Food was very good, but the long wait for it was not. The two men working on a very busy Sun. night, when the restaurant was running a special, were mostly working hard, but the restaurant should have hired a lot more help for front of the house and dining room as well as in the kitchen. It took 35 minutes for us to get bread. Took about that long for first course, another 30 minutes for entree. Another long wait for dessert. Then I had to go look for our waiter to get the check. He was chatting with other customers out front. Not good. Worst of all, the restaurant charged us a 25% tip and then asked for another tip on the credit card paperwork. Slimy move! First of all, we should not have automatically had a 25% tip imposed on us for how long we waited for bread and every single course and then the check. Secondly, after imposing a very generous tip, the place should not have given us paperwork asking for a SECOND TIP. Really? Food was good but kitchen was clearly overwhelmed with a packed house. Waiters had to also be hosts and bus boys. Come on, Whispers. You're making a pretty penny. Pony up for more manpower. Give your guests a reason to come back. And sad because food was good.
Davepicc
The food was very good. My mother had the rack of lamb which was great- unlike anything I've ever tasted. Very succulent. I had the filet mignon which was very good. It was a bit expensive so we had a $100 gift card and the entrees came in well over that. We met the owner who was very nice, he called the tomato sauce gravy so he's okay in my book. It is BYOB so remember that. I think you can bring pretty much what you want. All in all it was a great time all around. Great waiter but forget his name. There was only two waiters who covered the place excellently. My previous food experience and opening up restaurants tells me they know what they are doing.
Mark
We went for the advertised Italian night which seemed to be popular with the guests. The food was good but not plentiful. They advertised 3courses for $35 which is reasonable and in line with other restaurants in town with Italian Sunday specials but the dishes were all small portions.
Mustang66
The Italian dinner special was just ok. The bread was warm but would not supply butter. Only oil was available on the table. They had advertised Arugula salad but was not available. Other then I I mentioned the dinner was acceptable. Good value.
Paul Musho
Poor signage out front. Doesn't reflect town feel. I spoke to owner and dispite complaints from me and other neighbors he keeps the illuminated LED OPEN sign up. Please remove sign and replace with one that matches existing sign and town feel. Thank you
Atmosphere: 1
Carol Stevenson
Butter is no longer served with the bread roll. Apparently it’s a new policy.Out of the 5 entrees only 4 were available.The lamb and steak were both undercooked and had to be refired.Unable to make a Caesar SaladMenu item Rack of Lamb turned out to be 3 lamb chops.Very disappointing!!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
EileenD
We had a great dinner. My husband had the rack of lamb, which he said was the best he had ever had. I had the lobster special, which was delicious. One and a quarter lobster poached in butter out of the shell over a crab cake, sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes. We wanted the molten chocolate cake, but they were out of it, so we had the warm apple desert, which was very good. We asked for butter our rolls, but the said "We don't do butter!". That was odd, but they did have olive oil with ground pepper. Service was very good. Looking forward to going back again.
Ian Brodsky
Made a reservation for 8pm on Valentines Day. Reservation made a huge deal about only getting a 5 minute grace period or reservation would be cancelled and my card would be charged. Show up early to be told they were running 15 minutes behind, by the host who thought it was a big joke and told us to “sit with all of the other people who were on time” in the lobby, which was around 10 other couples. 30 minutes went by with no sign of being sat so we took our business elsewhere. Why bother taking reservations if you are just going to overbook and make upwards of 10 parties wait.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great dinner. Both mine and my wife's deserts were terrible. You can tell they're bought in boxes. Suggestion...taste food before serving it to your customers. A bad dessert can ruin the whole dinning experience. PS - We're regular customers.
C M (GOGOCO)
Classic, intimate and continental cuisine. The setting is very old fashioned and has a special charm. Food was quite good! If you are looking for the latest trendy restaurant this is probably not for you. Definitely has an old school charm which is quite lovely.
