Princeton Bar & Grill

This truly is a gem in the crown. The bartenders are hard-​working, friendly, funny and polite. The drinks are attentively plentiful and the atmosphere is sexy. A great place indeed.

Pros: Great atmosphere. Great drinks.
Cons: You could not pay me to eat the food here ever again. It is honestly that bad.

This place didn’t live up to its hype if you ask me. The waitstaff and bartenders were really rude in the Princeton side. The next bar had a 10 piece band playing which was awesome and we didn’t have a problem at any of the other bars.

Recently had dinner here and it was anything but enjoyable. My «wabo-​rita», which was supposed to be a special margarita, was barely drinkable – the flavor was awful and consisted of mainly tequila (normally wouldn’t complain but this was way too strong). The AC was on full blast and blowing down on our large table like we had fans in our faces – spent the entire meal shivering we were so cold.
Our waitress was pleasant, however she only came around once for drink orders and our food never asked if we wanted a second round.
When the bill came, we paid and then our waitress decided to confront us and ask why we didn’t give her a larger tip. It was shocking, extremely inappropriate, unprofessional and a horrible reflection of The Princeton. We couldn’t believe that she felt the need to ask us why she didn’t receive more.
My family and I have been coming here ever since they redid the place/​transformed it to the newer version, and never had a bad experience. We most likely won’t return for the rest of the summer since that night left such a sour taste our mouths.

The friendly hostesses and charming ambiance were, unfortunately, not enough to bring the rating to two stars.
Our waitress was just outright rude. My friend received guacamole (which costs extra) with her fish tacos — even though she did not ask for it — and the waitress argued that she did order it. Then, she took the guacamole from my friend’s plate and brought it back into the kitchen!!! Every single restaurant I have been to would have just told her to keep the guacamole and would not charge her. How unprofessional and unsanitary.
The food was no better than the service. My entrée of a quinoa patty was literally just that — a flavorless, dry, and oddly textured «quinoa and vegetable patty» (I tasted no veggies) over a piece of lettuce. I left starving, as my «entrée» was barely an appetizer size.

I ordered the beer batter mahi-​mahi with fries that is listed as a «sandwich in the menu. What I got was two fish sticks the size of my index finger on a very large bed of french fries. So, I basically paid $ 14 for lots of french fries. The avocado in my husband’s cobb salad was not ripe, so we had to ask them to bring another avocado. The server did so quickly and with a smile and it was ok. The amount of chicken in the salad was definitely less than what we have had in other cobb salads. We were not offered bread until we asked for it.
Summary…go there for the drinks, but don’t expect good food. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere!

We have had many great experiences at the Princeton, but last night was an exception.
We arrived at 8:30 and were seated almost immediately, just a slight wait for an outside seat. The weather was nice and we wanted to enjoy it!
Our server arrived almost immediately, with waters and lemons, ready to take our drink order. We hadn’t yet had a chance to open the menu, so she gave us a few more minutes.
We ordered a bottle of wine, and some appetizers, and our entrees. Cheesesteak eggrolls for my husband, PEI mussels in garlicky white sauce for me. Bread was delivered to our table shortly after. However, we had no time to enjoy the bread because our appetizers arrived immediately after. It was less than 5 minutes, I don’t know how they got it out so quickly! Our table was way too small, however, to accommodate the bread bowl, the bread plates, the bottle of wine, the water glasses, the wine glasses, the two bowls for mussels and the plate for the eggrolls. Things had to go, so we said goodbye to the bread and bread plates, without even touching them.
I had finished two mussels and had a few sips of wine and then our entrees had arrived. At no point did our server come to ask how the apps were going (they weren’t going well). Our server played some tabletop tetris to arrange all the food plates and was gone again. All of the food we had ordered arrived at our table within 15 minutes of our initial order. Our meal wasn’t spaced at all… by the time we were through with our appetizers my entrée was cold.
The mussels — the sauce had no flavor — no garlic, no salt. Lots of butter, but not tang of white wine or anything. Very bland and unenjoyable. The egg rolls were warm, but in a way that they had been sitting under the warmer. My crab cake sandwich was warm when it was delivered, but cold by the time I was through with mussels to get to the sandwich. My husband had the Cobb Salad, which he said was to his liking.
At no point did our server come to ask how our entrees tasted or if we needed anything else. We had an entire bottle of wine to finish, and so did delay a bit in leaving the table. Our entrée plates were cleared by a busboy and after all the rush of the first portion of our meal we didn’t see our server again to even ask for the check.
I understand the restaurant is busy, and there is a necessity to move through tables during busy times. Last night, 8:30 on a Monday, was not one of those busy times, with plenty of empty tables in the restaurant. It was a disappointing night at the Princeton yesterday.

