
I’m really impressed at what Tommy is doing. I just don’t know how he does it. Obviously location is a factor. I think the “casual” aspect draws in a lot of Rumson and MB folks with children. There aren’t too many spots in either towns to take kids for a cheap meal (ie pizza) with decent ambiance. I think the location+liquor+parking+ pizza is a good combination for that spot.
If anyone wants something similar to Tommy’s try zoni’s in Middletown on rt 35. They have coal pizza which I think is better than Tommy’s and wings, which are similar but don’t stack up to Tommy’s. Byob and they have coupons in the mail or online so you can get out of here for a lot less.
Jr gaslight has changed. Brad is no longer the chef so a lot of my favorite dishes are gone and the specials seem kind of weak. Their famous salt/pepper Korean bbq wings are gone now too. Someone should hire that guy for the new Lincroft inn. That man makes some tasty food.
16 dollar prime rib night at Harrys lobster house tonight. I might have to go. It’s been on my radar.
Exactly what I was afraid of! lol I know you have talked the place up a few times but I couldn’t recall what you had recommended so I was hesitant to just walk in and giving it a shot, glad I didn’t.
Back to the Lincroft Inn, the place has been operating as two separate locations under one roof for years. The sit down “formal” dining has been a joke for the 20+ years I’ve lived here. With perhaps a fleeting exception as Roz noted, but for the last 5-10 years I wouldn’t touch a thing that came out of their kitchen. (FYI has anyone been there when the owners dog came running around from upstairs???) The burgers and bar food was “passable” and they did a decent bar biz…so the place operated as a glorified shot n beer joint. Not that Tommy’s is “good” for fine dining, but having another place like Woody’s where you can grab decent food in a decent atmosphere would be more than welcomed.
Yep. And I would bet this won’t be “railed” like Sea Bright.
Yes that is the Chinese Buffet on 36 …I don’t eat the Chinese food, I go to town on the peel and eat shrimp and their fried (frozen) shrimp. That consists of 75% of my meal…you can get some decent stuff on the grill…maybe a rib or two. The actual Chinese food doesn’t look very appetizing but they do have some decent options. {{shrugs}}
I almost made it to Sabor a couple weeks ago, but the gravitational pull of Blu Grato was too strong, my car was pulled right (left) off of 36 into their parking lot.