Unfortunately Google would not allow me to leave a no star or negative star rating or I would have done so.It pains me to write this review since I know the owner, Nick, personally and have spent many enjoyable times there in the past. My wife and I and our family have spent nearly every holiday, anniversary and major family event there and had been treated extremely well. However, what Whispers once was has ceased to exist.My mother-in-law passed away shortly before the pandemic started and because of the many memories we all shared at Whispers, it has been extremely difficult for my wife to return there. I was finally able to convince her to return to Whispers with me to honor my late mother on her birthday on December 7th. I had been looking forward to trying the Italian menu that was being featured as a special. Although my reservation was made 2 weeks in advance and was confirmed by Whispers the day before, I arrived to a dark restaurant and was curtly informed by an employee of the Hewitt Wellington Hotel that they were closed. I attempted to call the restaurant while there to speak to someone about the issue but was unable to reach anyone. To add insult to injury, no one from Whispers management had the courtesy to call me to cancel the reservation if they had a problem, nor did anyone contact me to explain why they failed to honor my reservation after confirming it the day before.
L. B
This is Absolutely worst place in New Jeresy. We had a terrible experience at this restaurant. The staff was so rude and unfriendly, the manager Nick, worst customer service, unreasonable and bullies.we had to beg for them to bring us napkins utensils……..totally ignorant behaviorThe food sucks. Truly the worst , save your time and money.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Michael Protono
Main dining room is too crowed; food was good but over priced; wait-staff is understaffed.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Grilled Shrimp
GloriaN
Everything was wonderful EXCEPT the rack of Lamb was actually not a rack , but was 3 individual chops which were very tough and difficult to eat. We enjoyed the shrimp with coleslaw, the lobster,Sorbet, Cheese Cake, etc. and the service was excellent .
Janet1057
Love this restaurant for a special night out. I don't think there is anything else like it in Monmouth County. Very busy for Christmas Eve and I believe they may have been short staffed. Everyone pitches in to open wine, change tables, etc. Prices are high, however the quality and ambiance are 1st rate. We thought it was a special prix fix menu and were pleasantly surprised it was a la carte allowing for additional choices. My husband is always happy with the bib lettuce salad and shrimp fettuccine pesto. I ordered the grilled caesar salad (outstanding dressing) and rack of lamb for the first time. It was cooked perfectly. For dessert, we shared the special key lime cheesecake which I wish included a bit more berry sauce. Looking forward to our next visit.
Food was very good, but the long wait for it was not. The two men working on a very busy Sun. night, when the restaurant was running a special, were mostly working hard, but the restaurant should have hired a lot more help for front of the house and dining room as well as in the kitchen. It took 35 minutes for us to get bread. Took about that long for first course, another 30 minutes for entree. Another long wait for dessert. Then I had to go look for our waiter to get the check. He was chatting with other customers out front. Not good. Worst of all, the restaurant charged us a 25% tip and then asked for another tip on the credit card paperwork. Slimy move! First of all, we should not have automatically had a 25% tip imposed on us for how long we waited for bread and every single course and then the check. Secondly, after imposing a very generous tip, the place should not have given us paperwork asking for a SECOND TIP. Really? Food was good but kitchen was clearly overwhelmed with a packed house. Waiters had to also be hosts and bus boys. Come on, Whispers. You're making a pretty penny. Pony up for more manpower. Give your guests a reason to come back. And sad because food was good.
The food was very good. My mother had the rack of lamb which was great- unlike anything I've ever tasted. Very succulent. I had the filet mignon which was very good. It was a bit expensive so we had a $100 gift card and the entrees came in well over that. We met the owner who was very nice, he called the tomato sauce gravy so he's okay in my book. It is BYOB so remember that. I think you can bring pretty much what you want. All in all it was a great time all around. Great waiter but forget his name. There was only two waiters who covered the place excellently. My previous food experience and opening up restaurants tells me they know what they are doing.
We went for the advertised Italian night which seemed to be popular with the guests. The food was good but not plentiful. They advertised 3courses for $35 which is reasonable and in line with other restaurants in town with Italian Sunday specials but the dishes were all small portions.
The Italian dinner special was just ok. The bread was warm but would not supply butter. Only oil was available on the table. They had advertised Arugula salad but was not available. Other then I I mentioned the dinner was acceptable. Good value.
