Old Man Rafferty’s

What a great experience! We just had our daughters baby shower this past weekend… from beginning to end Dillon and Matt were there to help…
Our food was out of this world… fantastic!
Everyone went out of their way to make this day a special memory for our family…
«thank you» «thank you» «thank you» once again!

I’ve had several meals here and I can tell you that I’ve only had 1 sub-​par meal experience. Everyone knows that the tomato basil soup is incredible but I’m not sure it’s well known that most –if not the entire menu– is made from scratch. If you know anything about the food service industry (at this level of eatery you know that’s a bit of a rarity.
One of my favorite things here is the hand cut fried mozzarella. WOW. Another favorite is the chicken parm (My kids love it). This is an example where you can tell that the food is made from scratch and like home cooking. The thickness of the chicken cutlet, The breaking, and the marinara sauce all say“made with care”.
OMR’s is a solid choice any time of the day or week.
Note: You will not have the same experience here in the ‘borough location as you will at the New Brunswick location. New Brunswick is better.
PS: 3 stars for me is very good just to be clear. 4 stars is excellent/​near perfection and 5 stars is reserved for the Amazing and sublime. Lol.

If you’re looking for some delicious food to eat, than go to Old Man Rafferty’s. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich the first time I went. It was amazing. I can’t wait to try another item on the menu! Love the french onion soup too.

Our food was mediocre, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.
We ate at the bar Saturday night and had a couple of drinks. After my second drink our bartender asked if I wanted another, I said no thank you. A few minutes later, another bartender (a young girl) asked if I wanted another drink, again I said no. While we were finishing up, the female bartender took our bill and went to the register, she then dropped it back off. I looked at it and saw she added a drink to my bill. When I asked her what she did, she said she just reprinted our bill (bs!). I told her she added a third drink to my bill for $ 8.00 and she took it back and deleted the third drink.
She looked very nervous afterwards and had three discussions with the other bartender, looking very anxious in the final ten minutes we were there.
Check your bill, this is not something I would expect here and she should be fired. We will be contacting the owner Monday.

We love the Old Man Rafferty’s in New Brunswick so when we moved to Hillsborough, we were excited that there was one in our town as well. We decided to go for my husband’s birthday about a week ago. We ordered the short rib mac n cheese, fish tacos and Cuban spring rolls. The mac n cheese was good (I think I might even like it better than the one they make at the New Brunswick one) and the Cuban spring rolls were really good. The fish in the fish tacos were decent but the whole thing kept falling apart and it just seemed like it was lacking some flavor. After dinner, we ordered a slice of the Jim Bean banana chocolate cake; it looked so good in the case but was so terribly stale and dry. I have a HUGE sweet tooth and I couldn’t bring myself to eat more than a bit of it… SO DISAPPOINTING! I’m a bit nervous to try the other desserts…
The service was pretty good. We got seated right away and the waitress stopped by quite a bit to ask how we were doing.
As of right now, I think I still prefer the New Brunswick Old Man Rafferty’s!

Great food.
Happy hour during the week between 4 – 7 or 3 – 6 (sign inside 3 – 6 sign outside 4 – 7).
Matt is awesome at making the brick oven pizza! His pizza is amazing! He is the best cook, I’ve never had such great food. Ask him for the margarita pizza, it is the best you’ll ever have. He is also very friendly and takes such pride in his work. He checked up to make sure everything was good.
Side note:
When I’ve come here I’ve had to tell the waiters to take off the discounts for the happy hour so I don’t get charged extra.
Come here for the 3 – 6 happy hour.
$ 5 margarita pizza (the best!) $ 2.50 draft coors light, $ 2 off mixed drinks and appetizers.

Old reliable. Excellent pub fare, and a decent beer list. Their burger has never ever let me down. Great spot to hit on St. Paddys Day too. Tons of desert options from red velvet cake to java moon chocolate cake.
Of the many years I’ve gone here, only once did I find the food not up to snuff. And the manager made things right super fast. Great guy who actually cares.
That’s the kind of service that makes you come back over and over, and recommend a place to friends or family.

The three stars are for the pizza and Ryan who makes an outstanding pizza. He is considerate and is always ready to prepare you anything you want on it. Props to him as he now leaves for college. We have had other things on the menu and I can honestly say we have been very rarely disappointed in the food there.
Be careful however if you sit outside, especially at the bar, the service is very slow, especially when ordering drinks that require the server to go to the inside bar. We literally waited 20 minutes for a drink and when he did come back we had to remind him that we ordered. It has been this way everytime we have sat at the outside bar. The service is below average.

