Lefty’s Tavern

This past Wednesday my group of Early Birds oif 16 ate at Lefty’s…WE WILL NEVER EAT THERE AGAIN!!! Reason being; we were rudely told only 2 credit cards can be used for the entire group… like it or leave it!!! or spread out over the entire room!!! we can to eat together, not spread out over the entire room, so that each table then could submit 2 credit cards!!! Then as a further insult the Hostess brought over the Tavern’s male bouncer… to reinforce what she rudely told us, as if we were all going to stand up and lynch her… rude now by two people of this restaurant… and insulted, that we should know better… WE were already seated, tired, frustrated, drank the water and had a alcoholic beverage, otherwise we would have ALL LEFT THIS RESTAURANT… Now the reason for this ‘disclaimer’ written on the bottom of their menu being… to not give the waitresses their due tips!!! or is someone stiffing somebody in this credit card malay!!! Be in known, that i and the rest of the group will tell of this embarrasing experience to our friends in other Sr. Groups around Barnegat and surrounding area… this is a big loss of business… can this owner be so independent as to turn his back on customers… what the reason is, we cannot figure out, except to diagnose it as purely stupid, and in a small community down here, …word gets around… and that it will… J. Krochmal…As for a rating… i would say ZERO ZERO ZERO!!!

We went for Thanksgiving. Our reservation was for 2:00 and were seated immediately. Our waitress was friendly and attentive without being annoying. The food was great. Two people had prime rib and asked for different temperatures. Both came out perfect. My husband thought the turkey dinner was excellent. My salmon was cooked perfectly.

Food & Service not consistant, although last time we had a great waitress and the dish I had was very good.

We came for the comedy on a Friday night and were *blown away* by the menu! I had the wasabi scallops on seaweed salad and it was 1000% better than I would have ever expected. The salmon and fit burger that my dining companions had were also way beyond expectations. And now… COMEDY!
AMENDED So, we came for the comedy, to see a comic that we loved, Chris Monty. We had invited friends from all over New Jersey, hyping the show and ensuring that they would have a blast and laugh till they cried. At about 3 pm, I had gone to Lefty’s website to check the address and how long it would take us to get there. I noticed on the calendar that Chris Monty’s name was no longer on it. I called the restaurant, and asked why, to make sure that we were going to see Chris when we got there. The young woman who answered the phone ASSURED me that yes, Chris Monty would be performing. So we arrived at 6 pm, had a DELICIOUS dinner and then proceeded into the show space. We sat down at the table and were told, NOT by the management, but by some other people who were sitting at the table, that in fact CHRIS MONTY HAD CANCELLED. I was then approached by the organizer of the show «Joel», who said that Chris had been booked to film a «TV show» (actually a netflix show) and cancelled. I was told that if I were truly a fan, I would be happy for Chris’s career success. While I do support Chris’s career, in my mind, when you book a show, make a commitment to show up, YOU SHOW UP! Or you notify your audience in advance, or at least have the person who answers the phone at your venue know wtf is going on!
Joel assured us that he had gotten a «headliner» from Atlantic City to fill in for Chris. The first guy who came on probably would have been funny if not faced with an audience made up of hostile Chris Monty fans and very senior citizens who don’t like «vulgar» humor. From there the show descended into «open mic night at the nursing home». And the «headliner» from Atlantic City was a freaking puppet show, with some animal torture (will be calling the ASPCA about that) and open flame that had me in fear for my life, in that tiny crowded venue filled with seniors.
All in all, we dropped over $ 200 in the belief that we would be seeing someone we very specifically wanted to see, and saw, instead, something that I will never be able to forget, no matter how hard I try.
All in all a HUGE disappointment.

Went here a couple times, with each time the food was just a tad less in taste and quality. I think the chef left or they changed chefs. I also was hoping when they took over after carriage house they would open the bar to full rectangle for more seats, but it’s small. The portions are really big, the service is fine… it’s like that other review said, something about the atmosphere I can’t put my finger on… maybe it’s an identity thing. It feels old, still feels like Carriage House, the old place that used to be here when I first moved. In order for me to go back, I would love to see a a revamping of dishes — people these days expect more now from restaurant food– fresh ingredients, creative dishes, presentation — and I don’t mind paying for it! Good luck to Lefty’s, I do wish the best for you!

