Flamangos in Whitehouse Station reopens as The Junction after Gordon Ramsay makeover

Tropical Storm Gordon swept into Hunterdon County last week, and when he was gone, Flamangos Restaurant was no more.

[amq346]

I wonder if Chef Ramsey actually ate any of the food that The Junction was serving. Oysters and deluxe burger were tasteless, and ribs were nothing exciting. Restaurant will not survive if the food isn't tasty - definitely wasn't worth the price.

[aimee]

Horrid! I guess the food is only as good as the person cooking it - it doesn't matter how good the menu is that Ramsey developed, if the food isn't made well.
We ate there over the weekend and was expecting big things. Ick! Not impressive in the least. Very disappointing.
I also love how they have a sign out front saying their restaurant has been revamped by Ramsey, however, they are going to add some old "favorites" (this place was horrid when it was Flamancos so don't know how there could be any "favorites" from that place) back to the menu. Oh boy, this place is doomed. I give it 6 months at the most! What a shame.
And just a note in case someone from the restaurant is reading - it is probably better if you don't allow the kitchen staff to smoke on the front porch of the restaurant where you have patrons waiting. So gross!

[grace]

Never ate at Flamingos but did eat there when it was Spiotas. The Spiota Burger was great and I ordered it more often than not. Other things I tried there were also very good. Why did they change it?
Makes me wonder how good a chef Chef Ramsey really is when another of the restaurants he 'revamped' closed shortly afterwards. TV show or not, this does not speak well of his efforts. How about teaching the cooks in the restaurant what to do and how to do it, then follow through with a surprize visit to the restaurant in order to critique how his plans have been carried on by the owners, managers, cooks, etc.

[J n J]

The old menu was GOOD! Better then what they got going now. I do not plan on going back anytime soon. Change the ambiance in there, bring back some of the goodies on that old menu, and hire some people that are not just miserable. We had a horrible waitress the last time. I'm sorry I had to order something off the menu and have you deliver it to my table.... It’s a good location but if you are going to run a successful business you need to pick and idea and stay with it. Changing things several times in a year will lead to failure.

[Janet]

The food was not very good and definitely not worth the price, it was very bland and not cooked as requested. Our service was also not very good, the wait staff was not attentive. I will definetly not go back or recommend it to anyone.

[Mairsie]

Liked it better before it was "Ramsified"...bring back the old stuff...I too think the cooks should not be smoking out front.

[Michelle]

We've been here twice for lunch since GR revamped the place. The service AND the food were good both times. They HAVE brought some things back from the old menu....like the Ahi Tuna, which I think is the best item on the menu (old and new). I grew up in the area and now live in NYC. I've definitely been to hundreds of GREAT restaurants and consider myself a bit of a foodie (AKA a food snob!). I've also frequented Gordon's restaurants around the world. Let's face it, Whitehouse Station isn't a metropolis for restaurants, so I think we should support the decent ones (like this one)....god knows this location has turned over quite a few restaurants over the past 20-something years. IT'S GOOD! TRY IT!!! AND.....it's family-run (atleast that's what I gather), so let's support small, local business in this dismal economy and stop trashing a perfectly fine restaurant.

[Ken Williams]

I was almost put off visiting this restaurant by some of the negative reviews above but decided to give it a shot. Upon arriving we had to wait a few minutes for the maitre d' to arrive to seat us making me think that maybe the reviews were correct.....
However, when she did appear, she was pleasant and attentive, sat us and took our drink order immediately.
We ordered a shared appetizer from the old menu (Ahi Tuna) which was great and I ordered the Chicken Focaccia burger, which was more of a sandwich really.
The food arrived promptly and was well cooked. It was also MORE than enough quantity-wise. Along with a couple of glasses of wine, it made a very respectable lunch.
I was surprised to read the above complaints about the service as our waitress was just lovely. My girlfriend coudln't finish her meal and the waitress was genuinely concerned to see if she'd enjoyed it or whether there was something amiss. Caring about the satisfaction of your customers is a good sign!
So yes, overall, pretty decent. You're unlikely to see any Michelin stars being awarded to The Junction any time soon but for an unpretentious local lunch spot (I haven't been for dinner yet), it's a good option.

[Steve]

amq346 wrote:

I wonder if Chef Ramsey actually ate any of the food that The Junction was serving. Oysters and deluxe burger were tasteless, and ribs were nothing exciting. Restaurant will not survive if the food isn't tasty - definitely wasn't worth the price.

TOOK A PERFECTLY GOOD RESTAURANT & DESTROYED IT..NOT TO MENTION OUR TOWN. THEIR NOSES ARE STUCK UP WAY IN THE AIR.WAKE UP PEOPLE YOU HAVE NOTHING TO BE SNOOTY ABOUT..

[jeff]

to j n j

Why do people order off the menu?

why even bother reading menus if your gonna order your own?

dick..