Clam Broth House

The now horribly rusted sign on the roof is all that remains. Once dated a girl who lived in an adjacent apartment, where the smell of garlic and the unmistakeable stink of rotting seafood carcasses filled the air.
Many fond memories here. Prices were cheap, décor was suitably tacky and dated, and it was always a fun experience.
Development along the Gold Coast has turned Hoboken into an almost completely gentrified (and white and yuppy) and unrecognizable place, save for Stevens.
RIP, Clam Broth House. I’m glad you didn’t get to see what became of your once funky and fun neighborhood.
Also glad to see Hoboken has mostly recovered from Sandy. Now, don’t get me started on what’s become of Jersey City!

I wasn’t sure what to expect the first time I went to the Clam Broth House. It has a long history in Hoboken and had heard many good things. The very first thing I noticed was the atmosphere, it was gorgeous inside. The wood, the bar the lighting was all very impressive. Second thing I noticed… it was dead?! For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why. The menu looked great, the bar selection was HUGE and the place was clean clean clean. I can only assume it’s the location and maybe the time of day I went? (lunch time, around 1:00)
Anyway, my business associate and I ordered our food and it came out quick. Everything was cooked perfectly, our server was nice and the entire experience was A-​Ok. In the end, the Clam Broth house is nothing to write home about, and maybe a little pricey, but a well deserved three stars. I’m sure I’ll go back at least once in the next year.

I truly feel for this restaurant. The menu is quite good and the chef delivers, but the awkward loction, unappetizing name, and awkward atmosphere downplay its good qualities. Every time I have come here (during prime-​time for restaurants, mind you) the seats are barren. Always a red flag in the restaurant world. Although the dark wood floors and accents are stately, some of the décor makes the place feel a bit hoaky and dated.
However, the tables are nicely set with linens and the likes. The bread basket is plentiful, delicious, and they aren’t shy about giving refills.
Oysters on the half shell: A bit small, but fresh tasting nonetheless.
Clams Oreganata & Casino: Very small, but tasty. I do recall that the casino variety were a bit too salty for my palate.
Filet Mignon Empanadas: A nice small plate for a bar app,
Squid Ink Tagliatelle: AMAZING. The pasta was striking, had a great homemade flavor, and had ample amounts of shrimp and calamari. I had the pleasure to eat the leftover half for my dinner the next day. An absolute MUST if you come here.
After looking at the new website, it appears that Calm Broth House is rebranding itself with an updated menu and swankier vibe. Hopefully, it will earn this solid seafood restaurant some new patrons.

The first things we noticed when we walked in was the beautiful wood bar and the four-​piece band warming up by the front window. We were a little early for our reservation, and still waiting for our friends, so we went to the bar for drinks. The ambiance was cool, classy, and relaxed; and, despite the extensive beer menu, we felt that classier drinks were almost required. My boyfriend had scotch, and I had one of their three house white wines. The restaurant was busy, but not crowded. There were a few people who appeared to be on dates, and some groups as well.
Shortly after we ordered our drinks, my friends arrived & we were seated immediately. The bread basket was surprisingly good. I wish I had realized that there was a variety; I would have asked to try my boyfriend’s bread. I only realized afterward that my raisin roll was different than what my companions had. Two of us started with soups: the Beef Barley (the day’s special) and the Clam Chowder. The servings were huge; enough soup for its own meal. My boyfriend said that the chowder was delicious — not too overdone. My friend shared her soup with her husband, and they both loved it.
For the main meal, I had the Ravioli Du Jour, which was Three-​Cheese Ravioli in Vodka Sauce. My companions had the Fresh Maine Lobster, Gulf Caught Red Snapper, and the Panko Crusted Chicken. My boyfriend mentioned that the Snapper dish was a little oily. My ravioli was good, and the sauce was delicious. Everything was good. Solid. But I wasn’t blown out of the water (seafood, water, get it? Sorry.).
The jazz band was talented! And they played The Girl From Ipanema, one of my favorite songs. But I felt that the music was a little loud for the small restaurant. I had trouble hearing the conversation at my table.
Overall, I liked the restaurant. I think I would enjoy going back — especially for a classy drink at the bar.