Stopped in for lunch with my mom. She ordered a Reuben and I got a roastbeef sandwich. Both were pretty dry. Also, they gave my mom French dressing instead of Thousand Island dressing for her sandwich. We flagged the manager and she tried to tell us that their Thousand Island dressing is just darker — which is a lie.
Overall, the waitress was very nice, but the food itself wasn’t too great. I won’t be going back there again

Me and my party made reservations for 8 and we showed up at 7:50 expecting to go in but the hostess said in a rude matter «when it’s 8 you can go and sit» so we ended up waiting and going and having to hand out our own menus. The soups were very good they say there award winning put the time to get them was pretty long like 20 minutes. Then the wait for the food we waited around 40 minutes for our food which was great.
TL:DR foods slow service furious food

My mother and I decided to go to dinner in my new neighborhood in Barnegat. We had heard good things about Lefty’s Tavern and I’d seen they were advertising a comedy night, so we decided to go there.
When we arrived, we were informed that it was $ 15 per person to see the comedy show, so we decided to pass on that and instead just have dinner. We were seated and our waitress came over, read the specials, made some suggestions, and took our orders. She was professional and knowledgeable, and we were looking forward to our dinner as we were both very hungry. My mother ordered the prime rib, medium, and I ordered the meat loaf bites, an appetizer, as my entrée.
Our server brought out our drinks and a bread basket, and assured us our food would be out shortly. Then, we waited… for over 40 minutes. We watched as tables which had arrived and sat down after us were served. Some of them were nearly done by the time our food came out.
My meal was hot and fairly good, but my mother took a bite of her steak and discovered it was only lukewarm — it had clearly been sitting under the lights for awhile. Worse, she tried both of her sides and found them to be stone cold. She informed the waitress, who took the sides back to the kitchen; instead of sending out fresh sides, the kitchen sent out the same sides reheated. My mother ate a few bites of her steak since she was so hungry, but we were so disappointed with the overall experience that we felt it was necessary to speak to a manager.
We explained to our waitress that we knew it wasn’t her fault, but we needed a manager, and she nodded and left. Ten minutes later, a woman named Juliet came over to our table and apologized for our wait. She said they were contending with the comedy show and a number of larger parties that had come in, and the kitchen had been backed up. She noted that they had reheated the sides for my mother, and that my mother had eaten part of her steak. We pointed out that my mother had waited a very long time for her meal and was extremely hungry, and had not even come close to finishing the steak because it was not hot. She said that because my mother had eaten part of the meal, it didn’t matter; the most she could offer us was a buy-​one, get-​one-​half-​off entrée coupon for our next visit.
We were very frustrated at this point as this really wasn’t acceptable, and we said there would likely not be a next visit if nothing else could be done. She said she would see if she could get some discount on our meal, and left. Ten minutes later she came back and said the best she could do was the coupon and 10% off on my mother’s entrée (not even the entire check). She made it abundantly clear that she didn’t really care that our experience was terrible and that we would never be patronizing the restaurant again. When my mother told her we would not be accepting the coupon and that we would have to leave a bad review online, she responded with, «Have a nice night!» It was clear she just wanted to get rid of us.
In short: The kitchen needs to get its act together in a really big way, and management needs to at least PRETEND that they care about their customers. We will definitely not be going back to Lefty’s.

Great food and the prices are very reasonable. The only issue I have are the patrons who go right outside to smoke their cigarettes. As a customer walking into the establishment, I get a huge whiff of cigarettes before going to eat a good meal. There should be a better designated area for smokers. Not by the front door.

Food was okay no wifi and cell coverage very bad. He’d the jersey burger it was well done to well done. Asked for plain fries and got seasoned fries.

Never a bad time in the bar or restaurant. The bartender Mike is one of the best in the area (he knows his drinks).Food is great and they have have good entertainment some nights.

decided to take a trip back into lefty’s this evening after having a craving for the schnitzel and spatzel. My husband had the spatzel i went with the chicken marsala. Although the marsala was good, if i ordered it to be spatzel or chicken with brown gravy, Sadly it was Not marsala. There is a totally different flavor to Marsala. Below is a hint of what it should taste like. Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs chicken tenders/​breast
½ lemon
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ cup flour
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
¾−1 cup dry marsala wine
What i was given was just a chicken breast with brown gravy, and mushrooms (not sure it was made from scratch), it did not taste like it was, in my opinion it was just ok. The mixture of veggies was obvious it was just frozen then blanched and mixed with this non marsala brown sauce. For 16.99 in this town, it was not evident of taste. I understand that maybe people make marsala differently, but if your not going to add the marsala wine then do not call it marsala. Call it chicken with brown gravy the same one that is on the schnitzel. I think some places think people do not know or will not know the difference, but think again.!. For that reason for this evening i have to lower my rating until further assessment. :(I will come back as i have never had BAD food here or had any problem with service whatsoever. Our waitstaff was excellent.

Lefty’s has fantastic food and atmosphere. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful.
They have something for the whole family my mother and son love the food. Will definitely recommend and be back soon.

