I came here with a group of friends to eat outside on the porch for their Thursday night live music. The atmosphere was great. Loved eating on the porch, and the historic old inn was amazing! The food was fine. Nothing particularly special. I had the fried chicken, as my friends all said they were known for that. While there was nothing wrong with it, it was nothing special and certainly not worth the price. That being said, the atmosphere and overall experience makes up for it.
Boris F
I wouldn’t recommend this place! It was nice to sit outside but the food was awful! Ribs were too oily and tasted like an old pork. Chitwas undercooked and too watery.
Matthew LaFrankie
Staff was very attentive and food was great. The live music was great and not too loud.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jo Lentz
Ok my husband’s chicken was great! My veggie lasagna not so much! Hostess was not friendly! We arrived 5 mins early and she wouldn’t seat us! The waitresses were
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Pam Oconnor
The experience is romantic, & a throw back to a way earlier time! Dinner in the dining room is a must if weather is beastly hot or rainy, but by far the best is dining on the veranda!Kid-friendliness: Kids menu, so they're being expected.Parking: It's "a shore town;" a resort area, & an historic neighborhood, so it's really difficult, unless you're a guest in the Chalfonte Hotel where it's located.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chalfonte Clam Chowder
Riss M
I have been coming here for years, however, my recent experience was enough to not return. Unfortunately, the service was truly disappointing, as was the food. For example, the $14 tomato cucumber and mozzarella salad consisted of three slices of thin tomato, two quarter sized slices of cucumber, and three small slices of mozzarella. You would expect better quality and quantity for the price tag. Additionally, three of us ordered the halibut special, and the fish was overcooked on all of our plates. The server forgot to get us waters 3 separate times, and also forgot one of our entrees, which came out 15 minutes after the others.While I do enjoy the live music, and the atmosphere on the porch is lovely, the consensus of our dinner party the other night was that this is not enough to will us into returning any time soon.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Ben Miller
Used to really enjoy the Magnolia Room under the previous ownership, but things have gone significantly downhill in the years since the sale. Food quality is nowhere near what it was and the people are just rude. There's too many good places to eat in Cape May, don't waste your time and money here.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
lauriebK6073XA
Such a disappointment from last year. Much smaller portions and our fried chicken was overcooked. Last year it was Devine. We sat on the porch which is lovely to be outside but the porch itself is in disrepair. Our drinks and plates were all tilting because of the warped porch. Just not the same
Brianna M.
I wanted to love this place, but unfortunately it is a tourist trap :( I'm giving them 2 stars because the service was awesome and the atmosphere was beautiful, but the food was less than mediocre. We got a ton of food and all tried each other's entrees as well, and there was not 1 thing I'd come back here for. It reminded me of food from a wedding venue where all of the sides are the same and it lacks flavor/uniqueness. I'd have rather gotten fried chicken from Popeyes instead of here. The taste would have been better for about 5 percent of the price.
Debra Amalfitano
We arrived at 6:10 for a 6:30 reservation. A somewhat rude host told us we would have to wait as there were people ahead of us. There was no one waiting and I saw an empty table. We waited at bar until 6:30, went back and was seated at the same table I saw empty earlier. Now to the food. I ordered the shrimp appetizer and I cannot even explain the sauce that was on it. It was glossy and had absolutely no flavor. I also got the Caesar’s salad which was served on a clear glass plate much like you’d get at a wedding. The dressing was bottled and croutons store bought. Two others ordered the ribs that were very tough and sweet. I was told the chicken was decent however very small for the price. Crab cake was ordered by another and he said it was good however $36 for one is robbery. I wish I could give this place zero stars. As another said, stay away!
The greeting and seating was pleasant and quick. Easy to reserve and we have wanted to try for years. The reviews were not great but me and my wife wanted to experience the cape May tradition. That was the great part of the review. Now for the food. We started with appetizers of spring rolls very small but tasty and baby back ribs that were tender but the glaze was too sweet for my taste. My wife tried the famous fried chicken but was sadly bland and dry in parts. She asked for gravy to help it out but that was thin and not very good. To think they charged a premium of $32 for chicken with a breast the size of a drumstick. The cornbread that was brought out was lukewarm at best. I ordered the crab cake which was very small and at $36 to receive only one is a shame. The waitress was attentive but not creative but served us promptly. Overall rating of 2 stars was due to pricing and poor flavor from a restaurant that was supposed to deliver southern charm.
