I love this place. The food is consistently good and the atmosphere is friendly and laid back. Bar service is great, prices are reasonable. Plus the have fun events like trivia and karaoke (Giuseppe the karaoke guy is the best!). The pizza is surprisingly good (penne vodka pizza is a must) and the wings are the best in the area. read more

Wing night First set size of quarters but good. Second set because we were still hungry hard as rocks. Apparently cooked frozen. mJ's what happened to you? read more

I never expected the fish for sushi to be so fresh at a bar and grill, but they do have their own sushi bar. The sweet potato roll was especially great! Instead of having a soggy tempura coating, it was almost like having thinly sliced sweet potato fries in the roll. Best sweet potato roll ever. I need to come back a bunch to try all the amazing things on the menu! There's something for everyone here. read more

MJ's Restaurant Bar & Grill - Tuna roll, avocado roll, sweet potato roll - Pizza Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

My husband and I have frequented MJ's in Spotswood for many years. It has been our "go to" restaurant close to home, unfortunately, up to last night. Our problem started the moment we were seated on the high top table in the bar area (we have actually enjoyed that area until last night). As we started looking over our menus, a single, older woman, turned around from her bar seat and loudly accused my husband and I of smelling like marijuana! She was yelling it on the top of her lungs. It actually shocked me. My husband asked her what's her problem. Mind you we are 66 and 65 years old. Everyone in ear shout was laughing and astonished at the rudeness of this individual. After about the 4th comment from this vulgar individual, I picked up our menus and utensils and headed to the hostess desk. I explained what happened. They offered us another table in the dining room but by that time I was flustered and insulted. We wound up going to a place closer to our home and enjoyed it much better. Sorry to say, we won't be retuning to MJ's in Spotswood with a patron like her. She should have been removed from the bar. She was obviously intoxicated. read more

Go there for Tommy the bartender! Genuine guy, really takes care of you. He's the reason behind the 5 star review. The short hair blonde bartender has such an attitude. Was going there regularly, went in for football. Ordered the hot and spicy shrimp pizza with her. I get a plain pizza, she argues with me. Says she'll "fix it" next I get the teriyaki chicken pizza. She tells me "this is the shrimp pizza." I say ok. I ask Tommy what this is. He says, "Teriyaki chicken pizza." I tell him I ordered the spicy shrimp. He fixes it, don't make a big deal. Moments later, same blonde bartender spills a drink on me and my papers for work (yes, there is a liability for that. Doing work at a bar. My fault). Don't say anything. Tonight, I go in to watch the final inning of the Mets game. One drink and out. 2 people at the bar with full drinks, 2 people at the booths in the bar area. Before I can sit and explain myself, "sorry, we're closed." From the blonde bartender. You weren't doing the till, there's people in the bar booths, there's people at the bar with full drinks. No reason to say that, AT ALL. I will be back for Tommy the bartender and the food. I will not be back for the service from that bartender. read more

Food and service is the worst find somewhere else to go. This location has the worst food it of all the locations. Too high producing yo care about what they send out to customers. All the managers could care less and drink on duty. read more

Typical bar food. Decent wings large drinks but 2 stars because the dj was blasting horrible music and it seems like every drunk train wreck mom in Monmouth county was out. Music was African/Caribbean and was just bad/-not sure if you can consider it music. NEEDS NEW DJ ASAP read more

Cozy and spacious! Love the view of the lake! It's also wonderful in the summer to sit outside and listen to the music when they have djs! Food is good too! Great for families and friends! read more

After reading the other reviews, and having 'dined' here (not happy hour) I'd have to agree that everything is good except the service. There were maybe 3 tables in the dining room, and 2 servers. Ours was friendly and sweet, but there was definitely a lag in timing. We literally were waiting...for the check. That said, the food was delivered quickly and quite tasty, and as others noted, the space is really nice. If you're looking for banquet space, I would definitely recommend you check this one out. read more