Last friday, a friend and I were walking by and decided to get a drink. Walking in, the atmosphere is quite nice. The décor is sleek but comfortable. The live jazz furthered the air of sophistication that the clientele put off. Sitting down at the bar, service was a little slow given the amount of people.
A place like this begs you to get a cocktail, especially if you’re at the bar. Sure there’s a solid beer selection. And i’m sure all the wines were decent. But live jazz, sophisticated crowd, cocktail it is. My friend noticed the bottle of Canton, which is a ginger flavored liqueur, and asked the bartender what she could make with it. Her simple response was, «Well i could put it in Ginger Ale». That was slightly uninspiring. This led me to chose a simple and rather straight forward margarita on the rocks. My friend ended up finding a recipe on Canton’s website, asked the bartender if she could make it, and she did.
Now not having tasted that concoction before, he was unable to guage whether or not she actually made it right. But my margarita was, by far, THE WORST margarita I have ever had in my life. And my friends drink was not any better. I literally could not finish the drink. We walked out shortly thereafter.
I unfortunately can’t judge the food, or wait service, but I can say, if you go there for a drink, do not go for the cocktails. The 2 stars is because the environment provided high expectations. It promised something it couldn’t deliver. When you walk into a place that is «fancier» than the norm, you expect better than the norm, not worse. and unfortunately, these drinks were worse. I do anticipate going back to give the food a try, and hopefully raising the rating. Because really, it looks like a place i’d like to hang out at.

Is there such a thing as a double retraction?
I was at Clam Broth House for a double date two weeks ago… I’m just going to give it to you all: THEY HAVE A NEW CHEF. (Insert your cries and sobs). THEY NO LONGER HAVE LOBSTER TRUFFLE MAC AND CHEESE (insert dramatic cries and get angry).
But despite the change, this place is still okay. There are more red meat items to choose from than seafood but the outcome of the food is still notable and worthy like all previous visits. But in all honesty, I don’t think I’ll make anymore reservations here. Not unless that lobster truffle mac and cheese comes back to town.

So my wife and I went back here for a drink and some live Jazz. It was 9:30 on a Saturday night and the place was dead. There seems to be a new menu and a new chef as well. No more Lobster Mac N Cheese :(
The new menu includes some really expensive steaks — I don’t think I have ever seen a $ 40 dollar steak on a menu in Hoboken.
Again, we were there just for a drink and jazz but based on the prices, the lack of any atmosphere and lack of any real seafood besides a seafood tower and a lobster dish, we will not be back any time soon.
This place could use a visit from Gordan Ramsey.

I’m a fan, but not necessarily fawning over CBH because:
The oysters, at best, are decent via variety and cost (what up $ 1 Blue Point nights!) but can sometimes be shucked poorly.
The weird booze list is off-​putting: the wine list is random and expensive, while the large beer list is predominately American.
The bipolar waitstaff can vary from inattentive (where’s the water?) to overly involved (no thank you, old guy who likes to feel me up/​place my napkin on my lap — this ain’t Le Bernadin.)
The so-​so food: yes, they serve a *HUGE* shrimp scampi that is tastier when ordered with spinach instead of pasta, but the seafood gnocchi is kinda heavy and drowns in the mediocre red sauce. The fish-​n-​chips are crispy and fresh, but the portion is on the smaller side of satisfying.
But the price is right, and basement lounge is really nice if you’re in the mood to slurp oysters and sip suds… which is what I’d suggest.