Such a neat space, such weak food, drinks and service.
Warm and skunky corona light replaced by server with slightly less warm corona. A ‘jolly rancher’ cocktail that I swear tasted just like Vicks NyQuil.
California rolls straight from the local supermarket. Chicken Tuscany entrée was a barely seasoned butterflied breast and a pile of barely seasoned arugula, so lacking in creativity.
The server had to come back because she forgot what one of us ordered. Then she came back to tell us a cook walked out and that item would take awhile. It Was salmon salad and by the looks of the cold and clearly long-​refrigerated fish and canned fruit on top this salad would have taken a pre-​schooler 3 minutes to prepare.
One would think that such a beautiful rehab of the building both inside and out would have warranted the ownership to deliver a quality dining experience as well, especially given the prices for what u get. But I guess they figure the locals don’t know any better?
2 stars are for the great looking place, the rest is a bust.

We were all happy with the calamari and coconut shrimp appetizers. Three of us ordered the Crab Cake entrée. At $ 32 you expect a delicious meal. The crab cakes were all cold, undercooked and under seasoned. Our waitress happily took them back to the kitchen for reheating. But nothing could really save a bland, under-​seasoned crab cake. Even the side of asparagus had no flavor. Boo!

The building and outside dining areas are very well done and cool. You WANT to go inside when you see the place. I just wish the food was better. It’s really just ok. Not bad, but nothing special either. The sandwiches are a much better value than the entrees. There is s huge and interesting app menu.

It seems as though this place is only open for dinner service and although the décor is nice, the atmosphere is alright.
I’m not entirely sure there was a DJ or MC there when we had dinner but I kept hearing a male voice over a loud speaker «entertaining» the customers while we ate.
The variety and quality of food was moderate and reasonably priced but I can’t say anything really stood out to us. If we went back, it will probably just be for cocktails on the front patio.

I feel like this bar is a great example of the need for competition between dining establishments to make all parties involved better. I was here over 4^th of July weekend with a friend, and I ordered one of the cocktail specials (Always Sunny in Avalon, if I recall correctly) and a mojito. Both were disappointing: the mojito especially was too sweet, and the mint wasn’t muddled properly in either drink. I was also surprised by how slow the service was — my friend got a beer, and it took well over five minutes to get the drink after she ordered it.
Finally, the place was almost as dark as a cave. Not a great ambience at all — and they had the national lacrosse championships on the TVs. Who even watches that?

Horrible service at the bar… Watching this older bartender lumber back and forth, watch TV and check his Facebook while we waited… Was a joke.

Love this place, a bit of a drive from ocean city but totally worth it! The bar is great, huge bar, yummy beachy selections. The menu? Even better! Lots of unique seafood options, and not outrageously priced. Every time we come to the shore, always try to make it there. Great atmosphere, fun time!

Came here for dinner and to go out at night. Dinner was great, we had a variety of appetizers. The komoyotto oysters and coconut shrimp along with the steamed clams and wedge salad are all amazing!
We also had Tuna sashimi and crab legs which were not very good, but the good fare outweighed the bad.
The next reason I gave this place five stars is because it’s really fun late at night! There are bars everywhere and its huge. No long waits to get a drink but still a big crowd. Good time check it out.

Service was AWFUL! We were a group of 9 going for drinks, we grabbed a table outside then noticed the raw bar and decided we wanted some Oysters on the half shell. When our waitress finally came over to greet us, she asked if we wanted food and told us to see the hostess for menus and walked away. I reported to the hostess for menus and she preceded to tell me how a restaurant worked and it was her job to seat us.
I don’t know why didn’t leave right then.
When I ordered a dozen of oysters the waitress did not know anything about them. When she dropped them off she could not tell me which was which. She was very inattentive and we were clearly her only table. (she was drinking with co workers at the table next to us). When she finally dropped the check, I was shocked to find my dozen oysters were $ 40!!!
Afterwards we went inside for $ 3 stoli drinks. The bartenders had no personality and looked like they hated their lives. My friend asked one of them what kinds of tequila they had and how much for a shot and he rolled his eyes at her barrage of questions.
This is the first review I’ve ever written. I usually don’t have a desire to bash business on Unilocal but this place is an exception. I’ve never felt so bothersome and in the way at a restaurant as this wait staff made me feel.

