Serentity indeed. Chef Greg and Hostess Jeanette are total professionals....every dish is made with care. Lunch or dinner are both fabulous. The best in Ocean County easily. Need a catererer? Trust me. This man is the best. Have used him several times for large beach parties and my guests all raved....professionally done from start to finish and great staff...
Great ambiance, friendly and attentive staff, menu changes every 3 weeks. Shrimp appetizer was excellent. Veal Napoleon was delicious, as well as the pork chop. The triple chocolate cake with home made ice cream was an excellent ending. We will be returning. Reservations needed. Byob.
Lunch. Ordered lunch to pick up. I thought the meal was delicious. Will definitely go back and try dinner.
Greg is such a talented chef it's hard to describe one dish in particular. I will say everything he prepares is always delicious and very beautifully presented. Outstanding restaurant!
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Painful search for outstanding food in Toms River is finally a success!!!. Ok, I"m a food snob. There, I said it. But when a modified Wawa hoagie is the only decent food in town, one has to wonder...
I could hardly believe my eyes when I found the promising menu online. Everyone in our party held their collective breath with the anticipation of a (could it be?) great meal in a Toms River strip mall. I was dazzled with the descriptions of "wild" salmon, "organic" steak & "day boat" scallops - all buzzwords for me, since I value the difference between wild caught & farmed, and day boat vs. what they have to do to preserve other seafood.
We started with the Tuna Tower, which was a huge indicator of quality ... You cannot serve ahi tuna this way unless it is of ultimate freshness. Each dish that followed, delighted everyone at the table. The ambience was warm and inviting. Desserts were easily substantial enough to share; the Blueberry Crumble was to die for.
It's always a good sign when a restaurant changes it's menu seasonally, as does Serenity Cafe'. We all look forward to visiting for another dinner soon, and are excited to test out the simple but bound-to-please lunch menu.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to owners Gregory & Jeannette- you have no idea how long we've waited for your lovely little restaurant!
Barb. OMG is all i have to say.........my friend loves Serenity Cafe and finally i joined her for a meal there. I cannot wait to go back! The food was amazing.....each morsel a treat and what i loved is it wasnt salty or greasy..just beautiful food , you know, the kind you actually remember eating long after leaving..............cannot wait to try everything ..........wow what a find ..................serendipitous serenity! thanks for existing and keep up the amazing work!
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Serenity Cafe - What a Find!. What an amazing find! This charming restaurant is less than a mile away from us, and we just recently found out about it. My husband and I eat out about once or twice a week. We've gone to a wide range of eateries in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The meals we had at Serenity Cafe earlier tonight were the best we've eaten anywhere in a long time. The ingredients are top-notch, and we got great value for the price. The fact that it's a byob made it even better. We loved that we were greeted warmly and made to feel that our business was appreciated by the entire staff. To start, we split the chopped Greek salad, which had the most delicious dressing, an herb vinaigrette, and was peppered with real (not canned) black olives, feta, and diced tomatoes. I had the mahi-mahi, which was perfectly pan-seared, moist and delicious, accompanied by artichoke and roasted pepper salad and citrus burne blanc - just the right amount, so as to enhance the flavor of the fish. It was such a treat to have all this served over a crispy scallion potato cake. I never eat an entire restaurant meal - but I couldn't stop eating this! My husband had the NY strip steak, which he said was, by far, the best he's had in the entire shore area. It was moist and juicy, and served with creamy gorgonzola potatoes. He offered me a little - I'm not much of a meat eater, but I now could easily become a convert. Everything about this place is special - the atmosphere, the service, and the food, which is obviously prepared by a creative and talented chef who is passionate about the art of cooking.
Another Chef Greg HIT!. While change is good, the best part of this change is to the location, not to the quality of the food or service. A move from downtown Toms River to this new location, which is brighter, more accessible, and more welcoming is the best thing that Chef Greg could have done. The atmosphere now compliments his cooking, which is as wonderful and inventive as ever.
Make sure you call for a reservation, because the word has gone out, and people are indeed coming in numbers, even during the week.
The menu, which changes a couple of times during the month, always has a good selection of not only main ingredients, but price points. Still on is the favorite Buffalo Calamari, and there is always a nice selection of salads to choose from.
Get on the mailing list, and you can bring your favorite wine/wines to match your selections.
Wow! what a great find for us. We don't live in the area, but have a beach house close by. We tried to come once before and it was closed and are we glad we came back. The food and service were top notch. We had the hangar steak and salmon special and were both very happy with the choices. Our server Shannon was excellent. We wish we got service like that everywhere. Too bad we didn't have time for dessert. Maybe next time because we are definitely coming back.
Last night we hosted a Rehearsal Dinner for our son and fiancé ❤. The Serenity Cafe Event Coordinator, Sam, was excellent every step of the process. She was there to attend to our every need. Chef Greg gave excellent recommendations for entrée options as we choose a family style dinner for 24 people. I highly recommend this best kept secret of Ocean County to anyone hosting a private party.
Serenity Cafe is a great place to host a private party! I hosted my sister's bridal shower there and it was perfect! The restaurant has a private room and a lot of catering options to pick from so you can find one that works with your budget. We did the lunch buffet option and everything was so delicious!! We had cookies and brownies as our dessert instead of cake and they were so so good!
