The Ivy League

Ivy league is a great bar and grill restaurant in Howell. Its been around forever and is only one of a few non chain american style restaurants in Howell. They serve very good burgers and sandwiches and various dishes with chicken, seafood and beef. Great place to grab a drink and chill with friends at night.

This place has such potential but is in need of an upgrade. I find the dining room dated and a little depressing. The bar area and booths around it are more lively and inviting. They have very reasonable drink specials during happy hour and their popcorn is amazing! Some of the best things on the menu are their nachos, the French dip, their Reuben and their buffalo wings.

We have been coming here for a while. This trip was on par with the rest of the trips. The food was average, the service very slow — not sure the kitchen does more than one order at a time. Another table was asking where the food was. The Turkey Burger was homemase and very good — not rubbery. The burger was a burger — nothing to write home about. The onion rings were a little greasy but not horrible.

Decided to try the happy hour here the other night. I had the chicken tacos & beef nachos. Both were pretty tasty. No good beer selection on tap if you like craft beers. Liked the music they were playing & overall its a nice place. Attentive bartenders.

It was alright, nothing special. My wife and I went on a Wednesday night to have a beer and a bite to eat. We were early enough that we were able to get a seat at their large oval bar and saw that it was a Mexican special night.
I haven’t been to the Ivy League in a few years so I expected (I guess I was hoping) them to improve their beer offerings. They haven’t. That was disappointing. In keeping with the Mexican theme we ordered beef tacos and chicken nachos. I must say they were pretty good, not what you would get in a good Mex place, but decent.
The bar staff were friendly and efficient and I know this place is mobbed on certain nights. For most people I guess their beer selection is adequate. Happy hour they pour Bud and that ilk for $ 2.00. You can’t beat that if you can drink that swill. Speaking for me and my wife if they had some decent beer we certainly would show up more often.

Very frustrated with this place. Very inconsistent. Some staff is very good and others are terrible. Management will not even acknowledge when there is a problem. Used to be good, it’s a shame.

The service was good, but the food was terrible. The chicken parm made me incredibly sick, and when I called the manager Tom to inform him, he told me that it couldn’t have been his food and even accused me of lying about my sickness. I’ve been going to this restaurant for many years, and after an experience like this — and after speaking to the rude manager — I would never return. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

Lived in the area for over 10 years. I was a regular at this place with my family and friends. Well, no more! The bathrooms are gross. They need updating but most importantly they need CLEANING! If your bathroom looks like that, what condition is the kitchen in?!? The past two visits here I was very disappointed. Well about a month ago, went there for a snack and drinks. Ordered a salad and it came with its own bug. It wasn’t a roach but it was some sort of bug. They took it off the bill. Ok.
This last time, me and my girls stood at the hostess station till I finally went to the bartender and asked «should we sit anywhere?» He finally came over and seated us and said they were gonna send someone over right away for drinks. Well, 15 mins later after people at the bar, who came in after us, got their popcorn and drinks, we were still sitting there, no drinks and no server. Well, that’s it we walked out. If I am going to pay you for a meal, you are going to give me decent service and pay attention to your customer. This has become a local watering hole with the same bar full of older locals and that’s who the staff pays attention to. Well, I’m done. Ivy, you lost a long time customer.

We live in the neighborhood and eat dinner/​snacks at least twice a month. They have great sandwiches, entrees, appetizers — always fresh. Most of their servers have been there for a long time and they are friendly and courteous. I would highly recommend the Ivy League for good comfort food.

Everything was very good. Nice happy hour specials. I had the chicken tacos. Nice size for their $ 1.99 happy hour special. I would go back

This restaurant is very frustrating as the food is very inconsistent. Staff is usually good. Definitely do not go if you see it is crowded. For a beer and a burger, or one of thier specials they are fair. On the occasion I have had a decent meal.

This visit, the tap beer didn’t taste clean and fresh. The bar pie was worse than frozen pizza from a supermarket. But the Buffalo Wings were meaty and tasty. The sauce wasn’t very spicy, which is OK by me.

The Ivy League is your normal local watering hole, with a couple of twists. I think the place has a lot of promise.
I pretty much only stop by here on Thursday nights for their wing specials, so I don’t have much experience with most of their other offerings. They have a decent selection of beers on tap, and their wings are awesome. I know some people swear by other restaurants in the area (and some of those places may even claim to have NJ’s best wings) but I really think the wings from the Ivy League may offer the best bang for your buck. They also have a decent bar pies and other happy hour appetizers.
(As a side note, the regular menu seems a little overpriced, but on reflection, descriptions of the food selections seem a cut above your normal «bar» food. I can’t personally vouch for the quality of these dishes, but I will say that a couple of them have made me think twice about ordering the wings.)
One slight drawback of the Thursday night wings is that you have to wait until 7PM for the deal to start. You guys gotta start this sooner!!! Maybe 6? The last time I went we ended up ordering full price wings because we didn’t want to wait so long.
Oh, and the bar is pretty damn crowded on Thursday nights, even when I get there straight after work (5:15ish?) — I couldn’t even get a seat at the bar, so I had to get a table. It seems to me that a lot of the regulars are older folks that may not work regular hours (if at all); I guess that’s just the demographic.
The bartenders and other wait staff seem really helpful and friendly. The bar popcorn is also a plus.
Overall, definitely a place that should be on your radar if you’re local to the Freehold/​Howell area. Just a solid place to get a drink and a bite to eat, if perhaps a little bit pricey.