Stephanie Cofield-Mixon
How loud can you scream on Google…STAY AWAY!Don't eat here if you enjoy good food and good flavor. While the setting is really nice with indoor and outdoor seating that is the limit of positive things I can say therefore I will limit my comments to describing the food: dry chicken, cold cornbread, lumpy mashed potatoes, watery horrible tasting gravy which I requested to help add flavor to my unseasoned chicken. The staff was nice enough but there is really nothing exciting about this place, the menu choices or the taste of the food.It seems obvious that they fail to read the negative reviews(as did I prior to coming) but worse than that is the obvious fact that they have no plans in heeding the comments of previous guests.It was my birthday and I refused to let my husband order dessert…I couldn’t allow him to give them another dime of his money with such terrible tasting food. Won’t be coming back!
sueanner2022
Yummy food - excellent food - polite staff - will come here again. We enjoy the food . Our family was impressed :)
charlesk139
Excellent food and service. Our waiter Dylan was excellent. Loved the crab cake and scallops. Beautiful and historic site.
J W.
Came for the fried chicken but did not expect grand experience of dining on the porch with live music on a beautiful evening. Service was friendly, but painfully slow and inattentive. In addition to us, I watched a table turnover for 6 while people waited on the front lawn of the hotel that took easily 30+ minutes with no sense of urgency. Ditto for our dinner. I guess they are suffering pandemic help shortage, as the hostess was also helping out, but even so it was not crowded, and the wait staff could have been more attentive it seems. Fortunately, we ordered drinks and our dinner the first time the waiter stopped by. They have a very limited wine list and so we went with spirits. My wife had their special cucumber gin cocktail (it was ok she said) and I had a Makers' Bourbon on the rocks. Took a while to get these, but not terrible. It got worse. They brought cornbread and butter to the table with our drinks, but unfortunately, the cornbread was cold and did not taste fresh. We let it go as by the time someone came back by we had forgotten. For entrees, we had the scallops (which were not the best and not very sweet as they generally taste) and the fried chicken. The fried chicken was pretty good, with a nice crust and juicy. They serve you a half chicken, so expect to take a piece or two home. The broccoli was cooked perfectly as were the new potato wedges. Again it took forever to our entrees and a very long time to get the bill. Once the bill arrived, I noticed they charged me $1 for the ice for my bourbon on the rocks! Are you kidding me? I asked the waiter and he apologized, but said it was the bar and others complain as well. Why leave such a bad impression with charging customers $1 for ice - obviously the principle of the thing, but we won't be back. If the food had been better, we would have come again and skipped the bar possibly. It is always amazing to me how people who run places like this step on themselves with poor service and stupid $1 charges for 4 cubes of ice; hacking off customers for no good reason.
I came here with a group of friends to eat outside on the porch for their Thursday night live music. The atmosphere was great. Loved eating on the porch, and the historic old inn was amazing! The food was fine. Nothing particularly special. I had the fried chicken, as my friends all said they were known for that. While there was nothing wrong with it, it was nothing special and certainly not worth the price. That being said, the atmosphere and overall experience makes up for it.
I wouldn’t recommend this place! It was nice to sit outside but the food was awful! Ribs were too oily and tasted like an old pork. Chitwas undercooked and too watery.
Staff was very attentive and food was great. The live music was great and not too loud.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ok my husband’s chicken was great! My veggie lasagna not so much! Hostess was not friendly! We arrived 5 mins early and she wouldn’t seat us! The waitresses were
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
The experience is romantic, & a throw back to a way earlier time! Dinner in the dining room is a must if weather is beastly hot or rainy, but by far the best is dining on the veranda!Kid-friendliness: Kids menu, so they're being expected.Parking: It's "a shore town;" a resort area, & an historic neighborhood, so it's really difficult, unless you're a guest in the Chalfonte Hotel where it's located.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chalfonte Clam Chowder
I have been coming here for years, however, my recent experience was enough to not return. Unfortunately, the service was truly disappointing, as was the food. For example, the $14 tomato cucumber and mozzarella salad consisted of three slices of thin tomato, two quarter sized slices of cucumber, and three small slices of mozzarella. You would expect better quality and quantity for the price tag. Additionally, three of us ordered the halibut special, and the fish was overcooked on all of our plates. The server forgot to get us waters 3 separate times, and also forgot one of our entrees, which came out 15 minutes after the others.While I do enjoy the live music, and the atmosphere on the porch is lovely, the consensus of our dinner party the other night was that this is not enough to will us into returning any time soon.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Used to really enjoy the Magnolia Room under the previous ownership, but things have gone significantly downhill in the years since the sale. Food quality is nowhere near what it was and the people are just rude. There's too many good places to eat in Cape May, don't waste your time and money here.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Such a disappointment from last year. Much smaller portions and our fried chicken was overcooked. Last year it was Devine. We sat on the porch which is lovely to be outside but the porch itself is in disrepair. Our drinks and plates were all tilting because of the warped porch. Just not the same
I wanted to love this place, but unfortunately it is a tourist trap :( I'm giving them 2 stars because the service was awesome and the atmosphere was beautiful, but the food was less than mediocre. We got a ton of food and all tried each other's entrees as well, and there was not 1 thing I'd come back here for. It reminded me of food from a wedding venue where all of the sides are the same and it lacks flavor/uniqueness. I'd have rather gotten fried chicken from Popeyes instead of here. The taste would have been better for about 5 percent of the price.