People always associate the Clam Broth House with Hoboken; my parents always told me about how they drove from Queens across 2 rivers to go to the old CBH because the food was so good an the value was unbeatable.
The second incarnation was considerably less than impressive. Friday night dinner at 9:15: the place hada a good buzz and was even nicer inside than I suspected walking by on my way to the PATH every day since it opened. Well, that’s about it for the good.
Glass of pinot noir at the bar while waiting for the table; did you even open the bottle this week? Yuck. The service was awkward and bordering on unprofessional. We felt rushed and unimportant from the first second the waiter came to our table to tell us the specials and look to take our order. We finally put in for the lobster mac and cheese (delicious but the cheese sauce was more runny than gooey), and we tried the shrimp special. Undercooked? Not the worst part. ²⁄₅ still had the veins? Unacceptable. Did I mention unacceptable? I didn’t bother to bring it to our space cadet… uh, I mean waiter’s attention because his brain was clearly somewhere else. Took forever to get water (can I get a refill on tap water? I don’t care if I have to pay for it!), and took forever to get him to bring me my drink.
We also got a dozen $ 1 oysters, which were good. No real complaints there.
Aaaaand then we got rushed out at 11pm. On a Friday. After watching them clean and move the tables around us, this experience went from disappointing to bordering on embarassing. Not cheap, not good, but the space was very nice. A Hoboken institution? Hardly.

What is up with this place? It’s just WEIRD.
Was meeting some friends downtown Hoboken for drinks and they wanted to grab something to eat beforehand. I joined them at the table just for a drink (no food). When I arrived they had already ordered their food but their drinks still hadn’t arrived. Fast forward 20 minutes, their food arrives, still no drinks??? Pretty darn lame. My drink took about 20 minutes to come out as well (just a glass of prosecco!). I can’t speak for the food but we had to ask the waitstaff for the same stuff a minimum of 2 – 3 times before we’d get it.
The clientele in here is strange, the décor is pretty awful, and the service is terrible.

I had dinner here on March 9^th for my birthday. Came home, typed out a lengthy review, and couldn’t finish it. So I saved it. I came back to it tonight, scrapped it and tried to write a short one, but I can’t, because this restaurant irks me so much. This restaurant is like.. . well, let me put it this way.. . It’s like they’ve taken everything I can’t stand and put it in one restaurant.
Hoboken: Used to be a real city. Now it’s a place for would be yuppies to live and get drunk and fight with all the tourists who go there on the weekends to pick up the yuppies girlfriends. And it’s like the owners of the restaurant just figured: Yeah we don’t know anything about restaurants, or food, but let’s just buy the name «The Clam Broth House» and run it into the ground. Let’s just make some money on the name, and take zero pride in our restaurant. That’s what I got from this place.
Anyway, the review:
Overpriced and bland food. The décor was cliched. As you may know, this is a redo of a Hoboken tradition. The original historical restaurant burned down or something. But, it was like the owners said «Let’s take a Hoboken tradition, and exploit it failingly, with little or no respect for the history of Hoboken or The Clam Broth House.» Now, I say this knowing very little about the original clam broth house, but I somehow doubt that it looked like every other «upscale casual» restaurant in New Jersey.
I mean, if you’re gonna have a restaurant named «The Clam Broth House», and you’re gonna cater to the Secaucus elite, your clam broth better be epic. And I can only think of one other four letter word to describe theirs. .
FAIL.
I was also quite surprised that it was a New England style clam broth rather than Manhattan (being that you can probably see the city from the roof of the building). I don’t know, maybe that’s the way it’s always been at the Clam Broth House.
Aside from the soup, all of the other seafood was just okay. Nobody finished their meal.
I will say this: My mother thought it was great.
Now, I know I’ve been hard on this restaurant, but they need to hire a serious chef to fix their menu and especially their SOUP. I won’t get into the wine list much, but it did seem reasonable, even the though it was a little hard to read. The staff seemed quite friendly with the exception of our server. I’m giving you guys the Spring and Summer to clean up your act. If it’s not better by the fall, I hope they sell it to someone who takes pride in their work.

From the outside I thought this place would be one of those establishments that had been around for years due to it’s world famous… i don’t know, clam broth maybe.
Apparently the place had just been renovated, but the inside seemed very generic, and lacked any sense of history like the outside sign seemed to promise.
The idea of a $ 15 three-​course meal that included:
Lobster Bisque (¹⁄₅) — Extremely bland and whatever «meat» was in there was not lobster.
Goat cheese and Beet Salad (¹⁄₅) — Tasted like canned goods.
Fish and chips (²⁄₅) — Greasy and very unappetizing.
The place was empty and yet the service was incredibly slow. I kept hoping Gordon Ramsey was going to burst in any moment and tear the place apart. He didn’t. It was just a very disappointing experience.

