Schooner Inn

I have been going to this place and visiting Fire Island for years so I understand the atmosphere better than people that visit once and choose to review it. Fire Island is a very laid back place and this restaurant reflects that completely. You do not come to a restaurant on Fire Island and complain about the prices because the owners have to import everything from the mainland, so I do understand the $ 13 drinks and the $ 35 meals.
You come for the experience, the music and the view. The island is filled with locals coming to have a good time. This place is on the beach and always busy, so yes if you do come on a Friday or Saturday night you will have to wait some time for your food, so enjoy the view and music while you wait. If you can’t sit back and relax and are in a hurry to eat, go to a diner. I would not say this place is a complete dive bar, they have specials everyday from live lobster pots to wild stripe bass. The staff is filled with younger kids who all are hustling and willing to tell you all about what to do on Fire Island during your visit if you ask.

I ordered the «pan seared scallops» they were slimy and ordered a turkey burger instead. The turkey burger was dry and tasteless. The drinks and atmosphere are nice. I assume ordering fried food is the way to go here. The rest of my family were happy their meals.

They ate the only place that was dog friendly and people friendly too. We had a very nice lunch. Hubby got excellent burger I got fish too that was a new item on the menu and really needs to be removed, it’s horrible. It’s like canned ham only it’s supposed to be fish? The beans & rice is another terrible pick. But it’s my own fault for ordering it against others advice. Our friend got fish sandwich said it was wonderful. Bartender was very nice. Definitely like this place.

Overall, meh. I think it was also my fault for coming there memorial day weekend which is playtime for 21 year olds. We had to pay a $ 20 cover each to enter — wtf. Then they only took cash only. The only redeeming part was that we got a table and our waitress was absolutely GREAT. She was constantly bringing us drinks and making sure we were happy. The food was just OK. the drinks were your typical stuff. I don’t think ill be back solely because the crowd is just way too young for me.

I had an eh experience at Schooner’s for dinner. We headed over here after partying at Flynn’s all day. Rocket fuels are definitely less expensive at this place, and just as strong. Bartenders are more efficient. It’s located right by the ferry and overlooks the water, so that’s a plus.
However, the food I had suuuucked. I had a veggie burger, and it was the worst, soggiest pattie I’ve ever tasted. I felt robbed of my $ 13. My bf’s bacon cheeseburger ($ 17!) was no better. Fries were gross and we had to douse them in salt and peppa. Bathrooms are nasty. It’s connected to a pizza place, which is confusing. Clientele’s made up of mostly older people and drunk kids who got kicked out of Flynn’s.
Another thing is, who’s watching for the goldfish in the aquarium? 2 – 3 of them looked lethargic and gulping for air, and the water looked murky. The bartender said one of them likes to swim like that when we asked her, but she failed to notice the other 2. I seriously hope they can fix that.

Favorite bar on the island. The drinks are great, the food is great, and the service is excellent. We’ve been to a lot of bars in many towns on the island and have experienced many good ones but this place is our favorite. The live music has been good the last three times we’ve been here. Two things that keep drawing us back are the good pours at the bar and tables, and the excellent salads. My favorite salad was the Summer Salad with red grapes, melon, pecans and pumpkin vinaigrette.
The crowds seem to vary at different times and days but any of them were not unreasonable to be around. I think that you cannot really classify crowd types at any bar in a tourist location because it will always vary. What I can comment on is the excellent customer service, though; they were not in your face and they were never absent. This goes for the bars and the servers.

I thought the food was decent. The real star was the view and service – awesome. It was our first time to Ocean Bay Park and we can’t wait to come back. Our waiter was so helpful with the area and menu. Next time we an hopefully make Happy hour/​Lobster special!

Atmosphere and service was good, food was kinda overpriced considering we paid $ 94 for 4 rocket thing drinks, a lobster quesadilla and a crab cake sandwich. Our lobster and King crab leg dinner with drinks at maguires was $ 130. Think we got over charged but the drinks may have made me over look something (ordered oyster but never got them, although we were pretty full with just the quesadilla and sand which.) server was very sweet, loved the deck.

