The Serenity Cafe

Friends seem to love and rave about this place, so when we visit them they always want to have dinner here. On two separate occasions my wife became ill shortly after eating here. On our most recent visit we started with two calamari appetizer, I have to say this is 5 stars, the Gorgonzola dip was delicious and the calamari was cooked perfectly. Here comes the reason for the low rating. The menu was quite extensive, but the four of us decided to order the Veal Napoleon. The Veal was not the cutlet as stated, but a thick grey/​brown slab of tasteless dry meat. The potato that was between the tomato, Veal, and salad was saturated in oil. Both my wife and I looked at each other after the first bite both grabbing the salt shaker to try and get some taste out of this dry tasteless meal. The only thing that had some flavor was the salad on top of the dish. Our friends both commended that their meal was superb, I guess that’s why Olive Gardens and Red Lobsters are still in business, some people have no taste and will eat anything…

Cute little restaurant. There were two of us for dinner. Nice crowd in the dining room, however, only saw two wait staff which limits proper service. One meal was fantastic the other was a little dry… which we shared our opinion with the waiter but I don’t think he had time to care. Our opinion was still a decent meal given the limited employees… but may not rush back for seconds until after the season passes.

Excellent food and service. The menu changes often enough that I can’t even recommend one item in particular but everything is exceptional. You can’t go wrong.

The food here is outstanding! Always busy, especially on the weekends, so make sure you call for reservations. The menu changes every couple of weeks (best part about the place) so sign up for the emails so you can read the new menu when it comes out! And no matter what, order dessert. It’s to die for. Everything here is fantastic, I am a very picky eater and I have learned I will like anything I pick off this menu! One of my top 2 favorite restaurants in Toms River.

Enjoyed a wonderful dinner last Thursday evening. I had the Hanger Steak which was prepared perfectly and delicious. Our excellent dinner was accompanied by the beautiful music created by Pat Karwan, live!
According to the very nice couple seated behind us (regulars), Pat will be playing every other Thursday evening. I would encourage you to make reservations for one of those Thursday evenings.

New Years Eve dinner last night was impeccable. We arrived at 6pm for our reservation and were seated immediately our dinner did not finish until 830pm never were we rushed, nice table for two. On the table was a delicious platter of assorted cheese, Brie, Gorgonzola, goat, and others very fresh top quality. Appetizers we had Cioppino seafood stew and Tuna timbale with crab meat both were super fresh and top quality products. For salads we had Baby arugula with cranberry and thyme vinagarette with Poached pears and crumbled goat cheese, second salad was Baby greens with vanilla Bean champagne vinagarette dressing With candied pecans And fried Brie.
For our entrees we had pan seared tenderloin pecan wood bacon horseradish and cheddar au gratin potatoes, red wine reduction and asparagus. Second entrée was pan seared ahi tuna over lobster scallion infused basmati i rice stir fried vegetables sesame soy burre blanc. These entrees were delicious some of the freshest tastiest we have had in a few years, both cooked perfectly medium rare and rare.
Deserts were home made I had the banana Neapolitan and my wife the three chocolate cake.
We can not compliment this restaurant enough here we were our first time dining here on New Years Eve a night known for exaggerated prices rushed meals and earlier prepared meals heated and sent out, this was far from the situation here 2 ½ hour dinner mainly because the courses were prepared fresh the restaurant was not overbooked and never even after we finished did anyone give us the feeling they needed our table as we sipped our remaing wine after paying the check.
We are so happy to have found a great restaurant in the Toms River area as we live there part time and most establishments in his area are terrible chicken parm Italian establishments. We actually dined here as River Market café was not open for New Years Eve so now when in the Toms River area we have two go to establishments. We live in northern Bergen County and Serenity is up there in competition with the likes of Café Matisse in Rutherford and some other establishments we frequent in Manhattan! Can not wait to return.

My favorite place to go for lunch. I’ve been there at least 10 times and I’ve never had anything that wasn’t delicious!

I came for a three course meal fund raiser. Chef Greg gave a cooking demonstration prior to each course: Coconut Shrimp Salad with mango vinaigrette, Apple stuffed pork loin with sweet potato hash and cider sauce, and Apple Galette with ice cream.
Everything was extremely good and I am a pretty picky eater! I can’t wait to come back. So glad to have been introduced to this little gem.

Nice casual byob. Heard good things about this restaurant hidden in a shopping strip mall.
They have two big dining rooms and were able to accommodate our large group. Décor is cute inside and staff is very friendly, service was good.
The summer salad, arugula salad and wedge were all good. I tried wedge without bacon but it was missing something without that taste. The dinners were pretty good. It was challenging for one of our diners to find a dish because only chicken dish was a mexican chicken flavor. I tried lobster and shrimp risotto which was ok but I wouldn’t order again for $ 30 I wanted to really love it. One diner had stripped hybrid bass and liked it.
I would recommend if you don’t mind creative twists on favors but if you have traditionalists in your group, it may not work for them.

There were 8 of us in our dinner party this evening and we all enjoyed our food. The short ribs were tender & delicious. The warm red potato salad was a wonderful addition to this dish.
The lobster & shrimp risotto was out of this world. Even the salads were creative and so tasty.
Even though we were full, desert was a must. From homemade ice cream, delicious sorbet and the warm cobbler. This restaurant should be at the top of your list to try. You can’t go wrong and to top it off it’s a BYOB!

