Inkwell Coffee House

I can’t even tell you how the food or coffee was because the place was filled with a bunch of incompetent servers who failed to recognize we had been sat and waiting over 20 minute to get a menu. I tried numerous times to wave someone down. But they must have been distracted by all the lingering, standing, loud and obnoxious hipsters who all smelled like cigarettes. First and last time I’ll go there.

This is a cool hipster/​grunge place where you can get anything from wraps– salads– panini– buffalo chicken tenders– fries you name it! The majority of people who come here are generally between the ages of 17−27ish. Their specialty coffees and desserts ARE TO DIE FOR! always open late, never rushed to kick you out at anytime. If you feel like having a late night snack or would like a meal… This is a great place for you!
During the summer you have the opportunity to sit outside on the patio where there are tea lights hanging from the trees, very nice!
I only gave inkwell 4 stars because at times it can take a while to get your food, and there is only one male and female restroom which can get a bit of a wait. All in all, great experience. I will continue to go back there !

A friend of mine introduced me to this wonderful place last week & I’ve finally filled the dark hole in my life lol
Where else can you go that’s a great atmosphere, great music (Primus was playing when I got there), the food & drink specials are great & the peanut butter cake… my god. It’s the new love of my life.
On my way out I noticed some awesome movie memorabilia, most importantly a signed Clerks poster by Kevin Smith – why have I been away from this place so long? This will be my new home.
Anyway, I can’t say enough good things, the staff is great, really personable & make you feel at home. This place is a gem.

Food was decent but service was awful and the crowd was very unappealing. I wouldn’t come here again unless everything was closed. It was pitch black I couldn’t even read the menu and the waitress was incredibly nasty and rude. Felt like the place itself was dirty.

As good as it gets; this place has managed to become an icon of the jersey shore without becoming tourist-​y in the least. Great music, good food, awesome coffee. Fun and comforting, especially if you’re looking for a recovery spot after a long day at the beach or are looking for some satisfying food at 2AM after a party. Maybe it’s not the fanciest place on the planet, but it always will be one of my favorites.

I heard about this place from a friend and finally got to try it. It’s about 30 minutes from my house but it’s well worth the drive! This place is right by Monmouth University so it’s pretty much all university students! I came here at 11pm on a Monday and it was packed! Parking is okay, the parking lot can get full but there was room when I got there. It’s pretty dark inside other than some christmas lights but they do have outside seating. Our server was named ‘Scary Spice’ and as a Spice Girls fan, this was awesome. The staff was very laid back… they wore whatever they wanted, any hairstyle, which I love. If I didn’t live so far away, I’d like to work here. I really respect employers who let their staff be who they are — as long as they do a good job and this place is a good example of that. This place had such a good vibe. We didn’t get anything to eat so I can’t comment about the food. The drinks though are amazing! I got the Cookies & Cream Inkachio and my friend got the Frozen Hot Chocolate. Both of them were very sweet, yummy and a decent size. The prices might be a tad higher than Starbucks but worth every penny! I’ll definitely be back and recommend it to everyone I know.

So disappointing. Smoothies were watery, coffee was just adequate, service was the slowest thing on earth and it wasn’t busy, food was marginal at best and took over an hour to get a wrap. The music outside was awkward for the place (smooth 90’s R&B). The inside was dirty and people were smoking inside and out. Will not return, not worth it.

I can’t believe I’m updating a review on this place yet again, but here’s to a final conclusion that it’s a solid 4 star café.
After my table had a great, personable waiter tonight (whose name I should have gotten to specifically thank) I felt compelled to bump the ratings (despite the complaints mentioned in my former review). While the waiters are really hit or miss, and I’m beginning to feel too old for the surrounding hoards of high schoolers that populate the place on any given night, there’s definitely some really down to earth people on staff that add to a better over all vibe.
(Still love the leave a book/​take a book over the fireplace, twinkle lights literally everywhere, and slew of board games. Honorable mentions — Star Wars art & smoking Snow White).
It’s cheap, the food is creative (especially for the area) and there’s a huge selection to choose from. The loudness and usually delayed service sort of add to the kick back charm of the place. It’s offbeat in a positive way, for the most part, but I can definitely empathize with other reviewers who feel as if they’ve «outgrown» the place (as awful as that sounds).
Anyway, final review, ⁴⁄₅. The macaroni and cheese bites alone merit that.

The food is okay its nothing to brag about, the dutch coffee was really good and i also liked how they panini pressed their wraps, but the service does take a long time.

Inkwell is extremely over rated. You pay a decent amount of money for awful service, average food, uncomfortable seating, and just an overall odd feeling environment. Inkwell is literally a house with a bunch of tables and chairs, the only thing it’s good for is coffee at 1 am. The walls are all painted with graffiti, it is always very crowded and the servers all get very nasty. I don’t recommend you go.