Not bad to grab a drink and watch a game. I gave the food three tries and have come to the conclusion to skip it and stick to beer.

I don’t know what my parents see in this place.
We went in there on a Saturday night in the bar section. The room was lit poorly by cheesy bar signs and a TV. The seating space was cramped for four people in a booth. Where we sat was kind of funky and gross too.
Staff was okay. Food was BLAND. I had one of their «special» burgers and the bun was soggy, fries were cheap and dry. My stomach churned after a few bites of that slop. Ugh, gross. :\
Needs a remodel, new chef, and maybe some imagination. This is the reason why Freehold has an influx of Howell customers.

Yup my go to bar, no I don’t like driving to far for a burger and a beer, so keep that in mind, but really, whats the point when there is a nice local spot. The bar is a nice place to sit, comfortable, nice cozy ambiance, popcorn!, the food is always good, beer selection changes… and Dave still doesn’t know my name after going there for the past 20 years.
The burgers are always good, the Ivy League chicken sandwich is a favorite, the French onion soup 5 star, and the salad with the shrimp, oh yea!

I recently relocated to NJ as a full time resident and I am loving it, so here is my first official review as a NJ Girl!
Ivy League– 5 Stars this place has it all for game watching on TV in the bar to dinner with the kids to specials every night of the week and not just burger specials I am talking Prime Rib! Oh yes! indeed and tasty as well. I have had the pleasure of eating here about 4 times because its right down the street from my house and because it is priced just right. Last Saturday I brought a party of 8! all adults and Mini-​Me. Everyone ate and we even had 3 beers in addition to the regular beverages total bill about $ 104.00. thats 8 people!
Grouper sandwich– give it a try not your typical fish sammy.
Fish and Chips– they practically give you a whole fish for portion size
Philly Cheesesteak– its not Tony’s but it sure is good and my mother inlaw is super picky
Jersey Burger– I have come to really like this Taylor pork roll sandwich thing everyone here eats and it is damn tasty to have a slice on a burger with grilled onions.
Pizza– the crust was crispy and the cheese gooey the sauce was flavorfull and really went well together, poor Mini-​Me it was her dinner and she got two slices after she said how good it was everyone took a slice. she was like HEYYYYYY! get your own!
Service for a large party– food came out at one time, it was hot, not dry and had not been left under heat lamps, you can tell this place is used to large groups so they have the service down. We sat in the back and it was a little chilly but they turned down the AC and it wasnt a big deal, our server was attentive and had a great attitude. I suggest you come early for dinner on weekends about 5 or so because this place gets packed and on game days even more so. The staff here is super friendly and we really enjoy coming here for wings, burgers and prime rib!
I almost forgot we ordered this «Crab Meltaway» crabmeat, mayo, old bay seasoning, 3-​cheeses, piled on a crispy french bread and baked OMG! seriously?! this is delish! it was only an appetizer but could easily been part of a meal if I ordered a crock of the french onion soup. I wouldnt have been able to move and been in a food coma, but it would have been so worth it!

It’s standard bar food, steak nights, seafood nights and sandwiches. it’s good but nothing there ever wow’d me. The nachos were less than stellar but I guess I kind of brought that upon myself for ordering nachos at the Ivy League.
If you miss the turn heading up Rt 9 just get onto Rt 9 south and hit up Chapter House. They are basically the same place, just opposite sides of the road.

When seeing the name «Ivy League,» one would expect the best of the best. Eh, not quite. It’s pretty much the definition of average at 2.5 to 3 stars. Nothing extraordinary, nor horrible about this place. It’s basically just a local bar/​restaurant that serves okay food including appetizers, salads, burgers, pizza, chicken, pasta, sandwiches, etc., as well as the standard, domestic draft beer selections. The margherita pizza was semi-​bland with little sauce (and taste) and the buffalo wings weren’t anything special beyond what I’ve had at other places. Prices are reasonable.
I was initially impressed with how busy both the bar and restaurant were for a Thursday evening, but there are probably not many other choices in the surrounding area for Happy Hour or «an evening out.»
Once again: not good, not bad, just okay.

Have been back a number of times — just thought they deserved an update. We have been going here for almost 4 years and they have remained consistent. The bar is the place to be on any night/​WE had the Pork Roll sandwich and Louisiana Burger along with a bowl of Potato & Radish Soup. Everything was excellent.
The popcorn «appetizer» was good as well.
Food, a Long Trail IPA and House Merlot for $ 31.00 — all while watching the Yankees win. Can’t beat that at all.