My only regret is that we didn’t come here sooner! Buffalo calamari was plentiful and tasty. My husband had a shrimp dish over pasta. He said it was delicious. I had the most amazing breaded veal with peppers, tomatoes, and broccoli rabe. It was big enough to feed 2 – 3 people. I’ll be enjoying leftovers for days. We shared the ice cream cake… I mean who can pass that up. It’s a BYOB so our bill came to just over $ 60…very reasonable! Our waitress was lovely and just the right amount of attentive. This is definitely my new favorite place!

We recently celebrated a birthday with dinner at this restaurant. We had been once before a few years back and were surprised by the lack of a crowd. There were some interesting things on the menu. The items I ordered were quite tasty, but my husband did not enjoy his appetizer or meal as much. Based on the atmosphere, service and food, I would not rate this as fine gourmet. Rather I’d say it was good with some interesting menu items. We will look elsewhere for a special occasion restaurant.

Although a nice setting, this place just didn’t have any WOW factor for me. The food was halfway decent, the service was bleh, the menu was limited.
With limited choices for cuisine in Toms River, this isn’t terrible. Add a liquor license, and I might find myself back for Round 2.

I have eaten here one time before and had a lovely experience. Tonight was not that way at all! I left the restaurant absolutely fuming. After spending $ 200 on a mediocre dinner, we were repeatedly told that our party of four had to leave by 7:30 because they needed the table. The hostess began this around 7:00 and for the next hour we were reminded by the hostess, our server, and the owner that they needed the table and we needed to leave! This was interesting since there was an open 4-​top next to us. I have never experienced anything like that before, as either a customer or a restaurant employee. The owner was rude and told us that every table gets a «time allotment.»
The entrees left much to be desired, especially for the price tag. The food was OK, but not great. Based on this how my party was treated, I will NEVER return to this place again… and I will spread the word!

My cousin, who lives in Seaside Park, raved about this restaurant. I was sorely disappointed. My fish smelled so strongly of ammonia that I was shocked they let it out of the kitchen. I mean, really now, I cook enough fish to know that it is very evident when it’s gone bad. Not only did they serve it to me, but I got a bit of lip from the waiter (and subsequently the owner) that the fish was bad. In the end, they took the price of my uneaten (except one small bite that I had to spit into my napkin) dinner off the bill, but the evening was ruined. Although my cousin and her friends have been there since my unfortunate visit and have not had the same experience I did, I will never patronize Serenity Café again. If I could rate it 0, I would.

Time for another vendor dinner meeting. The boss was with us, so sushi was out. After an exhaustive Unilocal search, I found Serenity Café (literally a minute from my house…). The menu looked promising, so I made the reservation (TIP!!! — Make a reservation! It’s always packed!)
Don’t let the location (strip mall) sour your impression. It’s actually pretty nice inside. (TIP!!! Its a BYO!) I guess we were there on a night where alot of large parties were happening, because there were multiple large groups there… and they were LOUD. However, our server made sure that our order didn’t get stuck behind these other parties. I really appreciated it.
For my app, I ordered the «Steamed Clams with Italian Tomatoes, Proscuitto, Garlic White Wine and Basil». All I could say is, «Meh…». It was ok, but not something I would reorder. However, both my companions had the «Buffalo Calamari with Gorgonzola Dip». I was able to sample it and… well, I definitely regretted NOT ordering it myself. It was great!
For dinner, I ordered the «Hanger Steak over Mashed Potatoes with Red Wine Reduction and Onion Marmalade». It was sublime. The steak was tender and succulent, but the jewel on the crown was the Onion Marmalade. So Tasty! My companions ordered off the specials menu. I did not get a taste (not that i wanted one, as mine was SO good!!!). However, they both said it was good.
I suggest you give Serenity Café a try!

The Serenity Café tends to disappoint a bit, but perhaps our expectations were too high! The restaurant itself has great ambiance and a real warm and cozy décor. The service was friendly and pretty attentive to our needs.
The challenge is definitely in the menu… I love the idea of using fresh ingredients and putting together exciting dishes that leave you begging for more. The real problem is, we were really begging for more… Those in our party who ordered beef were pleased with the portion, but not so please about the gravy poured over everything… those in our party who ordered seafood thought they were kidding when they put our meals in front of us. It was hardly enough for an appetizer, let alone a dinner, that just made the whole meal a disappointment.
You should not have to order pizza for everyone a few hours after dinner… but we did… thank heavens for the pizza deliver guy who salvaged our night!
Go for the ambiance, but don’t go too hungry!

ate dinner there last night. Atmosphere is really comfortable. Service is excellent and the food was very good. Prices are quite reasonable in the $ 20 range.
Finally a decent place to eat in Toms River!

Decent dining experience and nice crowd of people for a Tuesday night at this Toms River strip mall restaurant on Route 37. Salads over coated but otherwise good, both fish main courses very good and a nice berries over biscuit desert, which we shared.
This place seems to be a real hit with the locals — nice room with soft music playing and competent service round out the dinner. Although not in the same class as our 5 star favorites, Serenity delivers a solid experience.

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 Café’. 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!