Tony’s Bistro

This place is great the fish with pasta is out of this world I am going there today for dinner

Can only speak to the chicken parm, and it was exceptional. Although adding hot peppers and mushrooms are a must.

I don’t think it deserves the harsh criticism some people left and I want to boost it’s rating a little. The staff is super sweet and the owner is incredibly sweet.

Tony’s is my go to place when I’m too tired to cook – and I’m never disappointed. I’ve got my favorites — steamed clams, eggplant anything, and chicken maria. I will stray once in a while to a special, but like I said, this is where I go when I’m too tired to cook and I’m not in the mood to experiment.

Tony’s is certainly the best place for dinner in the Califon area. Portions are generous and the dishes are generally tasty. I had the salmon special (almond-​encrusted with soy ginger sauce, sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes). The salmon, while generous in size, was overcooked and dry. The almonds added little more than a bit of texture, and while the sauce was very clearly soy, it seemed that ginger had been given the night off. My wife had the veal in a basic brown sauce, which was «fine», although the flavors seemed rather muted but for the salt in the sauce. While the dish came with a healthy side of pasta, there was not a vegetable to be seen save for the one sliver of carrot crowning the pasta. In all it was perhaps the picture-​perfect definition of an «A-​OK» meal food-​wise (the wait staff was wonderfully friendly and attentive, although they could more fully versed in the menu and dish preparations). In the end, neither of us had to cook, neither of us went hungry and neither of us had to do dishes. Absolutely «A-​OK» by us!

You’ve come a long way baby! With every subsequent visit the experiences get better and better. And today, honestly the best Easter dinner I have ever had.

This is in response to Neil O’s ridiculous and insulting review of Tony’s. I don’t know what kind of person insults an entire community because they weren’t happy with their dinner. Further, while you were trembling with fear on your harrowing trek back to 78, you happened to drive through one of the wealthiest communities in the nation, with residents on the Forbes 400 list… I’m sure many of the residents of our community have more refined taste than you ever will. I’m thrilled to hear that won’t be making a return visit.
Tony’s is a wonderful place to gather with friends and family to enjoy a reasonably priced meal.

Attended a sit-​down family dinner after a memorial service for my deceased brother-​in-​law, at this misbegotten eatery located in the middle of nowhere, NJ and was totally appalled. Although the place was nicely furnished, the name was contradictory: Bistro applies to a French, not an Italian restaurant. That was my first confused, negative reaction on entering it. There was nothing Gallic offered on the menu. It was all downhill from there. We were served an Italian salad, a red pepper tomato plate with onions, cheese & olives, a vegetable & pasta medley, a red sauce eggplant concoction, chicken with mushrooms in a brown sauce and cannoli with cookies for desert. The one consistent, quality of each & every offering was a complete lack of taste. Every dish was devoid of any distinctive flavor. «Bland» does not even come close to the gastronomic insipidness of the offerings. Chef Boyardee out of a can has more flavor & character than the culinary horrors visited upon us. I kept swilling Spite soda throughout the meal to reassure myself that my taste buds hadn’t died. Sure the portions were large, but it was like eating plaster: it filled the hole but that was it only virtue. The joint was packed on a Saturday night but the only conclusions I could reach about this was that the customers were culinary troglodytes or that it was the best restaurant in the area, a damming inducement of the neighborhood. (Both of these thoughts are equally demoralizing.) After this family event, the drive to I-​78 was as appalling as escaping from Sleepy Hollow, while being pursued by the Headless Horseman. My carload of passengers kept hearing «Deliverance» banjo music in their heads as we careened down one treacherous county cow path after another, all the time fearful that Jason or Freddie Kruger would appear around the next hairpin, hilly turn. The sight of I-​78 brought as much joy to us as the sight of the Promised Land brought to the Children of Israel after 40 years of bondage. They did have one advantage over us, however. They only had to make bricks without straw, not eat them…