If every character from Empire Records and the Breakfast Club opened up a restaurant/​coffee shop, it would be the Inkwell. It’s a late night hipster/​punk/​college kid breeding ground and as much as I’d like to hate on it, I can’t. It’s open late which is great for a night owl like myself, and the food is actually really good. The atmosphere is cool, the waiting staff is very friendly but I must warn you there may be times where the service is so attentive to you. As a bonus, they’re always playing good music here which I appreciate. If you’re up late and looking to eat or just hangout with friends, go to the inkwell.

This place is a cultural institution! Great place to go for a late-​night hang/​study session, especially if you don’t drink alcohol. A block away from the beach, summer nights with with dutch coffee and a walk in the sand… does it get any better? The staff are fun people too.
Top Picks :
Dutch Coffee
Swiss Famous
Hawaiian Wrap
Godfather Wrap
And of course the seasonal specials.

I may be what some consider; «an old fart» but this place is STILL a place me and my gang like to eat at. The BEST fries you will ever have.
Love this place

Can some1 throw me 5s? I never been here but i need train fare. Il be by the entrance.

Inkwell is the place to be at night: Whether you have nothing to do in the wee hours of the night or you’re looking for a bite to eat at 12 am. Don’t come here when you’re starving because it does get packed and you may have to wait a while. Don’t come here if you’re looking for fine dining because inkwell is run down but that’s the vibe. Do come here if you want banging ass Mac n cheese bites. :)

I like the cool late 1990’s vibe this place gives off. This place is mainly aimed at High School and College students. (Monmouth University is less than a mile away from this place) The hours are from 7:00 PM to 3:00 AM so if you are hankering for some deep fried macaroni and cheese and dutch coffee (which I recommend) at 2:00 AM you can go here! The interior however, is extremely worn down. There are severely water damaged ceiling tiles, wires dangling from the ceiling, bathrooms are small and cramped, and there is asbestos in many places. But you are not going here for the interior environment. During the spring/​summer/​fall they have outdoor seating in their courtyard, a nice place to enjoy the weather on a breezy night. Overall, I would recommend this place.

Inkwell redid their interior some, and I consider it a major improvement. Their food, however, is exactly what you’d expect from a late night place in a college market: diner food. Nothing great about it, and what you eat will most likely be edible. If you’re gonna go, don’t go because you’re hungry. Go because you want coffee and then order food if you’re feeling hungry when you get there.

I’ve been coming here since seventh grade (I’m a junior in college now), and while I don’t live in New Jersey anymore, when I visit home I make sure to go to the Inkwell. I’ve been getting their Boneless Buffalo Wings since I first started coming here and they never disappoint. I try them everywhere I go and they are my absolute favorite. The Dutch Coffee is a must. I love this place and the people who work there.

This place is a pretty cool hangout for teenagers or potheads, but other than that the place is just OK.
The food is not bad, seems mostly microwaved. Coffee and tea are actually really good and sort of makes up for the fact that every experience I’ve had here has been a negative one. They seem severely understaffed, takes about 15 minutes for someone to take your order, another 40 minutes on top of that to get your food, and an additional 40 – 50 minutes after your food comes to even see your waiter again to get the check.
One time I came with a group of friends, everyone got their food but me. I waited about an hour to see the waitress again to ask about my food and apparently it was never made. Another visit a few months later a friend and i ordered coffee. she got hers but i never got mine. Another hour long wait to flag down the waitress and again, somehow my order was lost. A third visit a few months after that, yet again, everyone got their food/​drinks but me. Apparently they seem to have some sort of vendetta against me. On a fourth visit I actually got my food with everyone else’s, but when I paid somehow they triple charged my card. what was supposed to be a $ 30 payment came out to $ 95 on my credit card statement. Don’t know if it was a mistake or they were trying to steal money from me. I contacted the owner and he refunded my money since stuff like this seems to happen a lot there.

So I heard through the grapevine about the Dutch Coffee at Inkwell, and while visiting my friend in Oceanport, I made a special request to visit the place and see for myself just how good it was. Great decision! This place is very much a hole in the wall, and I like that. It builds character. While we were here, my friend explained that most underage people hang out here on weekends because it’s open so late, and since they can’t go to the bars, this is one of their only options. This proved to be true as we were leaving, and the place started filling up with high schoolers. I thought it was cool, though. I wish I had a place like this in high school. For real, though! The Dutch Coffee changed the way I will look at coffee forever! It was the BEST coffee I ever had. It was pure sugary, buttery, cinnamony goodness. If you’re given the option between the small or the large, go big or go home. As for the actual food, eh. I’d stick to the Dutch Coffee. I noticed that they have other varieties. I’d definitely be down to try them all, except now that I’ve had the Dutch Coffee, good luck getting me to order something else when it actually comes down to it. If you’re in the area and want an interesting treat, hit up Inkwell, and give the Dutch Coffee a try! I’ll be totally jealous of you since I think about this coffee almost on a daily basis. If anybody finds something like the Dutch Coffee in NYC, please let me know.