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Part of a small chain that gets the job done, but nothing special. I've had the opportunity to visit this location on multiple occasions. There's a nice big oval bar and plenty of seating and TV's staring at little tiny Lake. This used to be a catering / wedding hall which I've also had the opportunity to visit on multiple occasions, but never blown away either, LOL. As with most chains they have a canned way of doing things you wouldn't expect anything to be amazing and typically nothing's going to completely suck either. Well, that's what me and my buddy thought from this middle of the road good and drink establishment. At my latest visit though however there were couple failures that we ordered. Corned beef and cabbage with potatoes, I failed to see the word demi-glace because when I think of corned beef and cabbage I think traditional Irish meal. Yes, they served a demi glaze on top of the corned beef on a bed of cabbage, I shit you not? Never in my life have I heard of a demi-glace on corned beef. Also the slices of corned beef were extremely thin almost like a deli sandwich. To say the least at $16 I wasn't happy at all. The shrimp tacos diced up almost like a salad placed on a soft tortilla was tasteless, my buddy was not happy with that and the bland Spanish rice on the side didn't help. The drink prices are average with a nice little selection of draft beer. Servers tend to be semi attentive at best, the place is clean and there seems to be always a fairly positive vibe and crowd. So, the place as I said before does just enough to get the job done, but not a destination that I would drive out of my way for especially when it comes to the Chow. read more

Popular local bar & restaurant in central nj. Good bar and offers a lot on their menu. Has daily deals and food is decent. No issue with the service usually read more

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We usually love mjs and eat there often, however that may be changing. The last few times we ordered takeout the girls at the hostess station had us on hold for over 15 minutes. Then, the last few times going there, the girl at the hostess booth said my orders weren't ready as I blatantly watched her type it in. (Clearly she forgot to put in the order) I do not think these girls are being monitored- makes me wonder who is the manager and where are they? A couple people we know mentioned having similar experiences. I love mjs but this is so inconvenient. Maybe if this happened once- no big deal. But several times? And it's happening to others. What's going on here? read more

MJS has a great outdoor set up and seems to really be taking most of the COVID restrictions seriously. We enjoyed a nice lunch (even through a thunder storm) due to their spacious outdoor tent. Food was delicious. I am especially fond of their boneless wings! My only issue was that our server covered his mouth with his mask... but not his nose. Which to me kind of defeats the purpose of the mask. But the rest of the employees were all taking the restrictions seriously. MJs is definitely a great option for a nice outdoor meal! read more

I have been coming to MJ's for years and the food and service are great. Two weeks ago we went there to celebrate my grandson's high school graduation. The bill came to almost $1,000.00 (plus I left a $200.00 tip). However, I was charged an additional $35.00 because I used a credit card instead of paying cash. Who walks around with more than $1,000.00 cash? I never experienced that before in a restaurant and if that is the case I will not patronize MJ's again. read more

If you're looking for a decent meal but hate going to those big chains, this is your stop. I've been here a few times and the food is alright. It's general bar/restaurant food. The bar is a nice big circle, which I like, so there's enough seats to go around. It is always packed during dinner/sports hours. So, make sure you get here earlier than the time you actually want to be here. If you can't find a parking spot, you can park across the street. There are tons of TVs and tables to go around as well. If you decide to sit down away from the bar, there's a gigantic glass window that looks out at the water where there's a water fountain. It's a nice view. The burgers here aren't that great. It has a hard bite, like it's a frozen patty (which I am betting that it is). So I don't get it anymore. But it did come out medium, like I asked. The pulled pork sandwich was decent. It had a nice flavor and the coleslaw was perfect. I just didn't care for the big long strands of onion in the pork. I ended up eating it with a fork because the bun-to-meat ratio was just way off.. too much bread. I think the best part of the meals, that I have had here, is the fries. They're so crispy and crunchy and I love dipping them in their BBQ sauce that they have. read more

MJ's Restaurant Bar & Grill - Cheeseburger - Pizza Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

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The food is good at times depends what day of the week. The staff is great but as we go more often we get to know the different staff and Alicia is someone we grew to love. She is real, down to earth, funny and always a pleasure to see. My friend came from north Jersey to visit we stopped in on a Thursday night and Alicia was great made her feel like she was a regular. It's just great to always see people like Alicia because that's what makes us keep coming back. She is warm, funny, friendly and extremely nice. read more

