Stapelton's Restaurant & Lounge

Low Class Establishment
This is a low-class establishment and should be avoided. They are email spammers. No high class establishment that cares about their neighbors would do that.

This restaurant is spamming my private email account. They used unscrupulous means to obtain this email account as I have been very careful to keep it private and shared it with only close friends.

You do not need to be giving your money to establishments that use these practices. There are plenty of good guy restaurant establishments in our area -- just look for the next nearest five star establishment on YELP. And don't support establishments that have no respect for its customers.

High expectations and hopes were quickly dashed at Stapleton's in Raritan, NJ.  The food on the menu was not what was served. The items we ordered had no taste and were looked sad and pale on the plate.  The panko encrusted tilapia was light gray and tasteless. The salmon was listed to be served with spinach and pasta but came with mashed potatoes and string beans.  The tuna was really sickly looking..the menu said tuna over seaweed with mango chutney and was served over mango salsa with a sprig or two of seaweed.  

The prices are very high.  Dinner for four with NO alcohol, only two appetizers, and no desserts came to $135. Soft drinks tasted awful and without any warning we were charged $2.50 per refill.  In most restaurants when you are charged for refills you usually get soda bottles or the waiter lets you know that there are no free refills.

We left very disappointed and overcharged and will never go again.  

Don't bother.  A waste of money.

Although I know the owners of this restaurant, I could not in good conscience write a good review unless the restaurant was excellent.  After eating here four times with all good experiences, I was surprised to read the 2 unfavorable reviews.  Hard to say what happened.  I never ordered the raw clams but the Clams Trenton have been consistently good.   My first visit, I had lunch with a business associate.  We both had the Salmon and a glass of wine.  The fish was fresh and delicious and the service was good.  He was impressed with the food and atmosphere.

I returned 2 weeks later with a party of six for dinner.   We started with the Mussels and Calamari for appetizers. The Calamari was as good as we've had in other fine restaurants.  The mussels were not gritty or sandy and everyone at the table agreed they were tender and tasty.  The mussel juice was so good that the table needed to order additional bread for dipping.   We had a variety of dishes ranging from the Lobster ravioli to soft shell crabs. My friend who ordered the Ravioli judges restaurants by this dish and he said it was delicious and he would definitely return. The soft shell crabs were meaty and sauteed to a tender consistency.  Everyone in our party loved their food.  We also enjoyed their specialty Martinis.  The desserts, although nothing out of this world, were fine.  Our waitress was attentive and our overall dining experience was excellent.  

Last week, my husband and I went for a late dinner. I had the Halibut special with a Mango Salsa.  No bad fish that night either.  The Halibut was fresh and light.  My husband does not like the sweet sauce with fish but I loved the fresh Mango.  We decided to have a drink at the bar after dinner and we enjoyed the adult crowd and the atmosphere.   We will return.