Love that it was taken over by new owners, the decor is so much updated in here now and it is a lot cleaner. Waitstaff were very friendly and on point with serving my table of 11. Came in Memorial Day weekend and there were a lot of drink specials and food specials which was a plus. Food was hot fresh and way better than the place called Jake's that used to be here. Very happy we came in and gave it another try now that it is called something else. If you are in this area- definitely come and check it out. read more

This is a great place to dine, some more casual restaurant that the area needs more of. It's a casual bar restaurant that you can come in to unwind and play pool. The food overall is pretty decent too! I've been here a few times so far and I've liked most of what I ate. To get it out of the way, there are two duds: the Nashville Chicken and the Truffle Potato Wedges. The Nashville Chicken is cooked well but was boring and lacked any flavor (did they forget the sauce when I tried it?). The truffle potato wedges are a little more interesting but it was such a small portion that it's almost pointless to get it. Fortunately, the rest of the food is much better. The dinner menu is a stronger showing. We loved the French Onion Soup, the turkey pot pie, the kielbasa sandwich, and the blueberry cobbler all knock it out of the park. They're all cooked perfectly, portioned well, and have strong flavors. I can wholly recommend all those dishes. I can definitely recommend coming here for dinner. It's a very well run restaurant with good food. read more

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Not very customer oriented. Came in on a Thursday for dinner. Was promptly seated and ordered a couple of local IPAs, The Cape May and the Slack Time. Both were very good. Got another round and the Slack Time was a different beer altogether. Hazy, fruity, IPA, not my cup of tea. Asked the waitress if I got the wrong beer and she implied she brought the right two to the table, but must have given each of us the wrong one. I let my son try it, who also said it was not the same beer. Asked her if it's possible they poured the wrong beer. She went back to the bar and returned with an explanation that the first beer I got was at the end of the keg, that's why they taste different. Since when does the end of the keg taste better???? Never. I gave her back the wrong beer and asked for another Cape May. Ended up paying for both. Had the seafood platter for dinner. The fish was actually very good. Asked for ketchup and salt for the fries. Never got the salt and after about 20 minutes she came back with the ketchup stating 'Had to wait for one to return from a table.' First placer I've been to that rations ketchup. Furthermore, the table next to us was cleared at about the same time we got our food. They had a bottle of ketchup that I couldn't get my hands on fast enough. My son had the burger. Said the meat was good, but the bun was stale. All-in-all, a bit disappointing for our last night on vacation in Cape May. read more

The Local Tavern - Beers on tap - American Near Me - Villas, New Jersey

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We finally stopped in to see what the buzz was about at the local tavern in the Villas. Let me tell you - the buzz was on point Let's start with the staff - very friendly Next our waitress Brittany gave some excellent recommendations both on drinks and food. She was attentive and friendly. In addition to their regular menu, they had a special valentine's centric menu. This made it difficult to choose because we had also been given recommendations from friends on what to order. We settled on French onion soup (delicious), Caesar salad and the filet special from the valentines menu which was accompanied by the creamiest butteriest smashed potatoes (note the menu said mashed but I consider any mashed that contains the skins of the potatoe a smashed potatoe) and asparagus with a reduction. The food was very good. I can't use the term exceptional until I have made more visits - which we will certainly do. I also treated myself to the chocolate strawberry martini. Delicious ! We also had the chocolate mousse topped with fresh whipped cream and strawberries for desert. It will go on my top 10 desserts I ever ate list for sure. Needless to say that kitchen is pushing out some fantastic food. The bar is putting out quality pours and cocktails. I would also be remiss if I didn't state that they also had a live guitarist singing and he was good - I didn't catch his name though. Can't give them a 5 star until we dine again ... Thanks local tavern for a great experience! read more

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The staff are solid- and keep things moving but this place is busy all the time so expect a bit of a wait especially on game days/nights. The drinks are well made and not stingy with the sprits. I especially enjoy their pizza and martinis. read more

The Local Tavern - Menu 2025 - American Near Me - Villas, New Jersey

We've been here a few times now. Service has been good to great, the food is absolutely delicious. Really nice atmosphere and sometimes they do have live music but I can't remember which days. read more

Had dinner last night after a short wait. Service was excellent. The waitress was easily accessible whenever we needed her. The salad being included with the entree is rare find these days and it was delicious. My salmon with mashed potatoes and green beans was also delicious. Cornbread was a little dry (butter on the side would be nice) but still very good. Music was a little loud Will be going back soon! read more

What a great stop the food is always good and the staff is always very friendly and helpful in making menu decisions the bar service is wonderful and the have great entertainment on the weekends I recommend that you give it a try you won't be disappointed read more

My husband and I so enjoyed our experience at The Local Tavern last night. The bartender Gavin took good care of us and made my husband a wonderful dirty martini. We ordered mussels for an appetizer and we both couldn't stop complimenting the fresh mussels in a savory broth. My husband ordered a rare cheese burger and it was perfectly cooked. We will definitely go back. read more

Great service and delicious food! All the waitstaff was very friendly and went above and beyond.