Food is ok...drinks at the bar are better. Waitstaff - good luck finding them when you need them. This place is close to home so it's nice to have a neighborhood bar. I've been here a handful of times & wish the place was more welcoming. read more

Stopped by for a few drinks and dinner since we are new to the area. Fairly impressed. Nothing special but that's exactly what we wanted. The food was better than decent and the atmosphere was as expected, a typical tavern. Will definitely be going back. read more

Drinks were watered down. Wait service poor. Looks like a restaurant feels like a pub with inexperienced college kids running the space.

We went to celebrate my parents 50th. They had their reception at the Buttonwood 50 yrs ago. Food was very good, waitress was very friendly and on top of drinks and extras. Hostess was nice enough to relocate our table to a quieter room. My dad had the salmon he enjoyed it, my sons and I had burgers all were delicious, some pasta dishes, salads, and entrees. Everything came out fast, but not too fast, everything was hot, and perfectly cooked. It was a very nice meal. read more

I came here with my parents last weekend for a few drinks and dinner. Our waitress was very nice and greeted us immediately and took our order. Then, it seemed like she was seated with a huge party of about 20 + people. She was nowhere to be found after this and our food took extremely long. Our waitress was nice enough to come to our table (or run when she had a spare second) and apologize for the wait because of a large party. She even offered to bring us bread to hold us over. Completely understandable. It clearly wasn't her fault. But where was the management? It was a busy Saturday night and they were clearly understaffed. I get it. But in a situation like this, they could have at least walked around and apologized instead of having their poor wait staff run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Food was delicious. Thankfully, I hadn't seen my parents in a while so it was nice to use the waiting time to catch up. However, if you're in a rush, I would not suggest coming here on a Saturday night. read more

I'm surprised I've never reviewed MJ's. This is my first as a member of the Elite Squad. We've eaten here many times, next time we go I'll upload some photos. On the 4th of July my daughter and her husband didn't want to go to the Jersey Shore to eat because of the Coronavirus, she was worried about crowds, social distancing, etc. My son in law picked MJ's after a brief internet search. They have a very nice outside dining area right on Lake Lefferts, so it's very scenic. All protocols are being met, everyone is very cautious. We all had burgers. The server was very accommodating. My kids enjoy beer so there selection of IPAs is pretty good. Atmosphere was very good, not crowded, I guessing most people were down the shore. My daughter had a turkey burger which she liked a lot. Me and my son in-law had the MJs burger, it has pepper jack cheese, chipotle mayo, bacon, etc. it's 10 ounces so it's quite filling. The fries are like a battered style, not my favorite. My only complaint is we asked for medium and got well done instead. The burger was still very good, it's the toppings that make it so. My wife had the mushroom, caramelized onion, and smoked Gouda burger which she enjoy thoroughly. We very rarely have a bad experience here, I guess that's why MJs has 7 locations now. If you're looking for a decent meal with an excellent lakeside view, MJs in Matawan is certainly the place to visit. read more

Love going to Mjs but tonight was our worst experience. First of all, the whole place was mobbed with people waiting for tables and on top of one another. Second, when i said my name for my food the hostess stated sure let me check. Goes to the back and comes out and proceeds to take the next person waiting for a table. Three orders are placed on the bar for take out orders and no one checks to see who they are for. After 15 mins of waiting the super nice bouncer looks to me and says what's the name don't want your food to be cold. One of the three orders was mine and at that time the pizza we ordered was ice cold. Got back home and checked our food . 6 baby shrimp in sauce for $14!!?!? Had wings with two different sauces in the same container (difference sauces then we ordered as well) and my wife's tuna was beyond rare.Yes ahi tuna is normally seared and we've had from here before but this was unacceptable. Probably one of the last times we go here. We'll have to go to one of their only locations as this isn't the first time they haven't gotten our order right and been attentive. read more

MJ's Restaurant Bar & Grill - Hot and spicy shrimp app - Pizza Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