This place is consistent and has a number of items on the menu that are always great. Burgers are the best here as are the cakes especially the Java Moon Eruption.
They have a decent but small selection of craft beer that shows love to NJ and PA brewers like Kane, Carton and Victory.
Service is almost always good but some waiters stand out like Deandre who gives exceptional service and attention to detail. Definitely one of the best places to eat in Hillsborough.

Had my sons Communion party there Saturday. Everything was perfect. The wait staff had their hands full but completely handled the party. The drinks were coming very quickly thank god! Very happy with the service. My future sister-​in law has severe allergies to dairy, gluten and bread and Matt, the store manager was so incredibly accomadating. He worked with Tricia for each plate that was served. Matt really went out of his way to take care of her allergy and my nieces peanut allergy. I know that party wouldn’t have gone on without a hitch if it wasn’t for Matt. He’s a true asset to OMR. His customer service is superb. Party went perfectly and I absolutely WILL use OMR for future parties.

Living close by, OMR has been our default go to in the area for decent food a step above the larger chains of TGIF, Applebees, etc …
Featuring tasty specials and a very well done standardized menu there is something here for everyone.
OMR also features a crazy dessert case … great place to go just for dessert and coffee /​drinks. Suitable for both dates and full family outings and offers summer time outdoor dining.
Every so often the service and/​or food can be hit or miss but not in the norm. Happens enough for me to have removed a star however.
Fortunately for OMR, there isn’t a lot of quality competition in the area.

I have been going to OMR’s for years and always enjoyed my meal, service, and atmosphere … but that ended last night. My friends and I decided to meet at OMR’s, for old time sake. It started when my friend ordered a mojito and was told they were not making them that night. With no further explanation, as to whether the bar ran out of a certain kind of liquor (which is basically unheard of) or whatever the reason was … my friend was not getting the drink he wanted. He opted for something else. When ordering his meal, he was then told that they were out of pork chops (which was listed on the Specials Menu) and that they only had 1 left (which happened to be ordered by another person at our table) — talk about awkward. He was fine with that so he ordered a steak, thinking that would be a safe bet. Wrong! He was told they were out of steak too. Are you kidding me? How can a restaurant (which wasn’t very busy), mind you, be out of a restaurant staple like steak?! My friend was still in good spirits even though he was very disappointed, as was the rest of us at the table. He then opted for a very safe bet — a cheeseburger. Not at all what he wanted but they didn’t have anything else he wanted. Still in good spirits, he then was served with an unappealing cheeseburger on a stale bun and the fries had been clumped together. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!!! It was very obvious no one had checked his food before it left the kitchen because no one would have served a meal like that to a customer. It was at this time, he was annoyed and I can’t blame him. I would have been annoyed too. We called the Manager over to the table. The Mgr seemed annoyed also and showed it by acting in a condescending manner toward my friend and raising his voice and not offering anything to keep us coming back. He offered to get my friend something else but they didn’t have anything else he wanted. My friend tried 3 times and OMR’s struck out 3 times. The least they he could have done was to not charge his wife for her meal. The Mgr was well aware of our disappointment and should have told our waiter to comp her meal or at the very least give them a free dessert. If not his wife, then him. They did not do anything therefore none of us will ever go back to OMR’s in Hillsborough. I’d also like to mention that we did not blame the waiter for any of this however it was clear the waiter did not know his product. When I asked him what veggies were in the vegetable combo, he did not know. He also did not ask what kind of dressing we wanted on our salads. Had I not asked, would we have even gotten our salads? We weren’t offered bread either but I’m not sure OMR’s offers bread anymore… they used to. The salad was very minimal and was sparce. None of us liked the fries or roasted potatoes with our meals. I ordered broccoli and received broccoli rabe (not what I wanted). Two of us ordered the salmon (which we’ve loved for years & was never disappointed) but now that they did away with the asparagus and the sauce that came with it, with no sauce to replace it, the salmon was very dry. I was going to order my favorite dessert, Dark Side of the Moon, but I was so disgusted by the Mgr’s lack of caring for the customers or his restaurant, that I didn’t want to give them any more of our money.
It’s such a shame because all of us were long time customers and always loved the place but last night’s display of a once great restaurant going downhill proved to us that they don’t care about their customers and as a result, don’t care about their restaurant either. Lack of product and an «I don’t care» attitude usually indicates financial trouble. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if this restaurant isn’t around in the next couple of years. I really hope someone comes in and helps them return to the way they used to be because last night was just pitiful and they just lost 6 long-​time customers.

