Coastal Blue Oceanside Bar & Grill

"Coastal Blue might be one of the best restaurants in the Wildwoods. This was a random find off Google, and wow were we surprised! They have some of the best calamari I’ve ever had, and the bread is deliciously house-made. The sushi is phenomenal, as is the lobster roll, NY strip, salmon, and spaghetti with clams. The bartender is great (with a delightfully heavy hand) and knowledgeable about the scotch that my father-in-law was requesting, the first one to be so on the island for us. Ashley, our server, was a delight and truly made our experience incredible!! Definitely will be returning and recommending!"

Savi Pinho

"Our recent experience at Coastal Blue was anything but impressive.

The restaurant itself it was pleasant enough. Small but inviting decorated on the more casual side. What you would expect from any seaside restaurant.

The menu was limited. Without considering sandwiches there are only eight entrees available. Although we expected that going in as we had looked at the menu prior to our visit. Our server was pleasant and attentive although there was one concern that would be noted.

I had been looking forward to ordering the crab stuffed Bass with crab imperial. After ordering our appetizers we then placed our entree order. It was only then that we were told that they were out of the Bass with crab imperial. A tidbit of information that should have been shared when presented with our menus. As such I had to make an alternate choice. I decided to order the crab cakes. That was a big mistake.

As I saw on the menu that the bass was stuffed with crab imperial made with lump crab meat I assumed the crab cakes would be similar. That was far from the truth. The crab cakes were made with the much inferior claw meat. Adding insult to injury, as you can see by the photograph, the two crab cakes were more appetizer size than anything. Additionally the asparagus was limited to three stalks. The only impressive portion size was the potatoes. Looking at other reviews and photographs I saw, there were generous amount of asparagus. Not in this case. I can't imagine the chef being proud of sending out that order to a customer.

My dining partner ordered the chicken bruschetta with risotto and tomato salad. The chicken was unremarkable, being a dish that you would expect at any basic restaurant. The risotto was rather basic along with the tomato salad.

We also ordered two appetizers. The calamari was good, fresh, with a respectable portion. The pretzels on the other hand is another story. We received three pretzel sticks with three different types of mustards. As they were described as jumbo Bavarian pretzel sticks. I had hoped to have experienced a good German beer cheese with them Not a chance. Even the three muscles describe we're not those that we received.

What I also noticed was that the pretzel sticks we're quite literally those you buy in a box at Aldi. At $14 for three pretzel sticks, it's an appetizer that I would never consider ordering again. You can purchase 25 at Aldi for the same price.

Our visit was not over a weekend but during the week. The restaurant was far from busy. I can't imagine why they were out of various dishes other than due to improper inventory control.

This restaurant is representing itself as a high-end culinary experience when in fact it's just another basic restaurant in a tourist area. I'm sure they rely on an overturn of tourists to visit their restaurant because I can't imagine any locals like ourselves having any desire to return.

Our total bill was $99 before gratuity. This included only two soft drinks with no liquor. At any other restaurant I would expect to pay less than half.

Save yourself the trip and disappointment and enjoy dinner at any other restaurant because you'll leave this restaurant disappointed and hungry."

Frank Bowker

"Very disappointed with the service, with the exception of the general manager Matt. He was a ray sunshine in this very underwhelming experience.
It started when we approached the hostess stand at dinner, and were told there were no tables because they were booked up with reservations. Lo and behold, we go online and there were reservations available for that very time and multiple others.
We’re then told they only have seating outside, though we spied several tables inside. “Reserved” tables I’m sure. Our server was nice, but our appetizers reached our table before our drinks. Our appetizers, the calamari and shrimp, were fine. The shrimp had good flavor but was definitely over cooked- hard and rubbery. I got the stuffed bass and my partner got the NY strip steak. Mine was good, but my partner’s steak was under-seasoned. Though it did have a nice crust on it. The veggies weren’t seasoned. Do NOT get the crab cakes. Not worth the up charge. It’s bad when the mashed potatoes are the star of the show.
Overall, the cost was not worth what we experienced."

Sarah Francis