Sad to say this is an Island Grill surrounded by an ocean of flavorlessness. Ironically, my wife and I realized by talking with locals and our own experience that there are limited quality seafood restaurant options within Ocean City, NJ. We stumbled upon this as it was rated #24 of 125 restaurants in Ocean City, NJ. After being seated, our waitress could only provide very little feedback on menu options only to unenthusiastically say that everything was great. We started off with a cup of their Lobster Bisque and New England clam chowder. Both were heavy with cream and not much else. Their “Wam Bam” fried shrimp appetizer was cooked well, but again, the sweet and sour sauce had little flavor if any. Our squeeze of lemon was an afterthought, but seemed to liven more taste bud interaction than the actual sauce. After waiting 20 minutes, our waitress finally provided the entrees overlooking the accompanying side salads. Our entrees were the Crab Imperial and a fried seafood combination called the Captain’s Platter. The crab imperial was simply broiled lumps of crab with no sauce whatsoever. It had a metallic taste reminiscent of coming out of a can. This flavorless sauceless dish came with a dry side of veggies and microwaved potatoes. My wife is a potato connoisseur who said out loud when tasting the potato, “are you kidding me?” The Captains Seafood Platter included one crab cake made of three crab chunks and 85% of the cake was filler. Absolutely void of flavor and offensive to any crab cake lover. Fried flounder, fried scallops and fried shrimp were also absent of flavor. All seafood seemed to be either frozen or from a can. No protein seemed fresh. I am thankful I was able to warn a party of three men waiting outside who promptly left upon hearing my warning. I do not have any happiness writing such a negative post. With tip it was a waste of $125. The only positive experience was being sat by the gentile and helpful elderly gentleman host. Unbeknownst to my wife and I meeting him was the highlight of our experience. When we sat down everything went down hill for the rest of the meal.
They offer a good variety of dishes. We decided to go with seafood. My wife had the island drunken shrimp and I ordered the Ahi tuna. The shrimp dish is done with buttered rum and is delicious. I requested my tuna to be done rare and it was perfectly cooked. The staff is friendly and efficient. Island Grill in the north end of town. They have indoor seating and outdoor seating weather permitting. Very comfortable. Plenty of street parking. During the season, Island Grill can get very busy. There are several excellent choices for sit down dining in OCNJ and based on our experience, this is one of the best.
Great service. No reservations no alcohol. (Ocean City is dry) Food was excellent. Waitress was courteous and helpful.
We wanted to get away from the Boardwalk for a casual but nice dinner, and this was a good place for that. It was quite popular - we had to wait 1/2 an hour - and had quite the busy take out service. Food was pretty good - fish tacos were good though I was (pleasantly) surprised by the large piece of fish on the beans instead of shreds of fish. We also had strip steak, a filet mignon, and a burger, and we all were pretty happy. Service was a bit slow - a lot of high school/college kids running the show - but I really appreciated the attention to allergy detail. They apparently messed up our meals and had to prepare some again and they wanted to be extra sure they got everything right. So while we had to wait a fair amount for the food, we are thankful they cared enough to double check and make sure they got everything right. We also enjoyed the ambiance - lively, family oriented, and lots of business but not crazy, loud, or overcrowded in feel. We would definitely go back.
We were looking for a great place for dinner in Ocean City and chose the Island Grill. We had been there last year and were very happy with our meal. My step-daughter and I had salmon on cedar plank and salmon with maple glaze...excellent! My husband enjoyed his crab cake. Our son-in-law had an enormous and delicious hamburger! Oven roasted potatoes were wonderful. The salads were fresh and tasty. Our server Maddy was so friendly and efficient. The sesame seed bread was excellent! Prices are reasonable also. We’ll be back! Thank you!
I ordered the seafood combo. Wasn’t told about alternate ways to have it prepared. It came out tasting like it was steamed. No butter and little if any seasoning. I couldn’t eat the fish as it didn’t taste fresh. The coconut shrimp appetizer was good. Service was good because the other waiters covered for the new waiting serving me. Heard about ways to prepare the dish from the table behind me that received the full description of a customers options. Never going there again.
We have eaten in person here many times in years past and have never been disappointed in the quality of food. This year it was just my husband a d I, instead of a large crew. We ordered online. Make sure you WAIT FOR THE TEXT THAT YOUR ORDER IS READY. We are in walking distance, and arrived for pick up a few minutes after it said it should be ready. The staff, inside and out, were hustling to accommodate customers as much as humanly possible. Although the weather was not in my favor to wait outside, once I received our order I was quickly on my way. The food quality was excellent, even as take out. I highly recommend the shrimp corn chowder. My husbands double bacon burger was enormous and high quality. They are making the best of being short staffed, while the food quality remains excellent.
I’ve eaten at many of the restaurants in town over the last two years, and this is hands down the best meal and service experienced so far. From the parents of the chef/owner (who run a friendly and tight ship in the dining room) to our charming and outstanding server, Anthony, the service side is five stars. The food runner (aka Peanut the robot) is cool and a nifty addition to the wonderful ambience. As for the food... everything we had (specials and regular menu items) were fabulous and extremely fresh and of high-quality. Portions are very generous and satisfying. I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed and you’ll enjoy a truly delicious meal at the Island Grill.
Great food, excellent service, very reasonable prices for the portions. We went with friends based on their recommendation and we were very pleased. I had the seared scallops and in lemon garlic cream sauce, it was amazing. My husband enjoyed the sesame crusted ahi. He said the lobster bisque was out of this world. Our waiter was so personable and helpful with his recommendations. He was very attentive even with a full dining room and it was almost closing time but we never felt rushed. Definitely a memorable experience!
My daughter and I had delicious take out. Service was quick and easy for pick up. We both ordered dinners and the servings were large and accompanied by a fresh garden salad. The seafood is fresh and the pasta was flavorful.