need rec for 40th bday dinner

[judyk921]

specifically, looking for a place that will rent a room for the affair but not charge a per head fee. pls help, my hubby turns 40 soon and i want it to be awesome w/ good food. preferably in eastern monmouth county (middletown to asbury park area).

[HillJ]

Atho north of the area you indicated, Drew's is a good rec. Call ahead.

[RGR]

Oops! I forgot about the Middletown-Asbury geog. parameters though Judy did say Eastern Monmouth. Can't get too much further east than Keyport without falling into the waters of the harbor, and it's only a couple of minutes north of Middletown.

[HillJ]

judyk, could you indicate how many guests you anticipant..

[judyk921]

prob. 40 peeps expected. nicholas is great, but too pricey if i am footing the bill. i would like something more casual too, where we can take over a room and relax, hear some music, and feel comfortable.

[dani0622]

I'm not sure of your budget or size of party but my current fav place in Monmouth Co. is Trinity in Keyport. The food is incredible and the place is stunning.

[seal]

If you just want a room then someplace like one of the nicer hotels would probably suit your needs. Most of the restaurants will charge a per person rate. We looked at a few before our party and they all did. And, yes, Nicholas was worth the $150/pp.

[Angelina]

Pricey, but oh so good.....Nicholas!

[equal_Mark]

The food at Nicholas hasn't seemed to hold up over the past year, but the service is still haughtily uber-pretentious...

[bgut1]

While I agree that Nicholas would be a great place to hold such an event, I don't believe it fits the OP's criteria as there would be a per person charge (see seal's latest post on this topic). As far as equal Mark's comment, I must respectfully disagree. I've been dining at Nicholas quite regualrly since he opened and believe that the food is on par or even better now then it has ever been. As for the service, while I admit it's a bit formal, I wouldn't characterize it as being pretentious.

[RGR]

I agree with you, bgut. (Surprise! Surprise! lol) Not only has the quality of the food at Nicholas remained consistently high over the years, but it has gotten better and better. As for the service, I have always found it to be cordial and professional but never pretentious.

[OGguy]

Moonstruck?