Poor signage out front. Doesn't reflect town feel. I spoke to owner and dispite complaints from me and other neighbors he keeps the illuminated LED OPEN sign up. Please remove sign and replace with one that matches existing sign and town feel. Thank you
Atmosphere: 1
Butter is no longer served with the bread roll. Apparently it’s a new policy.Out of the 5 entrees only 4 were available.The lamb and steak were both undercooked and had to be refired.Unable to make a Caesar SaladMenu item Rack of Lamb turned out to be 3 lamb chops.Very disappointing!!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
We had a great dinner. My husband had the rack of lamb, which he said was the best he had ever had. I had the lobster special, which was delicious. One and a quarter lobster poached in butter out of the shell over a crab cake, sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes. We wanted the molten chocolate cake, but they were out of it, so we had the warm apple desert, which was very good. We asked for butter our rolls, but the said "We don't do butter!". That was odd, but they did have olive oil with ground pepper. Service was very good. Looking forward to going back again.
Made a reservation for 8pm on Valentines Day. Reservation made a huge deal about only getting a 5 minute grace period or reservation would be cancelled and my card would be charged. Show up early to be told they were running 15 minutes behind, by the host who thought it was a big joke and told us to “sit with all of the other people who were on time” in the lobby, which was around 10 other couples. 30 minutes went by with no sign of being sat so we took our business elsewhere. Why bother taking reservations if you are just going to overbook and make upwards of 10 parties wait.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great dinner. Both mine and my wife's deserts were terrible. You can tell they're bought in boxes. Suggestion...taste food before serving it to your customers. A bad dessert can ruin the whole dinning experience. PS - We're regular customers.
Classic, intimate and continental cuisine. The setting is very old fashioned and has a special charm. Food was quite good! If you are looking for the latest trendy restaurant this is probably not for you. Definitely has an old school charm which is quite lovely.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Unfortunately Google would not allow me to leave a no star or negative star rating or I would have done so.It pains me to write this review since I know the owner, Nick, personally and have spent many enjoyable times there in the past. My wife and I and our family have spent nearly every holiday, anniversary and major family event there and had been treated extremely well. However, what Whispers once was has ceased to exist.My mother-in-law passed away shortly before the pandemic started and because of the many memories we all shared at Whispers, it has been extremely difficult for my wife to return there. I was finally able to convince her to return to Whispers with me to honor my late mother on her birthday on December 7th. I had been looking forward to trying the Italian menu that was being featured as a special. Although my reservation was made 2 weeks in advance and was confirmed by Whispers the day before, I arrived to a dark restaurant and was curtly informed by an employee of the Hewitt Wellington Hotel that they were closed. I attempted to call the restaurant while there to speak to someone about the issue but was unable to reach anyone. To add insult to injury, no one from Whispers management had the courtesy to call me to cancel the reservation if they had a problem, nor did anyone contact me to explain why they failed to honor my reservation after confirming it the day before.
This is Absolutely worst place in New Jeresy. We had a terrible experience at this restaurant. The staff was so rude and unfriendly, the manager Nick, worst customer service, unreasonable and bullies.we had to beg for them to bring us napkins utensils……..totally ignorant behaviorThe food sucks. Truly the worst , save your time and money.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Main dining room is too crowed; food was good but over priced; wait-staff is understaffed.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Grilled Shrimp
Everything was wonderful EXCEPT the rack of Lamb was actually not a rack , but was 3 individual chops which were very tough and difficult to eat. We enjoyed the shrimp with coleslaw, the lobster,Sorbet, Cheese Cake, etc. and the service was excellent .
Love this restaurant for a special night out. I don't think there is anything else like it in Monmouth County. Very busy for Christmas Eve and I believe they may have been short staffed. Everyone pitches in to open wine, change tables, etc. Prices are high, however the quality and ambiance are 1st rate. We thought it was a special prix fix menu and were pleasantly surprised it was a la carte allowing for additional choices. My husband is always happy with the bib lettuce salad and shrimp fettuccine pesto. I ordered the grilled caesar salad (outstanding dressing) and rack of lamb for the first time. It was cooked perfectly. For dessert, we shared the special key lime cheesecake which I wish included a bit more berry sauce. Looking forward to our next visit.