After my fifth or sixth visit, I decided it was time for World Oyster’s review of the Sergeantsville Inn. The restaurant, located on the corner of a quaint New Jersey town, occupies an old stone building with sections built in the 1700s. In the winter, you can sit next to a blazing fire in one of the original fireplaces. The Colonial American structure combines upscale dining with a business casual atmosphere. If you want a more casual menu, you can opt to eat in the tavern. Even better for my extended family, the chef includes three vegetarian entrées, two of which can be made vegan.
Ambience: Cozy American Colonial
Dress: Business casual for the dining room; casual for the Tavern
Best entrées: Waygu steak, soy duckling, wild-caught salmon (menu changes)
Best Appetizers: Any salad, including specials
Vegetarian/vegan options? : Yes
The Sergeantsville Inn specializes in pasture-raised meat, wild-caught seafood, local produce, and other sustainable ingredients. Because of this emphasis, you can find some unusual meats such as wild boar, pheasant, buffalo, and venison. For the less adventurous, more common meats and fish round out the menu: short ribs, Icelandic cod, beef steak, veal chops, and shrimp.
Appetizers
I always have a difficult time choosing my appetizer, so my husband and I usually order two to share. The salads are always excellent, no matter which I choose. Other great choices include a paté board, hummus with pita bread, and blackened crab cake with red pepper purée. Unfortunately, the pheasant spring rolls sound better than they taste.
What’s For Dinner
I love that the menu changes seasonally. For instance, the grilled watermelon and pineapple salad can be had only in the summer. Other items, such as filet of beef and the tofu stir-fry, seem to be menu staples. Even when it comes to the menu standards, however, the chef may tinker with individual ingredients and presentation. A table tent lists the menu and drink specials, so make sure to look for it. Our servers have never verbally covered the specials.
I’m partial to the soy duckling: sliced duck breast with a duck confit leg and mashed sweet potatoes. My husband usually orders the beef filet, no matter the preparation, and I’ve enjoyed the waygu steak. Although I’ve ordered and enjoyed a salmon dish, the fish offerings are usually few and rarely of interest to me, as much as I like fish. The vegan members of our family usually order the hummus appetizer and the tofu stir-fry. The kitchen will substitute pommes frites for other types of potatoes, on request.
And For Your Sweet Tooth . . . .
Usually only my husband orders dessert. The kitchen offers no choices for the vegans at the table, and the other two of us are usually stuffed. Tellingly, he has ordered the bourbon pecan pie multiple times. I’ve had a few bites — and it’s delicious.
The Verdict
Many Colonial-era inns dot the landscape of both sides of the Delaware River, in both the Hunterdon (NJ) and Bucks (PA) counties. We’ve found the Sergeantsville Inn to be one of the better ones. The menu tips toward typical meat-heavy inn food, but with enough creativity and high-quality ingredients to make the dishes stand out. We wish the chef would throw some vegetarian/vegan specials in with the others in order to satisfy the vegans among us. Still, the Sergeantsville Inn is one of the few that can veganize its dishes. And although the seafood options are disappointingly limited, at least they taste good.
Debbie Lee Wesselmann