While I respect everyone’s right to Unilocal,I feel that in order to «get/​understand» this place and anywhere on Fire Island for that matter, you have to be a particular person. Many people who have grown up on Long Island/​Fire Island, understand the culture of places like Schooner Inn. For example, this isn’t the city. If you understood the Fire Island culture, you wouldn’t be considering Schooner’s Inn a «dive» bar. It is simply a beachy restaurant and very nice bar on the water… nothing «divey» about it at all. This should definitely be adjusted in its description.
I have come here several times throughout the years. Most recently, this summer, my best friend and I rented a house in Ocean Bay Park, so Schooner’s Inn was our go to every evening. Schooner’s has a very beachy/​summery vibe to it with live music and something different happening every night. On Wednesdays, Schooner’s hosts hermit crab races which is pretty unique! Some nights when we came here, there was Bingo happening, and you play as you eat your meal. The winner usually wins a brand new bike, pretty cool.
The food is absolutely delicious, you are dining at a beach themed restaurant so be sure to order seafood if possible! The lobster is consistent, absolutely delicious, and fairly priced! You get a nice sized lobster, potatoes, mussels, clams, corn on the cob, and a side of butter… delicious. We pretty much came here and ordered this every night for dinner! As we had a dozen different guests stay with us throughout the week, we were sure to bring everyone here, most friends ordered he lobster or the clams dish, and all of our friends/​family enjoyed the food. This place also serves delicious drinks. Schooners offers a wide selection of beers, mixed drinks, and… rocket fuels! Be sure to order these pina coladas made with A LOT of alcohol… a fire island favorite! During the week we also came here for just drinks which were delicious. The bar looks directly out over the water and there is a good crowd during the day. There is a free hot dog stand which was a God-​send when my friends started to feel the effects of their drink.
The service is great, the food is incredible, drinks are awesome. Schooners Inn has a laid back vibe, but it is a guaranteed good time whether for drinks or dinner. Please keep in mind, that anywhere on FI you will not find a mix of different type of restaurants like in Manahattan. Fire Island is a laid back, beach community that operates on ISLAND time… just relax and enjoy!

First bar off of ferry… Bartenders at both bars not friendly, not happy, not fun!
Waste of time could have stayed on Long Island bars for that!

I think this is the worst restaurant we have ever been to. The best thing to say is the view is nice. Our server was overextended and was MIA most of the meal. The scallops were indelible. The menu said pan seared but they looked boiled. I took one bite each of 2 scallops and stopped eating them. They were fishy and dense. I ate the mashed potatoes. The burger was a mediocre bar burger at best and the roll was soggy. The catch of the day was supposed to be pan seared but it was deep fried. To be fair they took the catch of the day back without question. I should’ve sent the scallops back too but didn’t. The bathrooms were gross. The drinks were good.

Calling all tipsy parents! Bring your kids here for meals that won’t offend their palettes and sip your frozen drinks from the bar. EVERYONE ELSE: be disturbed by the awful kids and eat the same bland food as the children.

The Inn is right off the Ferry and very convenient. The spot overlooks the Ocean Bay Park marina and has an old school Fire Island haunt vibe to it.
We just popped in to say hi to a friend.
The Crowd:
Tends to be more Grown. Nice and calm groups chilling while having a few drinks.
The Beach:
Very nice! If you have a boat you can just pull right up, tie up and walk on the sand to the outdoor platform. Just lovely.
The Music:
Live Band! I am such a sucker for live music!
Great vibes!
Add Ons: Offers kayaking and bike rentals.
Con:
The bathroom is disgusting!!!
Please clean the lady’s room! I didn’t want to touch a thing in there.
The site is lovely and gives you that laid back feeling until you go to the bathroom and then you’ll have one of those «Oh yeah I AM IN A BAR» moments when the floor is wet (for God knows what reason), only 1 fauset works, and smells like the insides of a Donkey.

The drinks are very small, smallest I have had on the island.
It’s out of date and parts of the place (especially the t-​shirt counter which was messy, unfolded shirts all over the place) weren’t pleasing to the eye.
The «family friendly» happy hour sucks. There are literally INFANTS at the bar. I’m all for families, but that is nonsense. A bar is a place for adults, not kids.
3 knocks removes 3 stars. Move on from this place.

What a great place to eat. Had lunch there twice, the food exceeded expectations. Food was Fresh, and cooked to order.

A group of my friends came here last night, we all had a good time. Drinks were alright, but super overpriced. I would have given this place 3 or 4 stars if the blonde woman bartender wasn’t the rudest person I’ve ever encountered; she was rude from the minute she took our drink orders and acted like it was an imposition on her to take drink orders or make drinks even though her job is a bartender. All the other bartenders were fine, especially in comparison to the blonde one. I’d recommend that if you come here, you avoid that one bartender and perhaps you will have a 3 – 4 star experience.

Definitely a dive bar. That said, you’d have to expect that in Ocean Bay Park. The entire area is ghetto and beat up. If you’re going to pay absurd prices then you may as well be in a nicer place where you don’t have to be worry about catching something just from the drinks. Head over to Ocean Beach, where the prices are still ridiculous but at least there’s some class and you don’t feel like you’re in a frat house.