We arrived at 6:10 for a 6:30 reservation. A somewhat rude host told us we would have to wait as there were people ahead of us. There was no one waiting and I saw an empty table. We waited at bar until 6:30, went back and was seated at the same table I saw empty earlier. Now to the food. I ordered the shrimp appetizer and I cannot even explain the sauce that was on it. It was glossy and had absolutely no flavor. I also got the Caesar’s salad which was served on a clear glass plate much like you’d get at a wedding. The dressing was bottled and croutons store bought. Two others ordered the ribs that were very tough and sweet. I was told the chicken was decent however very small for the price. Crab cake was ordered by another and he said it was good however $36 for one is robbery. I wish I could give this place zero stars. As another said, stay away!
Restaurantji Recommends
The greeting and seating was pleasant and quick. Easy to reserve and we have wanted to try for years. The reviews were not great but me and my wife wanted to experience the cape May tradition. That was the great part of the review. Now for the food. We started with appetizers of spring rolls very small but tasty and baby back ribs that were tender but the glaze was too sweet for my taste. My wife tried the famous fried chicken but was sadly bland and dry in parts. She asked for gravy to help it out but that was thin and not very good. To think they charged a premium of $32 for chicken with a breast the size of a drumstick. The cornbread that was brought out was lukewarm at best. I ordered the crab cake which was very small and at $36 to receive only one is a shame. The waitress was attentive but not creative but served us promptly. Overall rating of 2 stars was due to pricing and poor flavor from a restaurant that was supposed to deliver southern charm.
How loud can you scream on Google…STAY AWAY!Don't eat here if you enjoy good food and good flavor. While the setting is really nice with indoor and outdoor seating that is the limit of positive things I can say therefore I will limit my comments to describing the food: dry chicken, cold cornbread, lumpy mashed potatoes, watery horrible tasting gravy which I requested to help add flavor to my unseasoned chicken. The staff was nice enough but there is really nothing exciting about this place, the menu choices or the taste of the food.It seems obvious that they fail to read the negative reviews(as did I prior to coming) but worse than that is the obvious fact that they have no plans in heeding the comments of previous guests.It was my birthday and I refused to let my husband order dessert…I couldn’t allow him to give them another dime of his money with such terrible tasting food. Won’t be coming back!
Yummy food - excellent food - polite staff - will come here again. We enjoy the food . Our family was impressed :)
Excellent food and service. Our waiter Dylan was excellent. Loved the crab cake and scallops. Beautiful and historic site.
Came for the fried chicken but did not expect grand experience of dining on the porch with live music on a beautiful evening. Service was friendly, but painfully slow and inattentive. In addition to us, I watched a table turnover for 6 while people waited on the front lawn of the hotel that took easily 30+ minutes with no sense of urgency. Ditto for our dinner. I guess they are suffering pandemic help shortage, as the hostess was also helping out, but even so it was not crowded, and the wait staff could have been more attentive it seems. Fortunately, we ordered drinks and our dinner the first time the waiter stopped by. They have a very limited wine list and so we went with spirits. My wife had their special cucumber gin cocktail (it was ok she said) and I had a Makers' Bourbon on the rocks. Took a while to get these, but not terrible. It got worse. They brought cornbread and butter to the table with our drinks, but unfortunately, the cornbread was cold and did not taste fresh. We let it go as by the time someone came back by we had forgotten. For entrees, we had the scallops (which were not the best and not very sweet as they generally taste) and the fried chicken. The fried chicken was pretty good, with a nice crust and juicy. They serve you a half chicken, so expect to take a piece or two home. The broccoli was cooked perfectly as were the new potato wedges. Again it took forever to our entrees and a very long time to get the bill. Once the bill arrived, I noticed they charged me $1 for the ice for my bourbon on the rocks! Are you kidding me? I asked the waiter and he apologized, but said it was the bar and others complain as well. Why leave such a bad impression with charging customers $1 for ice - obviously the principle of the thing, but we won't be back. If the food had been better, we would have come again and skipped the bar possibly. It is always amazing to me how people who run places like this step on themselves with poor service and stupid $1 charges for 4 cubes of ice; hacking off customers for no good reason.