Yes, Pine Beach. Just south of Toms River.
Excellent food, great service, nice ambiance, expensive. Kosher. New owners, new serious chef, menu and inside and outside completely redone … a totally different place from the Lamp Post Inn pre-2020.
This is a top quality dining experience not matched in the area, perhaps with the exceptions of Chef Mike’s ABG in South Seaside Park, and Daniel’s and Poached Pear in Point Pleasant. Prices are high, and they’re the only reason I would give 4 out of 5 stars.
We had:
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Fire Roasted Eggplant, Tahini, Silan, Pomegranate Seeds, Lime Zest (GF). Very good. Awesome, deep, and addictive flavor from the roasted eggplant, and drizzled tahini and silan (date honey).
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Roasted Bell Pepper Soup with Baguette Toast, Paprika Aioli. Good. I saw “roasted bell pepper” but was thinking “red bell pepper.” I suspect the base was actually roasted green bell peppers with fresh tomato puree which resulted in a more vegetal taste than I expected.
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Chicken Caesar Salad with Romaine Lettuce, Grilled Chicken, Caesar Dressing, Macadamia Shavings, Crostini. Good.
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Duck Breast with Slow Cooked Sweet Potato and Cream, Brussel Sprouts, Red Wine & Cranberry Reduction. Very good. I really enjoyed this; the duck was a very nice medium rare.
With two glasses of wine, our bill was $176, which included an 18% auto-tip. Everything was done and presented extremely well with outstanding attention to detail in both the food and service. Very nice wine offerings and an extensive selection of spirits are available. Attractive bar and lounge. Almost every table was full at 8 pm on a Monday night.
Price will be a hurdle for many. The duck breast was $58. Also on the menu I noted the veal chop at maybe $96 and I think the 30 day dry aged cowboy steak was over $165.
https://lamppostbistro.com
https://www.facebook.com/lamppostbistro/