NOT BAD as others mention it. Located right at the entrance near the ferry dock, don’t be fooled by the name as it’s really not an «INN» but a divey bar+restaurant with live music. Interior is sort of Robinson Crusoe-​ish (if you know what I mean) with an outdoor bar area that has a gorgeous unobstructed view towards the ocean which is a refreshing sight.
I thought their live band was pretty awesome and they did perform well. The crowd is pretty eclectic ranging from 20-​somethings all the way to early 50s. However, there are some Jersey-​shore type girls that come here to party wearing weird Mardi-​Gras-​esque costumes and cowboy hats lol. They had a lobster special going on for less than $ 30 that comes with mussels and clams which I did not get because I wasn’t hungry.
Downside might be the limited seating areas indoors and drink prices at the bar were a bit high (a bottle of corona will run you $ 7 here… YIKES~) Other than that, I thought the bartender and the staff were pretty friendly and laid-​back and no pretentious attitude.
**RESTROOMS AVAILABLE**

Five stars for being one of the friendliest establishments I’ve ever been to, and you all get the wild story behind it.
So, I spend quite a few weekends a summer in Davis Park (~7 miles down the beach from here, as the crow flies), fishing, partying, swimming, taking a break from city life. From time to time, I get a crazy idea in my head to go on some ridiculous adventure. This time, I somehow convinced two gullible friends of mine to hike down to Ocean Beach, exploring all the neat little towns and wilderness sections on the way. And so we set off late one morning on a grand adventure.
Now, I should stop and say that one of these friends had a minor leg injury, and the other was a tiny girl with no jacket. Fine for a light jaunt on a nice September day, but remember this for later.
So we walked. And walked some more. And explored. And found many beautiful things. We stopped off for lunch in a town on the way, took a break and downed a beer, and then off again. Hiked around the sunken forest, all down the beach, around some great big dunes… you get the point, a fun time, but with all of our detours it took far more time than we expected, and by the time we were coming up on our destination the sun was low in the sky. With one of my companions having issues with his leg, and the other starting to freeze, we decided to hop a water taxi home and call it a day.
We went to downtown Ocean Beach (quite a bit past the venue in question) and to the dock. Waited a bit, checked the schedule posted, asked the dockmaster… nobody seemed to know where the boat was. I got the number from said dockmaster, and called their headquarters, they had stopped running boats… without notifying anyone, or posting a sign. Great. There was nothing we could do to have them send one out to take us home, they didn’t want our money. And thus we three adventurers became, to put it lightly, completely boned. Getting dark and cold, stuck over 8 miles from home. And I was finally starting to accept that wearing shoes –might– have been a good idea. Woops.
But we are champions, and we accepted our fate. We turned back east, and set off again, albeit at a somewhat slower pace with all our troubles on top of normal fatigue.
And then we saw it! A light, a glow, voices. Something open. The Schooner Inn. Glowing like a beacon of hope. We stumbled into the bar, weary travelers, and sat down to warm up and have a stiff whiskey.
Now, it wasn’t packed. A few folks at the bar, a solitary bartender — all were conversing like old friends. And they welcomed us, and heard our story.
It was one of those moments that can restore one’s faith in humanity. Those at the bar cheered us up, gave us a flashlight to help find our way in the dark. The bartender served us some hot food, which he absolutely refused to accept payment for, and gave the poor girl with us a sweatshirt to keep her from freezing. Now, this is a Unilocal review, so I will comment that the drinks were poured well and the food was tasty, but it was the people that really struck me here. Any establishment where both the employees and the regulars are so above-​and-​beyond kind to strangers is simply wonderful in my eyes. And not just kind, but fun! We swapped bawdy stories of our experiences with the beach over the years, laughed, and cheered up. Turned our miserable march into a fun night.
We did leave, eventually, and made it home a few hours later. Direct down the beach this time, no detours. Walking with our feet in the water to keep warm (the water holds the day’s heat better than the sand). And we have never slept better in our lives than we did that night. For all our adventures that day, the stop at the Schooner really stands out as a bright moment, and I’d send anyone there with a glowing recommendation.

There isn’t much to experience in Ocean Bay Park — but the Schooner Inn should not be part of your itinerary.
I have been here a few times — food falls short in almost every regard and the drink prices are absurd (even for an island). It is nice that they are on the bay, but you are better off just grabbing a few beers at the market and making your way to the beach.
The bouncers are also extremely unfriendly and feel entitled to call patrons all sorts of derogatory names for what appears to be done only to boost their own self confidence.
The crowd is made up primarily of Fire Island locals and the age range usually reflects that of my grandmothers bridge table (not that there is anything wrong with that — but you should know what to expect).