Oyster Creek Inn INC

8/15/2013 \r The seafood combo was excellent ,however the deviled clam was terrible. When I told the server, she said yes I dont like them either.....nothing was done to make it right..The fried shrimp was ok, but had to ask for lemon for both seafood dishes....I had to ask 3 times for a glass of water...The table clothes were old and worn out plastic, the silverware was substandard , like when you go camping. more

My wife, My two daughters and I visited Oyster Creek on May 17th 2013. May wife and I had previously eaten at the oyster creek and just loved the food and atmosphere. However this time the experience was a complete disaster. We were greeted by a less then pleasant waitress. When I ordered a sushi rainbow roll she looked at me like I was an idiot and asked me what kind of rainbow roll would i like. She went to the sushi bar to ask what was in the rainbow roll and returned to inform me that the were not Asian and did not make them the Asian way. I then ask for a yellow tail (Hamachi) rainbow roll and she returned with a (Just regular TUNA) rainbow roll.. whatever, the roll was good. After about 30 min, we started asking ourselves,"" wheres our salads"" a few more minutes passed and I approached the waitress and question where they were. She was very un friendly with here response. When she brought the salads she informed me that she was waiting for all of us to finish our appetizer, Whatever. By this time we had been seated for about an hour when finally our main course arrived. My daughter had ordered a simple dish of chicken fingers and fries, the batter was not cooked and was still seeping from the tenders, the fries looked like they were pulled from the bottom of the fry basket.. First Disappointment... both my wife and I had ordered stuff flounder, as we we had our first bit we both commented that it was not as good as the last time. I continued to eat until i bit into something cold. I pulled abour my dish to find that it was severely under cooked, my wife soon discovered the same of hers, at this point my wife had had enough and left the table. I Called our NOT SO PLEASANT waitress over and with great discuss ripped open the dish and showed her that both out long wait for a tasty stuff flounder was cold and un cooked. She asked me if I would like to order something different from the menu. It was Now 9:00 and the last thing I wanted was a longer wait. so I asked to see the manager... THIS IS THE GOOD PART.. a few moments later a rather large man appears at our table, looks like a chef... he stands there for a second and then looks at me and says ""WHAT"" yep that what he said ""WHAT"" I told him the we had waited a long time for our meal and then he served me and my wife uncooked fish. He told me that I should have returned it like a normal human being and not throw it all up in the air. Needless to say, they did comp the meal. but the complete event will compel me to tell everyone I know what a terrible experience we had and although I am sure they will not miss my business, I will NEVER VISIT THIS ESATABLISHMENT AGAIN more

My folks started taking me to Oyster Creek back in the 60's. Back then we used to boat right up to their dock. I've never had a bad meal. Now that I've moved to California I make it a point for at least one meal at Oyster Creek every time I visit South Jersey. I'd recommend arriving early if you are the ""must sit down right away"" type. Otherwise plan for and enjoy a very relaxing drink on the dock. Sunset time is very peaceful (except for the time that a clamming boat caught fire while refueling a little ways up the creek). My wife and I frequently go for the Two - 1 1/4 lb main lobsters special. At various times runs about $30 +-$5. Another great meal is the crab cake platter. Or enjoy a little of everything on the Oyster Creek Combo. The asparagus is always a favorite side dish and the bar has a nice selection of beer on tap. The kids love the free pop-corn which is always available. A lot of people enjoy the outdoor patio in the summer where fresh cooked crabs are served with pitchers of beer. Over the years I've had quite a range of ""service"". It may well be that the service is simply left up to each individual server rather than focused restaurant training but I'm learning not to sweat the small stuff. I don't let a little imperfection detract from a very enjoyable meal or my lovely experience with family and friends. It's always just seemed like a little of the South Jersey personality anyway. Never has anyone been rude to us. The hours of operation may in fact be a bit confusing but the experience is worth figuring out this little puzzle. One just has to remember that there is an ""in"" and ""out of"" season schedule at the Oyster Creek Inn. If my memory serves me right Mon, Tues and Wed are added ""IN"" season only. All-in-all this is one of only a couple of restaurants that I make a point of visiting and I would recommend that you do too! Jan 2011 more

So here is some Info for any other Customers that would like to come to O.C.I~ Oyster Creek Inn is a Family owned Restaurant and has been since 1938. THEY ARE NOT OPEN MONDAYS BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY OR AFTER LABOR DAY. Winter hours are as follows- \r (INSIDE) Nov- April - open THURSDAY- SUNDAY 4-9. Open for rest of September and ALL of October TUESDAY- SUNDAY\r (Outside Deck) Open Tues- Sunday thru September.~ Open first Two weekends in October for the Octoberfest weekend(Oct 2-3) in the town Of Smithville 7 for Irishfest Weekend (Oct 8-9). The Restarant is Closed down Completely for a Wedding on FRIDAY OCTOBER 1st. Call Any day besides Monday( After 2 pm) to speek to Someone who can help you with any questions you may have (609) 652-8565. more