First off, the staff is always very friendly, the general manager Matt is very personable and you’ll have a good dining experience. My only complaint would be is don’t order any seafood. Any other dish is delicious, but the seafood is very disappointing. The fish & chips was mushy, the scallops were slimey and bland but Matt remedied the situation and I will definitely go back.
Stick with the meat dishes and the sandwiches. My favorite dishes are the chicken Elizabeth, I’ll have the meatloaf (ask for extra sauce), pulled pork sandwich & bbq short rib sandwich. Some of the Italian dishes tend to be dry.
Wonderful outdoor area and did I mention that the desserts are to die for!
Bottom line: try it for yourself.

Weekly Specials
Tuesday– Half Price Wine Night
Wednesday– Free Desert Night (with an Entrée)
If you enjoy wine then stop on by on Tuesdays. If you love deserts then stop on by on Wednesdays.

I have returned OMR! And thank you for getting new wait staff.
I have always loved the food here, but the service was in the downward slope. The Family and I came here in early January 2015 and…
**** THANK YOU FOR EXCELLENT SERVICE! ****
It refreshing to be able to enjoy this establishment once again.

Old Man Rafferty’s is a below average, local chain. I have been to the Hillsborough location more than a handful of times since I moved and I have been underwhelmed. Yes, the food is better than Applebee’s. But at the price point, I expect better.
Not to mention, I’m usually left hanging at the bar.
DUDE, BRING ME A BEER!!!
I wait…
I wait…
I wait…
I honestly don’t know why I keep coming back here.
Oh, I can walk home if I drink too much, BUT, I can never find the bartender, I think his name is Mike?
HEY MIKEY. WHERE ARE YA?!?
You’re better off across the street…

My wife and I went in for dinner the other night and while the waitress was perky and attentive the bang bang shrimp was just ok and the SMALL house salad was SMALL and overpriced at $ 6.45! We have eaten at Applebees and gotten a much larger salad for $ 3.
The brunch used to be something to look forward to but the last time we went it was mediocre and we won’t be back for that again, the «CHEFS» at the stations were not very friendly or understand what we asked them for.
Sad this used to be a great place to go but no more.

Old Man Rafferty’s is all american fare, but there is really nothing special about it. I’ve been going to this location and the one in New Brunswick for years. It’s true that they do their cheesecakes and desserts very well. It’s certainly what they’re known for, but when it comes to their food everything in my experience has been below average.
The last time I went for classic and simple and ordered the burger. There was no seasoning or any sort of flavor in it. Even though I ordered it medium, it still seemed rather dry. Huge chunk of un-​tasty meat.
Their nachos before hand were average at best. Rafferty’s is way overrated in central Jersey. But then again the entire restaurant scene in this area is lackluster, so I’m not surprised.

We came here for lunch arriving on a weekday at 12:45. We sat on the outdoor patio which was the main reason that we came here. We all wound up ordering the Grilled Spinach Salad with shrimp. There were 2 skewers of shrimp that were pretty good but the size of them was small. The description is as follows: With Balsamic poached Portobello mushrooms, plum tomatoes, diced red onions and bacon bits. There were a few slivers of mushrooms, a tablespoon of chopped plum tomatoes, limited onions and a TON of spinach. When I tossed the salad the small amount of goodies were lost in the wheelbarrow sized portion of spinach. We asked for the dressing on the side and there was enough dressing to cover maybe 20% of the salad. Getting extra dressing to the table took way too much time considering the place was not very busy. The salad was $ 13 each
Our table was serviced by a waitress who only had our table assigned to her on the patio so we rarely saw her. There were only a few customers inside the restaurant. The sodas were very slow in coming as it was a hot day and we needed refills. We asked for bread which was again very slow in getting to our table.
The desserts are fantastic but costly.
The table was very unsteady on the uneven patio floor surface. We finally put a bread and butter plate under the table leg to steady the table. Would we go back… maybe, just for the patio ambiance.

It’s been a while since I ate in Old Man Rafferty’s. I chose the place because they have outside dining which is nice on a warm summer light night. Service was good, the place was not full like years before. The portions were decent and the food was fresh and tasty. The only thing that annoyed me was I ordered a Johnny Walker Black scotch and the charge was $ 12.50 but there was more ice than scotch in the glass.
I would recommend the place if you don’t want to be rushed and want to stay close to home