Started with nachos they are some of the best around, burgers are always good and my wife loves the flounder today i had the open faced turkey and for 9.99 was a very good value… i like to stop there when coming home from a/​c or LBI … i recommend and will be back time and time again

Food is always amazing and service has never been less then great. Always packed when I’m there, but the wait is never bad. Everyone is very friendly. My parents and I love going there for a great meal. Definitely worth a try.

Good food. Especially loved the turkey & avocado sandwich. Delicious!
I wouldn’t label this place a sports bar though.
It’s a great place for food but I think it could use a bit revamping to appeal to a more younger audience.
Love the outdoor dining area in summer.

I used to love this place! It’s local and the food was always spot on… and then it wasn’t! I ordered the stuffed salmon & a baked potato. When I cut into the potato the entire inside was black! The «stuffed» salmon was a piece of salmon with a tiny sliver of crab cake placed directly on top and the remainder of the cake on the side. The waitress saw the potato and took it away and returned within 30 secs. There was no time to cook another potato or even heat one up. She walked to the back and walked right out-​the door barely closed she was so fast. I don’t know if they have them sitting under a heat lamp or if it was someone else’s but it most certainly wasn’t fresh and unfortunately it tasted that way! When I was able to get her attention again, I told her that I was extremely disappointed about the «stuffed» salmon. I expected it to be «STUFFED» like the menu describes. I also tried to explain to her that I didn’t want a fried crab cake or I would have ordered one. I was expecting a taste, when something is stuffed the flavors are together, it is one item and it creates a different taste then two items cooked separately that you eat basically separate. Even putting them on my fork at the same time is not the desired taste and I shouldn’t be expected to do that when I am ordering a stuffed dish! It’s not unreasonable. The menu was misleading and I was really dissatisfied not to mention that my second potato was not fresh! She did not apologize nor offer any other choice. She proceeded to tell me that every place that SHE has ever had stuffed salmon that’s how it’s done and then was just shocked that the potato wasn’t fresh. She actually shrugged as if to say «I don’t know what to tell you» then she just looked at me. I just looked at her for a moment as well in shock that there was nothing else coming out to rectify this! So I was at a checkmate and asked for the bill. She gave me a coupon for a half off app for my NEXT visit but why would I spend more money just to get half off when I left having to pay for an ENTIRE meal that I left right on the table!?! I didn’t eat a BITE of it!
I called the next day to speak to the owner. She was surprisingly rude & very defensive. I patron this restaurant FREQUENTLY and really I just would have liked an apology, then some kind of accountability for my experience and some courtesy that I was valued as a loyal customer. If I felt any of those things, that would have been enough but I received NONE!
It’s not the first time I have had bad food and these experiences are all recent! I had bad clams and mussels on two separate occasions and they happen to be my favorite dish there! The clams were taking forever to come out and the bartender had told me that «they had a bad batch» so that was the hold up. Well when she sat them down, you could SMELL them and you knew!!! I explained this story as well to the manager in hopes to let her know that «hey this isn’t the first time, however, I support locally and this is just one time too many». Well she went ballistic! She actually cut me off to ask someone in the background «if they ever had bad clams». So now I’m a liar!!! For what to get a free meal on a place I patron every week! Lets be honest here!?! Then she proceeded to say that the bartender should have been fired for telling me that! Well that did it for me! I told her, I would get a lawyer for her myself! All she did was relay a msg from the kitchen and she TOLD THE TRUTH! The clams were bad and it’s best to be honest then send me to the hospital, I would think!!!
It wasn’t until then that she started to say very irritated «you already said you weren’t returning so what would you like me to do». People, I wanted to cry! What I wanted her to do was in paragraph 2 lol! Since that ship had sailed… I said, «don’t fire that bartender for telling the truth!»

Enjoyed a great lunch here on Fathers Day, with our cousins Bob and Alice who live in Forked River, with whom Jean and I were visiting. The restaurant was packed, and they had a steel drum band playing outside (too hot outside for us) on the patio. They seated us within 5 minutes and the server came right over, introduced herself and took our drink order. What a pleasant surprise considering how busy the place was. After serving our beverages, she took our food order. The food we ordered came out in a reasonable amount of time, with everything cooked perfect and tasted exceptionally good. Everyone in our party was pleased, and we plan to return here again on our next visit.

Ok, first time here and the hostess and waitress are very friendly. Sitting in the dining area and it’s less then half capacity and very quiet. Lobster Bisque and Manhatten Chowder — very good. Clam on half shell — fresh. Drunken mussels, good taste but the mussels are very small!
Crab cake are by no means «lump» but taste isn’t bad. French onion soup pretty good. Hamburger pretty good. All in all the wait staff was friendly and helpful. The place was clean and I would probably come back.

Valerie was an awesome waitress. Leftys is a very friendly and sports orientated environment. Great local bar/​restaurant.