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great experience. this place has great specials! pizza is great, i had the penne vodka pizza and I already can't wait until i can have it again. no cover for UFC fights, and has a deck and view of the water. great time will definitely be going again read more

MJ's Restaurant Bar & Grill - penne vodka pizza - Pizza Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

I've been to MJ's several times and the service is always wretched. It always takes at least 2 hours to eat. Tonight we celebrated my grandmother's birthday. We were a party of 19 with ONE server. She couldn't keep up with drink refills or clearing plates/empty glasses and our entrees came out with our salads. My brother asked for a soda 4 times and never got one. I blame the staff issues on the management as they must not be trained properly. When I was a server you never went in or out of the kitchen with empty hands. There was no teamwork by the servers. On top of that, there must have been a wedding because the floor was shaking from the bass. Hopefully this will be my last visit. read more

We do come her often as a family. I prefer to sit in the dining section as it's loud in the bar section. We typically order the same thing - nachos, French onion soup, kids pizza, Thai wrap, penne vodka, burgers. Each time the food has been tasty! Sometimes the service is hit or miss thereby at times taking much longer than expected. We have also been here twice for Mother's Day brunch, the buffet is very nice but they do short change the desserts, they don't replenish them as often so you get whatever is picked over. I have found the service during the brunch is not that great either, you have to beg for another drink and forget it if you wanted coffee after your meal. They are quick to throw that check down though. read more

do not waste your money. HORRIBLE service. you can overspend for mediocre food, but i wouldn't bc you will wait an hour to get a water and sandwich. seriously, sat for 20 mins before being approached by a rude server with a nasty attitude. read more

MJ's is a great bar-restaurant in the Matawan Area with plenty of parking and a surprisingly beautiful lake & fountain view in the dining area. The space is big and they offer a wide variety of food options from salads to sandwiches and pizza. I'm a big fan of the Grilled Shrimp Wrap. My biggest complaint about MJs is the time- expect at least an hour-hour and a half if you're stopping in for lunch. The food takes a very long time to come out, it takes a long time to close out and a long time to get drinks. It's a shame I associate MJs with taking so much time or I'd be a more regular there. The food is good but not a bargain- $10-$15 for lunch. read more

MJ's Restaurant Bar & Grill - Grilled shrimp wrap, fries and the ricotta mozzarella thin crust pizza - Pizza Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

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This is a good place to spend some quiet time on a lazy Sunday afternoon! Great Happy Hour at the bar, which is quite roomy with plenty of elbow room! The entire perimeter is surrounded by TV screens where several games are playing... The atmosphere is cool and subdue except for the occassional exclamations from patrons watching games... the view is beautiful since the restaurant sits on the banks of the Matawan River! Ok.. lets talk about the food! As usual we sat at the bar to enjoy Happy Hour, 1/2 price appetizers, $3 for draft beers, and $4 for mixed and house drinks; great deal! Hours are from 11-5pm... My husband and I shared chicken wings, half in Thai Spicy and Buffalo Extra Hot Spicy Sauce.. Both were quite good.. the wings were plump and juicy! We selected burgers from the several choices; husband had the regular burger and I had the Sunday Funday burger... although both burgers were adequate they were both over cooked!! BUMMER!!! Overall, great place to spend time, relaxing watching your favorite team play or just enjoying the gorgeous view! read more

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Just moved to the area and heard great things about the food here. My husband and I decided to come here and maybe it was an off night but we sat down and waited 15 minutes and nobody came to even take a drink order. We ended up leaving. read more

Food was good. Better than MJs in Spotswood. The view is great- water front scenery. The waiter was very cool and down to earth. Had a great lunch here with my gfs. Would def come back read more

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Love the staff at this place , especially at the bar! Everyone is super friendly and I will continue to come here every week even when football isn't on. :) read more

Why are you blasting the music during dinner time on Saturday night? I can't even talk to my date, let alone think. It's NOT BAR TIME!!!! And the saddest part of this is the music is awesome, but ruined by the volume. The DJ lowered it... for a bit...and then raised it again! Sad. Food was ok. Fries cold, but sandwich ok I guess. Took super long to come out. Whatever. Food here used to be awesome. read more