I have been going to Oyster Creek Inn for almost 38 years. While the place never won any awards for style, the food was always excellent and the service very good or better. Well...it used to be anyway. However, today (9/13/10) I went there for dinner with my wife. We arrived just before 4pm and noticed the parking lot was empty. We waited ten minutes and walked inside. The place was unlocked but EMPTY (published hours are 4pm to 9pm). The chairs were still up on the table, the bar fully stocked, but every light in the building was off except for the neon lights in the windows. We yelled 'hello' a dozen times or more...and no answer. No smell of food cooking...nothing. There was a couple that arrived just after us from Pennsylvania. They had heard great things about the place...but were as stymied as we were as to where everyone was. IS THIS PLACE IN BUSINESS OR WHAT?? The sign outside stated ""dinner served from 4 to 9 pm. In the time we were waiting for the restaurant to open my wife and I noticed how run down it had become. While it was never high society, it now resembles a crack house in the inlet in AC than a restaurant tucked away in the reeds of Leeds Point. I wasted 90 minutes of my life going to a restaurant that wasn't even open to serve me. We will not return. We did find an EXCELLENT Mexican restaurant where Senior Rattlers used to be on Route 9...just minutes away from Oyster Creek. THEIR FOOD AND SERVICE WAS EXQUISITE, AND THE PLACE WAS SPOTLESS. The restaurant is called La Hacienda. 609-652-6050 I guess the restaurant changed hands and the new owners don't need the money. Or...maybe they got an Obama bailout like the mortgage companies. PS I HAD to rate this dive one star or I could not post my review. I rate it zero stars. more

Lots of atmosphere. The building almost like I remember as a child--only now updated. Oyster, fish great. Service friendly and quick. The Italian Rum Cake is baked on the premises is the best I ever had. more

food comes out late and is piss poor. the kupells suck at the hospitality business. not like it was. too pricey. goto smittys in somers point for better seafood. byob. Pros: Waterfront Cons: attitude, not sustainable and not fresh more

Have been there maybe a dozen times,always a great experience. We learned early on to plan arriving just be fore the Dining Room opens. Time for a drink at the boat bar and you will make the first seating. The regular menu and sides are very good but nothing to rave about. It is the specials that are always the best...lobster sometimes and other special catch but the Salmon specials with crab, brie, asparagus, Balsamic sauce ALWAYS fantastic. It's almost like they have two kitchens. One for the regular menu and another doing the specials with a ""top-chef"". Amazing. Pros: Always a favorite Cons: Arriving late on a busy night more

I have been eating at this place for about 33 years. This place has excellent fresh seafood. I am never disappointed. The chef's specials are especially great. The oyster stew, awesome!! Some of the chef's specials that I have had in the past are the blackened yellow fin with spicy shrimp beer sauce, and the grilled Corvina with scallops & asparagus topped with caramelized onions & balsamic drizzle. One of my most favorites is the sesame encrusted yellow fin over greens with gorgonzola, crab and balsamic vinaigrette. I eat here often therefore I am familiar with the specials. They also have a outside deck in the summer where you can pick crabs, the main menu is not available out on the deck. I suggest eating inside in the main dinning room if you want a truly great experience. Sometimes the wait is a little long on the weekends in the Summer, but that is because everyone wants to experience the truly great food. It makes the trip more fun when you have to wait, it gives you an opportunity to have a drink at their unique boat bar. It is also off of the beaten path but they have a web site now with directions, I believe it is oystercreeninnnj or just google oyster creek inn in nj. it is actually only a few miles from The Historic Towne of Smithville. Believe me the food is much better than in smithville. Oh yea how could i forget the dessert, home made bananna cream pie, I also love the carrot cake that is home made. The sunsets are also beautifull as well as the over all view of the meadows and the bay, very tranquil!!! The prices are average, especially for the specials. I think they even have a earlybird menu , four courses for about 20 bucks or less. I am uaually not there early enough for the earlybird. Pros: Excellent Seafood!!!! Cons: NONE more

GREAT FOOD, THE MUSIC THERE IS EXCELLENT. THE FISH IS FRESH, AND THE CHILIE IS VERY SPICEY, AND GOOD. Pros: GREAT PARKING Cons: NONE more

Stopped on our way home and boy are we glad we did. The location alone is worth\r the stop. We got there shortly after it opened, the meals were fantastic, ambience \r was right out of Hemingway. I took many pictures of the outside...was like a postcard.\r Anytime we are at the NJ shore we will be stopping at the Oyster Creek Inn. Please\r don't change a thing! Pros: Everything Cons: Not located near me!!! more

The Oyster Creek Inn is a great seafood restaurant. I love seafood and this was the best fresh seafood I have had recently at the shore. The early bird special included soup, salad, rolls, dinner and desert. I ordered the broiled flounder and my son ordered the fried flounder. I highly recommend this restaurant for the fresh food, atmosphere (on the water, with view) and the great service. Pros: Really fresh flounder more