WARNING-do NOT expect to order take out after 4:30PM off season. They don't accept orders after 4:30 PM. You can go into the restaurant tho, which is essentially the exact same thing. People do vacation off season. Very disappointing. read more

Over priced and over rated. $80 for lunch for 2 people no alcohol. $15 for a small soup and coconut shrimp appetizer way over priced. Food is good but not worth $80. read more

Great place with a new life! Enjoyed a recent birthday lunch here - split some appetizers and a salad all delicious ! Server was wonderful!

Brittany was our server...very friendly and attentive! Everything came out in a timely manner and prime rib is delicious! We will ask for her again! read more

Nice place, good food and service. The Short Rib was great, as was the side salad. The fettuccine Alfredo was not good, very thin sauce and very bland, definitely not an Alfredo sauce. We'll go back and try some of their other dishes. read more

Well we went with two friends down visiting from delco. We were able to walk in and get seated relatively quickly. Good the place is loud but it's a tavern what do you expect. Live musician in the back. We all ordered and unfortunately didn't order apps so waiting for our crab cake sand our burger and French dip wife had turkey pot pie. It seemed to take a really long time but def was busy a couple large tables of like eight people. Everybody enjoyed their food although by the time it arrived the fries had started to turn cool. Ordered horseradish with the French dip had to ask another server for it. Also if you are serving fries having ketchup would seem a necessity but the ketchup didn't arrive till dinner was almost over along with that horseradish. Hey sometimes shit happens. We will still be back and bring our visitors because it was a decent place with good food.local tavern is worth a try read more

While on vacation in the Villas, had to stop at this place twice! They have some great pub and comfort food (burgers, chicken parm) and a decent atmosphere. Servers were friendly and helpful. read more

We've been twice since opening: once for drinks and once for drinks/apps. Friendly staff, attentive service and delicious apps. We had the calamari, coconut shrimp and crab cake. All great, with the crab cake being a standout. read more

Bar food, weak menu on seafood. Surrounded by water restaurants in Cape May area need good selection of seafood. Had shrimp and crab cake. Everything covered with a sauce that I did not like. Good atmosphere but service was not consistent. read more

Formerly Jake's - now The Local Tavern is a big hit for us folks living along the Delaware Bay side in the Villas. New owners renovated this place perfectly! And it seats sooo many - don't let the parking lot fool you - there is room inside! We had wings, calamari mix, chicken waffles sliders and French onion soup. Plus a cosmo and a beer. Everything was good - the only snafu was the waffle was either too thick or had too much flour- now I never send anything back - ever - but our waitress noticed it and said I'm getting you another one which still came out the same so she took it off the bill! Now THAT is service! The employees doing the cooking should have a waffle cook off and stick with the specific winning recipe. Waffles is basically baking and that stuff needs to be specific! Oh and they had Music Bingo that started at 6pm with PRIZES! It was a Monday in October and it was packed!! So I'm thrilled to have this new addition to our side of the world and highly recommend! read more

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Amazing from start to finish! Great food, great atmosphere, great bartenders, great night!!!!

The food was excellent! Music Bingo with @djscotrainear made it very fun and engaging. We will definitely return!!

Under new ownership and they're hitting the nail on the head! Renovations were well done. It looks great and feels comfortable and inviting. Bar is huge and beautiful. I look forward to coming back to sit at the bar. I was there for late lunch/early dinner with family of 6 + a baby and were seated immediately with high chairs available if needed. The staff was very accommodating. They have a pool table, darts and a mechanical shuffle board made this trip extra enjoyable and fun. Now on to the food...Everyone enjoyed, no complaints!! That's a win when out with groups! I had the smash burger thinking it'd be smaller, thinner but it had 2 smashed on there lol not a complaint definitely delicious something my hubby would devour and definitely more than enough for a girl like me I had lunch for next day. Clams casino were okay. Buffalo chicken egg rolls were delish definitely ordering again and hubby had chicken sandwich he said was very good quality and tasty. The menu offered something for everyone. The best part of the menu is they have Gaiss' kielbasa on there and that tickled my heart seeing one local business supporting another local business! That's definitely going to be my next order! I already know how delicious Gaiss' kielbasa is so I'm excited to see what they do!! read more

We visited the Local Tavern for the first time yesterday and were pleasantly surprised. The cocktails were delicious, and our Mussel's appetizer was so tasty. We each had the Seafood dinner and were again wowed. It was crowded, but our service was terrific. We'll definitely be going back. read more

WAITRESS KNOWS MORE THAN THE CUSTOMER....... We had lunch there today, Thursday July 3rd 2025 and were the first customers. Wings were pretty good, not as good a the CVIEW in Cape May but pretty good. We orders a smash burger and a Chicken cutlet with spinach and long hots and paid extra for French fries. When I asked for fresh French Fries because the ones served were limp, luke warm, and shriveled. She said they were fresh and walked away. So we ate our OK smash burger, and good Chicken Cutlet Sandwich. So We got to go boxes, and left the fries on the plate. I usually tip between 20 and 25% on the total bill but since the waitress was not an advocate for the customer, she got 15% before tax. Nice new clean place with good selection of beer, a pool table and a bowling machine. (This place used to be Jake Bar) we like Trishas in Cape May. Maybe we will go back if we happen to be in the area. read more