Sonny’s Canal House

First time here and the last time. The male and female bartenders honestly believe they are doing you a favor by serving you. The lady next to me had been trying to get served before I even arrived. The bartenders are more interested in chatting with their friends then they are serving customers. Both of them looked liked they hated being their. Good bartenders have peripheral vision and will acknowledge that you are their. I doubt very much if the owner has staff meetings prior to every shift. I also doubt if he observing is staff. The owner should lose these two employees they have no business working their.

Great food n band. Wish the AC worked better… Nice views…

I always seem to have a long wait here and have never complained but tonight sonny’s has lost a customer. It took 15 minutes for a server to even look in our direction tonight. We were seated next to the service station… the table was not clean and the bench at the table was the most uncomfortable seat I have ever had to sit at. The food quality has gone down tremendously. They even got my order for water wrong… I was very disappointed with the entire visit! Then the credit card reader went down and they had us wait 28 minutes until they could fix it…

Great place! Food great, drinks great, staff Awesome! An all around great place to hang out and watch the games, eat a GREAT meal and the drinks… Fantastic!!! Don’t miss out on this place!

Had lunch here twice. Love the outdoor seating. Irish guy is a total doll and makes you want to come back just to hear his accent and friendly disposition. Fish tacos were amazing. Will try dinner and live music next.

Great little bar hidden on the water in Baldwin. Nice outdoor seating area. Good staff good drink prices great food. I’ve eaten a few times and never had a problem with the meal. From the hand made burger with fresh cut French fries to the crispy fresh fish and chips it’s always been done right. Will to be returning to try other menu items.

Super friendly staff. Good little neighborhood spot for a drink. They have nightly specials that are a great deal.

Located at a dead end street just at the waters edge in Baldwin.
It’s in a residential neighborhood.
If the live music goes later than 11:00 the cops show up.
I was there to see Hardcopy, The Band.
Really, they killed it. Everyone was singing and dancing. Great play list.
Food was very good.
Nice outdoor seating.
Rebuilt after Sandy.

I went there with my wife this past weekend to try something different. When I arrived I found out that parking is nearly impossible. We were seated about 10 feet from the live band that was playing, which made it impossible to have a conversation, or talk to the waitress without screaming. The dining room is small so it would have been loud wherever we were seated. After we ordered the manager came by our table to say hello, which I thought was a nice touch. My wife ordered shrimp cocktail which came out warm (probably frozen shrimp that were nuked). I had the French onion soup, and shepherds pie which was average. My wife had two mixed drinks with dinner, and when the check came I noticed that we were charged separately for the vodka, and the coke that was in the drink. I questioned the waitress, and she stated that this is the way were charge for drinks. So I asked her if I ordered a rum and coke would she charge me separately for the rum, and an additional $ 2.00 for the coke, and she said yes??? I said I never heard of being charge this way. She took back the bill and took a drink off.

Nice place for spring/​summer/​fall if food was better. Food ??? French onion soup cold with ½ in thick cheese unmelted. Burger average with fries way over salted. Not enough staff to handle crowd. Outside needs to be cleaned up at least for neighbors! Get it together chef & manager and this could be neighborhood gem.

Sonnys is a great local bar! they have a big outside section on the water great in the summer!!! This is not a «nice restaurant» it’s a real pub. Great tidbits and wings, grab a beer and watch the game kind of a spot. Mari Ellen makes the best Long Island Iced Teas

Awesome location on the water in Baldwin Harbor. They have an outdoor patio with tables and chairs but due to it frigid we elected to stay in doors. Food is good. Wings are great. They actually make an awesome bloody mary too. Decent tap beer selection as well. Plenty of TV’s to watch sporting events. They actually had a band playing too so the place was crowded but attention and service did not suffer. Friendly staff bartender’s and staff are awesome. Eddy is a great guy funny and made sure our order arrived promptly and correctly.

After Sandy, the new owner of Sonny’s completely renovated the restaurant. It is still a «dive bar» because it’s outside appearance doesn’t make you think typical place to eat. When the weather is nice, there is a new outside deck area to eat or drink on.
The main problem with Sonny’s is its size on the inside. If there is a band playing, chances are the staff won’t hear you. It has happened to me, I waited for over 20 minutes for a menu because they didn’t hear what I said.
Otherwise food is decent, drinks aren’t too expensive. You’ll never confuse it for gourmet, but the food is decent enough.

We were just looking for a place for an inexpensive bite (Friday night dinner) and my friend remembered this place but hadn’t been in a while, so we decided to go to Sonny’s for the likelihood of seafood. The reviews really vary on this place. so it may just be the luck of the draw on who is working in the back, the front. and what band is playing? Stay tuned.
We had MUCH nicer night than we anticipated. We were surprised and glad to have live music (classic bluesy R &R & a little bit blue grass too!!) — go figure. they had banjo. and gotta say. it was fun~! Noticed a man (I presume was the owner) up and dancing with a patron at one point.
I was afraid the table we were given was going to be too close to the band for conversation, but as it turned out. the band was fun and we enjoyed the proximity.
I had just about THE BEST BAKED CLAMS I have ever had. The Martini was good too. The Skirt steak was ok, but not memorable. and the waitress was sweet and efficient.
This place has a «dive bar» vibe. but not in a bad way. The crowd was down to earth, mostly over 50 and laid back. I’m a boomer, so I appreciate it when the folks dancing are old enough to remember dial telephones. We are grabbing the «girls» and going again THIS Friday.
It’s the kind of place I can see myself becoming a «regular» at. Next time, I may just join the folks at the bar and skip the table all together!
BTW. the parking is NOT great. but not sure what they can do about that.

I read the reviews, how the service was awful, but decided to give it a try and make my own decision. It is Fathers Day and thought it would be a nice end to a beautiful day sitting by the water. Well, the reviews did more than accurately describe the horrible service! After being rudely welcomed, as if an inconvenience… we sat without water, menu or a glance from either one of the only 2 waitresses for at least 15 minutes. By the way, I didn’t see anyone else being served either. We slowly got up to leave and still not even a glance or a question from anyone who worked there. Well, I can’t speak about the food because we never ate!
We will never go back.

I visited a friend’s place one weekend, and their family was having a gathering here. I was skeptical at first, but it turned out to be pretty great! It is an average dive bar with bar food and drinks. They get an extra star for great service… and for playing a plethora of George Strait songs! I am a country girl, and you don’t get that much in NY. This is a great bar to hang out with friends and relax. It is definitely a dive bar with a great deck on the water!

This place is disgusting. The parking lot is full of garbage meaning that you have to find parking on the street when it gets busy. The garbage in the parking lot is only the first indication of what must be going on in the kitchen. The food is not very good to begin with, but I totally lost my appetite when I saw a rat run under the bar. This place should be closed down by the dept. of health. Never again for me.

My Parent’s house is down the block to this place, so I’ve been here quite a few times with my family. When you want to have a quick drink with your neighbors and enjoy the old-​timey night out, I think this is a great place to just walk to and hang out with some relaxing music. If you’re rushed to grab a quick bite to eat — go somewhere else.
I’m not saying that the service is bad, but I felt like I was in Grand Cayman where everything runs on a different, more relaxed time. Things will slowly come out as needed and the only thing that’s slightly faster is the beer refills. I assume that the kitchen is not used that frequently, so if you want your food faster, try not to order anything too complicated because they need to make it all on order. As you would cook your own food and 30 others, it would take some time.
No worries about the time, though. I really like the open outdoor seating and those bouncy chairs. The view is decent and the food is good. I really like the interior where they show the different heights of water from floods over the years. Flood insurance must be expensive there…