Meh. We so need and want a great pub/american food place nearby but sorry, this just isn't it. We have come so many times because of their diverse menu which includes everything from burgers to sushi, however, time and time again, the food is subpar, inedible frozen crap. I mean, even the onion rings were tasteless and soggy. Do yourself a favor and stay away. read more

Visited here tonight for dinner. Explained that I have celiac disease and ordered a gluten free bacon cheddar cheeseburger with a side of mashed potatoes. My wife ordered 3 tacos. She wanted different flavors on corn tortillas. Waitress came back and said you can't do that. They all have to be the same. Weird but fine. Asked her to make them all shrimp but make sure it's corn tortillas to make them gluten free. The food comes, it's a burger with American cheese and tacos on flour tortillas. The waitress blamed it on the kitchen staff saying "they never do what I ask" . We let it go. Told her when she asked if we wanted the last taco wrapped that we did not, because the tacos were supposed to be on a corn tortillas and was not gluten free. She just says sorry. When we got the bill it was written specifically saying American cheese burger and shrimp tacos on flour tortillas. I pointed it out as I handed her my card to pay the bill and she just said sorry. Not the kitchens fault. The food itself was just ok. I don't think we will be going back there any time soon. read more

A great place for dinner, drinks and dessert, or just hang at the bar. The restaurant dining room has a full scenic view of the lake. Beautiful. I highly recommend the skirt steak salad for lunch. The burgers are excellent, and the beer is cold. We have been here many times, and have never had a bad meal. The staff is friendly. read more

So I decided to stop by MJS after a stressful day at work. The service is usually great. Tonight however I don't know what I walked into. The bartender w the tattoo on arm was yelling at who I can assume was the boss making a scene....if u wanna have a relaxing day after work I suggest u drive pass MJS. I turned around and walked out the door. Let's just say I won't be back read more

MJ's is a great spot to unwind after a long day. They have outdoor seating on a beautiful deck with a relaxing view of a lake and fountain. They offer a fun and upbeat drink menu, a nice variety of seafood entrees (including fantastic sushi) and lots of burgers and sandwich items. If you are coming for dinner or lunch with a big group, they are extremely accommodating and will find you a great table with lots of space. The restaurant itself, not counting the patio and banquet room, can easily seat hundreds of people. If you want a strong drink with a tropical kick, you must try their Hurricane cocktail! Their happy hour specials are refreshing and change often. I had the Honeycrisp Apple Wine this weekend, and found it to be delightful! For my entree, I thoroughly enjoyed the Fish and Chips. I was pleased to see that the fish was a high quality haddock. It was cooked very nicely. I liked that it was fried only lightly so that I could taste full flavor of the haddock. So many restaurants deep fry their fish to the point where there is no meat left. Kudos to MJ's for keeping it healthy! The only drawback is that they are a bit pricey for a place categorized as a Pizza/Sports Bar joint. But it is worth it, especially if you're out with a group of people looking for a night out filled with tantalizing stiff drinks and thoroughly satisfying food! read more

Love, love, love this MJ's Happy Hour . Fridays from 4-6 there is a free buffet! Get there right at 4 or a little before too get a seat at the bar. You can also sit at the tables and booths around the bar. We always end up ordering their pots so delicious pizza as well. We can't do a half hour here without ordering pizza. Drinks are like a few dollars off some draft beers. I just get bottles Bud Light which are $3.50 each. Definitely our go to happy hour bar! I have been here for dinner as well and their food never disappoints. If you are looking for a Sunday brunch, this is also the place for it. Their buffet for brunch is huge and so is the dessert table. It is a bit pricey, but well worth it. read more

MJ's is an excellent place to get together with friends and have a few drinks. The bar area is big. A lot of seats and standing room. They have a little sushi place which was pretty good. However, the food is subpar bar food and the service was so-so. But I wouldn't say don't go. It is what it is - a sports bar. I've seen better and I've seen a lot worse. read more

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