Our waitress, Jamie, was so attentive and helpful with the setup process. She was also very patient with us as we cleaned up after the event and helped us pack up our leftover food...and there was A LOT.
The only reason I'm not giving the full 5 stars is because getting in touch with the owners to organize things was a little hard, but I think it's just because their business is keeping them busy right now. Despite that, everything turned out just the way we envisioned !
Dined out for the fourth time here last night with friends. The service is exceptional, Heather, our waitress is absolutely wonderful and we will request her every time. The foods fantastic, serenity Café is a hidden gem. If you know about it you will frequent there because it’s absolutely wonderful and it’s very consistent. Great job serenity
I went last night to dinner with my brother and sister in-law
First time I have been here I was celebrating my birthday.
The food was amazing as well as the staff. Had a GREAT TIME!!!
My brother is a foodie and always looks for Great places to eat. This place is now on his list. I can tell you that we will definitely be back.
Christine “Chrisie” Scott
+5
We just had our son’s wedding rehearsal dinner here and everything was spectacular. From the hospitality to the quality of the food, our expectations were consistently exceeded. The private room was intimate and spacious for our 23 guests. Since we had several guests with dietary restrictions, we had our guests order off the menu. This meant everyone got what they liked. The food came out together and hot which is a feat even with much smaller dinner parties. They also baked us an exquisite lemon filled cake for our dessert. Magnificent! Our guests are still raving about our wonderful evening!
I've had 2 groups of girlfriends there the last two months and it has been fantastic both times! Our server both times was Judy - AMAZING! Menu selections- BEYOND AMAZING! Our group usually changes restaurants each month but I think we'll be back in September for the 3rd month in a row!
This place is a foodies delight. The atmosphere compliments the service and is all perfected by the utterly impeccable fare. The blend of tastes in every dish are delicious excellent creative and memorable.
And the pricing is not only fair, it’s so worth it. Great great restaurant with great staff and none of the frills at other restaurants. But most of all, every dish is a masterpiece.
We had a memorial luncheon, almost 40 adults and 14 kids. The chef did up chicken fingers and fries, which the kids loved. The adults had Buffet Option 2, consisting of a chicken and a salmon entree. Both were terrific. The most amazing thing was that guests couldn't stop talking about how utterly delicious the bed of rice under the salmon was. (I had a similar reaction a couple years earlier to the chef's take on sauteed spinach.) How can a seemingly pedestrian side taste so good? Chef is absolutely top notch, changes entree menu periodically, plus he's a really nice guy.
I've had dinner here 5 or 6 times, 1 meal good, the others knock your socks off great. Prices, including our buffet, were more than reasonable, and it's byob, which saves a ton of money. Service and ambience were terrific. Go there.
I hosted my mom's 50th birthday party here last night in their private party room and everything was absolutely perfect! Food is always my #1 priority in an event, and Serenity Cafe totally delivered. It was great that I got to totally customize the menu and guests raved about every dish. We did family style and the food was endless and delicious. I also have to give a shout out that the chocolate mousse cake they made in house was some of the best mousse we ever had! Guests kept asking where I got the cake. Any leftovers were also packed up for us to take home which was so appreciated (I had more pasta at midnight, yay!). The staff here are so helpful - all my questions were answered timely leading up to the event and day of, service was spectacular. Lastly, the party was priced at a very reasonable rate and they allow you to BYOB 😀 My mom was so thrilled with the event and I would highly recommend Serenity Cafe to anyone for an event or even just dinner since the food is scrumptious!
I ordered take-out this evening and was impressed. The basic house salad had a flavorful dressing, the eggplant parm was delicious (not at all soggy - good crust on each slice), and the mousse pie was great, too. Portion sizes were good (sometimes that’s sacrificed with takeout). They clearly value their takeout customers, which I appreciate!
We were there Friday night anf the food was great. everybody loved the rice balls, please keep them on the menu. The chicken dish was really good, that would be a great addition to your standard menu. Great Job!
A huge favorite and well worth making a reservation. The atmosphere of the restaurant is relaxed and feels upscale. They also have an amazing fixed price menu and if you prefer takeout they do that beautifully as well! Cannot recommend Serenity enough! Don't miss this gem! Prices are very good and it is BYOB!
Do not let the outside appearance discourage you from trying this hidden gem! It’s at the end of an aging strip mall. Once you pass the indoor curtain , you enter a lovely dining area. But more importantly you will get some of the best food and service! We had salmon, shrimp with raviolis and the short rib, all superb ! We are originally from NJ but now live in FL, it was our first visit ,but will make it one of of must stops every time we return to the area. Thanks again for such a wonderful dining experience!
Food was outstanding! My wife had Filet Mignon, I had Veal Chop Parm - both were cooked to perfection. Bang bang shrimp appetizer was delicious - spicy but not overbearing. Toasted mozzarella was also great. Service was outstanding. Can't wait to go back!
The setting is very nice and you feel comfortable at your table. The waiters are well-mannered and nice. The menu changes every once a while and there's always good options. I personally loved the duck breast I had. The desserts are delicious as well.
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