I’ve gone to the new Clam Broth House twice over the last year. Once for Restaurant Week this February, and once last February.
I miss the old classic Clam Broth House that used to be here, but with the corrupt politics in Hoboken it was torn down to make a buck. At least the new restaurant kept the same name.
On our most recent visit, there was a really amazing $ 1 oyster special. The oysters were some of the best I’ve ever had, and just this special alone is worth coming back for. The $ 30 Restaurant Week special this year was also better than last year. I ordered Alaskian King Crab legs as an appetizer, a lobster as a main course, and a dessert.
The crabs were excellent. Unfortunately I can’t say as much for the lobster. Instead of one decent size lobster, we each received two lobsters that were so small they had better been farm raised because they were definitely under the minimum allowed size for a commercial fisherman to catch. They lobsters were pretty dry and disappointing. Then the kitchen was out of every dessert choice we tried to order. The waitress had to come back three times for us to try again. Also, it was my girlfriend’s Birthday which I noted in the reservation, but nothing was done for it. I was assuming they’d at least put a candle in her dessert. I guess they were out of candles, too.
But all-​in-​all, The Clam Broth House is worth visiting. It’s always nice when a restaurant will seat you even though you do not have your entire party with you yet. For that I give them an extra star.

They did a really nice job fitting out the space.
Most of the food was solid and the prices were mixed but overall pretty reasonable. (Good wine prices.)
My main course, steamed lobster, just wasn’t good, and the rest of the meal while competent, wasn’t anything special.
Worth a try if you like seafood but not going to blow your socks off.

Some joker took me on a date here. The place was odd… we turned up just after 10pm on a Friday night and there were a few people chilling at the bar, but still plenty of seats. We didn’t see anyone eating or anything, but there was a «dance floor» area with loud club music and a light show of sorts… with not a soul dancing. I swear, there were probably 10 people in there total and all of them were sitting at the bar.
We took a seat in a loungy type area and were left to ourselves to talk and get to know each other — I should have seen through his façade then, but I digress. We each had a few glasses of wine and were politely told by the doorman that it was time to go around 1:30am. We looked around and we were the only people left.
Really, the place was weird. No one was there but they kept pumping the tunes and kept the strobe lights going. Eh, I’m over it.

Dinner was $ 25 for 3 course option we wanted.
Lobster mac and cheese. very good I like the crunchy break/​frieds stuff on top. It wasn’t too rich or had too much cheese on it. The truffle aspect was great and portion was just right.
I got the linguini with lobster, clams, and giant shrimp. The seafood was great. the pasta was okay… and I guess I really didn’t need it. Looking back I might have gone with the paella? Dessert that day was tiramisu which was on the better end of ones ive had before with a more rich taste but also being flight and fluffy.
The service was hot and cold at times where they would awkward come over and interrupt to ask how the food was when we were in mid sentence and then we had to flad them down at the end to even get the check. They asked us like very soon after we sat down what we wanted to order. didn’t really know the food or was able to help recommend food there… and then when we actually did want to order. they were sorta MIA.

Clam Broth House now has THE BEST lunch special in town.
Great food quality, portion, and best bang for your buck!
They offer you a choice of:
Soup: Clam Chowder or Lobster Bisque
Salad: Choice of something like 5 salads
Entrée: Choice between 5 or 6 entrees
I had the lobster bisque, which was TDF. I could have eaten this all day. Really enjoyed how flavorful the soup was and the chunks of real lobster meat were delicious.
For my second I wanted to try something new so I went for the beet salad. It has two different kinds of beets cut into squares and is paired with crumbled pieces of goat cheese. I never thought I would be recommending beets to anyone, but this was really a healthy and satisfying salad.
The penne and shrimp in vodka sauce is what I decided on for my entrée. First of all, you are paying for a pre-​fix menu that is $ 15, but in no way are you getting anything less than dinner size portions. My pasta was huge. Got through about half of it before I decided that getting a doggy bag was in my best interest since I was about to burst. So satisfying. And the idea that more creamy pasta was coming home with me was awesome.
I can not say enough about how good a deal the Clam Broth House prefix lunch is for just $ 15 for three courses. Soup, Salad, and Entrée were all scrumptious and come highly recommended. The quality (and quantity) of food you receive is just amazing. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.
I got a sneak peak at the new brunch menu, which makes me excited for this weekend [even though it’s only Monday]. Update to follow.