That last review was way off the mark. I have been in California for some time now but as a jersey girl at heart, the Oyster Creek Inn has been and remains one of my favorite places for great seafood and great atmosphere. I wouldn't advise you to order a fried combo when there is such a selection of daily specials. Every time i return home, this is the first stop for dinner. I have never been disappointed. On our last trip in May, we had an outstanding salmon special, crab meat, brie cheese, asparagus in a sauce that was excellent. We also ordered the Mahi special w/ grilled shrimp and onions, wow. A fresh tuna special over a green salad w/ crab meat was also a great choice. We go to the Oyster Creek and expect at least a 30 minute wait, especially in the summer. We get a cocktail or two and sit outside and just enjoy the view. As for the service, it is always great. The wait staff is efficient and very friendly. On the night we were there, a table next to ours was celebrating a birthday. The waitresses and even the bus boy all took time to sing to an elderly woman and had the whole room involved in the song, shouting out her name so we could all sing. you could see on her face how much she enjoyed it. A nice touch. It always nice to see the same faces on the wait staff, with a few new ones. This is not a place that will hire teenagers or college kids to get them through the busy season. We have been there in December and have seen the same waitresses that we have seen in May. So next time you are looking for great food, great view, a cold drink and alot of fun, go to the Oyster Creek. And don't forget about the popcorn! This is our family favorite in Jersey. There a few places like it here in Cali. but nothing compares to good seafood, family and friends at the ""Jersey Shore"". Go and enjoy and tell them the ""jerseygirlincali"" sent ya!!! Pros: Just great food, fun and relaxing. Cons: Running out of popcorn. more

My family and I had the worst experiance at this dump. The wait was about 45 min and it wasnt even that buisy, after we were seated our server was very rude, and frankly didnt smell to good. I ordered the fried sea food combo and when it came it tasted like the greese hadnt been changed for days, and the french fries tasted like they were mixed w/ the fish fryers. I did read the the good reviews on this place and wish I could say the same good things, maybe we were just there on an off night, but my family and I will never go back, first impressions are everything. Pros: good bar Cons: service, food more

We had friends visit us from Buffalo New York and went to Smithville to visit the winery, From there we were going to have dinner at the Sweetwater Casino. However it was getting late in the day and it is easy to get lost if you dont know your way.. While visiting the winery, I asked the salesperson where there was a good seafood restaurant nearby. They mentioned Oyster Creek Inn. Our friend had the Lobster dinner which he raved about. All our dinners were great and my husband and I are planning on going back for my birthday. Great place. We use to go boating in the great bay and had we known about Oyster Creek we would have attempted to take our boat there. Pros: Parking accessible, great service, great bar Cons: I cant think of any more

If your kids love seafood, bring them! Its a family type restaurant in a lovely setting on the bay. We arrived at 5:30pm on a saturday and had a 10 minute wait. If you arrived too much later, the wait was a lot longer. By 6:30pm I watched people leaving without eating. The wait was up to 1 1/2 hours. The dress is casual. The food is so fresh. Our waitress Terry, was very nice and efficient. She worked hard. Its worth the drive from central Jersey. You will not be disappointed! Pros: Fresh Seafood Cons: Long wait after 5:30pm more

Before I went on vacation, there was only one review of The Oyster Creek Inn on this website, and I admit I was a little put off by it. As it turns out, the reviewer obviously had not been to this particular establishment. Either that or they have a vendetta with the place. The same goes for another review that has popped up since, and I honestly think that they are truly mistaken, and were not at this restaurant. The main attraction to the Oyster Creek Inn is its location. It is out in the middle of nowhere, in the marsh land of Leeds Point. Boaters pull up and park on the dock. The boat bar room is a big waiting area with free popcorn from a big popcorn machine. The bar is pretty cool, well-stocked and unique. Our bartender was a young girl and we enjoyed talking with her. I hadnt been to the Oyster Creek Inn in over twenty-years, and it was just as I had remembered it. It has a very retro/northern feel. We really did have a good time, but . . . there are some things that might annoy somebody. The wait time for a table can be pretty long, an hour or more on a summer weekend, but hey thats because the place is so darned popular. The food was good. It wasnt incredible or out-of-this-world. It was good. The price for a meal was average. The price wasnt good. It was average. The bottom-line is that it is a neat place, in a neat location, with good food at a usual price, and the ambiance is cool. Furthermore, its a pretty big place and it gets really crowded, especially on summer weekends. Our wait staff was extremely rushed, probably more then any place else Ive been in recent years. We understood. They werent trying to be rude, but dont expect much in the way of chit-chat. Pros: Neat place in an unusal location with a well-stocked neat "boat" bar Cons: VERY busy with long waits and about average in food quality and price more

I've been going to this place for the past 25 years. Although the food has changed slightly over the years it still has the best seafood! The atomsphere is great. Perfect for families. Its right on the bay. You can pull up in your boat, dock and eat. You can sit outside in the raw bar and grab a drink or go inside and have a sit down seafood meal. I highly reccommend the crab bisque! more