I went to the Princeton this past Saturday with a group of five. It was raining all day so my good buddy Bob D. (see his reviews), three other friends and I went for a little day drinking and some apps. This place is really big, nicely decorated and clean with lots of parking. When we arrived at the hostess stand we were peaking in to see if there was room and the Bar which there was not. The hostess asked if we were having food or just drinks. Bob in his infinite wisdom said ‘ummblbboackh just drinnkths’. Even though everyone was planning on getting at least an appetizer.
So keep in mind:
A) It’s off season
B) It’s a shitty weekend so know one is around
C) The restaurant is less than half full.
D) They have three types of seating: High tops and Booths (both seat 4) or the bar.
The hostess went on to tell us the seating is only for food orders so we’d have to sit at the Bar or stand. WTF! She was really bitchy right away. Bob was about to get upset. He was parched, you wouldn’t like him when he’s parched! Or when he’s drunk for that matter…
If it was just me alone, or if we didn’t just drive 80 Blocks to get there, I would have walked out. Short of spitting in one’s face, there’s no reason a hostess should ever be bitchy or rude. Also, she wasn’t very… let’s just say… presentable.
As I could imagine the expletives swirling around in Bob’s little mind like sugar plums to a fool… some seats opened up and we sat at the Bar.
1^st course: Bloody Mary’s all around. The Bar tender was set up to make em’, asked us how spicy, and all with a smile. She made a fine Bloody Mary.
2^nd course: Bob and I shared the Calamari ‘strips’. The fact that they call me strips threw me a bit. I’ve heard of restaurants using pig intestines as calamari so the word strips hit a nerve. Bob loves his Bloody with some seafood so we tried it. Excellent calamari!!! I thought we might not get tentacles (my fav.) but there were plenty. Great sauce, lemon, very crispy… perfect. Everyone else enjoyed there food as well.
3^rd course: For me it was a shit load of Rum and cokes since the rain just kept coming down! They asked what kind of rum and with or w/​o lime etc.
After several hours of drinking we racked up a big ass bar bill which the shitty hostess all most ruined for the excellent Bar staff in the off season. Of course Bob busted out a huge fart and mumbled some choice words as we walked out!

As others have observed, the P’Ton has really grown up. The new building is beautiful, posh and light years ahead of the old digs.
The principal disappointment here is the food. We ordered three items and all needed improvement. The guacamole, while fresh, was bland. We adjusted it at the table by adding more lime (wedges from the bar) salt and pepper. The chips were neither homemade nor warm. They were uninteresting chips right from a cello bag.
Neither component of my fish and chips was worthy of the P’Ton’s new space. The breading on the fish was soggy and tasted as if the fish had been frozen and the chips were flaccid (see photo). Presumably the cooking oil was insufficiently hot.
Finally, Mr. M’s burger was significantly below average: poor quality meat, tasteless and dry. We were also surprised that burgers do not automatically come with fries. One has to order a side of fries.
The three star rating is for the new digs and the terrific service. We will be back for cocktails, but are unlikely to dine here again any time soon.

It’s no windrift but they had a good selection of food and drinks. They ambience and service was nothing special and the prices were higher than I would have liked for the quality. I think there are better places to eat and drink in Avalon and therefore
Would not recommend this one.

As a seasonal Avalon resident, it’s only natural that I end up at the P multiple times per summer. I’ve brought friends here for dinner many times, as well as for evenings of drinks and dancing. The food is definitely a little pricey for the quality, but I’ve yet to have a bad meal. The ambience is very pleasant, especially the patio on a cool summer evening.
As far as the nightlife scene, the P isn’t really my thing. For one, the cover is $ 10, which is easily the most expensive I’ve encountered in the area. The bouncers always give me trouble for my Maryland ID, which I understand might be less common down the shore, but there is no need to harass me even if you have questions. The beer menu is very limited — after a steep cover I’d like a Bud Light, but no go. It’s pretty dead here on the weeknights, but the weekends are fun. The DJ spins dance music and it gets pretty crowded.
I’m sure my opinion of the P will evolve with my paycheck (and age), but I simply can’t afford to be a regular here.