Everything we had was GREAT!!! The service was good, the food came out pretty quick, the décor is nice, and bathrooms are CLEAN! :)
We had:
Shrimp cocktails, lobster rolls, lobster bisque, braised short ribs and for dessert; carrot cake. mmmmm…
There’s not too many restaurants out there where every single dish you order is perfect, but this place is pretty darn close.
I’m already thinking of what I want to order for lunch tomorrow…

Popped in for an impromptu dinner date last week and was pleasantly surprised. Our initial reaction was to walk away as there was an open bar for a fundraiser onsite (hint: really loud), but dang, we were really craving seafood.
There was the menu, but then they also had a $ 25 prefix menu (it might have been $ 30 — I don’t recall exactly). It was diverse and gave us options to try a variety of yummy goodness. who could say no?
Both got the lobster bisque (i know, so much for variety) to start. Let me say, wow. So good. I could drink a gallon of that. We both got entrees that were not on the menu — it may have been the grilled fish of the day and also the seafood paella. Both were mouthwatering delicious. The grilled fish had a lemony vinaigrette tang and the paella was packed with mussels, clams, lobster, baby shrimp and chorizo.
We both got dessert, and that was spectacular as well. Overall we left complete stuffed and content with the meal. Can’t wait to go back. Hopefully next time it will be a little more quiet.

As a caveat to this review, it opened last week. I took my parents here last night, excited to bring them to the restored restaurant. It was a non-​busy Tuesday, and unfortunately management still needs to get the front kinks worked out. For it’s first week in business, I was surprised there wasn’t a manager on the floor (at least one I could readily tell was a manager), playing up the restaurant, getting feedback from first customers, etc. So, Mr/​Ms Manager/​Owner, here are a couple of my thoughts for it to succeed:
— The bar section is so open and expansive that you feel like you walked into a sports bar instead of a linen table cloth restaurant. If your table was near the front, you’d really be eating in the bar watching the Yankees on multiple TVs. The restaurant tables area lack intimacy. Spatially segregate the bar more from the restaurant using plants or interior floor decorations than can still be moved to increase/​decrease bar vs restaurant floor space as needed.
— Have the maitre d’ put the customer first. Instead of having customers wait stand around waiting, focus on getting them seated instead of conferencing with staff. There were lots of open tables. Once seated, the maitre d’ or a manager never came around to see how we liked things.
— Although our waiter was personable, train the wait staff to hover better. After our main meal was served, the waiter came by only once to inquire how it was going. Never offered to fill our water or wine glasses.
— Quicken the kitchen pace. It took almost an hour to get our main course (all that we ordered), although the waiter apologized for the long wait. Rack of lamb shouldn’t take that long, and the restaurant wasn’t full. I can’t imagine what happens on a weekend.
— Offer more fresh fish on the menu. For a destination seafood restaurant, the choice that night was a salmon fillet or the fish & chips. Really, this could have been Ruby Tuesdays. The catch of the day was lobster, not fish! We were disappointed it wasn’t the branzino that was the catch earlier in the week
.
— $ 30 for rack of lamb was the most expensive entrée on the menu. It was expertly cooked to our request, but the lack of seasoning left it maybe 3 of 5 stars. The roasted fingerling potatoes were overcooked. Same as the roasted artichoke as a vegetable for the salmon. Maybe the kitchen should pull their roastings out earlier. My mom deemed the salmon run-​of-​the-​mill OK. It’s hard to mess up salmon.
A plus: The wine list was good, fairly priced, and represented a wide range (varietals, places, prices).
I’d probably go back for the bar as it looked like a great gathering place. There are other restaurants in Hoboken (and NYC) to try before returning here for dinner.