When we lived in High Bridge my husband and I would go to Tonys all the time, even before they renovated the place. In the beginning, it was a nice cozy country kind of place that had a really good chef.
The bar regulars were always a little rough around the edges, but they could be avoided if you just skipped the pre-​dinner drink at the bar and sat right down.
It got to be that we knew one of the waiters. He was very nice and came to know our drink orders and food preferences.
Even then, we were never really the biggest fans of the owner, who seems not to know when to just keep his mouth shut. The guy has no filter and often insults people without seeming to realize it.
So then the place got renovated and he suddenly thinks he’s the owner of the Ritz or something. What an attitude and I can name many nights when some woman who seems to have a lot of money and goes my the name of Nancy shows up with her obnoxious friends and family, Good luck getting any service when she’s there because they all forget about everything but her and her noisy crew.
So enough about the feel of the place. The food is decent. It used to be better, but it started to slide. Seems like they had a better chef at one point and now they are gone.
I love the house salad dressing with the gorgonzola cheese, but you have to ask for any dressing here on the side or your salad will be drowning in dressing.
The dishes are not always clean and I have sent at least ten back over the course of three years.
I always got the chicken marsala and it was SO good. My husband was a big fan of the chicken or eggplant parm. The mussels fra diavlo was nice and spicy at first, but lost something over the years. Now it is unremarkable.
And I guess it all came down to the way things seemed to change there. The owner got really full of himself even even though it is basically a little italian restaurant in Califon with decent food and a lot of seriously drunk people at the bar. The guy needs a wake up call and maybe a muzzle. He’s probably the biggest turn off of the whole place.

I’ve lived in hunterdon county for 27 yrs and didn’t know this place existed. I was in Califon around lunch time today and pulled in. Not much to look at from the outside but I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in. It was very clean and modern looking. Nice bar, nice tables, wood floors, and clean restrooms. You don’t see a lot of that around here. I had the sea bass francaise. Lightly breaded, fish not over cooked and very lemony (just the way I like it). My only regret is that I hadn’t found this place sooner. I’ll definitely be back!

Food was really good. Low carb pasta with veggies was just right for lunch. Chicken sandwich was huge! Don’t be afraid, it’s around 1:30 pm and place is empty but food is good. Come in.

Went here on a whim after apple picking nearby. Had high hopes, but it was a let down. Fried calamari, overcooked and chewy. Salad was fine. I got a scallops, shrimp, artichoke, and roasted peppers over penne in a cream sauce. The sauce was watery, the scallops were tiny Bay scallops, which smelled super fishy and tasted frozen. The shrimp were watery, and flavorless, the artichoke were obviously canned, and the red peppers were from a jar. Entire dish was under seasoned and too fishy, I didn’t eat more than a quarter of it. My wife got the stuffed shrimp which was supposed to be over risotto, but came over mashed potatoes, without explanation. The crab wasn’t well picked and there was a ton of sandy shell in it. Again everything was under seasoned. Desert was OK, and at least edible. Overall, a terrible dinner, wish I got a burger instead. Definitely not returning.

My parent just moved to Califon. This place is right down the street and has become a STAPLE for $ 5 clams and bar pies whenever I visit.
The bar is the watering hole for town chatter. Eat, drink, and make new friends!

Tony’s is a little restaurant off of CR 513 which has the whole «I didn’t think it would look like this from the outside.» It’s nice and cozy inside, a lot of wood which kinda makes it feel warm and lodge-​like. They offered a buffet (during the week) and a normal menu. Based on what they had on the buffet — it was smarter to order that for only 8 bucks when those items on the menu were over 10 each. The buffet had chicken cardinale (chicken with a tomato cream sauce), eggplant rollatini (eggplant rolled with ricotta inside), beef medallions, and swedish meatballs. They also had fresh bread and a salad bar. Everything was delicious! I normally don’t eat eggplant, but this was great! It was that good that I liked the eggplant. If you happen to be in the area during lunch I def. recommend stopping by Tony’s it’s a cozy atmosphere with a great deal for good food.